OK, so the Kamui Gaiden manga had a major pedigree in Japan, and its ground-breaking U.S. release separated the men from the boys of late-craze ninja fans. So why are we just getting a movie now? The “Island of Sugaru” … Continued
Just before the holiday, I got a screener of Funimation‘s 2-DVD release of Kamui Gaiden, allegedly the most expensive ninja movie ever made, and one that has received about as wide an array of responses as I’ve ever seen. Epic. … Continued
Continuing some gift giving ideas, these for the bookshelf: We’ve highlighted Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda‘s Ninja Attack! before, but I wanted to give it a brief review now that I have it in hand. This may quietly be one … Continued
Is there a more perfectly 80’s manga creator than Buichi Terasawa? His art – augmented by then fledgling computer graphics – oozes MTV, Nagel, neon, hair products. His samurai wore suit jackets with the sleeves pulled up; traditional garb filtered … Continued
While the legacy of Shotaro Ishinomori‘s Henshin Ninja Arashi (aka Transforming or Metamorphosis Ninja Arashi) lives mainly in tokusatsu TV nostalgia and vinyl collectibles of one decade or another, for me the manga holds the most charm. Packed with monsters, … Continued
I probably need a real Shirato Sanpei fan here. These scans are from a 1967 manga I scored in a lot, one of which was described only as “Wolf Boy.” I was hoping for some Wolf Boy Ken tie in, … Continued
Its was a dog-eared, dime-store novel world where a man was a man, a woman was a victim waiting to happen and the road to revenge was a street washed in blood. Violent and lurid men’s adventure novels go back … Continued
If you’re like me and can’t wait for Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda‘s Ninja Attack!, there are some excepts up on the English-language Japanese e-magazine Metropolis. Kodansha International’s Ninja Attack! True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws is due in … Continued
I’ll be all over this book like a bad f’n smell! Check it out at Alt Japan. There are WAAAAYYY too few books in English that look at the various military specialists, legendary bandits and unsung shadow-heroes that are today … Continued
Dark Horse’s expanded English-language version of the Blade of the Immortal artbook we first reported on here is now out, and priced under $30! Here’s a few more fleeting glimpses: These are just details of full-page, superbly repro’d art from … Continued