Hey you! Yeah, you! Do you like action-packed anime with lots of fights and gore and monsters unencumbered by complex plots and intense characterizations? You do? I thought so. Well buddy, NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES is an anime DVD for you!

Episode 1 - Tragedy in the Hidden Village
A ninja - Rouga (of the Hiruko clan) - races through the forest, only to be challenged by a toad-like creature. Toady demands the masked Rouga give him the "Dragon Stone". Meanwhile, our hero Jubei rests on a hill near that self same forest attempting to get some peace and quiet. Two more mutants, a Wacko and a Witch, appear and confront Rouga. However, Toady and the Witch have issues and start to fight each other, but Wacko goes after Rouga. All this commotion disturbs Jubei, so he reluctantly goes into the woods to see if he can get the combatants to either stop or move their fight. Fat chance. The Witch creates rat/lamprey monsters from her own body, which eat Toady. Wacko foolishly attacks Jubei, who literally cuts him down to size. Afterwards, Rouga offers Jubei a job as his bodyguard, but Jubei refuses - he doesn't trust people who wear masks. The overlord of the Kimon clan - the Hiruko clan's rivals - muses that the Dragon Stone is useless without the Light Maiden. Rouga stole the Stone because he wants its power to allow his clan to emerge from the shadows they've been condemned to. In a village hidden deep within a valley, a young girl muses what life is like on the outside world. She is also concerned by the lack of concern in her fellow ninja-school trainees. Suddenly, the village alarm sounds! Have the girls' fears become reality? And what is the secret this village holds?

Episode 2 - Departure
Shigure wanders aimlessly, her entire world shattered; everyone she knew now dead. The overlord resurrects Rouga's head, which reveals the whole story of the Stone and Jubei. Meanwhile, Jubei feels the Stone is going to bring him nothing but trouble. He's right. A punk forest guide finds Shigure, and wants her in order to sell her! When real thugs appear; however, they are saved by a bomb-wielding ancient priest. The old man - Dakuan - believes Shigure may be the reason her village was razed. He also destroys spies sent out by a giant Cyclops to track Shigure. But his actions may have come a little late... Jubei is challenged by a sexy cat-like ninja, who wants the Stone the mercenary now possess. Jubei refuses, and the fight is on! Kitty has some tricks up her sleeve, which may prove to be Jubei's downfall!

Episode 3 - Forbidden Love
A one-eyed ninja - Jashi - uses Kitty's eye to 'see' her fatal battle with Jubei. An Amazon with bad hair attacks him, but Jashi's partner - a scarred and hooded female ninja, stabs her. The rival clans sent all their warriors out to find Shigure and Jubei, for there can be only one! Dakuan wants to find Jubei and hire him for protection, but Tsubute thinks he's nuts. Jashi finds them first. In the ensuing melee, Medusa reappears and takes on Jashi's companion. Jashi loses track of Shigure and company, but finds a very annoyed Jubei! Will Jubei be able to overcome Jashi's special powers and save the desperate trio?

Episode 4 - Broken Stone
Tsubute slips the Stone from Shigure's sleeping fingers. However, he didn't count on Jubei still being around. After reclaiming the Stone, Jubei is attacked by the root-like tentacles of a Tree Witch. Trapped, in danger of losing the Dragon Stone, Jubei cuts it in half! The Tree Witch escapes with her half, as Jubei follows to reclaim it! Shigure wonders why everybody wants the Stone so badly, still unaware of her part in the whole scheme of things. Jubei meets a reptilian monster, which swears to thwart the ninja's quest. But Tree Witch has problems too; a translucent Blue Flame Moth creature captures her and takes her half of the Stone! Will Jubei be able to overcome these new obstacles and rejoin the Stone? Or will the rival clans destroy each other and our heroes over the precious Dragon Stone and Light Maiden?

NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES is exactly what you expect if you've seen the original movie - action, action, action! There's enough plot to keep the story moving, and the characters are given some focus, but the emphasis is on fights! You will be amazed at some of the unique powers the clan ninjas come up with. The animation is very good - the characters are fairly standard (which isn't a bad thing), but the background work is marvelous. The music by new age artist Kitaro must also be given a thumbs-up. There is one big BIG problem I had, however - I can't tell the clans apart!!! I have no clue to which side any of the mutants are on, unless they actually state their affiliation. Also, I found it hard to catch their names (if they were even mentioned), which is why I have listed them as "Toady" and such in the synopsis. So that's a mite confusing. The fight scenes more than make up for this faux pas with incredible action and lovely, gory deaths. Just the thing to watch after dinner, right kids? I expect more of the same when the rest of the series is released (which also isn't a bad thing).

NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES is presented in a standard 4x3 television format, but the picture is very nice and I have to mention those gorgeous backgrounds again. Very excellent work. Audio is very good as well, with Dolby 5.1 or 2.0 Stereo options. The DVD has a few extras, such as a storyboard to feature comparison, trailers, a short on the creation of the box cover art, art gallery and interviews with Kitaro and fellow musician Peter McEvilley.

For fans of the original NINJA SCROLL, this series simply continues the trials and tribulations of Jubei. Definitely not for the 'Yu-Gi-Oh' crowd, NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES is gory fun for the older anime fans. Sit back, relax, and have a bloody good time watching the cutting edge of Jubei. But perhaps not right after dinner...

For more info, visit Urban Vision online!