Sate of the Ninja – the 2000s

The 2000s was a strange decade for martial arts and martial arts cinema. Unlike the Bruce Lee-inspired kung-fu 70’s, the Sho Kosugi-driven ninja 80’s or the VanDamme-inspired kickboxing 90’s, the 00s didn’t have a definitive iconic star nor a decade-dominating single martial art. Sure, what we’ve come to know as “MMA” exploded in the past ten years, but what was once the simple “No Holds Barred” tournament has blossomed into a combat training / fight promotion / fashion industry that is larger than the martial disciplines it is composited from (Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Grecco-Roman wrestling), or the ring sports it is aggressively trying to supplant (boxing, professional wrestling).

The progression of martial arts and movie trends decade by decade seen in the covers of Black Belt.

There is no Bruce Lee or Sho Kosugi coming out of MMA. Hell, they’re still looking for their sport’s equivalent of a Muhammad Ali or Hulk Hogan, never mind a crossover movie star that would propel the ‘art’ into something more household. MMA isn’t movie-compatible, either. It’s fine in a cage, with a ref, and replay angles showing you what on earth happened to make some bald tattooed guy tap-out furiously. But martial arts genres are built on bar fights with overwhelming odds, lone strangers defending helpless towns against bands of thugs, and vengeful students seeking retribution for the deaths of their masters. A triangle choke or a good ground-and-pound game isn’t going to topple the evil army of a modern-day warlord about to unleash a death ray from his remote and remarkably gun-free island. That kind of conflict needs acrobatics, swinging kicks and a massive arsenal of arcane Oriental weapons that can stack up fallen enemy bodies like cord wood.

And that’s why for the last ten years big budget liquid sword epics, Muy-Thai chop-socky and FX-driven ninja movies have usurped martial arts cinema like squatters in an abandoned apartment building. It was MMA’s decade to take, but If the Shamrocks and Rutten’s didn’t want the big screen, then the Tony Jaas and the Donnie Yens were there to take it.

Even though we had no dominant "boom' this decade, it was a superb mixed bag.

The 2000s were a decade wherein a Wu Xia fantasy like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon could win Oscars, so more money was pumped into period-set epics than ever before. Plenty of classics, some duds, but either way, if you like elaborate armor and flying sword-fights, it was a busy decade in the theater. More grounded was the upstart Muy Thai mini-boom, with the promise of Tony Jaa taking the mantle from legends like Jackie Chan and decade-bridging stars like Jet Li. Jaa’s full promise is yet unfulfilled, but it looks like the Thai action industry is here to stay. Donnie Yen made some amazing movies in Hong Kong this decade, too. But it was movies like Old Boy and Dog Bite Dog that proved non-martial artists, directed right, could be in some of the most memorable fight scenes ever filmed.

And damn if our beloved Japan didn’t use a few young, attractive non-martial artists to re-explore the ninja genre for the first time in decades. Building on the high-profile Owl’s Castle in the late 90s, the 2000s saw ninja movies redefined, standing on the shoulders of giants from decades past. In films like Red Shadow, Azumi I and II, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade and most recently Kamui Giaden, the historically credible techniques of espionage and the exotic tools of the trade introduced in 60’s cinema were combined with the acrobatics and wild stunt work of Sonny Chiba’s JAC-fueled 80’s spectacles, all with digital effects work that brought magical powers back to the genre not seen since the 50’s. Some of these movies were good, some pissed us all off endlessly, but regardless, the stage is now set where imagination is the limit.

Japanese pop stars proved you didn't meed a martial artist to make a successful ninja movie.

But if there is one single icon, one profound and prolific image of ninja in the first decade of the new millennium, it is that of a blond-haired kid in orange snow-boarding gear, throwing ‘kunai’ knives. Naruto is THE ninja property of the decade. Anime tends to be ignored in terms of cinema, but it can’t be long before this mega property jumps from cartoons and comics into live action. I don’t dig emo and rave kids using X-Men-like super powers, but like it or not, Naruto IS ninja to a whole generation of kids now. It’s their Shinobi-no-Mono, their TMNT, their Kosugi boom. And they are the future audience…

EDITOR'S NOTE: I promise this will be the only Naruto image we ever run here.

Too many sites run decade recaps and best / worst lists looking back at the past ten years. Gets tiresome. Instead, I want to point out some seeds that are taking root now that will hopefully bloom into the ninja genre of the 2010s:

– The work of Masaki Segawa and Gonzo Studios – These folk have two hit ninja properties, Basilisk and The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls, that mix period-authentic with fantasy super-powers, with an edge of exploitive sex and gore. Strong manga and anime, with no end in sight.

– Tales of the Otori – Haven’t checked out Lian Hearn’s award-winning book series? Do so now, this shinobi epic set in a semi-authentic fantasy Japan is a mega multi-media property waiting to happen.

– Knockoffs cashing in on the success of Ninja Assassin – I HATED this movie, but damn would I love to see a ton of other countries jump on a perceived bandwagon and launch a new wave of down-n-dirty ninja flicks. Throw in some GI Joe knock-off ninja action while yer at it…

– The trend of down-to-earth costuming – Take a look at video game designs from the beginning of the 00s to now. Sure, the ‘extreme’ fantasy elements of a Ninja Gaiden are still there, but there’s also stuff like Red Ninja and the brand new Mini Ninjas that take the heroes back to a credible period-based design ethic. I’m all for a heroine in simple yukata using low tech weapons. Make the enemies ‘extreme’ if anything.

– The ironic ninja comedy trends are dead or fading – OK, I laughed at Real Ultimate Power, but enough with ‘Ninjas vs. Pirates’ already, and no, I do not want to Ask A Ninja. I have a dream that one day, our beloved black clad martial arts commandos won’t be the brunt of some douche bag’s joke.

– The future of movie collecting – The 00s saw an explosion of retro-releasing, never had more ninja movies from more countries been available in their original forms. Hell, even Criterion released ninja films on DVD. Now, DVD is dying, but digital download and streaming will take its place, and will be a more economically viable home for niche media. Between official studio releases and fan subbed stuff floating around the interwebs, we’ll have plenty of digitized HD shinobi action coming our way.

So hello 2010s! Ninja aren’t going anywhere, and for that matter, neither is Vintage Ninja.

Keith J. Rainville

12/31/2009

Press stills from NINJUTSU GOZEN-JIAI

The 1957 Toei FX romp Ninjutsu Gozen-Jiai (aka Torawakamaru, the Koga Ninja) is the perfect example of the pre-60’s craze kid’s ninja film: mischievous wizard hero, evil sorcerer, spirit-creatures fighting in the clouds, etc and so forth. Before the real ninjutsu practitioners taught the makers of Shinobi-no-mono the real-deal, these magic duels were what the genre was all about.

These stills, contemporary with the film's release, are from a press kit for Asian secondary markets.

The film's dashing hero Torawakamaru (Sentaro Fushimi) has whatever magical powers he needs to in any given situation - teleportation, mind-over-matter, flight, and the requisite giant toad transmutation.

Here he is again, with the cute-as-a-button Ueki Chie as the princess-in-peril. Great costumes here.

Oddly enough, this film has the exact same historically-based conflict as the SHINOBI-NO-MONO films did years later: Tokugawa vs. Toyotomi, with Sandayu Momochi and Ichikawa Goemon (Nakajiro Tomita, in black above) working in the shadows.

Torawakamaru and Goemon's final duel goes from courtyard to rooftop and beyond. After a while, gotta think Japanese architects were reinforcing rooftops to accommodate constant combat...

A little closer in on these amazing costumes. Too bad both the film and the stills are B&W, the colors must have been intense.

In magic-based ninja flicks, ALL final duels end up in the clouds, or the shadow realm, or the zone of cloudy shadows, whatever. Shortly after this exchange, the combatants transformed into giant toad and fire breathing serpent, per union rules. No stills of such in the press kit alas.

Don't look to me for a rational explanation of this crudely composited still, I'm as baffled as you are. The kid is Goroichi (Ueki Motoharu), son on the evil Goemon. He, however, is the plucky boyscout/sidekick type, and the film is strangely brutal when it comes to the kid's emotions at watching his father's demise.

A movie (such as it is, with a serial-like running length of just over 1-hour) like this isn’t for those looking for the black suits and the blood-letting. It’s very one-dimensional, prone to silliness and comedy relief, and the FX scenes are a bit too few and far between. But, it is a prime example of what the genre was at the time. If you dig Magic Serpent, see it’s predecessor for sure.

Read Paghat’s review over at the Weird Wild Realm, along with pics of the toad and serpent.

Ninja Dojo write-up and link where to buy.

Scanning around some other sites…

More VHS clamshell art, via DRILLPOP:

Formal from an Onmitsu Doshin wedding or the Demon Spies prom? A baffling image via the amazing Black and WTF photoblog:

A review of this nifty capsule figure of Sega video game kunoichi Hibana over at Open the Toy:

And a nice kit-bashing of a Marvel Sub Mariner and a Lord of the Rings figure into a basic shinobi over at Figure Realm:

Generic Ninja

We’ll wrap-up a month of toys and merch with a look at some nameless, non-property-based ninja toys from the 80’s. Wind-up toys sold in subway stops or off swap-meet blankets, supermarket tchotchkes, vending capsule minatures, even cake-toppers – these are the sorts of cheap plastic ninja we all had dozens of back in day.

Well, they may have been positively verminous during the ninja craze, but much fewer people took the time to collect such non-licensed toys, and they are actually a lot harder to come by today than their counterpart from GI Joe, Chuck Norris or Rambo action figure lines.

This 3-4" rubber figurine in the classic 'Kosugi Flying Kick Pose' is somewhat of a mystery. I keep thinking he's supposed to be mounted on some sort of stand, or attached to some other accessory, however there are no holes or sockets of any sort.

I'm rather shocked there's actually a manufacturer, production date and supposed 'line' cited on the back.

This wind-up bouncing horse has neither a manufacturer or date, certainly from the 80's although you still see these things in Chinatown - once tooled up, these generics tend to be prolific for decades. I can just see this same sculpt redone in primary colors during the Power Ranger boom.

I bought these both in the 80's and last month! The 5" friction-powered bike clearly has a conventional helmeted racer that has been 'shinobi-fied' with a quick hooded cloth tunic and sword.

This 2" figurine with vinyl kimono has a spring clip torso that when squeezed opens the arms and lets the figure 'hug' an antenna or cubicle divider or whatever. No date or company again, but certainly 80's.

ARASHI stocking stuffers

Next to Kaiketsu Lion Maru (which in a modern context some find waaaay to ‘furry’ for comfort)  Henshin Ninja Arashi was easily the most outre ninja hero ever — weird silver bird-like, but scaly, with some parts that look kinda moth-y, and he was a bird guy but he rode a horse, and are those big bug eyes actually eyes or fake eyes for decoration or what? Who knew…

But that outre character design, by Kamen Rider creator Shotaro Ishinomori, also lent the property multi-media crossover success, and merch from the short-running series is still being produced today. Here are some low-priced but nifty Arashi toys I’ve picked up in the last few years:

Four-inch "capsule" figure - Bandai or Gashopon maybe? - of the original manga version of the character. I like the lankiness of this design.

This is a seven-inch vinyl figure by Bandai, from 2005, of the television incarnation.

Not totally clear on the story behind this newest 3" Bandai "capsule"piece. It's sort of an homage character to the property seen in the latest permutation of KAMEN RIDER.

Now, if you want a more modern, and EXTREME, take on the character, there’s a new set featuring an – in my opinion – over-done reinterpretation of the character by modeling studio SIC. I think they’re trying too hard to make a pretty silly design look all dark and gritty and severe. But I do like the new version of series baddie Majinsai a lot. This set runs $70-100 depending on shipping. Check in out at Hobby Link Japan.

Ehhh… for my money, I like the simplicity and innocence of the original stuff, or at least new stuff that looks like it’s old, like these on eBay:

70’s Vinyl necklace figurine.

Banpresto 3″ figure.

And while you’re at it, check out an AMAZING collection of really vintage vinyl from this and other series at Skullbrain!

FWAK!-tastic ninja designs!

In my non-ninja creative endeavors, I’m known for some pioneering work in bringing the Mexican masked wrestler thing to American pop culture prominence in the 90’s. Those efforts led to some great collaborations with animation studio FWAK!, and we may be entering into something just as cool, but this time on the shinobi-tip!

I’m not in a position to talk a lot about this in-development project, but take a look at some prelim concept art and designs over at the FWAK! Blog! Creator Eddie Mort grew up in Australia, exposed to the amazingness that was The Samurai, so his shinobi-sensibilities definitely lean towards the 60’s Japanese old-school.

Obviously, WHEN the powers-that-be give this project the $200 Million budget it clearly deserves and it’s off to the races, I’ll do what I can to tease you all with secret work-in-progress gems…

Hasbro NINJA galore on eBay!

While Hasbro’s “Storm Shadow” from the GI Joe line is easily the most prolific ninja toy produced during the 80’s craze (permutations are still best-sellers today), the same company later released the non-property-based Ninja Warriors: Enemies of Evil line. Dojo Kan, Dragonmaster, Lord Taka, Nunchuka-San, Scorpia and Starcaster (and some rare variants) were TMNT-scaled figures with modest articulation, some decent if not goofy weapons, and some downright wacky costuming.

Center below is my absolute fave of the run, Dragon Master, who looks like Dumb Donald from Fat Albert joined HYDRA!

Well last minute shoppers, a whole pile of these pups have shown up on eBay this month, some priced to sell, others laughably over-priced, but all worth a look. Both of these sellers have multiple listings:

Carded Italian-package Dragon Master here.

Seldom seen Oji-San and Horse here.

This was a real hit-or-miss line – most are better without the shiny cloth robes. Some have nothing to do design-wise with anything ninja or Japanese for that matter. The weapons are nothing to write home about, but I do adore that Dragon Master, and the basic black and grey figures are nice, wholesome meat-n-potatoes 80’s ninja toys. What’s not to love…

New (old?) Menkos – perfect stocking stuffer!

Dunno when the original art for these was done – either a century ago or last month to emulate a century ago – but you can still pick them up in grocery stores and gift shops in any big city’s ‘Little Tokyo.’ I got these last week in cellophane-wrapped 8-packs.

MANGA KAMISHIBAI is full of ninja and maskedmen!

I was already down with owning Eric Nash’s Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, a great look at the all-but-extinct art of panel-art based itinerant pop-theater. Imagine an actor gathering dozens of kids around a portable wooden box akin to a puppet show stage, then narrating colorful panel art akin to manga. As the panels flip, the adventure builds and the actor/narrator gets more and more dramatic.

Well, we don’t have the wandering panel theater anymore, but thanks to this gorgeous 300-page hardcover from Abrams Comicarts we do have an archive of a half-century of graphic art. And like any Japanese mass-media, it had its ninja element!

There are no dates provided for the artwork - the plays were performed far and wide from the 30's to the 70's - but this piece from "Ninja by Night" is either a direct rip on KAMUI or its direct influence.

I'd kill to have a frame-by-frame rundown of this kunoichi tale, but alas all we get is this title card...

Several other shinobi paintings appear throughout the book, alongside some great Golden Bat-like anti-heroes and other masked characters. NIF-TEEE!  Buy it on Amazon here or click on our affiliate store link to the left for this and dozens of other must-own books and movies.