by Alison L. Roberts

From top to bottom: Jubei prepares for a fight; Kagero is the sole survivor of her ninja team; Dakuan, a government spy, schemes to enlist their assistance.

In the 10 years since its Japanese release, the anime feature film Ninja Scroll (a.k.a. Jubei Ninpocho) has become something its creators could not have possibly anticipated at the time: a landmark work with a worldwide following and a generation of fans who enthusiastically adopted it as a "gateway anime drug of choice," along with the movie adaptations of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell.

Part of this success had to do with the fact that Ninja Scroll, with its original, self-contained screenplay, historical setting and dramatic action sequences, was unlike anything else — of Japanese or American origin — to land on western video shelves. This is why Manga Entertainment's release of Ninja Scroll: 10th Anniversary Special Edition is significant, both as an archival exercise and a chance for fans to go back and revisit what, for many, was their first brush with animation specifically NOT intended for children.

Rumors of eight horsemen fleeing a village recently annihilated by a mysterious epidemic prompt the Koga ninja team to launch an investigation, but any thoughts of the "epidemic being the true foe" vanish when they find themselves under attack from a grotesque being with superhuman strength and animalistic appetites. Jubei aids Kagero — the lone survivor — in her escape. This chance encounter and the trickery of a Yoda-like government agent, places both warriors on a collision course with the "Eight Devils of Kimon," supernatural foes who serve an organization bent on overthrowing the Japanese government and seizing power for themselves.

The Ninja Scroll: 10th Anniversary Special Edition builds upon the content contained in its previous, relatively barebones release by adding new soundtrack options (English and Japanese language 6.1 DTS-ES) and newly filmed extras including interviews with Kawajiri and the English-language production's lead actors, Wendee Lee (the voice of "Kagero") and Dean Wein (the voice of "Jubei").

With its geysers of blood, extreme violence and clearly delineated heroes and villains, Ninja Scroll does not place an emphasis on subtlety. The violence is meant to be shocking, as is the treatment of the female characters. It is meant to get the audience mad, and it is effective — allowing viewers to root for Jubei and his compatriots and to understand, on an instinctive level, why thwarting "The Shogon of the Dark" is a life-and-death proposition from which the heroes cannot and will not stand down.

Other anime films released in the U.S. during that same time set their existential meditations in the far-off future, but Ninja Scroll resolutely looks back to a fictional past for bang-up action/adventure and basic truths that are a lot closer to home: