Ninja Resurrection

Ninja Resurrection
Cover art from the DVD release of Ninja Resurrection
魔界転生地獄編 (Demonic Resurrection: Portrait of Hell)
Genre	Chanbara, Supernatural
Original video animation
Directed by	Yasunori Urata
Music by	Masamichi Amano
Studio	Phoenix Entertainment
Released	February 27, 1997 – March 27, 1998
Runtime	40 minutes
Episodes	2

Ninja Resurrection, known in Japan as Makai Tenshō: Jigoku-hen (魔界転生地獄編^?, trans. Demonic Resurrection: Portrait of Hell) is a two-part original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata.

The OVA series is based on Futaro Yamada's novel Makai Tenshō. Although based on the same source material and of a similar style, Ninja Resurrection is not a sequel to the anime film Ninja Scroll although it was marketed as one.

Ninja Resurrection takes place in the Tokugawa era, at a time when Christians in Japan were being persecuted. The leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, Amakusa Shirō, hoped to resist the government forces attacking Christians like him but is assassinated.

Soon after, Amakusa's restless spirit returns to avenge his fallen comrades and is up to Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi to put a stop to the demonic onslaught.

The Revenge of Jubei begins with a narration explaining the war between Toyotomi and Tokugawa, the events that led up to the Shimabara rebellion, and a dark satanic prophecy about Shiro. Along with the narration there are Japanese paintings of these events.

The first OVA called "The Cant Of Hell" shows a small band of soldiers raiding a village outside of Harano Castle, and smashing a statue of Madonna. All the villagers hide except for a little boy who they shoot. After the soldiers leave to report the Christian rebels to the shogun, a small girl named Ocho runs to the boy's body and begs him to wake up. The boy, who is Shiro, miraculously revives and shows the approaching villagers that the bullet hit a crucifix he had. Sunlight shines through the clouds onto shiro and he raises the crucifix and a long beam of light shoots from it up into the sky. The villagers bowdown and worship Shiro, declaring him the son of God and the returned messiah and saviour, and the Madonna statue reforms by itself. Meanwhile, an evil-looking man in the bushes watches the events as they unfold and smiles. 10 years later, an army of government soldiers attan the sky and comments on the ingenuity of this new approach. The extremely huge kite, tethered to someplace, floats high in the clouds above Harano castle. Jubei Yagyu and four other ninjas are standing on a narrow platform on the kite. They leap from the platform through a lightningstorm and float down to the castle using capes. Using the aerial assault, Jubei and his four ninjas enter the castle and begin easily slicing the Christians in half. One ninja in particular who has a penchant for explosives detonates a wave of explosions throughout the castle. There is intense fighting with lots of blood. Nobutsuna's army uses a battering-ram to enter the castle, and the soldiers battle their enemies.