Forgotten film title please help.

S

Starky

Completely Average High School Student
Right, I've been nostalgically looking back at some of the anime films I used to watch as a child and it brought back se really good memories. Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of one of the films I misted liked.

I can't remember the name but I will try and describe it for you and if you can help great

First of all it is a old film and maybe based on manga. The main character I think was a ronin and wore a purple ghi with Japanese symbol on it stating he was cursed. He had to battle demons from the under world, and the leader (from the scene I can remember) was a great big demon who had women almost intertwined in him in the underworld. There were also female ninja who wore red and I think they were all slaughtered in a forest s scene. And I clearly remember the lead fighting a white tiger which he killed.

Any help would be great as I would love to watch this film again.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
Sounds like Sword for Truth. The dub-only DVD can be had for pennies. You'd be better off with Ninja Sroll, though, tbh...

Click to expand...

Thank you, I'm sure that is the one, its been a long time since I watched it... Maybe 13 years ago. In the past two days I have caught up on some of the anime I used to watch, Fist Of The North Star, and Ninja Scroll. It brought back some good memories.

This is the only one left. I don't know how things have moved on over the years, but I hope to catch up.

Thanks.
 
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Wow I just watched sword for truth, and I don't remember it being as bad as it was. Even so it still was good to bring back some old memories. Thanks for th link.

Is there a thread on here that lists some of the best samuri/ninja anamie old and new?
 
Yeah, it's a bit of a stinker.

I'm not sure if there is a thread about samurai and ninja anime but I can recommend a few things (you mentioned watching Ninja Scroll, so I'll leave that off).

-- Sword of the Stranger is a theatrical movie and therefore has the budget to pull off some truly spectacular set-pieces. It's a bit slow in the middle, as I recall, but the end is incredible.

-- Rurouni Kenshin (aka Samurai X) Trust & Betrayal is one of the best OVAs you'll ever see. It's a prequel to the Kenshin TV series so no prior knowledge of the franchise is required going in.

-- Samurai 7 is a re-imagining of The Seven Samurai. It has giant robots. Sometimes it feels like the show is longer than it needs to be (26 episodes) but it's definitely worth watching.

-- The Hakkenden is a 13-episode OVA adaptation of this from the early-mid 1990s. It shares some similarities with Samurai 7 (this time there are 8 warriors who must come together to fight off evil, or something) but has the opposite problem of trying to cram a bit too much into not enough episodes. It has some interesting direction, experimental animation, and great music. But I am a long-time fanboy of this one, so bear that in mind.
 
I'll add some too.

Basilisk is a ninja fighting show with some similarities to Ninja Scroll. Given what you like, I think you'll enjoy it (I did). Don't expect anything terrifically deep and just enjoy the spectacle.

Speaking of spectacles, Sengoku Basara is a more colourful, over-the-top, console game influenced take on samurai shows. If you like your historical action serious and painstakingly realistic, avoid it like the plague, but otherwise I recommend giving it a look.

Blade of the Immortal is a samurai series, but it pales in comparison to the excellent original manga version. If you're happy collecting graphic novels I recommend that version wholeheartedly, otherwise you might want to check out the very short anime.

Shigurui has received mixed reviews but it's violent, full of samurai and very cheap, so it might be worth a look.

Samurai Champloo is a weird fusion of hip hop and samurai. The mixture works better than it should and it has some good production values (and I don't even like hip hop).

Nabari No Ou is another ninja-filled TV series. I'm not sure whether or not it would be to your taste as it's full of pouty, spindly guys. It might be worth checking out a trailer.

R
 
Gawd, how could I have forgotten Basilisk and Samurai Champloo? I wholeheartedly second those.

One more that's slightly out of left field: House of Five Leaves. It's a samurai period drama with practically no action, but the characterisation is excellent and it looks gorgeous.
 
Thank you for the recommendations, ill have to give them a try.

I'm pretty new to anime, but I have always liked Japanese history and samuri/ninja tales. So I guess I like the more violent samuri/ninja anime. I do know that some of the films can pull on your heart strings, but would prefer more action than teary eyed anime.

Thanks again.
 
To Rui and Fabio's recommendations, I'd add Katanagatari.
If you're only for the action, Afro Samurai looks amazing and has amazing action (but the plot makes no sense).

If you you are going on manga territory, I'd recommend Lady Snowblood & Lone Wolf and Cub both from Kazuo Koike (there is a Lady Snowblood film recently released, if I'm not mistaken) and the best samurai manga IMHO Vagabond.

Oh, and if I were you I'd start with Sword of the Stranger and Samurai Champloo, as they are personal favourites on this "genre".
 
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