is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and Illustrated by

Mitsuteru Yokoyama was a Japanese manga artist. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of manga and anime, his works have had a significant impact in the creation and establishment of many genres. These include: mecha (''T ...

. It was originally serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

from 1966 to 1967. The manga was adapted into a 52-episode

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

series by Toei and was broadcast on Kansai TV and

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

from April 1967 to March 1968, followed by a film adaptation in 1969. A 26-episode anime adaptation by

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

was broadcast on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

from October 1987 to March 1988. A second live-action film that serves as a loose adaptation, titled Red Shadow was released in 2001.

Plot

The story is set in the late sixteenth century when Japan was in the midst of a long period of civil wars. While some seek to unite Japan in order to bring peace, there are others who encourage conflict in order to bring more power to themselves. Akakage, Aokage, and Shirokage are all good

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

s working for those who seek peace and unity across Japan. The ninjas use their superhuman fighting powers and high-tech gadgets to battle against evil warlords and their daikaiju (giant monsters).

Characters

Akakage

Portrayed by: Yuzaburo Sakaguchi (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film), Masanobu Ando (Red Shadow) Voiced by:

Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. Career He became famous for his roles in his career as Kagege (''Sgt. Frog''), Kai Shiden (''Mobile Suit G ...

(1987 Anime) is a

who wears a red-and-black costume and a stylized red mask. He is the best swordsman of the three and a master of disguise. The crystal in his mask fires an energy beam. Akakage appears on the scene proclaiming "Akakage Sanjō!"

Aokage

Portrayed by: Yoshinobu Kaneko (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film), Jun Murakami (Red Shadow) Voiced by:

Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress. Beginning work as a child actress at the age of three, by the time she became an adult, voice acting had inadvertently become her main occupation. Throughout her career, Nozawa has been affiliated with Production Baobab ...

(1987 Anime) is a young boy who plays with explosives and uses a chain weapon.

Shirokage

Portrayed by: Fuyukichi Maki (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film),

Naoto Takenaka is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. ...

(Red Shadow) Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (1987 Anime) is an old man who is armed with a pole weapon and flies using a large kite.

Media

1967 Tokusatsu series

, was produced by Toei Company Ltd., and aired on KTV and

from April 5, 1967, to March 27, 1968, with a total of 52 episodes (divided into four segments). Akakage was played by Yuzaburo Sakaguchi, Aokage was played by Yoshinobu Kaneko and Shirokage was played by Fuyukichi Maki.

Development

This was Toei's first color

superhero show and Japan's first color live-

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

ninja TV series. Aokage's footage from the series was used to create several ''Watari'' films with the titles like ''Watari the Conqueror'' (not to be confused with the unrelated 1966 film ''Watari, Ninja Boy'').

1987 anime series

is the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

adaptation produced by Toei that aired on

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

from October 13, 1987, to March 22, 1988, with a total of 23 episodes. The complete series was released on DVD by Toei Video on June 10, 2015.

Video game

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

was created based on the anime version. It was released in 1988, by Toei, for the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

. The game music was composed by J-Walk.

2001 live-action film

is a loose adaptation of the original Kamen no Ninja ''Akakage'' series. It was released in 2001 and was directed by

Hiroyuki Nakano is a Japanese film director. Filmography * ''Watching People'' (1989) * ''Spiritual Earth: Aloha Wave'' (1995) * ''Samurai Fiction'' (1998) * ''Pop Group Killers'' (2000) * ''Red Shadow (2001 film), Red Shadow'' (2001) * ''Stereo Future'' (2001 ...

. It stars

Masanobu Andō is a Japanese actor. Ando has appeared in films such as Takeshi Kitano's '' Kids Return'' (1996), Kinji Fukasaku's '' Battle Royale'' (2000), Takashi Miike's '' Sukiyaki Western Django'' (2007), and Chen Kaige's '' Forever Enthralled'' (2008). ...

in the title role. The story, characters, and their costumes were, however, re-designed from scratch.

References

External links

*
Akakage
at Vintage Ninja * {{Toei Animation 1967 Japanese television series debuts 1987 anime television series debuts 1988 video games 2000s Japanese films 2001 films Fictional ninja Film superheroes Japanese action films Japanese drama television series Japan-exclusive video games Live-action films based on manga Mitsuteru Yokoyama Ninja in anime and manga Ninja television series Fuji Television original programming Nippon Television original programming Video games about ninja Nintendo Entertainment System games Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Superhero television shows Tokusatsu television series Toei tokusatsu Toei Animation television