Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll is a Japanese action thriller anime, set in feudal Japan, by critically acclaimed director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The movie was released on June 5, 1993 and received a Western release on December 6, 1996.

Summary

Jubei is wandering noble sword for hire but when a chance meeting leads him to save young ninja woman from rape he makes enemies with a group of demonic humans. Jubei and the woman part ways but later a government spy forces Jubei to join up with her again and investigate the mysterious death of an entire village. The investigation reveals a conspiracy involving the demons and a man from Jubei’s past who is supposed to be dead. As they get closer to the truth the demons close in on them and pretty soon Jubei finds himself in a deadly fight with many super strong inhuman opponents.

Jubei Kibagami

ubeii is a self hiring Ninja who roams the side of feudal Japan. He meets up with an old man named Dakuwan (looks like Niccotine from Samuri Showdown). Together, with a female ninja named Kagero, the battle against the evil Shogunate government. Unfortunately for these 3, the government has the 8 devils of Kimon, who prove to be quite lethal adversaries. Jubei is known for his expert sword fighting, and lightning fast body attacks.
Jubei is a very intelligent and calculating person. He has very sharp wits and is very good with a sword and making attack and defense strategies. He's basically the perfectly well rounded warrior. No matter what the odds, Jubei will always fight with all of his heart if it's something he believes in.

Kagero

Kagero is the only female warrior of the Koga Ninja that is sent to investigate the mysterious deaths in Shimota village due to an even more mysterious plague. Her main job is as a "poison taster" for her master's food. It turns out that she is totally immune to poison, due the fact that her blood itself is a deadly poison. Merely touching her could be fatal. Throughout her existance she has been thoroughly abused...

Dakuwan

Dakuwan is a spy for the Tokugawa clan who is opposing Shogun of the dark's Toyatome clan. He is a shrewd and underhanded (although not evil) little man. Underestimating him because of his size would be a major mistake. He, like Jubei, is very clever, but unlike Jubei, is a little sadistic.



Benisato

Benisato's special ability is to control snakes.. and shed her skin like one. At one point her body is covered with living tatoos of snakes that come off and turn into real snakes. She is Gemma's lover and the devil that discovered who Jubei was (after Tessai left an imprint of Jubei's face in his hand). She also has the ability to possess people and cause them to burst open with snakes (i.e. the old lady chanting the sutra in the desserted temple). She is very taunting about her relationship with Gemma to Yurimaru, which is reason for the "tension" between them.

Lord Himuro Gemma

Himuro Gemma is Jubei's main nemesis... but he was even before the Devils of Kimon. It turns out that Gemma had betrayed Jubei and tricked Jubei's own clan into trying to kill him. In turn, Jubei was forced to kill the Yamashiro clan ninjas (in self-defense) and then had to avenge their deaths by killing Gemma... and he did just that. (He decapitated Gemma while he was riding a horse).

However, Gemma can reincarnate himself. When Jubei cut his head off, it reconnected itself to his body.

Mushizo

Mushizo has a very strange ability to control wasps. Not only can he talk to and command them, but he actually has a hive in his back. When Jubei slashes his back open the wasps attack him. Mushizo attacks with a 2 pronged pitch fork type weapon, and has a "throat needle" which he can spit out of his mouth. The only thing is he really shouldn't go near water. He is also the one who reveals to Jubei that Gemma has the ability to regenerate himself (while they are fighting in the mill type building).

Shijima

Shijima has many strange abilities. He can control dead bodies (and live ones too!) like they were puppets, he can travel freely through shadows, and he has the ability to multiply himself into "decoys". Actually, it is the illusion of him multiplying. His main weapon is his mechanical claw which he can throw very fast out of the shadows. He throws it at Dakuwan, and is amazed that he avoided it... all it did was pin his clothes to a tree. A pretty nifty enemy to Jubei, but not all that bright.

Tessai

Tessai is the devil responsible for killing all but three of the Koga ninja team (Yurimaru killed one, Zakuro later kills Hanza, and Kagero survives).

Tessai's special ability is to turn his entire body into stone (well not all of his body...), and he is huge!. He also hurls a gigantic double-edged, double-sided sword which cuts through anything in its path, and acts like a boomerang. It slices, it dices, goes through trees, people, just about anything! Somehow, he almost always catches it...

Tessai also has a very bad temper and hates Jubei. In fact, Tessai was the first devil that Jubei ran into... and he is the one that Jubei must save Kagero from. If Tessai had not made the mistake on the night before of kissing Kagero (who is poisonous to the touch) he probably would have had no problem defeating Jubei when they met the following day.

Utsutsu Mujuro

Mujuro is an amazing swordsman... even though he is blind. He is also apparently very strong, due to the fact that he was supporting Jubei's sword when he and Kagero were scaling a cliff. (He also has very cool hair!) In order to avoid losing to him, Jubei had to eliminate all noise that he was making... one sound and it was all over. He was also amazingly fast and even fought Jubei in a forest, running through the trees! He told Jubei: "your sight is a weakness" when he started flashing his sword in Jubei's line of sight to blind him. He was right. Over all he would have to be my favorite devil, as he fought with honor (he could have easily dropped Jubei and Kagero down the cliff when they didn't even know he was there) and was a great warrior. Without the teamwork of Kagero and Jubei, Mujuru may have won the battle for Gemma.

Yurimaru

Yurimaru is second in command (under Gemma) of the eight devils. He is ruthless, but very non-threatening in his composure. His special ability is that of electrocuting his enemies with energy generated in his body. He uses little wires (resembling Jubei's line attached to his sword) and is very accurate with them. He desires to be Gemma's lover... and is very jealous of Benisato, whom Gemma seems to prefer. Sakuro has fallen in love with him, but he has absolutely no desire for her and treats her lower than dirt.

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