Ninja Resurrection

Ninja Resurrection, known in Japan as Makai Tenshō: Jigoku-hen (魔界転生) is a two-part original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata. The OVA series is based on Futaro Yamada's novel Makai Tenshō. Although based on the same source material, Ninja Resurrection is not a sequel to Ninja Scroll.

Plot
Ninja Resurrection takes place in the Tokugawa era, at a time when Christians in Japan were being persecuted. 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.

Notoriety in North America
This anime was deceptively marketed in North America to appear as if it were a sequel to the popular anime Ninja Scroll, although the two titles were made by different studios. It was given a similar English title and logo and took advantage of the fact that the lead character in both stories was named Jūbei. Largely because of the confusion this deception brought, Ninja Resurrection carries the distinction of enjoying one of the worst reputations in American anime fandom. According to IMDb rankings Anime News Network ratings, and consistent negative reviews of many, Ninja Resurrection is in the handful of titles truly scorned, critically. Its stylistic similarity to Ninja Scroll and widespread distribution have brought it financial success in the United States.

Back in Japan, this Anime series was supposed to be 4 episodes long, but due to high cost production, low sales due to the controversial graphic nature and a bizarre murder case that mimic one of the murders on this Anime series, the series was cancelled indefinitely.