The show is broken up into two chapters, Hikage In An Evil World and Marou With Crazy Fang. The story starts off on the morning after a huge battle in 1573 Japan. A young ninja and female are looking about at the devastation and all the dead and wounded people lying about. It becomes clear that the lead, Hikage, is young but talented, and he is sent on a mission to kill a man, Marou, that was his friend until the battle. Apparently, Marou defected or simply ran away from his duties and the head of the clan wants him stopped to prevent him from disclosing the death of the previous clan leader to others.

Hikage travels the countryside looking for his friend, concerned about his pull between duty and friendship. Along the way, he encounters a variety of demons and others who would do him harm, all the while trying to protect his girlfriend, Aya. At one point, he encounters a couple of bodies torn apart. Knowing no human blade could have inflicted the wounds, he sets out to uncover what happened to them. A survivor tells him of the curse of Yoma and he inquires while he continues his search. He finds that at night, something claims the lives of the villagers, and he might be next.

In the second half of the feature, Hikage gets to confront Marou who presents him with an offer of immortality. The cost of such a gift is quite high and the young ninja must decide between his duty and humanity versus the power and prestige of the magical gift. The fate of Aya also hangs in the balance so the decision is not as clear-cut as initial thought.

Okay, I like ninja anime as much as anyone and the horror elements were really played up here, something many of you enjoy watching. I think the story could've used a bit more polishing up and the themes might've been explained a bit more thoroughly but I won't fault the limited anime style due to its age. I'm going to rate this as a Rent It although fans of the show will undoubtedly have reason to replace their worn out tapes in favor of this new version. In general, it was pretty good for its age, but limited for newer fans that are used to the enhancements of modern anime and better extras that accompany them.

Picture: The picture was presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. For a release that's so old, it looked okay although there was a considerable amount of grain and video noise, noticed mostly in the night scenes (which is a shame since most of the movie is made up of night scenes).

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of either the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese stereo track with English subtitles or the newly remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital surround English track. In terms of music and effects, the newly remastered dub track sounded better but in terms of vocals, I preferred the original Japanese track. For a fifteen-year-old anime title, it sounded solid, at times even better than some of the newer releases on the market. The separation wasn't all that great but the clarity made up for it much of the time.

Extras: The best extra was a section called "Dramatis Personae". It had a bit of biographical data on each character as well as a clip for each in action. The other extras included some trailers and a paper insert that had the Ninja Counting Song printed on it.

Final Thoughts: Blood Reign: Curse Of The Yoma looks to be what fans of classic anime appreciate, lots of blood, action and a decent price. It may not be the best title on the market but it will bring back some memories for those who enjoyed it the first time it was released on tape.

Check out DVDTalk's Top Anime of 2003 for more hints on good anime to watch.