The popularity of anime in the west owes a lot to the 1993 film Ninja Scroll, which appealed to adult audiences thanks to its liberal use of action and violence. It’s a film that every anime fan should have in their Blu-ray library, and you can do that in style thanks to a new limited edition Steelbook Blu-ray release that is available to pre-order here on Amazon with a massive 51% off discount as part of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event. Note that the release date is set for October 22nd, and if you pre-ordered at the full price, you’ll automatically get the discount. You can find more Prime Big Deal Days Blu-ray discounts right here on Amazon through October 9th.
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Special features on the Ninja Scroll Blu-ray release include feature length commentary with director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and character design and animation director Yutaka Minowa. The film is presented with English subtitles. Again, this is a limited edition Steelbook release, so it will go out of print at some point, Reserve one while you can.ย
See Ninja Scroll Steelbook Blu-ray on Amazon
In our recent interview with Ninja Scroll’s director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, we asked for his thoughts on why the film has been so influential:
“I feel very honored. Truly. We made “Ninja Scroll” with the global audience in mind. I even wrote “this is Ninja wars!” in my concept note. I strongly wanted to make this movie, and I was positive I was the only person who can do that. So, I am very happy to hear people praise the title for what it is, and to hear people say “I’ve never seen anything like that before!”
“The eccentric settings, the touch of the art of” Ninja Scroll” must have been something very new to international audiences. The action scenes in a Japanese period setting were exceptional. We still have samurai drama made today, but this title has strong action scenes that are different from the usual period dramas.”
If you’re unfamiliar, the official synopsis for Ninja Scroll reads: Jubei Kibagami’s mercenary blade has cut a bloody swath across Japan, but after rescuing a female ninja from a monstrous demon, he finds himself ensnared in a web connecting his own past as a ninja with a demonic plot to overthrow the government. A plot orchestrated by Jubei’s former leader, who somehow survived decapitation by Jubei himself! With a deadly poison burning in his veins, Jubei must now join with an untrustworthy spy and the female ninja to face off with the immortal Gemma and his army of devils in the legendary odyssey of blood and revenge that is NINJA SCROLL!”