There are so many movies about Ninjas out there in a day and age when obtaining them is the easiest it has ever been. There are dozens upon dozens of flicks with just the word "Ninja" in the title alone, which only makes it more of a daunting task to actually find one that is worth your time. The good news? Not only does this movie feel like you are watching a live- action anime like Ninja Scroll, with all the over- the-top sword induced blood geysers raining across your screen but Lady Ninja (1998) actually stars an eye patch rocking Jubei Yagyu, the protagonist from the anime and novels. So for all you Ninja Scroll, Samurai Reincarnation, Reborn From Hell fans, you might want to check this out for the Jubei action alone. Based on the novel,'Yagyū Ninpōchō'(1964) by Futaro Yamada, the basic plot of the movie centres around legendary real life butt-kicker Jubei (portrayed by Hitoshi Ozawa, who also directs) as he leads the seven female survivors of the Hori clan on a revenge mission against the Seven Spears, acting as their demon protector and donning a gnarly oni mask to conceal his secret identity from the bad guys like a samurai Spiderman.
The quickest way to find out if this movie is for you or not is to ask yourself these three questions;
"Did I like the classic 90's anime Ninja Scroll?"
"Do I like ninja movies in general?"
"Would I like to see a movie where someone has the superpower to be able to absorb a Dragonball Z type energy blast up their who-ha and regurgitate it out of their mouth?"
You now have your answer. You're welcome.
PROS
- LOTS of blood (possibly the most I've ever seen in a Ninja flick since the 1983 flick Duel to the Death)
- Starts with the action right away (literally one of the best openers I've seen) and keeps a good pace all the way until the end credits.
- Some very inventive bad guys ("Eyeball Minions" Ninja was a favorite)
CONS
- Possibly TOO SEXY Ninja Magic (a 10 on the creepy raunchy meter sometimes - so a warning to those more sensitive)
- Weird wound logic. Somebody will get sliced one time and multiple blood fountains will pour out from random parts of the body that couldn't possibly have been hit with one swipe of the sword. Or could it?!?
- Confusing subplots. At some point one of the leads starts channeling the spirit of a blind swordsman Zatoichi type character and it is never fully explained why the bad guys can't tell it's this famous person with just their eyes closed pretending to be blind. Worse than Superman simply removing his glasses and slicking his hair back
FINAL SCORE
3/10 stars if you are an average movie goer but if you answered yes to all three questions like myself, Lady Ninja is an easy-
7/10 stars
