It's a fairly simple premise executed in such a fashionable and interesting way. Had their not been so much creativity within the film, I'm positive things wouldn't have worked out so well. The unfortunate part is that creativity stretched into one of the worst, most offensive subplots I've ever had to endure. There's this obscure, fetishistic sexual theme that runs in the film that is the first time I've ever felt the urge to call 'sexist'. It doesn't make the film unwatchable, but it definitely makes the film recommendable (at least in my case.)
Art:
Fluid. Everything flows right into everything else. The animation on this work is superb and immersive. I couldn't get enough of it. Not only was the animation great, but the set-pieces were incredible. Unique settings for each act of the film made for an interesting adventure. And better yet, they weren't just backdrops. Characters were seen using the setting practically for their combat. There was definitely a lot of care and planning that went into creative the world of Juubee Ninpuuchou beyond just making a lone shinobi fight strange and exotic warriors.
And speaking of exotic warriors, each one had an interesting and unique design that made each fight enjoyable and unpredictable. Very fun fights with intriguing combat styles beyond simple weapon wielders.
Sound:
Music queues were on point, and the music itself was very cool. It fit the setting very well, but also had an early 90's feel to it that made for fun, slightly nostalgic entertainment.
The combat effects were fitting and never went beyond what I expected. This is good because it isn't distracting, but bad because I didn't get to hear anything new or exciting along with the unique powers and abilities of the warriors in the film. That said, there are points where sound effects are used to emphasize certain characteristics, but they all have a 'stock effect' sound to them, so, again, it's not distracting, but nothing new.
Character:
The biggest hit to the character rating is by the sexist use of the female character, Kagero, and I seldom consider the use of a character sexist considering creative license dictates anybody can be used for anything. That said, I enjoy critiquing things, and that means there are things people create that I think are X or Y, and in this case, that happens to be "I think this thing is sexist."
To elaborate - and I can't get into much detail without discussing spoilers - the use of her character is already only being used as a romance object for the protagonist. THIS PART IN PARTICULAR IS NOT SEXIST. The whole purpose for a narrative is to tell a single theme or message, and the protagonist and how he reacts is how the message is shared. If that means using a female lead as nothing more than a romance for the protagonist, that is fine. In fact, that makes sense in regards to certain narratives, and this one it sort of did.
The problem begins when there's a grotesque amount of sexual content that isn't putting sex in its properly understood right. The forms that sex takes in this film are very fetishistic, abusive, and disgusting. In some cases, there isn't even a reason for a sexual context to the event. It merely happens because the writer has a hard on for the specific idea and decided, "Instead of telling a solid narrative, let me put this useless sexual content in it." THIS is the kind of distraction I'm talking about when I mentioned in the sound part about distractions. It pulls the viewer out of the narrative and makes them go, "HUH?"
The reason I am going off about this in the character section and not the story section is because the sexual content surrounds a singular character like a bat outta hell. It's about all that defines her. Even by the end of the film she has this cheesy line about sex that completely erases any sense of self-awareness.
Thankfully, the protagonist of this film, Jubei, is so freaking cool, that he recovers a lot of the issues. His characterisation is pretty excellent, and his reaction to the blatant sexual content is similar to the viewer. "Ignore it." He has far more important things to do than focus on this woman's body. The irony of this character is that it shows the creator knew the sexual content was a joke.
The villains throughout the film are all incredibly interesting and their fights feel comfortably paced. There are quite a few warriors that Jubei has to fight, and each one is beaten in practical ways. Jubei never comes across as overpowered, and the warriors he fights never feel overly weak.
Enjoyment:
Despite my issues with the sexual content, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It's very likely I would have given this production an 8/10 had there not been an over-saturation of sexual deviancy, and I'll be the first to admit that I really wish I could have given this an 8/10. Things worked out so well in this work, it was as though the stars aligned to make something amazing. The animation, the simple premise, the music, even the characters were really quite cool, but this goes to show you that it only takes one pervert to ruin a film's legacy.
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