KnockBack, Episode 190: Ninja Scroll (Patreon)

Way back when, anime made its way to western audiences primarily via three important films: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and today's topic, Ninja Scroll. Released in Japan in the summer of 1993, Ninja Scroll quickly meandered west, where it garnered a substantial hardcore audience during the VHS era and into the DVD era. That's especially strange, since -- back in its native country -- Ninja Scroll wasn't much of a hit at all. That wasn't true outside of Japan's borders, however, where nearly 30 years later, it's still considered an all-time great and a seminal piece of Japanese culture. So let's jump into Feudal Japan and sort through a very video game-like plot about a couple of samurai slicing and dicing through eight foes with special powers.