is a Japanese manga series written and Illustrated by

Mitsuteru Yokoyama was a Japanese manga artist born in Suma Ward of Kobe City in Hyōgo Prefecture. His personal name was originally spelled , with the same pronunciation. His works include ''Tetsujin 28-go'', ''Giant Robo'', '' Akakage'', ''Babel II'', '' Sal ...

. It was originally serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the H ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' 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, ...

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

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, war, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is som ...

series by Toei and was broadcast on

Kansai TV JODX-DTV, virtual channel 8 ( UHF digital channel 17), branded as or , is the Kansai region key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS), operated by the . Kansai TV is a company affiliated in Hankyu Hanshin Holdin ...

and

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

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 , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

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 covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...

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 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). He ...

(Red Shadow) Voiced by:

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

(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 is a Japanese actor. He is not to be confused with Japanese stunt actor Jun Murakami. Career Murakami starred in Sho Miyake's ''Playback'' (2012). He co-starred in Sion Sono's '' The Land of Hope'' (2012) with Megumi Kagurazaka. He has also a ...

(Red Shadow) Voiced by:

Masako Nozawa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator. Throughout her life, she has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce and self-owned Office Nozawa; she is also affiliated with Aoni Production. Her late husband, Masaaki Tsukada, wa ...

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

Shirokage

Portrayed by:

Fuyukichi Maki was a Japanese actor. He worked in TV and film from 1951 to 1997. His birth name was Nobuyuki Okamura (岡村信行). He was born in Ōdate, Akita, Japan."The Japanese Filmmaker's Encyclopedia, Actor ed., Volume 2" Kinema Junposha, 1996, p. . ...

(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

Development

This was Toei's first color

superhero show and Japan's first color live-

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

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

1987 anime series

is the

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

adaptation produced by Toei that aired on Nippon Television 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 Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

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 Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

. 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) * ''Stereo Future'' (2001) * ''Slow Is Beautifu ...

. 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). He ...

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 fiction Fuji TV original programming Nippon TV 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