Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖, Jūbē Ninpūchō) is a 1993 original theatrical anime film by studio Madhouse, and director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film was theatrically released in June 1993 for Japan.
Brief Unboxing Redux Note:
I first received Ninja Scroll in December 2012 as a Christmas present. This was the first anime title that I owned on Blu-ray. I eventually unboxed the set in May 2013 over on my Normanic Vault blog via Blogger. This post is a remaster of that unboxing with better photos, updated information and any added extras. Enjoy!
Background:
“Jubei is a masterless ninja who travels the land alone, hiring his services to those with gold… or a worthy cause. His fearsome abilities have served him well, but a hideous plot to overthrow the government threatens to end his wandering ways and possibly his life.”
Plot Synopsis via Manga Entertainment, November 2012.
Ninja Scroll is one of the few anime that managed to make its breakthrough during the 1990s, and honestly when you hear the word ‘anime’, it had always been Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll as the main trio as well as a few others like Perfect Blue and Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend.
Ninja Scroll was also one of the films that both director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and studio Madhouse collaborated together throughout the 1990s. Their other projects include Demon City Shinjuku (released in the UK as Monster City), Wicked City, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. All of them share the same style of character designs that look mature rather than the younger anime-esque appearance that is usually common nowadays.
Manga Entertainment was the distributor for Ninja Scroll in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which did really well for them and helped bring more audiences to anime. Manga released the film on VHS and DVD during the 1990s, however, the British Board of Film Classification stepped in and requested at least 50 seconds of cuts to the film due to scenes of sexual violence and ninja-related stuff (the latter of which for some reason the UK was very sensitive over, thankfully they got over it). The good news is that the film was given an uncut rating for their 2004 release. Since then there had been no issues with the film.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Manga Entertainment celebrated Ninja Scroll‘s 20th anniversary with a collector’s edition steelbook release with some fantastic artwork and a nice 20-page booklet included into the mix. The booklet goes over an interview with the director about the film itself.
The steelbook was also given a mini o-card so the BBFC and information is not placed on the actual set itself. The SRP was £29.99 while the unit count was never revealed but is probably about 2000-3000 units.
The Blu-ray was eventually given a regular edition over time.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Steelbook case with clean artwork
- O-card for specs and BBFC logo
- 20-page Booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Manga Entertainment
Released: 26th November 2012
Ninja Scroll is released as a Blu-ray and DVD combo with one disc each, using an in-house Manga Entertainment author. The audio options available for the film is Japanese with English subtitles and the Animaze/Manga Entertainment English dub.
The white subtitles (for both the main film and commentary) are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to B for Blu-ray and 2 for DVD in PAL format.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in PAL format 1.35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 2 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Commentary with Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Moderator Hiroyuki Ohnuma, and Character Designer Yutaka Minowa.
- Trailer
- TV Spot
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Commentary with Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Moderator Hiroyuki Ohnuma, and Character Designer Yutaka Minowa.
- Trailer
- TV Spot
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Ninja Scroll is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition steelbook has mostly sold out (Zavvi apparently has some units), but you can still acquire the standard edition on Amazon UK.
The Normanic Vault 
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