Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl

Director
Akitaro Daichi
Production
Bandai, Madhouse, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes
Year
1999

Jubei-chan: Secret of the Lovely Eye patch

By Stephen Lerch
30th May 04

Short Synopsis:

The story starts seriously enough, but quickly takes a turn into in a direction opposite of serious.

Yagyu Jubei was a great swordsmen. His dying wish was to pass on his sword technique to someone with the power and ability to use it. He creates something to pass his technique on with, an eyepatch; a heart shaped, lovely eye patch. On his deathbed he bequeaths the lovely eye patch to his retainer Koinosuke and passes on.

Fast forward 300 years to the present. Nanohara Jiyu, whose father calls her 'Jubei,' has just moved from Tokyo and is beginning her life at a new school. On her way to school she meets basically all of the key players in this story. You have her father chasing behind her (and he's dressed like a pimp, which is why she is trying to get away from him before he embarasses her at her new school). You have Bantaro and his 'Ruffians.' We also meet Ryujoji Shirou, an heir to a school of swordsmen that was crushed by Yagyu Jubei, who saves Jiyu from being lost in the forest. Upon arriving at her new school, Jiyu meets two new friends, Maro and Sachi.

On the way home after school, Jiyu gets lost in the woods... again. This is where her fate changes forever. Jubei's retainer, still alive after 300 years, locates Jiyu and attempts to pass the lovely eye patch to her as she fits the description Jubei gave him for his successor. Jiyu wants nothing to do with the eye patch but puts it on just to satisfy Koinosuke. This is where the trouble begins, as all of the people who have been seeking the eye patch, trying to destroy the Yagyu sword technique forever, sense that the successor has been chosen. They are, of course, promptly attacked with Jiyu still wanting nothing to do with the eye patch. Only when her father is nearly beheaded does Jiyu don the eye patch and transform into Yagyu Jubei.

The rest of the story involves Jiyu's numerous attempts to be rid of the eye patch, protect her father, avoid letting her father know she is Yagyu Jubei, lead a normal life and, of course, many battles with the people trying to destroy the Yagyu line.

Video:

This is a 13 episode TV series animated by Mad House (Ninja Scroll, Sakura Wars TV).

The animation is well done, with the fight scenes being done in a superb style. Fluid movement and plenty of on-screen action.

There are instances of rainbows, though they are few and far between and unnoticeable if you aren't watching for them.

The video is encoded at a nice high rate and during the show there is no compression blocking or other artifacts from the encode, though the movement in the menus is laced with compression blocking. This slight lack in quality exists purely in the menus, and as such, is acceptable. This is a quality release.

Audio:

The original Japanese language track is in the original 2.0 Stereo format, but for fans of English dubs, you are presented with a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.

The Japanese track, when compared to other stereo releases, seems a little on the quiet side, though this 'problem' also manifests in the English track, so most likely this is the way it is meant to be. Both the Japanese and English are at the same level, so switching between the 2 presents no issues. Being a TV series, there isn't much spread over the sound stage in the stereo mix, this is expected and it still works well with the show. The characters' voices fit with their personalities and are excellently executed.

The English track, upon a spot check, seems well acted over all and the 5.1 mix, while effective, seems to be used sparingly, making it seem, for the most part, that the show is stereo. A nice extra for fans of English tracks.

Extras:

There aren't many. Each disc has basically one extra and the consist of the following:

Disc 1- Cooking With Jubei-chan
Disc 2- Bantaro's Dating Tips
Disc 3- Ninja Fashion With Jubei-chan
Disc 4- Textless Ending and Japanese TV Commercials

They are worth watching once, and that's about it.

Packaging:

I bought, and am reviewing, the Complete Collection, though each disc is available separately.

This set is presented in a double DVD case style, with 1 disc and the interior insert in the first opening, 2 discs in the next, with a single disc in the last opening.

Artwork on the discs themselves consists of a big red heart in the center of the disc with a plain white outline, with disc times written on the disc.

The exterior insert is a nicely drawn cover, presenting Jiyu sharing the spotlight with her alternate self, Jubei. Her father's and Jubei's faces are transparent in the background. The back cover contains a nice write up on the show, 6 screen shots and Bantaro and the Ruffians filling out the bottm quarter.

The interior insert has the same picture as the front cover, a very nice Jubei with Jiyu on her bike as a fold out type poster and the back has the discs with their corresponding episode and extras listings rounded out with a nice picture of Jubei.

Final Analysis:

This is a very light hearted, fun show. It has the proper amount of action, is really well animated and has some very nice music. I would find it difficult to believe that someone could watch through the show and at the least smile, if not break into some laughter. The characters, for the most part, are all likeable (even some of the 'bad guys' are likeable) and there are several surprises to be seen, things that while you may get an inclination of what is going on in the background, surprise you when they happen.

Not really knowing where I should put this, it should be noted that in several spots the subtitles have grammatical errors, though they are easily read through and don't detract from the show in the slightest. I just wanted others to be aware before they purchase the set.

I highly recommend Jubei-chan to anyone looking for a show that has a certain degree of seriousness, yet laced with a truely silly style that is well presented and well animated. I mean, a heart shaped eye patch that transforms the main character into Yagyu Jubei? How can that be taken seriously? Yet it is presented in a serious manor, and while not believable in the real world, is entirely believable in Jubei-chan's.

Well worth the asking price.

8/10

-- Stephen Lerch 30th May 04

Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl Images