Ninja Scroll is perhaps one of the most famous anime films in the world. Not least of which is because it’s very clearly a work aimed at adults. Do not let your child watch this anime film, because it’s filled with violence, blood, and sex galore. However, it’s because of those adult themes that this anime film, along with others such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell, that turned U.S. public opinion of anime from being something for children only to something that everyone, young and old, can enjoy. Not bad for an anime film that screened in June 5, 1993; eh? Still, its age means that the actual footage looks a bit…dated. With all the graininess that implies. Fortunately, it looks like that’s about to change soon.
HIDIVE and Iconic Events are proud to present an upcoming 4k restoration of Ninja Scroll that will soon hit U.S. and Canadian theaters. This is, in fact, their second partnership following the wildly successful 30th anniversary screening of Ninja Scroll, in which they remastered the anime film in a process that involved “a 4K scan (3840 × 2160 pixels) of the original 35mm negative, then repairing any damage and lastly performing color correction to create an archival quality digital master of the film”. This 4k remaster will reach NA theaters for a limited theatrical release on October 4, 5 & 7, 2026. Alas, tickets are not yet on sale for this, but they promise to announce that day “soon” when they launch an official website for it.
As part of this announcement though, they do have a brand new trailer showing off a bit of the 4k restoration they did for Ninja Scroll. You can watch that 4k restoration trailer either on YouTube, or just look below:
4K Restoration Trailer and Synopsis
When Jubei saves a young ninja woman from the unthinkable, he assumes that’s the end of it. To his surprise, it’s only just the beginning. Together, the two investigate the mysterious deaths of an entire village which uncovers a conspiracy of demonic proportions! Getting closer to the truth, the demonic forces will stop at nothing to silence Jubei and his companion for good!
Credits
Original Language: Japanese
Runtime: 94 min
Original Story & Screenplay: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Original Character: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Character Design / Animation Director: Yutaka Minowa
Art Director: Hiromasa OguraDirector of Photography: Hitoshi Yamaguchi
Editor: Harutoshi Ogata, Yukiko Itō
Sound Director: Yasunori Honda
Music: Kaoru Wada
Color Designer: Osamu Mikasa
Executive Producers: Makoto Hasegawa, Masamichi Fujiwara, Yutaka Takahashi
Producer: Shigeru Kitayama, Masako Fukuyo, Kazuhiko Ikeguchi
Line Producer: Masao Maruyama
Animation Cooperation: MADHOUSE
Production Company: Toho, JVC, Movic
Animation Studio: Animate Film
Ninja Scroll Getting the 4k Theatrical Recognition It Deserves
Honestly, this 4K restoration of Ninja Scroll could be a herald of more to come. The anime film is already pretty well known in the fandom as one of the seminal adult anime works. If this 4K remaster gets popular, we could see more 4K remasters of other famous anime films. A 4K remaster of Akira or Ghost in the Shell, anyone? Mayhaps they might even get a theatrical release like this one to celebrate their contributions to anime culture? One can hope that might be a thing.
In the meantime, while you’re waiting to see when you can get tickets to it, you can check out the anime series sequel to Ninja Scroll: Ninja Scroll: The Series exclusively on Crunchyroll.
What do you all think? Are you interested in seeing Ninja Scroll in glorious 4K in theaters? Tell us your ninja thoughts in the comments section below.
Reviews