A ninja attempts to rescue his lady love from a megamaniac with five demonic ninja fighter henchmen. Kosei Saito’s 1982 gonzo action flick NINJA WARS comes to Blu-ray via the new Toy Robot label this month.
TW: Sexual assault. About 25 minutes in, there is a straight-out rape.
It sucks that Ninja Wars, also known as Death of a Ninja among other names, decides to have that rape to set that trigger warning. Not only is it unnecessary (as most scenes like that are), it takes the air out of the room and throws a goofy comedic action film off-kilter for a moment. Outside that unfortunate sequence, used as part of a magic spell, Ninja Wars is a wild and fun blast of near-nonsensical comic martial arts fantasy action. For those who have dug a few films I’ve previously looked at such as Roaring Fire, The Nine Demons, or Fatal Flying Guillotine, Ninja Wars, the latest from Arrow Video offshoot Toy Robot, will hit the same sense of Saturday Afternoon Matinee energy.
It’s awesome to see Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba in the same film for the fourth time in the last few months after G I Samurai (I didn’t mention Sanada in that film from the same director, but he has a small part as the guy who does the amazing helicopter stunt), Shogun’s Ninja, and Roaring Fire. In this Kosei Saito entry, Sanada is a ninja named Jotoro who is about to head on a strange, surreal journey for love and to stop a group of magic martial artists gaining power in mystical, fantastical Japan.
Trying to dig into the plot, written by Ei Ogawa from a novel by Futaro Yamada, is almost a pointless attempt, as I wrote in my notes: “I have no idea what’s going on, but I like it anyway.” I might note this for many magical martial arts movies, true. But I love the B-movie nonsensical plots of anything goes. There is absolutely a through line of the set of five Devil Monks, magician martial artists and their unique set of skills, helping a power-hungry leader and his hunt for a special tea kettle, and Jotoro’s journey, including some time in the underworld in a wonderfully surreal set to rescue his dead love. (Here I sing some Hadestown). I could get into it, but that might take away from the fun of the film and why I recommend it overall.
There’s a wild fury to the inventive, over-the-top action, with plenty of wire-fu, acid-spitting fighters, a hulking dude with great power, beheadings with cartoonish gore in spraying blood, reheadings, weird abilities, Nariko Wantanbe playing three roles, Sonny Chiba bookending as a powerful samurai, and a wonderful sense of Yes, And. Much of it has a Hausu vibe, in the tone and how the special effects are presented. It’s deliriously fast-paced and has an absolutely striking visual style. I dig.
Packaging and Presentation
Toy Robot puts Ninja Wars on a single-disc Blu-ray. The disc image is one of the Demon Monks, and it fits into one side of the clear Blu-ray case. Included are a few art/lobby cards. It has a slipcover that matches the sleeve. The disc autoplays trailers for Toy Robot’s other releases. The visuals are damned fine, sharp and large. It’s a colorful over-the-top film, and that translates to how it looks. The audio is Japanese mono and impressive. English subtitles.
The Features
Toy Robot offers a solid selection of information about this film and ninja cinema overall.
Commentary
James Balmont, who we just saw on Arrow’s Wicked Priest Collection special features, gives a great commentary. He tries to make sense of the film, covers the cast and crew, how it was made, where it falls in the canon, and offers a total appreciation.
A Japanese Ninja
Author Matt Alt (who was also on the Wicked Priest set) focuses on Ninja Wars, covering details and insights different from Balmont. (22m)
The Way of the Ninja
Daisuke Miyao gives a wider view of the ninja in film history, and connects it to how they are used in this movie. Incredibly informative. (25m)
Trailers
3 trailers. Two are in English, the same with different titles: Ninja Wars; Return of Shogun’s Ninja. The third is in Japanese, but much the same.
VHS Version
I always appreciate this extra, although I never watch it in full. Scanned from a VHS and not fixed, it’s a glorious artifact. This is one minute longer (may just be the speed rather than anything different), in standard framing and wonderfully squished. It’s touched with plenty of artifacts and so dark to see; video drops in and out, dubbed.
Dark Magic Fantasy of Ninja Sword and Sorcery.
This essay by Zack Davisson is on the disc and auto-plays the 13 pages, so be prepared to pause (like the other slide shows on Toy Robot). A wee bit hard to read with the background; it’s an informative and well-thought-out essay on Dark Ninja films.
Final Thoughts
I’m really digging this run of deliriously insane action flicks I’ve been on (with or without Sanada and/or Sonny Chiba). Toy Robot is already making a splash as a new niche label with the four releases this month. They have been providing great discs with packed sets. Check out Ninja Wars for more wonderfully odd Saturday-afternoon entertainment.