ninja sorang2

Plot

Kamui is a ninja from the Edo period who has decided to leave his clan. After doing so he is pursued relentlessly by the members of his former clan; who consider him to be a traitor and therefore wish to kill him. Kamui then wanders around Japan to escape from them by using his intelligence and great abilities to survive. In the course of the series Kamui begins to suffer from paranoia because of his status as a persecuted man. Kamui then started to believe that everybody wished to murder him and became distrusting of everyone he came across.

KAMUI: THE LONE NINJA

Stars: Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Koyuki, Koichi Sato, Ekin Cheng, Yuta Kanai, Suzuka Ohgo | Written by Sai and Kankuro Kudo | Directed by Yoichi San

It’s 17th century Japan and from a young age Kamui has been considered something of an outcast, even within his own ninja clan. Disillusioned with the laws and principles which dictate that he must use his skills to kill others, Kamui chooses to leave his past behind him and go in search of true freedom. But for a ninja freedom comes at a price and the only way to escape the bonds of the ninja brotherhood is to die.

Now a fugitive on the run from his clan, who are determined to hunt him down and eliminate him for his betrayal, Kamui finds himself constantly fighting for his life and unable to trust anyone. He eventually finds some solace when he meets an indomitable fisherman who saves his life and invites him to settle with his family. Unexpectedly, the arrangement brings Kamui face to face with a long-forgotten nemesis of his, another renegade ninja with a deadly score to settle. Meanwhile, the ninja army hunting Kamui is setting a trap from which there can be no escape.

Kamui: The Lone Ninja is based on the 60’s manga series created by Japanese artist Sanpei Shirato… which turns out to be both the film’s biggest strength and its biggest flaw. Strength in that the film comes with an inherant visual style and story, but flaw in that the film pays too much reverance to the original source material, even going as far as re-creating scenes from the manga, scenes I may add that are humanly impossible, in what are badly-executed CGI fight scenes. Essentially plot-less, the film meanders through admittedly gorgeous visuals (in particular during the scenes set in the fishing village), with the slow pacing being Kamui’s ultimate downfall – I doubt many will get through the film in one sitting, I know I struggled.

The film is not without ambition however, but it looks like there wasn’t the budget to justice to that ambition. There are some superbly staged fights – on land, sea, and in the tree tops – but the lack of budget really shows in these scenes, with some particularly terrible CGI when Kamui does his trademark ninja death move, the “Well Bucket Drop.” The huge end battle is also let down by poor CGI, leaving what should have been an epic, jaw-dropping spectacle feel cold and unfulfilling…