Ninja Resurrection, known in Japan as Makai Tenshō: Jigoku Hen (魔界転生地獄編, trans: Demon Realm Reincarnation: Portrait of Hell) is a two-part original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata.
The leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, Amakusa Shirō, hoped to resist the government forces attacking Christians like him, but is assassinated.
Soon after, Amakusa's restless spirit returns to avenge his fallen comrades and is up to Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi to put a stop to the demonic onslaught.
The Revenge of Jubei begins with a narration about the Battle of Sekigahara, the final battle between the Western Army, who were loyal to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Eastern Army, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu; the events that led up to the Shimabara rebellion, including the capture and execution of Konishi Yukinaga, a Christian daimyō whose beliefs forbade him from committing seppuku, and the banning of Christianity in Japan; and a dark satanic prophecy about Amakusa Shirō, which foretold that if he was prevented from becoming Christ, he would return as Satan.
The first OVA called "The Cant of Hell" shows a small band of soldiers raiding a village outside of Harano Castle, and smashing a statue of Madonna.
After the soldiers leave to report the Christian rebels to the shogun, a small girl named Ocho runs to the boy's body and begs him to wake up.
Sunlight shines through the clouds onto Shiro and he raises the crucifix and a long beam of light shoots from it up into the sky.
The villagers bow down and worship Shiro, declaring him the son of God and the returned messiah and saviour, and the Madonna statue reforms by itself.
10 years later, during the Shimabara Rebellion, a small group of shogunate soldiers are seen marching though a thick fog outside Harono Castle.
Nearby, armored Christian soldiers raise banners adorned with crucifixes and cheer for their recent victory.
Shiro then addresses his people, telling them to not hate their enemies, stating that they deserve respect and that the current conflict was inevitable.
Using the aerial assault, Jubei and his four ninjas enter the castle and begin easily slicing the Christians in half.
Shiro gathers the women, children, and elderly in the chapel, which the soldiers can't enter because it is protected by a seal.
He and the ninja who likes explosives perform a tactical attack: the latter opens up a bazooka and fires it at the dragon, while the former protects himself with a folding metal suit of armor with rocket propulsion (concealed in his small shoulder pads) and attacks from a different angle, causing massive damage to the dragon.
Having survived the fall and surrounded by flames and corpses, a saddened and wounded Shiro demands to know why God has abandoned him and his people.
Casting the spell that will allow Shiro to be reborn, Makai Tensho, Soiken cuts off one of his own fingers, which then comes to life and crawls inside Ocho.
Sometime afterwards, the corpses and severed heads of the victims of Shimabara are shown skewered on pikes both outside and throughout the remains of Harono Castle.
In addition, Shiro, whose severed head is shown on top of a cross, was found lying injured and immobile in the destroyed chapel and Mori Soiken was never again seen by mortal men.
Munenori tells Jubei that he must never lose and should exploit every weakness of his opponent and that he can't rely on strength alone.
It states that their battles are legendary but their deaths are shrouded in mystery; for example, Musashi disappeared in foggy mountains and Mataemon was poisoned by an unknown person.
Jushin tells Jubei that the shogun is amassing a large army and gathering much food and it looks like he will increase taxes.
The old man also says that Jubei reminds him of an old friend named Musashi Miyamoto, who strove to excel everyone in swordsmanship and now lives as a hermit in the mountains.
Later that night, in Edo, during a full moon; Soiken Mori, Shosetsu Yui, Botaro, Inshun, and Mataemon stand on an altar in a room, surrounding Ocho, who is laying on the floor.
Suddenly, many long strands of silver hair fire out of Ocho's body and wrap around wooden beams, bars, the ceiling, and even Soiken's and Shosetsu's necks.
Then a long split cuts from inside Ocho's body and a naked, silver-haired Shiro pushes his way out, ripping her into many pieces.
Shiro shrieks and green energy shoots from his body into the air and descends onto the three resurrecteds: Botaro, Mataemon, and Inshun.
In 1998, ADV Films' decision to release Makai Tensho as Ninja Resurrection caused a wave of confusion among anime fans.
Critics saw this as ADV's attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Ninja Scroll at the time, which had taken American audiences by storm with the exposure assistance from MTV's animated TV series Liquid Television.
While Ninja Resurrection sold well in the U.S., the deceptive marketing gave it one of the worst reputations in American anime fandom.
[citation needed] Despite the series' initial negative reception among critics, it was received more positively among viewers and developed a cult following in recent years, with many praising it for its animation, orchestral soundtrack by Masamichi Amano, action scenes and art style.