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2 – Books and Manga

20 Jan 2011

Be very qwwwiet… we’re hunting shadows!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Takao Saito‘s rather fun manga Kage Gari was turned into a veeeery grim, nigh-emo film in 1972. Whereas the trio of vengeful “Shadow Hunters” in the books are sort of a jaunty, anti-shinobi three musketeers, in the film they are … Continued

Kage Gari, Shadow Hunters
5 Jan 2011

KAMUI GAIDEN, comic roots vs. adaptation-itis after a decade of digital ninja (part 3)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

Well, folks. I TRIED. I really did try to write a fair, even, and generally supportive piece on KAMUI GAIDEN. But seriously… how can it possibly live up to the source? This is even more compounded by some terrible effects, … Continued

kamui, Shirato Sanpei
2 Jan 2011

KAMUI and a Decade of Digital Ninja (part 2)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 3

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

Akakage, ALIEN VS. NINJA, AZUMI, GI Joe, Goemon, kamui, Owls's Castle, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
30 Dec 2010

Christmas with Kamui and a Decade of Digital Ninja (Part 1)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV, 2 - Books and Manga | 0

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

kamui, Lone Wolf and Cub, Shirato Sanpei
6 Dec 2010

New books for the discerning shadow reader

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

Ninja Attack, Stephen Turnbull
19 Oct 2010

KARASUTENGU KABUTO manga

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 2

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

1:6 Scale, Buichi Terasawa, Karasutengu Kabuto, Monsters and Masks 2010
5 Oct 2010

HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI manga monsters

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 1

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

HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI, Monsters and Masks 2010, Shotaro Ishinomori
27 Sep 2010

Whut-up with this WOLF BOY?

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 4

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

Shirato Sanpei
11 Aug 2010

DEATHWISH with throwing stars!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga | 2

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

Brett Wallace, Jason Striker, Ninja Master, ninja pulps, Wade Barker
25 Jul 2010

Great excerpts from NINJA ATTACK!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 6 - History and Martial Arts | 0

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

Ninja Attack

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Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja movies from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze and beyond, with a ton of vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

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