Ninja Scross
This is a very brutal and gorey film. If I had seen this as young child, I would be having nightmares for days. I don't have a child of my very own, but I do have a stepdaughter, which is sort of similiar, and I think I would have waited till she was about twelve before letting her see something like this. Lucky for me she wasn't really into this sort of thing when she was that age. I think this anime will have it's greatest appeal to teenage and young adult males, but it has a certain sexy style that might appeal to lots of girls...or maybe it's just me and a few other warped women.
This is a historical tale set in a sort medeval Japanese fairly tale world that makes Grimm's fairy tales look tame. Electrocution, eye gouging, dismemberment, and burning flesh are all part of the daily routine in this fierce world. In the middle of this mess is Jubei, a sort of loner swordsman you may have come across in other animes. Jubei is actually a very noble person in the made-up world of depravity and poverty. Of course he is doing lots of the killing, but it's all for a good cause. Actually I enjoyed Jubei in this anime; he comes across and fierce, smart, and sexy. This being said, I have to say that the villians are more fun than Jubei to watch. The evil characters often have a sort of sinister elegance that makes the common folk who are the victims seems dull. I never once found myself really feeling sorry for the victims.
It has to be said, for all it's craftmanship, Ninja Scroll can sometimes seem just a little too silly sometimes. Like so much entertainment these days, the individual scenes don't always add together to make a well composed story arc.