Ninja Scroll TV series
When you think of ninja in history, you think of Japanese guys dressed all in black pajamas, those funny toed-socks (tabi) and masks. They bounce around and throw flash and smoke bombs and do crazy flips. In the Capcom Streetfighter games, ninja are deadly kunai (dagger) and shuriken (throwing star) throwing fighters who wear baggy pants, cloth wraps and compete in world fighting competitions. In my Angel Ace manga, ninja are sexy killer babes who wear skimpy bikinis. Well, we were all wrong. Dead wrong. Well, at least according to Ninja Scroll.
In the world of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll, ninja means weirdo. Or mutant. Or monster. In the classic 1993 anime movie, we saw the Eight Devils of Kimon, eight ninja who ranged from a giant who can transform into a rock-skinned behemoth to an effeminate assassin who uses silken cords to strangle and electrocute people. Or there was that weirdo who looked like Quasimodo with a beehive in place of a hump on his back. Weird stuff. Well, the new Ninja Scroll TV series (Jubei Ninpucho: Chapter of the Dragon Treasure Ball) has even freakier villains to throw at you.
Yep, in Ninja Scroll, ninjas are alien-like beings who often take on beastly or animalistic aspects. Or have inexplicably cybernetic implants and prosthesis. Or have powers of magic or over nature. And they wear everything from armor to robes to skimpy thongs and even less (for the ladies). Now THESE are ninja. Heh.
The Ninja Scroll TV series started airing in Japan's WOWOW channel some time ago, and will run for 13 episodes. The story is set after the original movie, and will feature the same hero, Jubei Kibagami the wandering invincible masterless ninja warrior. Aside from Jubei the sly, shriveled monk/government spy Dakuan will also appear, but sadly (but not surprisingly) the departed Kagero will not be making an appearance.
The story concerns a powerful icon known as the Dragon Orb, and how two powerful and deadly ninja clans are vying for possession of it. One of these clans is supposedly the Kimon Clan, whose scions were Jubei's opponents in the movie.
So far I haven't yet gotten my grubby paws on the episodes, but I have seen the official Japanese website and the various designs for the characters. Let me say right now that the various monster ninja that will appear in many of the episodes (many of the episodes feature at least one to three ninja weirdos introduced) are wild and stay quite close to the over-the-top baddies from the movie. We're talking things like a GIANT TRANSFORMING CAR ninja, a WILD CAT GIRL ninja, a ONE-EYED CYBORG ninja, a SPIDER MUMMY ninja and MORE. Whew.
As for the sex and violence, we probably can't expect the same magnitude as the movie, but suffice to say that the blood will flow when Jubei meets his victims- er, enemies, in battle. Ninja Scroll TV series should appeal greatly to fans of samurai/ninja films, action anime and of course, fans of the movie. I'll be giving this a proper review when I get hold of DVDs or VCDs. Soon, soon...
When you think of ninja in history, you think of Japanese guys dressed all in black pajamas, those funny toed-socks (tabi) and masks. They bounce around and throw flash and smoke bombs and do crazy flips. In the Capcom Streetfighter games, ninja are deadly kunai (dagger) and shuriken (throwing star) throwing fighters who wear baggy pants, cloth wraps and compete in world fighting competitions. In my Angel Ace manga, ninja are sexy killer babes who wear skimpy bikinis. Well, we were all wrong. Dead wrong. Well, at least according to Ninja Scroll.
In the world of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll, ninja means weirdo. Or mutant. Or monster. In the classic 1993 anime movie, we saw the Eight Devils of Kimon, eight ninja who ranged from a giant who can transform into a rock-skinned behemoth to an effeminate assassin who uses silken cords to strangle and electrocute people. Or there was that weirdo who looked like Quasimodo with a beehive in place of a hump on his back. Weird stuff. Well, the new Ninja Scroll TV series (Jubei Ninpucho: Chapter of the Dragon Treasure Ball) has even freakier villains to throw at you.
Yep, in Ninja Scroll, ninjas are alien-like beings who often take on beastly or animalistic aspects. Or have inexplicably cybernetic implants and prosthesis. Or have powers of magic or over nature. And they wear everything from armor to robes to skimpy thongs and even less (for the ladies). Now THESE are ninja. Heh.
The Ninja Scroll TV series started airing in Japan's WOWOW channel some time ago, and will run for 13 episodes. The story is set after the original movie, and will feature the same hero, Jubei Kibagami the wandering invincible masterless ninja warrior. Aside from Jubei the sly, shriveled monk/government spy Dakuan will also appear, but sadly (but not surprisingly) the departed Kagero will not be making an appearance.
The story concerns a powerful icon known as the Dragon Orb, and how two powerful and deadly ninja clans are vying for possession of it. One of these clans is supposedly the Kimon Clan, whose scions were Jubei's opponents in the movie.
So far I haven't yet gotten my grubby paws on the episodes, but I have seen the official Japanese website and the various designs for the characters. Let me say right now that the various monster ninja that will appear in many of the episodes (many of the episodes feature at least one to three ninja weirdos introduced) are wild and stay quite close to the over-the-top baddies from the movie. We're talking things like a GIANT TRANSFORMING CAR ninja, a WILD CAT GIRL ninja, a ONE-EYED CYBORG ninja, a SPIDER MUMMY ninja and MORE. Whew.
As for the sex and violence, we probably can't expect the same magnitude as the movie, but suffice to say that the blood will flow when Jubei meets his victims- er, enemies, in battle. Ninja Scroll TV series should appeal greatly to fans of samurai/ninja films, action anime and of course, fans of the movie. I'll be giving this a proper review when I get hold of DVDs or VCDs. Soon, soon...
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