Best/Worst dojo posters ever
There’s a line of ninja posters out there that may have originated in the craze era, but may also be a lot newer. Either way, they carry the spirit of the 80s mail order gear boom in every cheesy way … Continued
KINNIKUMAN Ninja
This articulated “Romando” figure is from the famed wrestling manga/anime property Kinnikuman, better known here as M.U.S.C.L.E. Great character design for this ring-sport shinobi. These 6-8″ versions of the bizarre wrestlers were produced in the mid-2000s for the 25th anniversary … Continued
AKAKAGE kids book covers
Interesting, villain-centric book covers featuring tokusatsu hero Masked Ninja Akagage. I guess if the character or book series is established enough, the different villain-du-jour becomes the selling point.
Kosugi Decapitated!
This is a press still from the climax of Enter the Ninja, which shows some great detail all but missed is the actual film. I guess if you paused the DVD or Blu-Ray of Enter at the right instant, you … Continued
Fighting Arts Unlimited ad
Man, how 80s would that satin jacket have been? And I wonder what “scribe-spike-etc.” were. This is a pretty dumb ad – lots of vague category and price ranges on unspecified items, but with an order form attached. In the … Continued
Resin kusarigama statue
Nice little 5″ resin-cast statue sold to martial arts supply stores in the early 2000s. I’ve seen two different poses of these, in black and really ugly camouflage, too.
AMERICAN NINJA II video store standee
This 14″ cardstock counter display was given out to video stores to push the release of American Ninja II: The Confrontation in May of 1987. The center unfolds to reveal this illustration, which is unique to this piece – it … Continued
sigh…
I have no astute comment to make here, nor should you need one.
PRAY FOR DEATH press images
When 1985’s Pray for Death was released, we were none the wiser that Sho Kosugi and Cannon Films had parted ways, and that this began his struggles to get a decent budget and good distribution for his shinobi-centric vehicles. To … Continued
Hana-Rangers and more toku-honeys!
A trip over to the Tokyo Scum Brigade tumblr is highly in order!