Youma

Blood Reign: Curse of the Youma is a good example of your archetypal late-80s OVA, complete with ultraviolence, passionately detailed art, and unapologetic, at times even corny, badassery. Beginning with the story, we are presented with a brief revenge tale, colored by the supernatural and undergirded by an unyielding perseverance in the face of great horrors. It's a fun, action-packed story, and justifies various high-octane fight scenes throughout. My only qualms are with its pacing and occasional inconsistency. Everything feels a tad rushed, and the big, dramatic scenes feel a little unearned at times as a result. Then, though this ... is a lesser issue, its internal lore and worldbuilding, while a very cool version of a gritty feudal Japan, seems to lose the thread at times, failing to explain how certain things work or how different plot points link together. Of course, I don't expect anything like a hard magic system from an OVA of this kind from this era, but internal consistency does go a long way and this anime could have used a little more grounding in that respect.

The art is this show's strongest aspect, lying out a dark fantasy bloodbath complete with gorgeous backgrounds, excruciatingly anatomical gore, and some genuinely impressive fight choreography. My favorite part has to be the design of the various Youma, which are uniquely otherworldly and creatively horrific.

The sound is good, meeting all standards of quality for the time, but some line deliveries and music choices make the whole production feel a little rough around the edges.

The characters are only about as good as they have to be to operate in this story, meaning that they aren't necessarily very deep. I'm not complaining here, as shallow characterization is what's standard for this particular type of anime, and doesn't really detract from the experience at all. My favorites here are Hikage and the second Aya, given that Hikage is the main badass that holds the whole show together, and Aya's interactions with Hikage highlight her more believable emotionality and even help to humanize Hikage a little bit. Overall, Blood Reign: Curse of the Youma is a fun romp of an OVA that is archetypal of anime in the late 80s. Give it a shot, especially if you like the subgenre of old gorefest OVAs.

The issue with this OVA is that it seems like a supplement to the manga, as opposed to a standalone adaptation. It's so random that it feels like a dream. It's as if you watched Berserk and various shows with ninjas, and then fell asleep. There's so much going on, and it jumps from scene to scene and plot point to plot point. The show doesn't allow itself to breathe. Maybe it *is* a supplement to the manga, though as someone who hasn't read the manga, this was just jarring and confusing.

The characters are okay. I will ... give it some leeway because it obviously inspired Berserk and other ninja based anime after it. I even see some inspirations of Ooku in it. Though it's my logic with Princess Knight. Just because it inspired some masterpieces, doesn't mean it's a great work of art. I do grade it on a curve because I respect the influence, but I won't give too many bonus points.

I have mixed feelings about recommending. I will say that it's short. It's two OVAs, and they're about 30 minutes each. It's really just a bit over an hour overall. So watching this isn't a waste. Though it also feels like some weird fever dream.

A truly jarring experience.

There isn't really a story here, it's more like a confusing dream that you wake from and ask what does it mean? The answer is not much.
The protagonist moves through various scenarios to be provided with an excuse to do ninja stuff. The cuts between scenes and tone are really quite unpleasant. It's enough to make ones brain itch.

The main character doesn't say much, but when he does it becomes clear he thinks women are terrible. The only driving force here is his pursuit of his male friend, so maybe there is some homo-erotic subtext to the whole situation.