In order to first understand this movie, the scene needs to be set.
Imagine this: It’s a cool Saturday morning. You have a bowl of your favorite sugary cereal, you’re still wearing your superhero pajamas, and your parents just turned the news off to your favorite cartoon channel. In this episode, your favorite characters talk about a new movie that they are going to go see. You know the movie they talk about could never be real, but still, you yearn to see a movie with such a fun title. Well, here that movie is, with War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs Goura.
If one were to imagine a movie within a cartoon, or possibly the most ridiculously fun Showa-era film to release, it would most likely go something like this. Shinpei Hayashiya, a major icon when it comes to indie kaiju movies, decided to let loose for this film. Though typically having a more serious tone more akin to the original Godzilla with his releases such as Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters and Deep Sea Monster Raiga, Hayashiya decided to make one of the most fun, albeit unintentionally (or intentionally) hilarious, kaiju movies in recent memory. War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs Goura truly emulates the more absurd moments of the Showa era, straight down to the completely out-of-place human story.
The premise of this film is completely ridiculous – to a point that genuinely got me invested in the plot. Hundreds of years ago, two ninja clans were at war with one another. In order to win, the Jirai Clan created two monsters, a snake and a turtle (Jaron and Goura respectively), to attack and steal from their rivals. Though sealed away many eras ago, these monsters are released when two friends go on an outing to the city of Chichibu and break apart a scroll, transforming them into the titular “ninja monsters.” A young woman, the last of her tribe, must now hunt down the remaining Jirai to stop the destruction and find harmony among the clans once again.
Hayashiya is known for his fun, low-budget kaiju flicks, but he achieves a new peak of indie filmmaking with this one. Much of this was actually filmed in a garage, which plays both to its strengths as well as its weaknesses. Of course, much of the Toku community loves a fun film with a low-budget, but there are times that not only the budget, but the location of filming can hurt this film, especially with the use of CG instead of miniatures or practical effects.
Many scenes that should have juicy destruction that all fans love to see only have a couple stock car crashes sloppily placed over our monsters or the same explosion effect over and over again. The most glaring example of this, however, is during the ninja duels (this film truly has everything). Instead of using make-up blood splatter, they decide to use CG blood splatter. Though this may seem like a nitpick, it was something that really took me out of what could’ve been a perfectly good homage to the glory days of Tokusatsu.
This is not to say, however, that the campiness ruins the film, and it in fact adds a lot of charm to this. Though there were not many miniatures used, this meant that much of the budget and the practical effects were given to the creature designs and the suits. This means that they are absolutely phenomenal. Hayashiya of course delves into the roots of the Showa era, but goes even further into his love of Gamera with the design of Goura.
For those who do not know, in 2003, Hayashiya made a fan-sequel to Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris titled Gamera 4: Truth, which is unfortunately unavailable to most of the world. Hayashiya was finally able to make his own turtle kaiju icon with Goura, who looks like Gamera on steroids. The lights on his back really make him stand out against other suits that have been on-screen before, using practical lights to make him glow. Jaron, though a bit closer to the standard lizard kaiju, is still in a gorgeous suit that truly pays homage to kaiju such as Godzilla or Gabara. The fights themselves are incredibly unique. Of course, there are the typical laser beams and atomic breaths, but they also stay true to the title of the film and have some ninja moves. The fights are even shown as the actors, both in ninja costumes, fight with swords and shuriken. It’s insane, yes, but it’s also so much fun.
It’s nothing deep like some other kaiju films, but man, is it impossible to not have a ton of fun with this film. Shinpei Hayashiya set out to recreate that goofy late Showa era goodness, and he managed to deliver. Some CG aside, this film is definitely something that diehard tokusatsu fans should watch, with amazing suits, fun fights, and a story that is sure to entertain (and maybe confuse) an entire audience. With such a short runtime, it’s a perfect way to kill an hour with some friends.
