SAVITAR – best ninja figure of the 80’s?
For the most part, 80’s ninja figures released in the U.S. resembled the cheesy straight-to-video movie costuming or equally lame ninja suits sold in the back of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Re-mold a He-Man in black pajamas, paint the head … Continued
FUJIMARU book-n-record (PART 1)
Growing up in the pre-home video era often meant the only way to relive your favorite movie or TV property was the now extinct book-n-record. I positively wore out my GI Joe, Frankenstein and Planet of the Apes comic book / … Continued
Dear various network suits…
…please greenlight this now! NOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!! FWAK!’s Dead Ringo developmental project
Airborne combat in LEGEND OF KAMUI
With the movie pending, I’m re-reading and re-loving Shirato Sanpei‘s second run of Kamui manga. The godfather of ninja comics debuted the character in 1964, then re-imagined the property as a more grown up and severe manga in the 80’s. Kamui … Continued
A ‘Tonbei the Mist’ primer
Once upon a time, there was a ground-breaking Japanese TV series called Onmitsu Kenshin (or Onmitsu kenshi), starring Koichi Ose as Shintaro, wandering samurai detective protecting his half-brother the Shogun from various conspiracies and assassins. It was popular in Japan, but when … Continued
“Ninjas All Over the Place”
TORMENT is not having enough wall space to display all the cool art and vintage posters in your collection, and friends, I am a tormented soul. I’ve got enough ninja movie posters to wallpaper my place twice over, more than … Continued
Animeigo trailer for Shinobi-no-Mono 4
This really is the best time ever to be a ninja fan in the U.S. – Animeigo’s releases going strong! We have a permanent BUY link at the left for these titles.
Chinese flyer for “Black Ninja”
Sepia-tone 2-sided flyer for the Ryutaro Otomo ninja vehicle Maboroshi Kurozukin Yamine Toku-Kage (can’t confirm that title or translate, although the words for black hood, phantom, and shadow are in there…) from Singapore – possibly late 60’s? Enjoy some whacked-out … Continued
SENGOKU YARO – Warring Clans
Okamoto Kihachi‘s (Sword of Doom, Kiru!) 1963 ninja classic Sengoku Yaro is a real blast – a superb mix of comedy and combat, peppered with some rather outré fight scenes, a jazzy score by Masaru Sato that keeps you on your toes, and a super … Continued
Visionary character design
Mining through various Japanese fan blogs brings about two things in me: 1.) I soooo wish I could read kanji… and 2.) I find amazing scans of vintage manga covers, like the below! I believe these are all by the … Continued