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Red Shadow

7 Jun 2013

Happy 4th Anniversay, Darlings…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 1

Every year we celebrate the site’s birthday by reposting the very first thing we ever did — a look at vintage press still from Akai Kageboshi.  AKAI KAGEBOSHI – the other ‘red shadow’ (originally published June 7, 2009) Can a … Continued

AKAI KAGEBOSHI, Hashizo Okawa, Red Shadow
9 Sep 2011

Kumiko Aso in RED SHADOW

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

2001s Red Shadow (aka Akakage) is the sort of remake/adaptation that watches fine if you are TOTALLY unfamiliar with the source property. That way, you’re not aware of the squandered opportunity for a modern digital-age superhero ninja vs. monster romp. … Continued

Kumiko Aso, Red Shadow
22 Dec 2010

Something I bought for myself LAST Christmas…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 3 - Toys and Merch | 0

When you’re a niche geek within an already geeky niche you tend to do your own gift shopping. My session of retail therapy last holiday season was these: While I’m not the biggest tokusatsu fan out there, I do like … Continued

Akakage, Maki Fuyukichi, Red Shadow, tokusatsu, vinyl
10 Jun 2010

VN’s birthday look at AKAI KAGEBOSHI – Pt. 4

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 5

When your hero is as spectacularly garbed as the titular lead is in Akai Kageboshi, you need everyone else he’s fighting to provide visual contrast. So in what is one of the most colorfully costumed ninja films of the 60’s, … Continued

Hattori Hanzo, Jushiro Konoe, Red Shadow
9 Jun 2010

VN’s birthday look at AKAI KAGEBOSHI – Pt. 3

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

With all the sneaking around and sword thievery in Akai Kageboshi, there’s a need for some – literally – flashy escapes. Here’s where the 60’s style of cinematic ninjutsu takes over from what in the 50’s would have been magical … Continued

Red Shadow
8 Jun 2010

VN’s birthday look at AKAI KAGEBOSHI – Pt. 2

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Not only is Akai Kageboshi a great ninja movie that spans the colorful flamboyant 50’s and grimmer realistic 60’s, it’s also a damn nifty TOURNAMENT MOVIE! The tournament is one of the strongest devices in martial arts cinema. It’s single … Continued

Jubei Yagyu, Red Shadow, Ryutaro Otomo
7 Jun 2010

Hey VN, It’s Ya BERFDAY!

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 1

Yes, indeedy! One year ago today, I posted the first content on Vintage Ninja. 200+ posts, hundreds of pictures and thousands of readers later, I’m pretty damn happy with where everything stands. I’m no web wizard, but the site is … Continued

Hattori Hanzo, Jubei Yagyu, Red Shadow, Ryutaro Otomo
28 Oct 2009

Kaiju in AKAKAGE (part 2)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

The Red Shadow kid’s TV series ran 52 episodes over two years. Six of those episodes were later cut together into movies released under titles like Ninjascope (The Magical World of the Ninjas) in Australia and Latin America. They were … Continued

Akakage, kaiju, Maki Fuyukichi, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Monsters and Masks 2009, Red Shadow
27 Oct 2009

Kaiju in AKAKAGE (part 1)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 4

Seems Japan has been beset by giant monsters forever, and luckily for us today heroes like Ultraman are around to fend them off. But in the fuedal era, centuries before any space-faring monster fighters, laser-weilding science patrols or little kids … Continued

Akakage, kaiju, Maki Fuyukichi, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Monsters and Masks 2009, Red Shadow
16 Sep 2009

Sonosheets from Japanese eBay – Part 1

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 2 - Books and Manga, 4 - Collectibles | 0

It’s not that you can’t win auctions over international eBorders, but it’s a bit logistically tough – there’s the kanji barrier, shipping rates, communication delays over the dateline, etc. and so forth. All these are excuses enough to keep me … Continued

Akakage, HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI, Red Shadow

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

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50+ Japanese ninja movies reviewed

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