Subscription

Subscription

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Ninja Scroll Photos

View All Photos (11)

Movie Info

In this anime film, Jubei, a highly skilled ninja, is coerced into slaying his own clan of warriors. After begrudgingly killing his fellow swordsmen, he becomes a roving hired assassin. During his travels, he must face off against an organization of demonic ninjas known as the Devils of Kimon, who are plotting to take power of Japan's government. The Devils will stop at nothing, and have the power to annihilate entire villages. Now, only Jubei and a shogun spy named Dakuan can stop them.

Genre:

action, animation
Original Language:

Japanese
Director:

Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Producer:

Haruo Sai, Masaki Sawanobori
Writer:

Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Release Date (Streaming):

Mar 3, 2017
Runtime:

1h 30m
Production Co:

Madhouse Entertainment, Toho Company Ltd.
Sound Mix:

Stereo

Cast & Crew

Koichi Yamadera
Jubei Kibagami
Voice

Emi Shinohara
Kagero
Voice

Takeshi Aono
Dakuan
Voice

Daisuke Gôri
Genma Himuro
Voice

Toshihiko Seki
Yurimaru
Voice

Shuichiro Moriyama
Sakaki Hyobu
Voice

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Ninja Scroll

All Critics (16) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (1)

A wandering ronin takes on a posse of supernatural ninjas in a whipcracking race that never lets reality get in the way of a hearty bout of blood-lettting.

November 22, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Henry Barnes
Guardian
Its baroque sadism and sexism hasn't aged well, but it still packs a visceral kick.

November 22, 2012 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
There is so much going on here, that the film's total lack of subtext - or, more generously, its pure escapism - only sinks in afterwards. It may be a tale of sound and fury, signifying nothing - but all that demon-whupping sure is fun.

November 22, 2012

Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in often dazzling animation ...

November 20, 2012 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Ben Walters
Time Out
A genuinely great piece of animation, one of the medium's greatest achievements in the 1990s in any country.

April 3, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
Ninja Scroll is a champion of anime and belongs in the upper echelons of its history.

February 6, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Russell Cook
CineVue
For fans of Japanese animation at its most colorful, stylized, and ultraviolent, the film delivers the goods.

February 15, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

TV Guide
No-nonsense quest movie is chock-full of bloody slice-and-dice action, suitably grotesque villains and life-and-death confrontations.

February 15, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Jeremy Aspinall
Radio Times
What dazzles most is the contrast between the beautifully rendered, pastoral backdrops of crags, waterfalls, forests, and temples, and the gruesome, stylized violence that takes place against them.

December 6, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Keir Roper-Caldbeck
The Skinny
For those seeking the best ninja/samurai action on screen, there are dozens of live action movies either directed by Akira Kurosawa or based on manga by Kazuo Koike that are much better films than Ninja Scroll.

November 29, 2012 | Full Review…

Alex Fitch
Electric Sheep
One of the most influential animes ever made ...

November 19, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Paul M. Bradshaw
Total Film
Characters zip through the trees and move quick as a flash; there's a real sense of speed and weight to these scenes.

August 31, 2010 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media

View All Critic Reviews (16)

Audience Reviews for Ninja Scroll

Nov 10, 2012

One of the fire proofs for confirming if you should go deeper into the anime universe or not. A sensational, demon-plagued and action-driven classic with all the required elements to constitute a cult piece for modern viewers. 97/100

Edgar C Super Reviewer
Nov 07, 2010

A ninja-for-hire joins forces with a cursed female ninja and a gnome-like spy to fight against the Eight Devils of the Dark Shogun. Above-average anime adventure/fantasy set in feudal Japan featuring nice artwork, a complicated but coherent plot, and graphic violence and nudity. This is a 5 star movie if you're a 16 year old boy, but loses a half star with every two years you age until it flattens out (if you're a girl, I assume it starts out flat).

Greg S Super Reviewer
Sep 11, 2010

12/09/2010 (ONLINE) If you liked "Ninja Assassin" then you may wanna see this, especially in the "blood and gore" department. This is another "classic" Manga/Anime that blew up the scene back in the days like "Fist of the North Star", "Guyver" and stuff like that and it's still a cool as flick to watch for me. The story is cool and I'm always down with the whole "Ninja" thing. Awesome drawings, kick-butt voicing and blood is constantly splattered generously. Although it's quite old it's still better than some the "animated flicks" made these days, even better than some "live action" ones too, but then again that's my opinion. It's been a while since I'd seen this and watching this again was still a great experience, I am glad I found it online because someone burrowed my DVD of this and I haven't seen it since. I might buy another one. Maybe.

EightThirty . Super Reviewer
Sep 11, 2010

An anime classic. The animation is vey stylized but all the charcaters have great attention to detail, for example the mass of the charactor shift natually almost lile good rotoscoping (animation done by tracing over live action shots) but better. It starts out really good but slows down towards the end. I made a mistake watching this with my sons. The violence is unhinged from the beginning, when it got to the part where the Stone creature knocked out the beautiful ninja Kagero and rippers her clothes off and was licking her, I said boys this movies for Dada only. This movie is brutal in every sense of the word. If it was live action it would be NC-17+. A definite must see for adult anime fans

Bill C Super Reviewer