Hollywood Samurai Animations, the New Action Blockbusters?

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I know it's hard to believe, but the most thrilling action production for me this year isn't Jason Statham's "The Beekeeper" or Ma Dong-seok's "Badland Hunters" from South Korea. Instead, it's the Hollywood animation series depicting Japanese ninjas, "Ninja Kamui."

The story is clichéd and can be summed up in one sentence. Higan (aka Joe Logan), a ninja, lives a secluded life with his family after retiring, but his enemies eventually find him and kill his family, prompting him to embark on a path of revenge. Essentially, the plot is just an excuse for Higan to engage in combat. The portrayal of the combat scenes is the producers’ ultimate objective.

Perhaps because the director's intentions were clear, "Ninja Kamui" effortlessly thrills me. Despite each episode being only 20 minutes short, there is at least one duel between samurais and ninjas in each episode. With a total of 12 episodes, there are over 20 battles, both large and small. Among them, what excited me the most was the opening of the second episode where Higan escapes from enemy encirclement, as well as the duel in a confined restaurant in the third episode between him and a mysterious assassin sent by his enemy.

Strengths of Hollywood Animations
First and foremost, what caught my eye most was the blood and gore, and the severed limbs. Red fluids frequently splatter across the screen. However, the animated format somehow makes these gruesome scenes feel less real. Compared to live-action films, it mitigates the discomfort brought by the bloodshed. A prime example is "Kill Bill," where the bloody scenes made me feel extremely nauseous and uncomfortable. "Ninja Kamui" has similar scenes, but they don't trigger the same physiological response.

Secondly, there's the sense of speed that is difficult to achieve with real actors. I'm referring to the extreme smoothness of the samurai sword slashes and the sensation of cutting through bodies — it really feels like playing "Fruit Ninja." This is an advantage animation has over live-action; many exaggerated actions are hard to pull off through live performances as they demand too much from the actors. However, in animation, everything seems effortless. In "John Wick," despite Keanu Reeves giving his all, the fights still look like performances; they are very elegant and appear almost like dances. But my subconscious keeps reminding me that these "dances" won't be practical in real combat, whereas "Ninja Kamui" doesn't have this issue. I see it as a two-dimensional world that is very unlike the real world, where the movements of ninjas and samurais, which defy the laws of physics, don't bother me.

Then there's stylization, in which animation has far too many advantages over live-action. I'm not saying that animation is easier to create, but once a director has a certain style in mind, realizing it is relatively low-cost. Live-action requires lighting, set dressing, demands on performances, cameras, and so on; but animation requires only imagination and the skill of drawing, which makes things relatively easier. This reminds me of the recent hit "Dune: Part Two"; the magnification effects by Denis Villeneuve indeed provided me with a stunning visual impact, but do you know how expensive its production is? — over US$190 million. And for "Ninja Kamui"? It takes less than US$500,000 per episode to animate, thus totaling around US$6 million for 12 episodes. Although animation might not fully replicate reality, I feel it achieves at least 80% of the texture of "Dune: Part Two." And do you really think the final duel between Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is that spectacular? What I saw was just two actors, who aren't particularly skilled in combat but have practiced combat for a while, attempting to make their battle look intense through montage.

So, in my view, animation can achieve the visual effects of action scenes that are hard to accomplish in live-action productions at a low cost. To some extent, in today's world where audiences are becoming increasingly demanding of large-scale spectacles, it indeed provides a way out.

Japanese Ninjas and Samurais
"Ninja Kamui," along with last year's "Blue Eye Samurai," already marks the second American-made animation on Japanese warriors within a year. If we include live-action productions, there's also the recent hit "Shōgun." Actually, Hollywood hasn't been devoid of stories related to Japanese samurais in the past, as seen in action movies like "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," but samurais often serve as supporting roles to add diversity or spectacle to the fights. So, what's the allure of Japanese samurais for Hollywood? After watching a series of Hollywood productions with samurai elements, I think there might be two factors.

Firstly, there's the novelty. If you look back at traditional action scenes over the past decade, what comes to mind? Probably the "Mission: Impossible" and "Bourne" series, right? They focus on very realistic hand-to-hand combat, much like modern boxing and martial arts in the Olympics, or the WWE Championship. In these somewhat realistic fights, technique is crucial, but what's more important is the visceral feeling of continuous blows to the flesh. However, the fighting styles of Japanese samurais and ninjas are completely different from these modern tactics. For example, in the fourth episode of "Ninja Kamui," the outcome of the duel is decided in an instant, emphasizing one-strike victories. While one-shot kills by snipers in traditional action productions also achieve one-strike victories, the use of long-range weapons and the high muzzle velocity make the bullets seem invisible, greatly diminishing the exhilaration — besides the "bullet time" in "The Matrix", of course, which is certainly a very creative approach.

Secondly, there's the artistic conception. It encompasses the samurais’ Bushido spirit, their pursuit of honor, and so on. But I'm not saying these spirits are well expressed in samurai-themed action productions; I mean they do bring about a spectacle due to cultural differences. The most typical example is "Shōgun." In this series, samurais readily commit "seppuku", and refuse to flee even when they know they can't win against their enemies. These scenes of brutality, shown through the perspective of the British protagonist John Blackthorne, reveal his curiosity about seeing the new world. He sees the beauty of the Japanese artistic conception but is not truly moved by the samurai spirit.

All in all, "Ninja Kamui" combines both animation and samurai elements, and when they merge, the exhilaration from all the action is amplified. The five stimulants of samurai-themed Hollywood productions — gore, speed, punchy style, novelty, and foreign artistic conception — get my adrenaline pumping. But once the exhilaration dissipates, superficial stories leave me feeling empty and that I've wasted my time.

Indeed, though this new style of action production is refreshing to watch, they actually lack substance.

Catch you later for more movie musings!