Search - Ninja Resurrection on DVD

Not the Ninja Scroll Sequel

junglist | Dallas | 02/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I work in an anime rental shop so i get this all the time. Everyone and their mom loves "Ninja Scroll" but nobody, and i mean nobody likes this one. Here is why: everbody starts this movie up expecting N. Scroll pt2...when it is NOT the same artist, author, or creator of ninja scroll. The only two things that mislead are 1.ninja in the title 2.the main character has the same first name. I am telling you now, THIS IS NOT NINJA SCROLL 2! If you are like me and you just want more samurai action with a cleaner art style than ninja scroll, then this is for you. The story hits a cool aspect of christianity in japanese culture and its abolishment and what it leads to. Definately just as gory, fast paced, and samurai as ninja scroll, but in my eyes...better than."

Unpleasant Come Back

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 01/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Early 17th Century Japan was a particularly grim period. It is marked by the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, several abortive efforts to open Japan up to the world and a bloody rebellion by the small Christian minority that led to the exclusion of foreigners from Japan for over 200 years. The Christian rebellion and its suppression at Shimbara was a struggle with few heroes and all too many villains on both sides. 'Ninja Resurrection' tells a part of the story of those events, combining both history and legend in its telling.Jubei Yagyu, a historical figure, was sword instructor to the Tokugowa regime, as well as in regular use as a spy and assassin. Therefore, it is no surprise that Jubei was sent to invade the Christian stronghold at Shimbara to weaken the fortification and, if possible, assassinate the leaders of the rebellion. Tokisada Shiro Amakusa, whose followers thought he was the new Christ, was killed, and the rebellion collapsed. The result was a massacre - 37,000 Christians dead at the cost of less than 2,000 samurai.The prophecy that declared Shiro to be the returned Christ also -redicts that, if frustrated, he will return as Satan. The first part of this DVD tells about Shimbara, and sets the scene for the second part, the incarnation of Satan. Here we have a little pastiche about Yagyu clan home life followed by a demonic sex scene and the rebirth from a woman's corpse of the slain Shiro. Somehow, Shiro's reanimation includes the return of 4 of Japan's most legendary swordmen as demons.And now comes this DVD's greatest flaw. There is no resolution or conclusion, just an abrupt end. Nor is there any sign of an anime follow up, although there have been several other films (not anime) that deal with Jubei's further adventures. Being left cold at a point that feels like the middle of the plot definite has a chilling effect on one's enjoyment. This is a shame, because the artwork and acting in these two episodes really is excellent, and a continuation would certainly have been successful. Beware, the film contains some very adult scenes and an amazing amount of bloody violence."

A person from Colorado

nelsonhall@earthlink.net | colorado | 12/24/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The animation was very good. But the story was hard to follow. But when the fighting scenes started to get me into it, the movie just stoped and said "to be continued" it is only 45 minutes long. I don't reccomned this video unless you get all of them."

YET ANOTHER YAMADA FUTARO ADAPTATION...

Marc Ruby? | 12/18/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Well okay, I agree NINJA SCROLL is a superior product to this, but let's face it, these two products have absolutely nothing in common except that Yagyu Jubei is the central protagonist. Misguidedly titled NINJA RESURRECTION is yet another adaptation of Yamada Futaro's MAKEI TENSHO, filmed umpteenth times already, most recently as REBORN FROM HELL. I personally am tired of this series and I wish Japanese animators could just move on to some other interpretations of the ninja mythology. It was once refreshing to combine the elements of horror/fantasy and jidaigeki action, but the novelty has gone out of it. And why should the Yagyu clan, the OFFICIAL fencing teachers of the shogunate, be promoted to the heroic status all the time? Their ninja activities were basically those of secret police who go off and assassinate those who dare to resist Tokugawa rule. WRAITH OF NINJA has its heart in the right place...Despite pretentious but informative introduction to historical background, this OAV series plays really fast and loose with Japanese history and culture, even within its improbable fantasy context. The filmmakers appear to harbor hilariously strange notions of Christianity, even more so than the most dunderheaded Hollywood action film's stereotypes of Middle Easterners. And yes, as a reviewer noted below, it was completely against the faith of Tokugawa-era Japanese Christians to commit suicide, as Shiro in the first episode proposes. Technically, the animation is totally skewered toward style over substance. Character animation suffers a lot compared to the detailed background cels and fluid movement. DVD production is, however, top-notch quality, with easy-to-read yellow subtitles and excellent stereo sound. A.D. Visions deserves some compliments for this, since I have seen MANY anime DVDs that are basically no better than VHS versions, or in the case of, say, dubbed version of DEVILMAN, stinkingly worse. BTW, Shiro's retainer who betrays him and frames Jubei in the first episode seems to be wearing a coat with Yagyu crest emblazoned on it... did I really see that? He may be revealed in later episodes as a Yagyu agent, thus making Jubei realize that HE was betrayed by his own clan, and turning him into a more sympathetic character. Or so I hope, since he is a total cipher in these two episodes."