The Art of Deception
In the face of the death of physical media, DVD and Bluray packaging continues to be, let’s say… inventive… in its methods of persuasion. Hey, deception was a legit ninja skill, right? As ninja movie fans we’ve all been duped … Continued
Some ARASHI manga goodness…
I may just love the illustrated version of Henshin Ninja Arashi more than the much better known tokusatsu version… Kamen Rider and Cybog 009 creator Shotaro Ishinomori‘s manga slightly preceded the Toei TV show, although what would have had more production lead … Continued
An obscure old gem back in print!
If you’re a dinosaur like me, then you still dig physical media and package art when it comes to your video library. To that end, I’m a regular customer of the Warner Archive DVD-On Demand service. Tons of great titles, … Continued
VN’s own 4th of July Tradition…
…we take a look back at AMERICAN NINJA! There’s no better way to celebrate the birth of the USA than by looking back at a low-budget exploitation flick based on a Japanese martial art, produced by Israelis, shot in the … Continued
Ninja vinyl
No, not a vinyl toy post… this is one for you record collectors. Spotted on eBay recently: (Click for full-size versions) I know nothing of this “The Ninja” band, and I’m not an 80s hair metal guy by any stretch of … Continued
FIVE YEARS!!!
Wow… the fifth anniversary of this site. You’ll notice some minor cosmetic and navigation updates for the first time in forever. I suppose some sort of profound editorial is in order, but I’d rather just thank everyone who’s plugged this site and … Continued
A few more that got away…
Couple years ago now, one of my sources for the hand-colored press stills from Thailand that have so contributed to the identity of this site contacted me with some new offerings. A lot of it was stuff I already had … Continued
A Shintaro shinobi… in COLOR!
A neat little menko card, likely from the 60s, featuring characters from Onmitsu Kenshin, the ground-breaking TV series beloved in Australia as The Samurai. It’s pretty rare to see a color image from this seminal B&W series, and what few … Continued
Enter the Tricycle
Maker unknown. Sellers, long forgotten. Year — probably sometime in the 1980s. Logic… a mystery. Another fantastic, crap-tastic, relic from the days of blanket vendors outside subway stops, swapmeet junk toy booth and Chinatown gift shops. This head is actually … Continued
6 Things You Can Buy at Hardware Stores That REALLY Look Like Ninja Weapons
There was a period during the 80s ninja craze that the staff of this site were legally too young to buy mail order weapons. We were utterly bitter at the time, but looking back on it now, it was probably … Continued