I was surprised that it took me this long to come across this movie. I'm a big fan of cheesy japanese ninja stuff and that era of tokusatsu and I had thought I'd seen it all by now.
To date this is the only live action movie directed by manga legend Go Nagai of Devilman fame, and it's not bad all things considered. It looks amazingly hilariously cheap (the main ninja's outfit is literally just an overall and his facial battle scars were applied with a black marker) but there is some surprisingly solid action and fx to keep you entertained throughout the refreshingly short running time.
What makes this movie so compelling is how odd and contradictory it feels. It reminds you of many clashing things all at once. It has the feeling of a childrens' tokusatsu show like super sentai but it's gory, slightly sexual and features decapitations. At the same time it also feels like someone spliced together all the cutscenes from a rightfully forgotten Sega Saturn game from the mid-90s a la Shinobi Legions into one semi-coherent movie. Then there are moments where it plays like those early manga adaptations (both animated and live action). The faces, mannerisms and violence are definitely very reminiscent of that late 80s/early 90s era of japanese animation, especially the cheaper OVAs. Due to the strange choices in locations and settings it definitely has that same slightly otherworldly feel these movies had.
It's infectiously enthusiastic despite or maybe because of its miniscule budget. To add further fuel to the confusion its look and feel is that of an 80s shot on vhs ninja fan film by a couple of kids in the US who knew next to nothing about Japan, ninjas and martial arts, yet it features talented performers that know how to act and perform martial arts. It's nothing spectacular but leagues beyond what you would expect from such a film and it clashes wildly with the raggedy look of the production. There are even some fun creature effects here and there or a creative camera swoop.
I wish there was more gore though. There's the occassional burst, but the traditional Sanjuro/Lone Wolf and Cub style blood fountains would have made this even better. I can imagine this was more of a money issue than anything as Ninja Dragon appears to have had about the same budget as Zombie Self Defense Force and in that one they literally had the entire floor wrapped in cling film to avoid stains.
This film is just so genuine and intriguing I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm going to make it my life's mission to find out why it exists and why it is the way it is. It's really tough to recommend. It's not objectively good on any level, it just happens to feed a couple of my specific trash itches. It is very entertaining though from beginning to end.
