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1993 film by Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖) is a 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki chanbara film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, starring the voices of Kōichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki and Shūichirō Moriyama. The film was a co production between JVC, Toho and Movic, with Madhouse serving as the animation studio. Ninja Scroll was theatrically released in Japan on June 5, 1993, and received an English dubbed release through Manga Entertainment in 1995. The film takes place in feudal Japan and follows Kibagami Jubei, a mercenary swordsman who battles the Eight Devils of Kimon, a team of ninjas with supernatural powers who are intent on overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate. During his quest, he is aided by Dakuan, an elderly but crafty government spy, and Kagero, a Kōga kunoichi whose body is infused with poisonous toxins. Praised for its animation and action scenes, Ninja Scroll is regarded by many as one of the most influential anime films ever made. Alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell, it was responsible for increasing the popularity of adult oriented anime outside of Japan. The film has been cited by The Wachowskis as an influence on the Matrix franchise, and resulted in Kawajiri later contributing to two segments of the anthology film The Animatrix. A televised sequel, Ninja Scroll: The Series, was aired in Japan in 2003.

In Edo period Japan, the Yamashiro clan (山城藩) mines gold in secret, and sends a shipment to the Toyotomi Shogun of the Dark (闇公方) as payment for his protection. The Shogun of the Dark intends to use the gold to buy advanced Spanish weaponry and overthrow the current government, the Tokugawa Shogunate. The ship runs aground onto Mochizuki territory (望月藩) in a storm, and the Eight Devils of Kimon (鬼門八人衆), a ninja team with supernatural powers in the employ of the Yamashiro, kill the people of the nearby Shimoda Village (下田村) to keep the gold shipment a secret. While investigating the deaths, a Mochizuki Kōga ninja team is massacred by the Devils. The sole survivor, the kunoichi Kagero (陽炎), is captured by a Devil, Tessai (鉄斎), who attempts to rape her. She is rescued by Kibagami Jubei (牙神 獣兵衛), a mercenary ex Yamashiro ninja, who fights and eventually kills Tessai. Dakuan (濁庵), a Tokugawa spy, blackmails Jubei into helping him kill the remaining Devils. To ensure his compliance, Dakuan stabs Jubei with a poisoned shuriken, and promises to give him an antidote once the mission is complete. Jubei learns from Dakuan that the leader of the Devils is Himuro Gemma (氷室 弦馬), the former Yamashiro ninja leader, who had ordered his team's members to kill each other to cover up the location of the goldmine five years earlier. Jubei, who had been forced to kill his comrades to survive, decapitated Gemma in revenge; Gemma survived due to his immortality. Jubei is attacked by another Devil, Benisato (紅里), but he is saved by Kagero; before she can be questioned, Benisato is killed from afar by Yurimaru (百合丸), Gemma's right hand man, for failing her mission. Kagero agrees to work alongside Jubei and Dakuan, who informs Jubei that her body is infused with such deadly toxins that anyone who kisses or sleeps with her dies, which was why Jubei could kill Tessai. The trio arrive in Shimoda, where they discover that the villagers died due to their water supply being poisoned, making it appear that they were killed by a plague. Jubei and Kagero fend off attacks from three of the Devils – Mushizo (蟲蔵), Zakuro (石榴), and Utsutsu Mujuro (現 夢十郎); Jubei succeeds in killing Mushizo and Utsutsu. After finding the beached ship, Kagero deduces that the gold has been taken to Kashima Harbor, where it will be transported to the Shogun of the Dark in another ship. Jubei, Kagero, and Dakuan arrive at Kashima, which has been evacuated due to the townspeople's fear of the plague. While Jubei battles another Devil, Shijima (シジマ), Kagero sends a message to Sakaki Hyobu (榊 兵部), the Mochizuki chamberlain, to bring his army to the harbour. She also learns from Dakuan that Jubei's poisoning will only be cured if he copulates with her – the poisons in her body will counteract his. Kagero is captured by Shijima, and Jubei kills him, rescuing her once more. Kagero asks Jubei to sleep with her to cure himself. He decides against it, and upon the arrival of the Shogun of the Dark's envoy in a ship, he leaves to prevent the gold reaching its destination. Kagero arrives to meet Sakaki, but he stabs her, revealing himself to be Gemma in disguise as he had murdered the real one days before. Enraged, Jubei fights through waves of ninjas, but is nearly killed by Yurimaru. A gunpowder rigged rat, left as a trap by Zakuro for Yurimaru for rejecting her advances, kills him, allowing Jubei to escape. He finds Kagero; mortally wounded, she admits her love for him and they kiss, curing Jubei's poisoning. Before dying, Kagero gives Jubei her headband. Jubei and Dakuan board the departing ship. On board, Gemma reveals his true intentions – to use the gold to raise a ninja army to terrorize Japan rather than serve as an ally to the Toyotomi – to a masked samurai who serves as the Shogun of the Dark's envoy, and proceeds to kill him. During an altercation with Zakuro, Jubei and Dakuan set the ship ablaze. As Jubei and Gemma engage in a brutal fight, the gold becomes molten and engulfs Gemma, who sinks to the bottom of the sea. Afterwards, Dakuan thanks Jubei, and expresses admiration for his and Kagero's humanity. Jubei resumes his vagabond lifestyle, with Kagero's headband tied around his sword's hilt.

Ninja Scroll won the Citizen's Award at the 1993 Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 89%, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. During the 1990s, Ninja Scroll was among the most popular anime movies outside Japan, along with such movies as Akira and Ghost in the Shell. The North American video release of Ninja Scroll had sold more than 70,000 copies by May 1996, becoming Manga Entertainment's best selling title at the time. In February 2004, Cinefantastique listed the anime as one of the "10 Essential Animations". Theron Martin from Anime News Network stated that the "action scenes sizzle with energy and powerful maneuvers unencumbered by tiresome dramatics" and further stated that the plot "mostly exists just to set up conflicts between the protagonists and the Devils of Kimon and allow various characters to show off their colorful ninja techniques".

A Japanese animated television series named Ninja Scroll: The Series aired in Japan in 2003 and ran for 13 episodes. The series is a stand alone sequel to the film; however, many references suggest that it is indeed a continuation. In the series, Jubei gets caught in the middle of a battle between the Kimon clan and the Hiruko clan. He meets up with the Light Maiden Shigure, a young lady whose village was destroyed by the Kimon clan and whom Jubei was charged with delivering a Dragon Stone to. The duo are joined by Tsubute (a young thief) and Dakuan (Tokugawa shogunate spy), and together they try to find out why both the Kimon and the Hiruko clan are after her and why the Dragon Stone she carries is so important to them. The show was directed by Tatsuo Sato (Martian Successor Nadesico), with character design done by Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun).

In August 2008, Madhouse announced that an official sequel was in the works with Kawajiri returning to write and direct. In July 2012, the studio released a teaser trailer for a "three episode short animation" titled Ninja Scroll Burst, intended to attract investors to the project. In February 2014, Madhouse CEO Hiroyuki Okada confirmed that Kawajiri had a finished script, tentatively titled Ninja Scroll Kocho (獣兵衛忍風帖 胡蝶), and that production would move ahead as soon as financing had been secured.

In October 2008, it was reported that Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to develop a live action adaptation of Ninja Scroll, with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions, Madhouse, and Japanese producer Jungo Maruta also involved in the project. Screenwriter Alex Tse, who co wrote the 2009 film Watchmen, was hired to write the screenplay. In October 2015, Dracula Untold director Gary Shore revealed he had once been attached to direct the film, releasing a proof of concept trailer he had produced with motion capture by 87Eleven and animation by The Third Floor. As of 2018, the production remains in development hell.