YMMV / Throne of Blood

• Moment of Awesome: After Washizu becomes a Smug Snake utterly convinced his plan has gone off without a hitch, Miki's return as an onryô, which causes Washizu to suffer a much deserved Villainous Breakdown. It is an incredibly satisfying moment.
• Magnificent Bastard: The Spirit of Spider's Web Forest is a supernatural being who ensures the natural cycle of life carries on. Bestowing the ambitious samurai Taketoki Washizu with a trio of fortunes, the Spirit knows his festering want will lead to Washizu killing his Great Lord to claim his domain. When the realm rebels against the steadily maddening Washizu, the Spirit uses selective words to convince Washizu of his invincibility, sending him to his death and restoring progress to the land.
• Narm Charm:
  • Washizu's goofy expression as the final arrow pierces his neck and his tempting fate beforehand as he browbeats his army is borderlines hilarity, but when you remember that "goofy" expression was brought on by the fact Kurosawa unleashed live archers on Mifune, who was terrified out of his mind, alongside the general Sanity Slippage of his character, it somehow still works in favor of setting the insanity of the scene.
    Washizu: COWARDS! I see it now! You'll slay me and offer my head when you SURRENDER!
    (Gets an arrow shot into his side.)
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • It was originally criticized by a vocal minority of Shakespearean aficionados for changing and removing aspects that made Macbeth great. However as noted in Vindicated by History, opinion has dramatically gone the complete other direction over time and it's become acclaimed for its cultural changes, while maintaining the spirit and atmosphere of the play so well compared to its many other western adaptions.
  • Even now, many lament how Kurosawa removed the "Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow" speech and lamented the missed opportunity for Toshiro Mifune to sink himself into that iconic scene, which even in translation would have been an amazing moment for such a great actor.
• Vindicated by History: The film was met with mixed critical and public appraisal on release and was widely criticized around the world for the liberties it took with Shakepeare's play. Over half a century later, it's considered a masterpiece of Japanese cinema and one of the greatest film versions of Macbeth ever made.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Filming the story on the slopes of Mt. Fuji was a very good idea.

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