Honestly this was even better than I remembered. In terms of the US, this was a massively popular early anime, at the time as popular as Akira or Ghost in the Shell. I remembered only that I loved it and that is was really bloody. Both of these things were even more true than I knew. Ninja Scroll fears no nudity and no gore as Jubei, the hero of the film must face down the Eight Devils of Kimon, led by Genma, a man Jubei had already beheaded once before, before he can become the Shogun of the Dark. Genma is also a bisexual as his underlings all strive to be among his sexual partners, in a plot line that seems quite racy for 1993. The movie is lush with the beauty of ancient Japan, and many of the scenes are breath takingly gorgeous. The Eight Devils all have their own unique supernatural ability (except for the blind swordsman, who can just hear really well) and all provide almost impossible challenges for Jubei and his two companions to overcome as they narrowly escape the odds each time. It’s a shame they never made a sequel and that the TV series spin off doesn’t look up to par. It’s also quite strange the the director, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who was quite successful at the time with other movies such as Wicked City, Highlander, and one of the skits in The Animatrix, didn’t go on after said movies to direct much of anything. Ninja Scroll was such a provocative, well done, and beautiful movie, that it feels like something has almost been stolen from the world by its creator not having more output.