As one of the more popular genres of action movies in the 1980s, the ninja movie was a massive cultural smash offering numerous entries and imitators throughout the decade only to see diminishing returns in the time since. Now, with the help of co-writer Sion Sono, director Takahiro Ishihara is attempting a comeback with this new period-piece screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg.
Red Blade is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg
Living a troubled home-life, teenager Mako (Yûka Ogura) becomes so stressed out with everything around her that she disappears into a series of fantasy-related books. While trying to escape her situation, she soon finds herself living in feudal Japan with boss Saizo (Tak Sakaguchi) and his students Hiro (Himena Tsukimiya) and Yu (Kanon Hanakage) who informs her that she's in a separate dimension from her regular life and are to train together in the way of the ninja. When the training's complete, the girls learn that the evil Kansuke (Joey Iwanaga) a warlord that left Hiro and Yu orphans, has intentions on killing them all as well, forcing them to team up with all their training to defeat the madman and live in peace again.
Overall, there's quite a lot to like with ‘Red Blade.' Among its most impressive elements is the high amount of strong action scenes throughout, choreographed by Tak Sakaguchi. That starts at the very beginning, with the initial fight in the forests that features multiple opponents and tactics ranging from swordplay to surprise ground attacks and other weaponry in an extended confrontation. A later battle scene between the girls and the guards at a ninja house has some great fun with the athleticism and training getting utilized and bringing about some decent action. Even the big battles with the head of the evil clan they're after have some great action, ranging from the swordplay and weapon-work to acrobatic jumps and some inventive tactics to offer a really exciting and cathartic sequence. While comedic in origin, Mako's training session with Hiro and Yu has some fun times as she tries to understand and learn the ways of the ninja. This results in the usual amount of mishaps and growing pains only to turn around and showcase the growth at the end when the training is complete. All told, there's a lot to like with the martial arts and action displayed in the film.
Also enjoyable here is a rather strong storyline by writers Sion Sono and Ichiro Ryu. Managing to utilize a fairly routine and similar setup with the bullied and frustrated teenager in Mako who finds solace in a specific medium and then magically transports into that universe and learns to become a better, stronger version of herself in order to get through life, this setup provides plenty of options. The way we follow Mako's struggles in reality against the ease of training, and the relationship forged between Hiro and Yu that supplies Mako with the friendship needed to feel like her true self, manages to be a worthwhile use of that familiar setup. The changing of times between the different worlds, from the ninja times in the past to the modern times in the present, offers up a fun twist on time-travel which works rather nicely with the heavier moments later on, to signal the change in Mako's character.
There are a few issues with ‘Red Blade.' One of the biggest issues is an incredibly confusing nature as for what's actually sending Mako back through time to begin with. While there's plenty of set up to explain why she wants to explore the life of a ninja due to her home life, how they manage to pull off the ability to switch between being in the feudal time and back in the modern times. As we're well aware of this change not only in characters' costumes but also the general settings, there's still very little about how that's possible beyond the mention of Mako desiring that to happen. The entire process is a mystery, even more so since that happens several times throughout the film without much in the way of explaining how they're able to change times, especially since Hiro and Yu are able to do so as well.
The other problem here is a lack of conviction in believing Mako is a true martial artist, as the final fight makes her look incredibly suspect in terms of being a skilled practitioner. Her moves are sloppy and she stutters as if trying to remember the choreography rather than actually performing, making it obvious against Kansuke who is a much more skilled and capable performer Still, it's not as big of an issue as the other flaw.
While ‘Red Blade' has a rather big issue with a confusing storyline, there's some enjoyable elements and a lot of action to help overcome that to make for a wholly worthwhile watch. Those curious about this kind of effort or looking for a light-hearted period-set action film should give it a watch while those turned off by the flaws or looking for something a bit harder edged should heed caution.
