Something that came out the 80s and lived on into the 90’s was the bare-armed body-building look for ninja, a mutation driven by the painted covers of Ninja Magazine and video game package art. These roided-up shinobi sacrificed protection for an intimidating gun show, and cared not that the well-oiled sheen of those muscles did-in whatever stealth they were hoping to achieve.
And here’s another mutation from the video game world, the French Foreign Legion flapped hood.
Robert
Ryu Hayabusa is always sleveless, to this day – literally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEPGDE0TJ_k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zr_Rco7d7w
And the neck-cover-thing was common among the Sengoku era soldiers and in even among the Japanese soldiers during WWII.
mark covell
Hey, you can’t be a destroyer of evil without showing off your guns. What the hell is an EARTH ninja anyway?
krainville
Sure enough, but on the supposed shadowy masters of the night?
krainville
Who knows, but evidently they liked Chinese and Arabic blades.
Robert
I think THE EARTH NINJA: DESTROYER OF EVIL is wielding an oversized kukri.
Robert
Ah! And the EARTH NINJA (but himself evil) was in Sonic the Comic:
http://stc.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_(Four_Elements)
Sean Williams
This is a great list of 90’s sleeveless ninjas just don’t forget Hanzo from Samurai Spirits (showdown)
http://www.nakofan64.net/images/Hanzo64.jpg