Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll

1993
Suspense/Thriller, Fantasy
1h 34m
A ninja-for-hire is forced into fighting an old nemesis who is bent on overthrowing the Japanese government. His nemesis is also the leader of a group of demons each with superhuman powers.
Your probable score
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Ninja Scroll

1993
Suspense/Thriller, Fantasy
1h 34m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 60.34% from 1342 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1342)
Compact view
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Rated 07 Aug 2020
80
77th
One of my favourite things to do is check the IMDb parental advisory content section which is usually done by a crazy person and once again it doesn’t disappoint: “A short scene with a man having anal sex with a woman, she moans, not superbly graphic but still inappropriate for children.” Phew.
Rated 07 May 2009
85
97th
Not a thinking man's animation, for certain, but the ultra violence, nudity and fast-paced action is ideal for a great time, without any pretension. You like swords? You like it when swords cut up dozens of ninjas and superhuman freaks? This should be right up your alley!
Rated 10 Sep 2008
55
28th
As mainstream as the Monster Rape subgenre is ever gonna get.
Rated 13 Jul 2007
2
33rd
Anime, lol.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
70
63rd
Some pretty awesome battles and supernatural ultraviolence in this solid anime feature.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
72
64th
Easily my favorite Kawajiri anime.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
5
57th
A blood-soaked, quasi-insane feudal epic about ninjas fighting demons with nonstop action and lots of violence. Under no circumstances should you watch with your parents.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
50
13th
Also known by the title "My First Anime", Ninja Scroll is all ultraviolence and unnecessary sex. It defined anime in the mind of many and is perhaps largely responsible for the throngs of man-children with dandruff-flecked t-shirts hanging out around Hot Topic. Akira or Ghost in the Shell are much better starter films if you're interested in anime.
Rated 01 Mar 2010
60
30th
Interesting for its time because it explores "adult" themes in anime but really it's not all that special and the storyline is total schlock. It doesn't even have the cult charm or mysterious atmosphere of the Lone Wolf and Cub or Akira. Ninja scroll is an oddity that some may enjoy but I do believe modern anime as a whole has far surpassed what Ninja Scroll is.
Rated 09 Sep 2010
28
19th
This is more or less why anime has its current reputation.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
70
79th
Not a big fan of anime, this has some pretty interesting animation. Also some creepy as hell scenes.....mouth boob.
Rated 24 Jun 2011
67
27th
Lotsa ninjas, not so many scrolls. Plenty of blood, killing, rape, blood, violence and blood, however. Keep it away from kids.
Rated 15 Sep 2011
3
46th
Schlock. Encapsulates that gritty pornographic zeitgeist that makes anime so palatable for bootleg VHS viewings.
Rated 31 Jul 2012
70
51st
It looks amazing, but the story is more or less pure shit. But I actually could not care less about the story. It's entertaining as hell anyways.
Rated 27 May 2020
60
43rd
Under Quarantine Film Reviews #104: It's a massive improvement over Wicked City, boasting better animation, characters, and action, although Kawajiri definitely has some issues with women that he needs to sort out. The story is its weak point as it is just another run-of-the-mill action story with hardly any depth.
Rated 14 Jan 2007
65
30th
There's boobs and blood in it. That seems to be the only reason why it's popular.
Rated 02 Mar 2007
65
73rd
Fantastic animation.A manga great.
Rated 04 Mar 2007
80
71st
A classic anime film.
Rated 19 Mar 2007
80
60th
Brutal animated movie that stands up with the best of them, despite looking a little dated overall.
Rated 30 Apr 2007
75
42nd
Storywise, it doesn't really do anything you don't expect. If you like truly ridiculous amounts of violence and sex though, then fire it up.
Rated 26 May 2007
50
36th
Good flick.
Rated 02 Jun 2007
60
47th
What's the big deal?
Rated 03 Aug 2007
70
19th
Lots of gore and tits and other things that adolescents love. Not that that's a bad thing, but there isn't anything else to it. Entertaining but that's it.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
5
1st
One of the most overrated animes of all time, it reeks with degrading misogyny and mindlessness. Just thinking about it repulses me.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
55
29th
It's pretty much the same thing as a run of the mill action movie, just animated. I try not to hold a grudge against this movie (as it is decent), but it's part of the reason some have such a narrow view of anime. Anything great in this film has been done better in "Berserk".
Rated 14 Aug 2007
7
53rd
I feel like a jerk for liking this movie.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
65
20th
One time action flick. Extremely violent but little else.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
92
79th
One of the coolest animes I've ever seen. This movie can be watched over and over and over again...and, in fact...it was. By me. In college. With my friends.
Rated 18 Aug 2007
80
64th
ninjas, sanngre y y chikas con poderes extravagantes.. esta buena.. con un ritmo un poko rapido pero siemre te mantiene al hilo...
Rated 18 Aug 2007
90
96th
This is the best anime movie ever made.
Rated 27 Oct 2007
90
81st
This has to be my all-time favorite manga film. In addition to sporting great animation, set in a samurai/ninja historical period, this film has one of the best plots in any manga film I've seen (most aren't that great).
Rated 11 Nov 2007
70
64th
- highly recommended
Rated 20 Nov 2007
54
37th
One of the more ultra violent anime films. If anyone tells you this stuff is for kids, show them this and they'll think twice. And be wary of you since you own this moive.
Rated 12 Jan 2008
84
84th
One of the first animes I ever watched. Very good. A bit mature for those used to studio Gibli, but I think it represents classic anime.
Rated 15 Mar 2008
80
96th
Probably the only truly accessibly anime made during the 90's. Ninja Scroll has brilliant art direction, great action and a wonderfully simple plot of a wandering swordsman putting an end to the machinations of a set of monstrous villains. Violence for the sake of it and plenty of shock material that seems gratuitous even by the most desensitized sensibilities.
Rated 29 Sep 2008
40
43rd
Good example of animé, however not an example of good animé.
Rated 16 Oct 2008
80
58th
A true anime classic from strat 2 finish with well written characters and great animation there is nothing that is at fault on this masterpiece
Rated 26 Jan 2009
80
88th
Akira.. Mononoke hime... Yeah, Ninja scroll should be in that list of top anime movies! Jubei vs 8 uber ninjas (with a little help from a spy and a poison girl)! Crappy story and the badguys were a little too weak, but its straight up action anime! One of the greats!
Rated 22 Jul 2009
2
39th
It's very nicely animated--and very gory. The plot isn't good nor are the characters, but there is a level of enjoyment to be had here. Recommended for those who like their anime caked in blood.
Rated 30 Jul 2009
78
75th
Liked it
Rated 11 Aug 2009
80
69th
Entertaining, as well as sickening. Decent animation (although it looks a little dated now), and some nice fight scenes. A little too predictable.
Rated 25 Oct 2009
34
2nd
Violence and sex all over the place, but none of it is engaging or interesting. The story is as cliché as they come and the animation is terrible. It's not too hard to follow and I suppose it's watchable, but there's no compelling reason to do so.
Rated 22 Nov 2009
82
94th
One of the best anime I've seen.
Rated 09 Apr 2010
70
37th
This was the first Anime I saw when I was younger, so I was very impressed with the violence and sex. But I'll probably need to watch it again as an adult to remember if it's actually a good movie or not.
Rated 30 Aug 2010
70
16th
An anime classic, worth watching but not really my thing.
Rated 06 Dec 2010
75
84th
Bloody fun. Somet truely sadistic violence goes a long way...
Rated 04 Jan 2011
47
4th
A boring story,one dimensional characters and worse of all uninteresting fight scenes that were few and far between made this a film that I really did not enjoy.
Rated 19 Mar 2011
80
90th
full of great characters, fun moments and one hell of a third act. a strange technique.
Rated 04 May 2013
76
76th
Pretty damn entertaining. If the rest of the film had been as bloody and sleazy as the first 15 minutes, and if the majority of the main action scenes weren't over within minutes, it could've been fantastic. I might be alone here but I definitely picked up on some things that seemed like they were influential in the Onimusha series, specifically the music. I'd normally avoid the English dub, but this has the exclusive line of "Don't let it cross your mind that I wouldn't mind raping a dead girl"
Rated 09 May 2013
70
54th
Anime action schlock. If that's something you can get behind for an hour and a half, this is the movie for you.
Rated 01 Feb 2014
74
61st
I have never been a big fan of animé but the full-length movies always intrigued me. And Ninja Scroll is a prime example of a solid animé movie. I loved the 'story-within-a-story' aspect, the character design was brilliant as well; you are never in doubt as to who is good and who is bad. Plus, it is packed with action! Ninja Scroll does tend to become a bit static in the longer dialogue scenes but only in the sense that it is so fast and action-packed that a simple pause seems to take hours.
Rated 03 Jul 2014
79
84th
Hyperviolent ninja mayhem! A fun watch that doesn't require a lot of thinking.
Rated 15 Jul 2015
25
4th
This is sheer exploitation, plain and simple. After the first half hour, it gets a little better when it turns into a lightly-plotted string of Metal Gear Solid boss battles, but it's never long until the next unnecessarily graphic monster rape, misogynistic scenes of gratuitous nudity, or mindless gore. This is definitely not the type of anime that I enjoy.
Rated 04 Aug 2015
75
79th
It had some off moments, but for what it was worth it was pretty good.
Rated 17 Feb 2016
83
51st
The movie layers over top its foundation as a samurai film with an array of pulp influences. There's elements of pulpy romance, affairs and betrayal, political intrigue, and fantasy and horror, without feeling weighed down. The sex and violence are gratuitous and exploitive. It's a grindhouse picture in the best way possible, as well as unique given its animated form. The animation is stylish and visceral. The score is surprisingly distinctive and inventive, sometimes exciting, sometimes eerie.
Rated 16 Aug 2016
10
56th
extremely awesome. lots of nice rape-e ness and gore which is always a positive.
Rated 24 Jun 2017
69
46th
has a grim fatalist beauty, like pecinpah's "cross of iron". COI is a finer example.
Rated 03 Feb 2018
72
82nd
Quite enjoyable and one of the most extreme mainstream anime out there. The blood, violence and eroticism are all well done and moves the film along at a brisk pace. This is clearly pure fantasy in this flick with ninja, samurai and demons all battling one another which is what makes it special, the story is really just a side thought.
Rated 04 Apr 2019
2
21st
Hailed as a popularizer of anime outside of Japan, but lacking the sophistication and taste of contemporaries like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, or the collected Ghibli works. That's okay, genre films are fine, and this has some creative and ultraviolent set pieces. Even so, its list of shortcomings is long: the animation is boring, it's edited to accommodate commercial breaks, the adolescent depiction of sexuality is cringeworthy, and the supernatural elements are fairly standard anime stuff. Meh.
Rated 19 Jun 2020
100
99th
Masterpiece
Rated 23 Dec 2022
68
84th
It's a degenerate dark fantasy ninja film. And it's freaking awesome. It definitely reminds me of Berserk. The dialogue is tropey, but the film is more intelligent than people probably give it credit for. It's intelligent and imaginative in the fight scenes and characters.

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