When a young female ninja named Ayame teams with two other ninjas from different schools to defeat a half-demon named Lord Nobunaga Oda, it plunges feudal Japan into a bloody war. The three young ninjas possess sacred weapons that are the only hope in defeating the crazed warlord. Unfortunately, it takes them 3/4 of the movie to decide to act on this notion.
As a very casual fan of anime, I expect a movie to have at least two things: an intelligible plot and interesting characters. If those are present, I can forgive bad dubbing and the unintentional humor that results. The problem with Wrath of the Ninja is that it lacks the former and has plenty of the latter.
The movie has been edited together from three volumes of a series called Yotoden: Chronicle of the Warlord Period and it feels like it. I was constantly wondering if I’d missed something as incidental characters popped in and out of the movie. The main characters are about as fleshed out as, well, cartoon characters. It’s a major disappointment, especially considering that the basic premise of the movie is solid.
The action scenes are visually stunning, but they’re strung together with a weak plot and not much else.
Hardcore anime fans may want to seek this one out, but casual fans should steer clear unless absolutely nothing else is available for rental.
1.5 out of 5.0 stars
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