Seferian-Ninja Scroll

Released in June 1993 Ninja Scroll is a classic anima story that follows the character Jubei Ninpucho as he is forced to battle the “Devils of Kimon”. The main character, Jubei, is modeled after the famed Japanese folk hero Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, and this movie pays homage to him. The story of Ninja Scroll takes place in feudal Japan where Ninjas have unnatural powers and demons live on earth. One of the things that make this movie so interesting is the demons that Jubei encounters and their relevance to Japans’ Shinto religion and folklore. The first demon that Jubei’s sword crosses paths with is the Oni, Tessai. He finds the Oni raping Kagero, a beautiful Female Ninja that was sent to investigate a mysterious plague. Kagero is immune to poison because her blood itself is a deadly poison. Merely kissing her could be fatal let alone having intercourse with her. Tessai’s sexual attack on her is just one of many in this movie. Through out the movie Jubei is the only one who doesn’t see Kagero as a sexual piece of meat but as a person. Jubei in many ways is a Japan’s Robin Hood. Values such as loyalty and honor are reflected in both characters. Even the “good guys” in this film aren’t strictly good. Most are twisted in some way. A good example of this is the old man Dukuan, who forces Jubei into helping him fight the Devils of Kimono for what he claims to be a good cause but seems to benefit only him. The Old man claims, “To fight a Devil, you must be a Devil,” which are a lot like the old saying “the ends justify the means”. The way that Dukuan speaks is very similar to that of a politician. The way he describes the conflict as being a battle agents “good and evil” sounds a lot like a justification for him to satisfy his greedy designers. This is made very clear when at the end of the movie Jubei catches Dukuan stealing a bar of gold. This scene personifies the fact that Jubei is the only one who has a real moral code.