Jigen Sengokushi: Kuro no Shishi - Jinnai-hen

I like to imagine that every anime ever was started by reefer-fueled brainstorming sessions among the creative staff. In this session, Go Nagai has just finished coughing after a monstrous bong hit, and he's waving his hands around to punctuate his speech:

Uncle Go: "Okay, okay, dude, get this:... Um, like, so back during the Warring States period, like, frickin' Nobunaga contacts aliens to get special technology like mechs an-an shit, and he augments his warriors with cyborg parts and nukes and lasers and stuff. So like, these ninjas go after his most hardcore cyborgs so like... They fight and shit".

Dude: "And?"

Go: "So like, the ... main ninja dude looks like Koji Kabuto from Mazinger, down to the sideburns."

Producer: "Christ, dude. I'm puttin' money down for that."


...

So, back to reality. Remember ninjas? The silent assassins that poison people in their sleep, and wear costumes to sneak into enemy fortresses? You know, those cherished fake ninja stock characters? Black Lion has some of the best fake ninjas this side of a Scroll, and they come in spades. No "kah-ghey busshy no jootsues" or goofy furry transformations for these guys. They cut people in half, throw explosives, punch people's heads off, run really fast, and burn marijuana to confuse their enemies... in homage to the brainstorming sessions that created them.

There is no real plot. Sure, Koji- um, the main character wants REVENGE for the death of his clan by the machines, there are aliens, and it plays out sort of like Predator/Terminator (heh) but why do you care? Limbs are severed, the ground is soaked in blood, and heads fly off; it's really cool stuff. You don't need to know anything else, really. The film's strength relies in how ridiculous the whole ordeal is. Hell, it could have been called "Ninja Koji Kabuto Versus the Cyborg Samurai from Space", like all of those so-bad-it's-awesome Go Nagai crossover movies, and it wouldn't detract from the spectacle at all.

Now, the movie's real claim to fame is the copious amount of organ meat spilled and thrown around. This OVA is only 44 minutes long, but they on't spare any time at all: the first FIVE minutes has enough violence to desensitize a small colony of hippie children and Baptist ministers.
I feel like watching it again to count all of the decapitations and bisections that happen (I did. I lost count.). There are so many...inventive ways that some of the characters meet their ends that it deserves a graduate thesis. The fights are fast, brutal, and effing INTENSE. Brains gush out. Ninjas are trampled by tanks. Ninjas dash in a blur of sketchy lines over brush and reeds and rocks in high-pitched battles with absolutely no mercy.
It's a symphony of blood and guts and eyeballs and whirling intestines and fecal matter that takes off like a rocket from the first headstab and climaxes in the most royally epic bisection of all time. In other words, it's really awesome.

Now, after re-watching this with the ENGLISH DUB, and actually being able to pay attention this time, I have to say that this is one of the most profoundly awesome OVAs of all time.

No, seriously. The dubbed dialog is pretty badly-written and acted, despite some good voices. However, it just adds another layer of crunchy ridiculousness to the whole shebang. I can't help but love anything that insists on using the verb form of REVENGE at the most awkward moments.

There are also several whiplash-inducing "whut" moments near the end, and some unfulfilled sequel potential that needs to be addressed.
Whoa. I was so drained for man-freaking over the final battle that I completely glossed this over.

Come on, Dynamic Pro guys. Make this happen.

Black Lion is pretty, pretty ridiculous, has tons of gore and ninjas that don't spend half of the movie weeping about their TRAGIC PAST. I'd say it's worth a download.

So what happens when you adapt a manga from GO NAGAI and have Takashi Watanabe direct it, you get one of the best/worst/most insane anime OVA's I have watched to date. Oh make no mistake this an anime with many flaws in it, its just amazes me that so many bad problems can make an enjoyable mess.

I'll say this as a positive if you like blood and action, then this has a lot packed into it for 42 minutes. I'll give it this the action scenes are well done and its when the animation is at its best, but there are moments when you can ... see where they cut corners when its anything that doesn't involve the action scenes.

The English dubbed cast are fine with some decent performances throughout, its just that the characters they are voicing are not original with the generic ninja girl, the annoying main character and the over the top monster villain.

Doesn't help that the story makes no sense and it goes off the rails in the very first minute of the anime and it just keeps getting more dumb and awesome as it goes on. With plot holes forming all the way through to the end and questions never to be answered, in the sequel that never happened.

This is a dumb popcorn movie and I fully enjoyed the madness on screen. If you love dumb, violent action anime then I highly recommend that you give this a watch. And if you can gather some friends together for a bad anime night and make sure this one anime you keep on hand for those special occasions.

Overview:

Ladies and Gentleman...It's GO Time! It's only February, but Go Nagai's Devilman Crybaby with Yuasa at the helm looks unbeatable in its quest for Animu of the Year. As far as MAL is concerned, the only anime in its way is the New Galactic Heroes, which is highly condensed and being directed by a guy known only for Koroko no Basket. Basically, Yuasa is just going to easily cruise to victory again like a heavyweight boxer fighting against small children. However, we aren't here to talk about anime Alan Moore.

Nope, today we once again are discussing Uncle Go! Black Lion bares all the hallmarks ... of a Nagai anime. It's crazier than a rabid, shithouse rat. It's fucking retarded. Most importantly, it is GLORIOUSLY hilarious and entertaining for every single second.

Plot and characters:

The plot is that Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga was actually an evil space alien and conquered Japan using laser guns and robots. This minor detail was somehow lost to history. The main antagonist is a samurai whose family was killed by ninjas. Alien scientists transformed him into a cyborg and gave him the order to exterminate all ninjas! Our heroes are a group of Ninja, who are fighting against Nobunaga and must figure out how to kill this unstoppable cyborg. The main male ninja is named Shishimaru and judging from his Wolverine sideburns, he is likely the ancestor of Devil-man/Violence Jack. When Shishimaru's girlfriend is killed by the cyborg samurai, he happens to find her twin sister and plans revenge! They set the samurai on fire, poison him, use explosives, and stab him dozens of times, but NOTHING will put this dude down. Eventually, they use dynamite to cause a rock slide and this somehow overloads his nuclear reactor. Cyborg Samurai goes BOOM, but our heroes are saved by a rival alien civilization that opposes the one Nobunaga is from. The anime ends with our ninja hero smiling up at a giant spaceship.

Sound:

The soundtrack is really nothing special and the English voice acting is...questionable. This was one of ADV's first licenses and they used the same crew as for Ninja Resurrection, and the infamous Tekken Movie. You can instead watch it in Japanese and laugh hard at the fact the cyborg samurai is clearly voiced by the Narrator from Galactic Heroes. Imperial Date: time to kill all Ninja!!!

Art:

The animation is brought to you by Nippon Columbia, whom you might recall for their outstanding work on that seminal classic, MD Geist. While the motion and smoothness might be sub-par, at least there is TONS of gore. Cyborg samurai likes to squeeze heads until the eyes pop out and they explode.

Overall:

This is 45 minutes of sheer, enjoyable schlock. This perfectly encapsulates that trashy, late 80s, vintage MANime that I love so much. This anime also has a special place in the hearts of American anime collectors, because ADV used the villain as their mascot. He appears at the beginning of basically EVERY ADV anime and yells at you to get the ADV Anime Network. Yes, I want to pay 10 dollars a month to a defunct Dub company to watch all 4 seasons of Ikki Tousen! Thanks ADV! God bless Go Nagai and God bless this awesomely terrible anime!