Sword for Truth

—by Mark L. Johnson

SWORD FOR TRUTH is definitely being marketed to NINJA SCROLL fans, and after viewing it I can see the similarities. The only problem is that in my opinion NINJA SCROLL had better quality animation, better action sequences, better plot, better characters, better naughty scenes, better acting, and well, better everything else. The question however remains, if you liked NINJA SCROLL would you like SWORD FOR TRUTH? And I would answer a wishy-washy "maybe."
Honestly, do not buy SWORD FOR TRUTH for the plot. The creators of this tried to put all the elements of a sword fantasy feudal Japan erotically charged action piece into 50 minutes. We have blood, we have sword fights, we have fodder and bosses, we have main characters that get only two minutes of screen-time, we have an invincible main character, we have lesbian encounters for no apparent reason—and trying to tie all this together causes a ton of plot holes.
The story mostly revolves around Sasaki, an unmatched swordsman with a cool mercenary attitude. For some reason a clan of ninja want a special sword from the government, and kidnap a princess demanding a ransom of this item. Sasaki is hired to get her back, and the majority of this show deals with the fights Sasaki gets involved in performing this task. There are plenty of side plots as well. At the end of this show, the viewer is left with the impression there is much yet to be explained, and to my knowledge no sequel is forthcoming.
Action-wise, there is plenty of killing and violence, though again not to the detail of NINJA SCROLL. There are a few minor sex scenes as well and I would not recommend this title to younger viewers.
Looking at the animation quality, it does show its age a bit, but is still decent. Originally done in 1990, the video quality is pretty good and the characters are relatively consistent. The style is a bit dark, however, and lacking detail in areas.
From a DVD standpoint, Manga did a great job. The compression and video quality looked fine on my setup, they included a Japanese and English version, and have the standard mix of Manga trailers available as well.
I think my main criticism of SWORD FOR TRUTH is that it tried to be everything and wound up specializing in nothing. I think the best description for my feelings on this DVD is "unremarkable". Fans of older school anime action may want to check it out. SWORD FOR TRUTH is neither great nor bad, and I would put it as a low priority rental title.

Released in North America by Manga Entertainment
Bilingual DVD, 60 minutes
English dubbed / Japanese subtitled: MANGA4057-2
$29.95
Available now in the USA
Where to buy