The opening....
Japan, 1614 C.E. Set in a time when the feudal era
just got interesting (cannons and gunpowder OH MY!), a
small band of Christian farmers lived under oppression
of the Tokugawa shogunate. Fueled by an ancient
prophecy (a chosen one will be born among the
villagers and be pronounced the new Messiah), the
Christian farmers led a revolt against the Shogunate
under leadership of Tokisada Shiro Amakusa(the chosen
one) and his military teacher, Souiken Mori. But
behind the prophecy lies a darker message, saying if
the destiny of the chosen one be denied, the chosen
one will be reborn as Satan himself. And when the
advent of Satan comes, so will the demons of the
underworld, coming in forms of legendary swordsmen,
causing great darkness to sweep over the land. This is
where our anti-protaginist, Jubei Yagyu comes in.
The review:
Now don't be confused by the title, Jubei's Revenge,
and think that it's a sequel to the fabled Ninja
Scroll. Overall, the Ninja Ressurection titles are
more-so a history lesson, spiced up with cool ninja
stereo-types, super flying armor, very un-holy "acts",
and one very mean dragon. And, yes, don't forget
Satan! Even though this goes against what I said,
comparing it to Ninja Scroll is like comparing a Sega
Gamegear to a Nintendo Gameboy (both copyrights of
their respected companies I might add ^_^). Both have
their highlights and downfalls, as well as major
differences. For instance, like I said, Ninja
Ressurection incorporates more history (there is an
actual historical figure named Jubei Yagyu), where-as
Ninja Scroll incorporates more fabled ninja tales. But
since we're reviewing Ninja Ressurection here, I'll
try and drop the Ninja Scroll subject here as best as
I can. To start off, this isnt the same Jubei you saw
in Ninja Scroll (oops ^_^). This time around, it's
Jubei YAGYU, an actual figure of Japanese history
related to a renowned ninja family. Based around the
17th century, Ninja Ressurection tells the tale of the
Christian's mystical effect on Japan (and may I add
very bloody ^_^). Now a super-spy rather than a
wandering warrior (oops, there goes Ninja Scroll
again), Jubei Yagyu is sent to stop a Christian
rebellion. Simple enough, but what he doesn't know is
the huge web of conspiracy and black magic that
surrounds the Christians. Now, he finds himself and
another legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto battling
legendary geniuses of the sword (who are also
supposedly "dead" at the time) such as Mataemon Araki,
Botaro Tamiya, and Shosetsu Yui. Down which path must
a tired Samurai take to find honor? Find out in the
hardcore bloodbath known as NINJA RESSURECTION!
rating: 4/5
pros: Great story. Amazing animation, but not as clean
as Ninja Scroll (there I go again!). The music was
so-so, but during a certain scene, quality dropped
from an Orchestra masterpiece to a Synchronized
massacre.
cons: That damn eyepatch. And the forementioned
Synchronized massacre. I'd recommend Ninja Scroll over this.
This review was done by:
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-Ken-
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