Ninja Scroll / YMMV

Aluminium Christmas Trees: Kagero's poisonous abilities have some basis in reality; there were apparently Hindu female assassins called vishakanya that were specialized at it.
Best Known for the Fanservice: The anime was created around the time when gratuitous sex and violence were of the norm in order to attract audience (not to mention it is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who would not have it any different), so it is unsurprising that the movie's beautiful naked ladies tend to be one of its best remembered elements. This also includes the main male ninjas showing off their testosterone and well-muscled bodies if the viewer likes it better.
Captain Obvious Reveal: Only in the last third or so of the film do we discover Genma was going to use the gold and rule Japan himself. Considering that he and his henchmen were all very Obviously Evil and incredibly powerful, it was somewhat of a stretch to believe he was working for his employers out of genuine political support or such limited personal gain.
Complete Monster:
- Genma Himuro is the leader of the Eight Devils of Kimon, and stands out from his men in his callous disregard for all around him. In the past, Genma betrayed his allies and framed a warrior named Jubei Kibigami, forcing Jubei to kill his friends in self defense. In the present, to cover for the Eight Devils' movements, Genma has a well poisoned to wipe out a village. He organizes multiple massacres and kills his employer, declaring he himself will be the true ruler of Japan in the end. Genma also kills Jubei’s beloved, Kagero, in front of him, solely to hurt him. Genma, in the end, cares for nobody. The deaths of both his lovers in the Eight Devils arouse no emotion in him, and he witnesses every ally he has die without even changing an expression. His only concern is the gold imported to Japan, all to feed his bottomless greed.
- Tessai is, hands down, the most violent, brutal and nasty of the Eight Devils of Kimon. A hulking brute of a man with skin he can harden into rock, Tessai is introduced butchering a group of shinobi who are investigating the village he and his seven comrades poisoned to manufacture rumors of a plague. The leader, Hanza, is caught by Tessai and killed sadistically as Tessai slowly rips his arms off with his bare hands before drinking the blood from the severed arms. Leaving only the sole woman of the group alive, Tessai takes her to his home and attempts to rape her, informing her not to struggle because he 'wouldn’t mind raping a dead girl’. When Kagerō is rescued by Jūbei, a humiliated Tessai later makes it a point to hunt down Jūbei and attempt to beat him to death in retribution.
Crosses the Line Twice: It would take a page unto itself to list that which happens in this film.
Funny Moments: Jūbei and Kagerō are hanging off a cliff, just moments after being nearly blown up by a man-bomb.
Jūbei: "How long are you gonna stick with me?"
Gateway Series: No doubt this has been many peoples introduction to anime, or at least to mature anime.
Genius Bonus:
- Genma's employers boasts they will use the gold to buy "the most advanced weapons from Spain" and use them against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Historically, western weaponry was introduced in Japan by the Portuguese, which had much more contact with the land, but Spanish weapons were reputed to be superior in quality.
- The armlock Genma uses to break Jubei's arm is an obscure disarming move from ancient jujutsu, only kept in some traditional styles like Aikido and aiki-jutsu, where it is called kannuki hiki tate.^note True Edo stuff, in other words.
Heartwarming Moments: The relationship between Jubei and Kagerō can ultimately be described as one based on mutual compassion, rather than romantic love or sexual desire. Kagerō ultimately offers her body to Jubei to cure him of the poison Dakuan gave him, in spite of her insecurities about never being able to form intimate connections and living as a Lust Object at best. Jubei instead refuses, knowing that Kagerō wants a meaningful relationship and not Sex for Solace. When she is later mortally wounded by Genma, Jubei kisses Kagerō as she dies, which turns out to be enough to cure him. He then claims her headband and wears it into his final battle with Genma.
Magnificent Bastard: Dakuan is an elderly trickster working for the Tokugawa Shogunate. Dakuan introduces himself to Jubei by helping the ninja overcome an enemy while simultaneously poisoning Jubei, forcing him to help Dakuan in his quest to take down the Eight Devils. Recruiting Kagero as well, Dakuan works with the two to strategize methods on taking down each of the Devils while using their growing affection for each other to further manipulate them to his tune. After using Jubei and Kagero as bait and puppets, resulting in the latter's death, Dakuan succeeds in taking down the Eight Devils and almost pockets a fortune in gold, simply shrugging off Jubei's harsh accusations for his behavior and parting ways with Jubei without hard feelings.
Moment of Awesome: Has its own page.
Narm: The Mochizuki Chancellor Hyobu casually having sex with a woman while hearing intel and giving orders, all with a calm, composed voice. Even if the world of Ninja Scroll is just that grim and materialistic, the scene can be just too hard to take seriously, if not a Black Comedy Burst in its own right.
Never Live It Down: The movie is often criticized by its supposedly gratuitous portrayal of female characters as either evil temptresses or defenseless victims. While both are kind of true in the story, Ninja Scroll plays with these tropes more than it is credited, and most of the time it gives a good contextual justification for each. Kagero, the movie's usual whipping girl, is explicitly stated to be a food taster without any field experience, which naturally gives her a hard time against the setting's veteran ninja assassins; yet even so, she kicks as much ass as the male protagonist thanks to her own abilities, and actually saves his life more times than vice versa, almost to the point of Inexplicably Awesome given her background. As for seductresses like Benisato or Zakuro, it is well known and historically documented that sexual seduction and deception were a vital part of a kunoichi's job, and not including them in a period film about ninjas would have been a hard case of Politically Correct History.
Nightmare Fuel: Has its own page.
Superlative Dubbing: Quite well done for an anime film released in 1995 in North America, and seems to rival most of Funimation's dubs. It trades in some typical stock anime phrases with some typical action movie stock phrases, and considering the subject matter, it just works so well. For example, the "Burn in your golden hell!" line is dub-only; in the Japanese track, it's a general "Die!" quote.
Tear Jerker: Kagerō’s death.
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: No, this is not like Naruto, despite being an anime with ninjas (though it and its source material arguably inspired part of Naruto). Tessai's gory slaughter of the Koga ninja and Attempted Rape of Kagerō should be your first clues.
The Woobie: Kagerō.

YMMV / Ninja Scroll

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