Kamen
No Ninja Aka-Kage [Masked Ninja Red
Shadow]was
a half-hour live-action ninja series, in color, that appeared on Japanese
TV for the 1967-68 seasons [52 episodes]. It was Toei's first tokusatsu
(special FX) television production, with installments helmed by a variety
of directors, but mostly Junki Kurata [perhaps better known for various
Zatôichi entries in the '70s]. This rather lengthy movie
- 125 minutes - is a collection of numerous TV episodes.
The
main heroes are a trio of gaudy ninjas, led by the dashing Red Shadow
(Yuzaburo Sakaguchi), easily recognized by his red mask and hard-as-a-rock
jet black hair. His young sidekick is Blue Shadow (played by Yoshinobu
Kaneko); he is called Watari here to capitalize on International popularity
ignited by a starring role in two Taiwanese fantasies. There's also an
older ninja named White Shadow (Fuyukichi Maki). Together, they fight
armies of swordsmen, dark ninjas and super-villains, as well as variety
of giant monsters.
There's also a subplot dealing with a strange religious cult controlled
by the Golden Eye God and his evil influence on the country.
Theatrical
release of a Japanese film, in dubbed English language; fullscreen format,
(125 min.),
in DVD format, encoded for ALL REGIONS, playable on any American DVD machine.
Extras include selected theatrical trailers.
![Ninjascope: Magic Sword of Watari (1967) Junji Kurata [Akakage]](Images/vd4981_1.jpg "Ninjascope: Magic Sword of Watari (1967) Junji Kurata [Akakage]")
Kamen
No Ninja Aka-Kage [Masked Ninja Red
Shadow] was
a half-hour live-action ninja series, in color, that appeared on Japanese
TV for the 1967-68 seasons [52 episodes]. It was Toei's first tokusatsu
(special FX) television production, with installments helmed by a variety
of directors, but mostly Junki Kurata [perhaps better known for various
Zatôichi entries in the '70s]. This rather lengthy movie
- 125 minutes - is a collection of numerous TV episodes.
