Ninja Scroll (Jubei Ninpucho)
Boss boss fights

// Synopsis: Jubei is a wandering swordsman. He's managed to stay alive this long by minding his own business. One night he uncharacteristically rescues a woman from a monster of a man. He finds that he has gotten in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens to overthrow Japan. Together with the female ninja he saved, he realizes that he's more involved than he cares to be.

// Review: Jubei reminded me a lot of Cowboy Bebop's Spike Spiegel. He seems to only care about himself and his own well being but is actually driven more by decency and morality than self-preservation. The main storyline isn't very compelling and it really isn't well developed. Jubei is basically trying to stay alive after getting involved in something more than he bargained for. Only at the end does he learn that an old foe is connected to a larger conspiracy, which is then only explained in the final act.

/ The appeal of this movie is the boss fights. Several different ones are sent to kill Jubei and his companions one at a time and they each have a unique ability or fighting technique. Instead of just over-coming them with hack and slashing, Jubei must adapt his own fighting style and use his head to defeat each one. Most of the battles were pretty interesting and I found myself looking forward to see how he would combat the next one.

/ The romantic sub-plot isn't very inspired. There is one female ninja who lacks for personality, but since she is the chick there's an obligatory love connection. Her only real purpose seemed to be to get in harm's way for Jubei to bail out. Probably one of the better characters was the mysterious old man. Ultimately he is on the good side but he employs unsavory tactics to accomplish his mission and has no problem sacrificing Jubei or the chick as long as it keeps his hands from getting dirty.

/ When the master plan is revealed, you're left feeling very blah about it and it seems like the it was just a weak vehicle for Jubei to get into these boss fights. It was a little absurd how much damage Jubei was able to take. For a normal man, one shouldn't be able to be thrown through stone walls, be severely electrocuted, or pummeled by someone who can shatter boulders with his fist.

// Wrap up: Save for 3 very gratuitous sex scenes, this title is worth it just to watch the fight scenes. They got me to go out and rent the follow up title which was immensely disappointing and unsurprsingly never completed.

Entertainment rating: 3