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| Kagero |
Ninja Scroll had a much bigger focus on the supernatural than the previous film. In this story, those who possessed any magical or supernatural powers were the antagonists, especially seen in the ninja team: Devils of Kimon. Magic in Ninja Scroll was not used with good intentions. Those with supernatural powers also represented certain vices, such as greed, lust, and jealousy. I think these ties in with the Shinto belief that deities, or kami, could even be human emotions or abstract concepts. It was interesting to see Japanese history and mythology that was reflected.
I also felt as if the samurai and ninjas in the film weren’t really given the chance to be their own people, which led to some of the rebellion seen in some of the characters. Jubei had to go against his clan when his lord and companions betrayed him. Everything the ninjas and samurai did was under the orders of someone else. A team of Mochizuki Koga ninjas are murdered and their lord did not go to any great lengths to avenge them. Kagero was sent on a dangerous mission by the leader of her clan, and in the end nothing was done to assist her. It sort of shows that the main characters of the film have others above them that don’t put much worth in the lives of their followers.
Even though, the Shogun of the Dark is never seen onscreen, he still plays a pivotal role in the story. The Devils of Kimon are apparently committing their crimes under his order. His rank allows him to have many people under his command, so instead of getting involved in the missions himself he can be the ringleader of everything. There is a sense of mystery kept around the Shogun through the majority of the film.
I definitely think that women played a bigger and more powerful role in Ninja Scroll than in Akira. I think that there was a better balance. It wasn’t just Jubei saving Kagero throughout the movie; she saved him in many instances. Kagero had character development and a purpose to the story just like the other male leads.
Destiny,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I read others people’s blogs in the class but yours was the only one that really talked about the samurai following orders. I agree, they weren’t able to be individuals and that could have led to the rebellions. The shoguns acted like the samurai were worthless; if one was killed they just shrugged it off. It makes you wonder how the samurai felt about that. It must have been hard following orders from a man who doesn’t care if you come back alive. I feel that the samurais should have just killed their shoguns and become free people.
Something else I liked about your blog was the picture you choose. That was when Jubei tried to suck out the poison out of Kagero’s leg. That part was kind of funny. I think that was one of the only parts in the movie were they fought. Ah, young love.
Destiny, you made a good point when you said that magic in ninjas were not used with good intentions; since all the magic that each individual ninja had were used to attack others and harmless people for their own selfish greeds. But this could also be the fact that the ninjas you are looking at are all demons of kimon. What I mean, is: Kagero also had magical powers as a ninja; in the scene where the demon ninja with the arch back and the wasps coming out from his hive (on his back), Kagero used her poisonous flower petals that just came out from her body/under her clothes (or sleeves) and she used them to protect herself and her comrades while Jubei went to go kill him. Also, Dakuan also had powers to shift himself into different forms and shapes, and he used this as a defense mechanism rather than to cause harm and damage. But all in all I really liked your blog post! Totally digging the picture you chose for the blog- very appropriate.
ReplyDeleteVery good write up. With the photo, this makes me want to see it again. We started our anime collection with this and AKIRA,before CDs and DVDs. I avoided the TV series on purpose. The young nephews watched DragonBall but it had overdone "magic" and explosions. Blech. Same with toy robots, mecha, gundam, etc. Your next stop should be the entire 6-season Cowboy Bebop collection; you might be the right age or maturity for it.
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