This is crap when watched older.

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Actually I find most of the anime from that era, especially Akira, better now than when I first watched them as a kid. In the meantime I've become a graphic artist and lover of japanese culture and understand the visual language a lot more. Not to get overly nostalgic, because there's wonderful stuff still out there but I miss the time when Anime could be beautifully ugly and totally excessive.

Your loss.

Are we talking about the same movie here? As for me, I first discovered Ninja Scroll when I was 18 and just getting into anime (I was working at a movie theater when Princess Mononoke was released, and was amazed by that film, too). I have watched Ninja Scroll perhaps a dozen times in the last 14 years, having owned one VHS copy and two DVD copies. I have over a score of anime films, and most of them I've only watched once and forgotten about.

Here are a ten reasons why Ninja Scroll is not only my personal favorite anime movie, but one of my favorite movies in general:

1. The story is a work of historical fantasy, like Princess Mononoke, which of course is a genre I love.

2. The art is beautiful, expansive, and detailed, and the animation has aged well. It holds up to most of what's put out by Studio Gibli. The character design is excellent and memorable as well. Jubei, Kagero, and most of the normal people actually look sort of Japanese, and the Devils of Kimon are unique and suitably grotesque.

3. A likable, relateable protagonist. Jubei isn't a stoic, macho badass or an anti-hero. Instead, he's as noble as Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke, just snarkier and more world weary. While he seems to have a special ability to strike with his katana through the air, he only uses it once, and he is in no way invincible.

4. Kagero is one of most compelling and poignant female characters I've seen in any anime. Yes, there's a nasty scene near the beginning where she's molested by Tessai, but not only does this turn out to be a crucial plot point later on (her poison is what kills him), the movie actually takes the opportunity to explore her character and doesn't exploit, sensationalize, or objectify her as much as other anime films might. It can arguably be read as a deconstruction of rape used as fanservice (which I find beneath contempt). Whenever I think about Kagero, I just want to give her a hug. Her death scene always puts a lump in my throat. In a dark world where sex has been cheapened as an expression of love, her kiss with Jubei is a more meaningful expression than any other.

5. The Eight Devils of Kimon are one of the most unforgettable rogue's gallery of villains I've ever seen. Each one is completely badass and utterly contemptible at the same time. These are villains I just love to hate.

And fittingly, each fight, though short, is very intense. Jubei is fighting for his life in every one of these encounters. More often than not, he wins due to luck, outside help (Kagero helps him defeat at least four of these battles, intentionally and not), or he finds a way to use his enemies' powers against them. All of these moments are rewarding.

6. The violence is brutal, yet it doesn't feel too silly or out of place given the medium and tone of the story. I suppose this would have been impossible in live action.

7. The English dub, while a little cheesy, isn't bad at all.

8. The Pacing. This movie is a minor miracle of efficient story-telling. The pacing is absolutely relentless. It never lets up for a moment, and at a brisk running time of 94 minutes, it is neither too short nor too long. There are almost no unnecessary scenes or shots. The plotting is rather dense and the backstory convoluted, so turn away for a moment, and you'll likely miss something. It almost takes more than one viewing to understanding everything that's going on and why.

And despite the density of character and incident, the movie doesn't feel like an overburdened adaptation of something much longer (like Akira and Ghost in the Shell), or like a bloated prelude or pilot episode. It is a perfectly executed self-contained story that ends exactly where it should. I can't say that about too many movies I see today.

9. Multi-genre. The movie is an intriguing political thriller, a fast-paced action movie, a poignant love story, and a focused character study at the same time. And it manages to do full justice to all of these things in less than 100 minutes.

10. It hits so many marks of the Mythic Structure, while intentionally or not, that nonetheless make this story resonate with me. Like Conan the Barbarian and Robocop, there is a core of sadness and loss to this story, and dark setting that doesn't seem to have much hope. Yet when the hero finally destroys the villain, we get the feeling that he is not just avenging himself and his loved ones, but making the world a better place, which I find deeply satisfying.

So yeah, I still love Ninja Scroll when I watch it as an adult. :)

I agree with almost everything the OP said. I saw this as a kid a few times but now I just
find it boring.

I passionately disagree with the OP. There is a ton of symbolism behind this film if you pay attention closely.

If you've read the Book of Genesis it becomes even more profound. The animation techniques involved are incredible in relation to the budget (more money would have ruined this movie due to adding more frames for realism as opposed to creative cuts for dynamic storytelling).

This would rank among my favorite feature-length animation right next to Ming Game and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

I think OP and most of the ones who agrees with OP probably watched this movie in the 'hype' of japanese animation, and now they grow up and are not interested in anime anymore.

This is a movie for adults, not for childrens nor teenagers.

When I first watched it I didn't like it that much, I was a teen and kind of shocked with so much sexual violence against Kagero (I LOVE her, though).
In my POV, 23 years old are almost teenagers (I'm 33) but when I watched this movie again at around 27 years old, it made much more sense to me.

Please excuse my terrible redaction, english is not my native language IMDb = Catch-22

I'm 31 now and it's still as *beep* awesome as when i was a kid.