Japan’s Toei Studios produced SWORD FOR TRUTH as an Original Video Animation (OVA). There are some definite benefits when an animated production is designated as an OVA. OVA’s bypass theaters and TV syndication and are released straight to video. So the restrictions that are in place for theatrical and televised release are not in effect. This allows scriptwriters and animators to really cut loose; most OVA’s usually contain a high quotient of adult situations, violence, monsters, robots, and sex (and some are twisted combinations of them all, like UROTSUKIDOJI). That’s why when I hear a feature is an OVA, I figure it’ll have the mature content that I like to make it worth watching. Some OVA’s (like SWORD FOR TRUTH) are intended to be a continuing series, and introduce plot threads and characters, which are never followed up. For some reason (I would guess sluggish sales), many of these OVA’s are never sequelized. SWORD FOR TRUTH falls into that category. SWORD FOR TRUTH is about the adventures of a samurai warrior in Feudal Japan. If you’ve heard about (or seen) the excellent NINJA SCROLL, then you know what to expect. But before you think that SWORD FOR TRUTH is a cheap rip-off of that animation masterpiece, you should know that SWORD FOR TRUTH was released a whole 5 years before NINJA SCROLL debuted in 1995.

In the town of Edo, a giant tiger rampages through the town, slaughtering any warrior brave enough to approach it. The savage creature leaves a wake of human remains behind it and even the Shogun’s elite guards cannot stop it. The beast happens to cross paths with a lone swordsman named Shuranosuke. With one swift stroke of his sword, he cleaves the tiger in half. The leader of the Tokogawa Shogunate thanks Shuranosuke, and then tells him that the escaped tiger was merely a distraction, to allow a rival Ninja clan to break into their castle and kidnap Princess Mayu. The Ninja clan wants to obtain the priceless Ginryu sword that the Tokogawa Shogunate possess, and are holding the Princess hostage.

The leader of the Tokogawa Shogunate hires Shuranosuke to rescue Princess Mayu from the opposing Ninja clan. He offers Shuranosuke a lot of money to make it worth his while. The evil clan of Ninja is led by a supposedly unbeatable master named Dogon. The Ninjas know that Shuranosuke is coming to their temple to rescue the princess, and lay the appropriate traps. Shuranosuke battles the Ninja clan and is nearly captured, when another clan of Ninjas enter the fray. This clan of female Ninjas has designs on the Ginryu sword, as well. A three-way battle for survival ensues between the opposing Ninja clans and Shuranosuke for possession of the Ginryu sword.

SWORD FOR TRUTH runs just under an hour, and this short running time hurts what could have been an epic adventure. I understand the filmmakers intended SWORD FOR TRUTH to be a series, but that never panned out. Now character development is sorely missing; especially for the main character, Shuranosuke. We never learn anything about him, or where he comes from. Because there is no character development, you just don’t empathize with any of the characters. The plot meanders along and the revelations have little impact. The sex and violence are randomly intertwined with the narrative, and have little to do with the progression of the story.

On the positive side of the coin, the constant combat, sex, and action scenes trend to overshadow the film’s weaknesses. The film accurately depicts the Shogunate era, so we get a nice taste of this period in Japanese history. The righteous warriors brag about their code of honor, while the evil Ninjas demonstrate their lack of honor by dabbling in the black arts to get ahead. One of the Ninja leaders mutates into a hulking, inhuman warrior.

SWORD FOR TRUTH was produced in 1990. The animation style and detail level does not compare to what we see today. The animation quality is similar to that of the original UROTSUKIDOJI, which is from the same time period. Also, the film does not have those bright, vibrant color schemes that we have come to expect. The color schemes are purposely darker. That’s not to say this is not effective animation; indeed it is very well done, especially those sex scenes. Speaking of those sex scenes, they are not sleazy in any way. SWORD FOR TRUTH keeps it’s dignity even during the most primal moments.

SIGHT

SWORD FOR TRUTH is presented in a full frame 1.33.1 transfer. That’s the way it was filmed, so no picture information is missing. The image is sharp and well defined. All colors (including the color of blood and gore) are genuinely bright and accurate, though some colors exhibit a faded discoloration attributable to the age of the source elements. Contrast and brightness are good with superior shadow detail. The animation has an inherent darkness to it, which is well compensated by the deep black level. The animation is static in many places, and the action lacks that fluidity-of-motion that more recent anime productions are known for. The background animation also lacks detail. Traces of grain and slight pixelization appear every so often. There are decapitations and flying body parts are all over the place, but they appear relatively bloodless in the transfer. The sex scenes feature some of the best animation, which exhibit great skin tones for an animated film. The violence is well preserved in the transfer. The subtitles are big and easy to read at the bottom of the image. Manga does a commendable job considering the age of SWORD FOR TRUTH.

SOUND

Manga presents a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack for both Japanese and English languages. After comparing both language tracks, they both have the same fidelity, with the only difference being the Japanese and English dialog. The DD 2.0 soundtrack is free from hiss, dropouts, and distortion. The front soundstage is tight and crisp, and acts as an anchor for the rest of the soundfield. The rear speakers get some isolated effects, but are used mostly for ambiance and the dynamic score. The soundfield clearly reproduces the roaring of a tiger, the slashing and clanging of swords, the leaping and jumping of ninjas, and the moaning and groaning of the many seduction scenes. Besides these sound effects, SWORD FOR TRUTH is a dialog driven film, with the voices coming from the center channel. The dialog is a tad high in the mix compared to the sound effects or score, though this never becomes a problem. The bass is present, but it’s heavily underused. There were a lot of missed opportunities for a more active soundfield. Japanese-to-English translation and dubbing is crucial in today’s market, and some content providers (like CPM) always have a problem with this. Not so for Manga; the English dialog is very well done, and the voice cast delivers their lines with real conviction. One problem is that a few of the background characters sound like high school kids. Toshiyuki Watanabe, who contributed the score for Toho’s 1996 MOTHRA remake, delivers a wonderful score which changes tempo and direction depending on which elements are being portrayed onscreen (the combat scenes, the sex scenes, the dialog). The score is a traditional symphonic instrumentation, with some ancient Japanese flute, since this is a period piece. Watanabe delivers some emotional love themes during the sex scenes (especially the lesbian scene) that give the seductions an aura of class and grace. The fidelity of the score is very clean, and the compositions leak through the rear speakers nicely.

FEATURES

The SWORD FOR TRUTH DVD has an extras menu, but none of the extras have anything to do with SWORD FOR TRUTH (not even a trailer). The extras are all advertising for Manga and Palm Pictures products. The Manga 2000 Trailer is a compilation of clips from Manga’s properties that are hopefully emerging soon on DVD. It is full frame, stereo, and runs for 4:05. This compilation is accompanied by industrial music from the techno-rock band KDMFM. The Manga 2000 Video Fan Club Trailer features artwork and features of the their video products which are orderable directly from them. The Manga 2000 DVD Catalog lists the titles and features of all Manga DVD titles to date (sorry, no trailers). The final extra is Palm Pictures DVD Preview, which is a video commercial for Palm Picture’s DVD titles. This full frame, Dolby Surround compilation includes clips from THE BASKETBALL DIARIES, MANDELA, DANCEHALL QUEEN, GRAVESEND, GHOST IN THE SHELL, NINJA SCROLL, and THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB.

CONCLUSION

SWORD FOR TRUTH is an entertaining and beautiful blend of Japanese history, sex, and extreme violence. Despite the short running time, I have never seen a film with more decapitations than SWORD FOR TRUTH. I’m serious, there is about one decapitation per minute (maybe more). The filmmakers contrast this violence by providing several seduction scenes that are very tastefully animated. The action never lets up, and because of this, the filmmakers had to compromise character development and plot (an OK tradeoff for me in this case). This DVD is not for children, or anime fans that are into anime because they like the TENCHI and SAILOR MOON series. On the other hand, if you enjoyed the mature anime action of NINJA SCROLL and NINJA RESSURECTION, then you should enjoy SWORD FOR TRUTH, although don’t expect it to be as good as those two. Manga Video/Rykodisc do a great job presenting the video and audio elements on DVD, though there should have been more extras.

SWORD FOR TRUTH is available from DVDEmpire.com

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