Jûbê ninpûchô: Ryûhôgyoku-hen

Alright, I did read a few comments at the IMDb boards before I decided to watch the TV-series of Ninja Scroll. And I have to admit that it weren't that lame as I have seen some people ranting around in the forums claiming it to be. I actually enjoyed it quite well, and I do think I captured at least some sort of vibration being radiated from the series that reminded me of the masterpiece (yes I'm speaking about the movie). The story develops.. well it does in some way throughout the series, but as some other users mentioned, there are a set of duels that are not as good as those from the movie and the majority of duels are according to me taking up too much space throughout the shows (and will get quite repetitive). But I wouldn't deny that I would recommend this to all those who liked the movie - and of course anyone who's into ninja-style anime. The series are quite braindead in general though (which might be a good think depending on what you're looking for) and it doesn't require much attention from the viewers side nor concentration. I would probably give this one a 6 or a 7 out of 10, but if you yet haven't seen the movie I'd suggest you do that before you'll hook yourself up with the TV-series...

The animation is good, but the music (an instrumental combination of techno and traditional Japanese) made it feel like a video game. The ideas are original, but then again, completely bogus: electric ninjas, mutant ninjas, surgeon ninjas, undead ninjas, huge ninjas, parasitic ninjas... you get the idea.

The movie was a great thing, not only as animation is concerned, but also as the plot unraveled. This one is mostly "Jubei is cool". True enough, he kills just about everything that moves, and strong and weird opponents they are: electric ninjas, mutant ninjas... :)

The end is just as pointless as the rest of the series, but you feel good looking at it. It has the feel of Might and Magic (1 to 5) and you half expect to find out in the end that the entire land magic has the source in an extraterrestrial spaceship. Fun.

This Tv show is okay, but nowhere near as good as the movie. After watching the 1st 4 episodes, I was not very entertained. The characters are nowhere near as cool and innovative as the movie, but try too hard to be, and the story is pretty mediocre. Jubei has this new power where all he has to do is draw his sword and people are sliced in half. And theres all these pointless duels by characters who have lame powers (tree girl, girl with long hair that can control her hair, translucent glowing guy who controls moths, cat girl etc.) They even have robots and all this other crap that shouldn't be in Ninja Scroll. Every villain in the movie was really cool. Sadly everyone on the show is lame.

I read some mixed reviews of this anime so I was hesitant to watch it, in the end I ended up getting what I expected, not better or worse than what I expected. What I'd like to say is, firstly, if you haven't watched the full Ninja Scroll movie please watch it, its one of the best animes there is. Secondly, if you have seen the full movie, I would recommend you rent this rather than buy it.

One of the main things I didn't like about this anime was the animation itself, I don't know why but it seemed as if it was animated for a Saturday morning kids show. Don't get me wrong, if you're expected blood and gore don't worry you will not be let down, there's plenty of it. If you can imagine the different in animation from the early 90's X-Men cartoon to the new X-Men Evolution cartoon, that is sort of the change the animation has undertaken from the Ninja Scroll movie to the series. Another letdown is the bland and basic story. Its not like I can spoil the story for you much but don't expect any twists and turns here, it basically Jubei protecting an important princess having to face a more deadlier enemy every episode, easily defeating every one of them.

I suppose this review sounds negative so far, but please don't take it that way, I did enjoy this anime somewhat and thats mainly because I love the Ninja Scroll type anime action, and in the series there is a LOT of it. Not one episode has a lack of fighting, and you get to see Jubei use some of his cool signature moves from the movie quite a few times and it just looks really cool. So to sum it all up, I'd say rent this series if you can, if you can't borrow it from a friend and buy it if you like it.

I actually love this series. I found it very entertaining. I've heard some missed reviews. Never go into any movie, anime, etc expecting something better or greater than the original. I hate that and i don't do it until watching it first. And that's what you shouldn't. And that's probably the results of the negative reviews 13 episodes of great adventures and excellent battles. I recommended this to any Anime fan around. WATCH IT!! You wont' regret it.

Better yet Buy it. Also check out the soundtrack. i enjoyed the music as must as the movie. I give it a 9/10. It will have you wanting more after it has went off.