Sword, Sorcery and Dubious Theology in Feudal Japan
A review of Samurai Reincarnation (Makai Tensho — 1981) by guest columnist Tenebrous Kate __________________________________________ EDITOR’S NOTE: While Kinji Fukasaku’s version of this surreal epic, starring Sonny Chiba, Kenji Sawada, Akiko Kana, and Hiroyuki Sanada isn’t an outright ninja movie, between Chiba’s shinobi-pedigreed … Continued
From our beloved readers…
Let’s all help some readers ID some great old newspaper and magazine clippings: Ryan Jones runs a great tumblr called Oldtype/Newtype — archiving old issues of Newtype magazine, and ran across this article from September of 1987. Neither of us … Continued
A LION MARU clue
Stumbled across this image on another site and recognized it right away! Devotees of the Toys & Statues category of VN might remember the below post from a few years ago. I’ve had this piece for decades now but this … Continued
Ninja Star-Struck!
Sonny Chiba made his American convention debut the last weekend in March at a show called Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA. This once intimate, now massive, gathering of visual effects artists and Monster Kids is known for making history with guests … Continued
Chiba in Burbank this weekend!
You have a chance to meet Hattori Hanzo, Jubei Yagyu, Golgo 13 and Terry Tsurugi this weekend at Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA! An ultra-rare appearance by Sonny Chiba, and at the country’s best horror convention to boot… AND… I myself … Continued
More KOSUGI KICKS…
Last year we put out an open call for images knocked-off from the iconic “Kosugi Kick” dual sword jump kick pose. Read the original post here. We got some nice entries, from comics to cheap merch to costume catalog photos. … Continued
Eastern Block ninja pulp
There were a couple of sellers on eBay last month that had ninja-themed comics from what was formerly Yugoslavia. Sadly, I’m broke as hell for the foreseeable future and they were priced too high anyway, so I didn’t keep track … Continued
Happy “National Ninja Day” Japan!
Feb 22 is an upstart shinobi-themed holiday in Japan, especially in Iga and Koga. You can read all about on Kotaku: “Ninja Day Is An Actual Holiday in Japan”
Swordgirl promo cards from THREE TIDES
Birthday gift to myself at the beginning of the month — this astounding 8″ sofubi statue done in the style of wooden Netsuke charms, called “Sushi Dokuro.” I know… right!?!?!? “Sushi Dokuro” was designed/sculpted by Osaka tattoo artist Mitomo Horihiro. … Continued
And we’re BACK!
Some lingering structural issues made it un-safe for me to post anything new on the site for way longer than anticipated, but all of our behind-the-scenes problems are seemingly fixed! There’s a nice new navigation feature now fully functioning, too. … Continued