A great movie to just sit back and enjoy, not in the mind set of Akira, Ghost in the Shell or Perfect Blue just a great all out action film. When I first saw this movie I was amazed by the high quality of the action and the animation. To this day they both still stand the test of time. One of the best anime's set around the time period of feudal Japan, although the main reason to see this film is for the characters. Not so much for the good guys but the villains. The designs of the villains are outstanding and there individual powers uniquely brilliant.
Add a Review
-
mike-moran15 September 2003
-
lost-in-limbo28 November 2006Jubei, a rouge samurai who's wandering the land becomes involved unwillingly in the battle between an evil group of supernatural demon warriors known as the Eight Devils of Kimon and the country's government. After a town was wiped out overnight by a plague, so the eight devils could get in to get perform a certain mysterious task. Jubei soon is joined by a poisonous female samurai known as Kagero to find out the Devils' business is in this town, after one of them wipe out her ninja team and nearly her if it hadn't been for Jubei. He also encounters someone of the past, who he thought that he already had killed.
So I've gone back to my roots when anime was a childhood favourite of mine, but this one isn't for kids. I loved this flick when I was in my early teens, so watching it now was such a nostalgia trip and surprisingly it still holds up exceptionally well. The popular worldwide hit "Ninja Scroll", which was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (who brought us the excellent "Vampire Hunter D") paves way for a maturely slick, extremely violent and intensely erotic outlook. Everything about it comes thick and fast. It frenetically exploits the blood sprayed violence like a running tap, but still never loses that beautifully tender edge that seeps into many of the situations. The compelling premise isn't a mind-bender, although a bit jaded, but its simple origins only enhance the taut lay out and poignantly dark array of blisteringly out-there conflicts. It's surprising in it developments and you're left amazed by the film's personality and unique world that's created. It vividly captures the period of this atmospheric world. They're such an imaginatively diverse barrage of dynamic characters, with the likes of the rock-build demon to the hunchback whose hump are a wasp nest and a snake lady who can actually shed her skin. This gave it a real eastern mythological state and only proves that the bad guys had the most fun. The story might feel like its there only to set up one spirited confrontation after another and really it is. But the story-telling element is effectively defined, as most of the main players get enough time to mould there own back story and present their significance to where it could be heading. Jubei makes a cool anti-hero and Kagero fits nicely along side him. The skillful animation has class, agility, originality and distinguishing details making its way into these stunningly pristine visuals. An aggressively crisp sounding FX makes the experience a whole lot more impressive with such a wide range and the oriental twang found in the eerily mystic music score makes this presentation more brooding in its blinding passion and checkered emotion. Kawajiri faced no restrictions here, and was free to come up with an illustriously innovative and majestic anime piece that works in every frame.
"Ninja Scroll" is more highly involving than you would believe. Recommended. -
let me start out by saying i'm not an anime fan. that is to say, i have an interest in the genre, but for me it boils down to the big three; "ghost in the shell", "princess mononoke", and the movie this review is for. i'll have to explain that i'm reviewing this movie after seeing it an estimated 8 times at least, therefor i'm trying to think as if i'm seeing it for the first time. this presents the problem of wanting to rave for this movie, but knowing that it is one that truly gets better the more times you watch it. when the opening scene is over you'll give a sigh at the predictably bad diologue and spoon-fed character development coupled with the cartoon fantasy world. however, you're a fool if you don't stick with this movie. these flaws become faint as your engaged in the simple yet brilliant plot and you begin taking note of a few "wow, that was cool" moments that this movie is littered with. before you're 20 minutes into it your skepticism takes a back seat and you have no choice except to enjoy the ride.
i feel like this is a horrible place to stop the review, but in writing it i've reminded myself of how fun this movie is and i need to go watch it. so in conclusion; if you are looking for a movie that oozes entertainment: violence, sex, love, and intrigue. do not pass this up... really, don't. -
baumhenrik31 March 2019Ninja Scroll is definetly one of the biggest gems when it comes to traditional-ninja-mythology Anime. The story isn't too complicated but gives each character enough room to unfold their very own personality and ambitions. The pacing of this movie is perfectly balanced between smashing action scenes and calm dialogues. The great combination of sound fx music dark imagery create an absolutely fantastic mystic vibe so you can click in at any time and I guarantee you'll find yourself in a beautiful piece of art. The fight scenes are to this day one of the best the Anime genre has ever produced. Since every character has their own special set of abilities, skills and tricks every fight turns out to be a unique battle between masters of their very own art. Especially the diversity of the villains give the fights a nice kind of variety. Overall this is just a fantastic classic Anime movie with big impact to this day and an absolute must see for every true Anime fan.
-
starbase_7419 November 2003Ninja Scroll is easily one of my favorite anime movies. Great animation (the minimal movement in Japanimation far superior to the over-produced Disney cloned animation style), great story and characters, a decent running time - it all works for me.
Recently here in Australia, the movie has thankfully been re-released in the 10th Anniversary Uncut version. After a controversial screening on commercial TV some years ago, the video version was upgraded from MA to an R-Rating, and had some sex scenes cut. The new DVD has been restored, uncut.
A classic, highly entertaining and impressive anime - strongly recommended to Japanime newbies :) -
dee.reid5 August 2005"Ninja Scroll" is a relentlessly adult Anime' from none other than Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the director behind other notable film threats of the genre such as "Wicked City" (1987). "Ninja Scroll" is also one of the best Anime' films I've ever seen, as it contains more than its fair share of graphic swordplay combat and plenty of exposed (female) flesh, sex, and out-there mysticism.
It has one of those murky, hard-to-follow plots typical of a lot of Japanese animation, but it involves a wandering vagabond, Jubei, who also happens to be a master swordsman. He's the best there is, simply put. Like all heroes of his caliber, however, he's not without many demons haunting his past.
As the film opens in 17th-century feudal Japan, we already get a sense of just how skilled he is when he strikes down two would-be attackers but leaves a third one alive to tell of the lethal encounter. The main plot of "Ninja Scroll" gets underway when a lone female villager blindly wanders into a neighboring village bearing news that a mysterious plague has decimated her community.
The local government, fearing an epidemic, quarantines the village until an investigation can be completed. Mixed reports conflict with the official story of a plague, saying that men on horses were seen riding from the village the night before. The chamberlain sends a team of ninja warriors to the village to get to the bottom of what happened there. Along with them, the beautiful ninja warrior Kagero joins them, against the wishes of the team's leader.
But the team is ambushed and annihilated by an unseen presence in the woods while on their way to the village, leaving Kagero as the only survivor and held captive by her attacker, a monstrous rock of a man who proceeds to rape her. She is later rescued by Jubei, who takes down Kagero's captor. As it would turn out, Jubei and Kagero become unlikely allies, along with a wandering monk, as they each realize they've been swept up in a covert plot to overthrow the Japanese government.
It seems that Himuro Gemma, a former nemesis of Jubei, has enlisted the aid of The 8 Devils of Kimon, a fearsome army of warriors with supernatural abilities, to help him in his devious plans. Some of them include the aforementioned rock, the wasp fighter, the blind swordsman who challenges Jubei to a duel in a bamboo forest, and my personal favorite, the luscious Benisato, who can animate the snake tattoos on her naked body and command them to attack her opponent. So together, Jubei, Kagero, and the monk team up to defeat this supernatural threat to the government.
As with most mature Anime', "Ninja Scroll" does not come up short on the desserts (you know what I mean). (But, Kagero's rape scene should definitely turn away some viewers.) But aside from that and a twisted plot, it does deliver the goods in terms of identifiable characters you can (somewhat/almost) relate to. Jubei is the only "normal" character in the whole movie, being that he doesn't have any supernatural powers (aside from his extraordinary sword skills) and when he gets hurt, he bleeds. Kagero, on the other hand, has a few surprises of her own, as any man who sleeps with her will die because she is literally pretty poison; all of her being is so deadly that even a kiss could kill a man in seconds. Whoa.
However, this particular defense (or curse?) represents the basis of Kagero's greatest tragedy, in that she is unable to love anyone who touches her. It makes her the most well-rounded, deep and sympathetic female character in the entire movie (a rare find in Japanese animation), since most women are usually whores or are submissive or weaker when compared to men, and it makes her death that much more emotional and Jubei's quest to avenge her much more romantic.
The animation is fantastic and doesn't look dated that much at all. Since "Ninja Scroll" is one of the more notorious Anime' flicks out there, you have to wonder: When's this going to get the American cinematic treatment? I mean, after all, "Ninja Scroll" is one of the most popular Anime' flicks of all time. And since Hollywood's originality is drying up, they could be pretty thirsty for ideas, and comic books, Japanese horror movies, Anime' and Manga are all looking pretty ripe.
I honestly hope this doesn't happen. Besides, I don't think something like "Ninja Scroll" could translate that well into live-action anyways without looking ridiculous. The graphic violence won't translate either, since a live-action adaptation of "Ninja Scroll" would be justifiably rated "NC-17."
"Ninja Scroll" is truly one of the best Japanese animated films out there right now. Let it live on in notoriety, without intrusion from us greedy Americans.
10/10 -
TheLittleSongbird31 March 2012This week I was fortunate to watch three fantastic animes(which I love from watching the likes of Studio Ghibli) in a row, Akira, Ghost in the Shell and this, Ninja Scroll. Ninja Scroll captivated me from start to finish, with the ultra-violent scenes and gore it is perhaps not for all, but from an animation and storytelling perspective it is really one of the most engrossing animated films I have ever seen. The animation is stupendous, every action has so much detail but the backgrounds and colours have many moments of dark or ethereal beauty to them. The music is haunting and sweeping, the characters are interesting with a lot of depth and conflict in them, but other than the fast, clean and incredibly compelling action the star was the storytelling, often dark and poignant but never less than riveting. Overall, captivating from start to finish, a must see. 10/10 Bethany Cox
-
ruinously10 March 2005You need to see this. Ninja Scroll is a personal favorite of mine and I find many amazing aspects to this animated film.
The story, ninja action and characters are amazing. Jubei and Kigero's tale is more tragic then anything Shakespeare has thought up. The eight devils of Kimon are each interesting in their own way and some are sure to warrant more interest to you then others. By movie's end, you are sure to have felt many emotions as you watched Jubei's tale unfold.
Anyone who wants to write this off as low-class entertainment aimed at a skewed demographic must not have actually bothered to watch the film. This is high class art of the most important sense. A wonderful story with interesting characters and with enough action to fill four other movies. Ninja Scroll takes you on an adventure.
You need to see this. Highest recommendation. Please watch it with Japanese language track/ English subtitles. -
This movie started out rather fast with some cool action scenes especially involving the one rock dude that seemed very hard to kill. Then you get even more cool action sequences here and there till the end where the last action scene just does not measure up to previous ones. Still, for the most part this movie has enough action and violence to entertain a person. It has nudity too, but not really all that much compared to other anime movies out there. The lead ninja here gets poisoned rather early and has to find a cure and there is a bunch of other things too as we have a couple of rather cool enemy ninja for our heroes to fight off. Then the movie ends just in a rather weak fashion on a boat, I would like to suggest to the people who made this film you save your coolest villains to the finale not the beginning and middle of the film. So overall I enjoyed this movie, however, it needed work for as strong as most of the movie is it suffers from a anti climatic ending.
-
entregan10 August 2003There are some movies that take you to a different place. There are some movies that make people cry and some that make people think. This is a movie that does none of the above. It just provides entertainment. It wasn't made to be the greatest movie of all time - even though the creators may think it is. Yet, who doesn't think the movie they put out is the greatest masterpiece ever made? The point I'm trying to make is that Ninja Scroll was not made to appeal to everybody. It is just the imagination of some men somewhere and they thought it was good enough to put on the screen and make money.
To all of the people trying to disseminate the movie and peel out meaning, "What are you trying to prove?" There is blood, gore, some scenes not suitable for children and even some small-minded adults, and bad language, in general. To all the people who want to sit down and see a well-executed anime movie with a plot with few holes and scenes that are unbelievable few and far between (even in the fantasy animation realm) while not have to think while watching - this is it. The dubbed version was just as good as the subbed (sub-titled) version. All you have to do is enjoy.
So if you haven't seen the movie and would like not a mind trip like Donnie Darko or 12 Monkeys, or not to have a moment that all is right for the character even though he went though garbage in the beginning like A Beautiful Mind or The Shawshank Redemption, or not to have a good cry like The Green Mile or Braveheart or not even to have to interpret your own meaning of what's really going on like Akira or Princess Mononoke, then just sit back and see how animation and that feeling that makes you wonder 'how did they think to put that in the movie' collides then watch Ninja Scroll. If you go into it with an open mind then you will see why the action fans believe it one of the greatest anime movies ever made. -
Phil_H27 February 2000As far as anime goes, this is a good example of what can be accomplished: a story that translates well. There are too many bad examples, but here (along with Akira) is a good one. Now there's a sequel... Looks like Jubei will always have ninja problems.
Well worth the seeing. An excellent example of Japanese anime artistry (drawing and storytelling). -
winstonsmith_8416 February 2002Well, well, well. So what they say is true. This movie really is the best anime. From the cover, and from just the name itself, the movie didn't really appeal to me. I mean, I liked animes only because of their sci-fi nature, I liked the machine vs. man aspect of anime... and then I saw this movie!!
I've seen other anime, such as Princess Monoke, but no other anime I have seen even closely compares with Ninja Scroll. The story is pure brilliance, the animation is spectacular, and there are elements of superb well-crafted love-plot, action, and any other element a great story needs. If you liked Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, then see this gem of a movie.
I don't want to go into much other detail, other than just reccommend it to people. It's simply the best of anime. I was lucky I saved it! -
extremezero6 September 2000From all the hype and good reviews I have heard various friends of mine tell me about Ninja Scroll, I was expecting something very astonishing along the lines of Akira or Laputa, but what I recieved was a blood bath, that some how had a love story weaved into it, and at least two other very altering scenes. Yet, with all this "great" aspects, the story line was weaker that I would have liked, the direction was very noticable and the events were mostly predicatable.
Even though the story line fell short of par in my league, I was still pathetically entertained by the very excitement of this ninja hack-n-slash film, and would recommend it, but would not give it all the hype that it recieved. -
I was desperately attempting to find something remotely watchable out of my local Blockbusters' pisspoor 'Gold' collection to complete the three for a fiver deal when I saw 'Ninja Scroll'. The last and only other anime I've seen was a showing of Akira at a local indie cinema a few years back and it was really good fun, well animated, interesting plot, etc. so I thought I'd give this a go. Unfortunately, Ninja Scroll is a big steaming pile of tosh. You'd find more plot depth and character development in an episode of Pokemon, which, in a way, is what this closely resembles. Only with more decapitations. On the plus side I guess it fulfils most of the stereotypes for this kind of thing: gallons of blood spraying out of peoples necks, magical creatures, naive love story, etc. What almost saved the experience for me though was the unintentionally funny DVD extras; first an 'inside the actors studio' with two of the American voice artists:
''What preparation do you do for your roles?'' ''I get in my car and drive to the studio.''
And an interview with an obviously harassed and irritated director:
Apparently serious interviewer: ''Was it your intention to realistically portray female lifestyles in feudal era Japan?'' (note: every female character in the film is a beautiful, scantily clad ninja assassin with ridiculous superpowers) Director: ''No.'' -
granitor15 November 2003Ninja Scroll is an Anime Classic which is usually mentioned in the same sentence as Vampire Hunter D or Fist of the North Star. However, I believe that as a movie, Ninja Scroll has a wider appeal.
The visuals are top-notch, and the action is fast and clean. The sword fights can be watched frame-by-frame (and may have to be, if you want to really understand what is happening) and your awe at the quality of this movie will just increase. Do I sound like an obsessed fan? Because this movie impresses me so greatly that I cannot over-rate it.
The story and characters, though, are the main focus of this presentation, which each battle, duel, and other confrontation serving to move the story forward, develop, reveal, or eliminate the characters - all of whom are revealed in a way that is engrossing.
Some maybe turned off by the gore, violence, and low value placed on human life; but that is what this time period was about. This is definately for mature audiences.
If you do not yet own a copy of this, watch it as if you had never heard of it and enjoy the story developing. Then be plesantly surprised by the superficial stuff - action, animation, sound, and depth of characters. -
Ninja Scroll is memorable in that, for its intended audience, it's got a lot of very well animated violent sequences, some rough but sharply defined characterizations, and a journey/story that is not too hard to figure out. It's got that samurai edge of 17th century lore from Japan, but it's also kinetic in its style, and abrasive at times in what it reaches to accomplish. It's also fun, most of the time, which is hard to be said for some very finely animated but incoherent samurai anime flicks or shows. After a village is destroyed by some weird plague, a samurai goes on a quest to find a dangerous foe who's seeking to overthrow the government. In the meantime, however, this quest involves facing off against deranged, fantastical demons set up by this head-foe. Of course a female counterpart (after being recovered by a near-vicious rape) accompanies him on the journey as well. It's an anime film that more than anything gives some individually memorable sequences, where style is really the key. The director, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, understands the importance of giving the scenes of daring-do a quick (but not too quick) power and splash of violence this level of dark, mature anime requires. But there are also some scenes of just plain dialog that work well too. Like my favorite 'cult' anime film, Fist of the North Star, Ninja Scroll has a story that needs a little paying attention to, but not by a lot. It's more concerned with the fates of the major players, and the side characters that come in and out (including a mysterious old-man character, as almost every anime film has one) are meant more for comic relief or moments of subtle intrigue. With an overwhelming climax, and some very solid swordplay throughout, Ninja Scroll is a must see for genre fans, and it might appeal to non-anime animation fans as well. It's got the thrills of regular samurai films, and the imagination, often over-the-top but sometimes darkly funny, that can only come from 90's era anime.
-
fire-lizard14 March 2009This is a review coming from a true anime fan. I must say that it really is a great film to watch. The animation is done brilliantly and the English dubbing is done realistically.
The characters are all quite likable when they are made to be liked. The villains are very scary and the stone guy at the start, damn i won't want to mess with him. The animated scenery is amazing for the nineties. It really makes the characters stand out.
The plot is very tense and exciting. Its about a young hero who has to protect a girl who has poisonous body which kills any man who sleeps with her from evil and demonic beings. He is assisted by a con-man and faces someone from his past. This does seem pretty similar to other sorts of films but it is still very gripping.
But don't let this cross your mind. It is not a kids cartoon. This is strictly for adults. This is very graphic and the most violent anime since the legendary AKIRA. There is also a rather disturbing rape scene near the start which has definitely earned its 18 rating. -
As the trailer says. Ninja Scroll is one of the better action movies i have seen from Japan, and explosive anime action, that in times is daring, sexy and passionately beautiful, as it shows Japan in carnage. Plague's spread through the towns, well an evil force lurks, with 8 devils rise to take the land. It all begins with Jubei Kibagami (Kôichi Yamadera, Japanese version) a traveller who passes town to town with a hidden past. Well coming across Kagero (Emi Shinohara) a woman who tests food in her village, and has the curse of any man who makes love to her will die. It's beautiful in parts, and the animation is superb. The directing from Kevin Seymour and Yoshiaki Kawajiri is superb. Also written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Winner of the 1993 film festival of Japan and worth the watch, i've owned it since i was 16 now, and still gets a play from time to time. 8/10
-
thomas-hardcastle-219 April 2008If you want to see a poor version of this, watch Sword For Truth. If you want to watch how Manga should be made, this is the film for you! The characters match those of folk tales, yet are completely believable, and lovable/detestable at the same time. The storyline is interesting, and the relationships between the characters.
The animation is terrific, and even though this film was made in 1993, it still captivates today.
Fans of this genre will enjoy this movie, but so will people who aren't into animé.
This is a terrific film, and one that you will be able to watch over and over again, if you love quality. -
scobbah22 April 2004Ninja scroll is probably one of the best ninja animes ever made. I'm totally fascinated about how the works of effects, and how they choose to tell the story during the action scenes, such as ninjas fighting. I still do wonder though, if this piece shouldn't have been just a little bit longer. I sort of demand more background information about the characters and about Gemma and Jubeis past.
It's for sure one of the best ninja animes out there that I've seen this far in my life. I'll give it a 7, very close to an 8 and it could've been even higher if it would have been like I described it earlier. See this or be square :-) -
Sneaky_Pete_XXVII14 December 2003This movie has SO much going for it. The first I want to mention is the creativity. Anime in general, usually shows a lot of creativity. And this film ensures that. The characters are very unique and all have interesting aspects to them. Whether it be physically or mentally. A great example of this is the character Yurimaru. This is a great character because we see that he has an goal, a desire, an attitude, and an ability to conduct electricity. All the characters are like this, only in different, yet good way. And that's one reason I love this film.
Another reason why I love this film is because of the delays/detours the story branches off into every time Jubei encounters another enemy. For instances his second encounter with Tessai. The story doesn't go TOO far astray. And one of he reasons that we know this, because Jubei is always willing to move on, with the twist of his slow death (Simply because he has to). This brings a bit of variety and integrity to the film.
And finally the action. I strongly believe that if you have an interesting story and creativity, you won't look at the action with such cynical eyes. Movies that want to be extremely flashy with the action, don't make it as interesting because the viewer knows it for show, and not for the story. But this movie doesn't cross the boundary of action, and move across the territory story, that many films today do. So I can appreciate the action more simply because it fits well.
All these aspects of the film (and some other minor ones), make "Ninja Scroll" (Jûbei ninpûchô), one of the few ideal Anime films of all time. -
dustdiamond16 October 2018Its just too sweet! it makes me happy just watching it. the characters are awsome and so is the music!
-
f-luchetta-785-4457248 October 2014I watched this film because it is an anime very well known outside of Japan and considered very important, "the founder of anime ninja in the world".
in my opinion is much less interesting than other anime like "Ghost in the Shell" and "Akira" (to name two well known abroad)
the story is fairly trivial , the hero, the girl, the love between them, the old Japanese wise, the (supernatural) enemies.
the images are very beautiful, very raw and shocking, the most important part of the movie.
In conclusion I would say a lot less than its reputation. 6/10 -
Robotic_Castro26 January 2002If this movie is worth seeing at all, it's to give you a perspective on how low-brow the majority of denizens of this horrible, horrible world are. Ninja Scroll neatly embodies all the worst things about anime, and through its popularity is greatly responsible for the negative stereotypes about anime held by the US mass media.
Ninja Scroll belongs to the 'ultraviolent' class of anime, in which it is common for a sword wound to gush approximately 150 gallons of blood. In order for a body to hold this much blood, it must be stored in an extremely high pressure gaseous state, because whenever someone is cut they emit an 8 foot high geyser of blood. Of course ridiculous gore isn't enough to please Ninja Scroll's upscale cadre of fans, so the "film"-makers cleverly added copious amounts of sex to keep their attention. And while many anime movies include so-called "fan service", Ninja Scroll uses less subtlety than a 1970's french porno movie directed by Larry Flynt and Wilt Chamberlain. Now you may be thinking, "Superfluous sex and violence? How can this movie possibly go wrong?" so let me continue to the discussion of the plot and acting.
**Very Minor Spoilers** [Note: It's not possible to -spoil- Ninja Scroll] Ninja Scroll follows the basic plotline used by many serial comicbooks(or graphic novella if you prefer). Mysterious-Swordsman-Wanderer-Guy with fantastic skills and an unknown past appears and uses his fighting skills to beat Evil-Ugly-Brute-Guy. Mysterious-Ancient-Sage-Guy shows up and tells M-S-W-G that he needs defeat Super-Evil-Strong-Devil-Boss. M-S-W-G reluctantly agrees, and he and M-A-S-G go on their quest to defeat S-E-S-D-B, occasionally aided by Pointless-Ninja-Girl-Sex-Object. Along the way they meet many powerful hyphenated enemies serving S-E-S-D-B, who are defeated by M-S-W-G[note: from now on I'll just refer to him as Jubei{note-in-a-note: Jubei's character is supposedly 'based on' the famous Japanese warrior Yagyo Jubei, however their only connection is the name}]. I'm sure you can figure out the rest of the storyline by yourself. **End of Spoilers**
Although the enemies are all based on previous anime cliches(just how many guys with invisible razor strings are there in the world?) they still remain interesting foes for Jubei to face. The major problem is that there are just so many of these boss-type enemies that each of Jubei's showdowns with them last about 15 seconds or less after the enemy gets done introducing their special powers. Likewise, the story skips from fight to fight with little to no story/character building in between. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as the acting in this movie is abysmal. I've only seen the dubbed version of Ninja Scroll, so these comments do not reflect the original Japanese voice acting. Being that this movie was released in the US in 1995, it's not surprising that the voice acting is flat and lackluster. Only recently have we started seeing quality dubbed anime(like the excellent Sol Bianca: The Legacy). With a pure action movie such as Ninja Scroll, good voice acting is not expected, or really needed. However, there is little excuse for the poorly written english dialogue. Catering to its expected audience, the dub is full of stupid, unnecessary profanity, presumably to make it seem more edgy. It should be noted that with one exception, there are no profane words in Japanese, so a proper translation should only contain profanity to express extreme emotions. To round out my critique I should say that the animation quality is not as good as some movies released in the same time period(Ghost in the Shell), it is still pretty decent.
In closing, let me say that I'm constantly disgusted by the number of people who rate this Ninja Scroll as their favorite anime. As an anime fan you should probably watch this at least once, if only to see what the fuss is about. If you ARE a fan of Ninja Scroll and similar anime, let me give you this advice. Watch Berserk, then watch Rurouni Kenshin first OVA(Samurai X: Romantic Tales of the Meiji Era in the US), then watch Record of Lodoss War, then Vision of Escaflowne. By then you should be have been slowly weaned over from ultraviolent anime. If not, take my other advice and jump into a deep pit.
4/10 on quality 1/10 on principle