is a 1989 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 directed by Takashi Anno.

Plot

A terrible war has ravaged the land, and now, fueled by the blood of numerous fallen warriors the Yōma, demons from hell, emerge once more. A skilled ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

 seeks to end the bloodshed these demons inflict upon humanity, but to do this he must fight against his undead former best friend and fellow ninja who was killed in battle and has been resurrected to serve the Yōma.

Music

The series uses two pieces of theme music

Theme music

Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...

: by Mami Nakizoto is the series' opening theme, while by Midori Karashima is the series' ending theme.

Releases

In Japan, the series was released on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 on May 1, 1989. ADV Films released the VHS on November 11, 1998. The OVAs two episodes were released on May 1 and June 1, 1989, respectively in North America by ADV Films's Encore Action, in France by Mangas

Mangas (TV)

Mangas is a French television channel dedicated to anime .-History of the channel:AB Cartoons was launched in 1996 as a youth channel on the AB Sat package...

, in Germany by OVA Films and in Russia by MC Entertainment

MC Entertainment

MC Entertainment is a Russian distributor of anime and films from Japan, USA, Germany, Great Britain, China, Thailand and South Korea. The company, headed by Dmitry Fedotkin, was founded in 2000. As of 2007, it the largest anime company in Russia. It is also the first Russian company aimed...

. The OVAs were rebroadcast in an anime marathon by Encore Action on November 4, 2000.

Reception

DVD Verdict

DVD Verdict

DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...

 criticised Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma for its "limpid animation and static imagery" and quality of the DVD release. Mania.com's Chris Beveridge compared Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma with Wrath of the Ninja

Yotoden

is a Japanese historical fantasy novel by Takeshi Narumi. In 1987 the novel was adapted into a 3-episode original video animation by J.C.Staff. In 1989, Yotoden was re-edited into the feature film titled Wrath of the Ninja for English-speaking regions...

for its ninja protagonists.