Apr 26 (newsonjapan.com) - The history of ninja culture can be traced back to at least the 15th century.
While ninjas had virtually disappeared in Japan by the end of the 17th century, we don’t need to look for them solely in Japanese museums. They remain as present as ever in popular culture and have appeared in many different aspects of entertainment all over the world. What are some of the best and worst attempts at creating some ninja-based entertainment?
Movies that Evoke the Classic Imagery
The list of the best ninja movies by Ranker includes titles like the Kill Bill series, Mumon: The Land of Stealth, and Ninja Assassin. While not specifically about ninjas, in Kill Bill, director Quentin Tarantino paid homage to many different martial arts films including the classic Japanese ninja movies of the past. He also spent a full two months filming the ending to 2003’s first instalment, in which Uma Thurman’s character takes on the entire Crazy 88s gang and defeats them all. This series is said to have provided the inspiration for Ninja Assassin, which was released in 2009.
Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins was released in 2021, and while it’s a superhero movie it also features an ancient ninja society and a section where the hero has to go through a series of ninja initiation trials at a dojo. Some scenes were filmed at Kishiwada Castle, while Engyō-ji was another Japanese location used by the crew. This film wasn’t a huge success at movie theaters though, only earning $40 million against a budget of $88 million, and it will be added to the Paramount+ streaming service from April 2022.
Ninjas don’t just appear in action movies with a martial arts theme. 1997’s Beverly Hills Ninja took this classic culture and turned it into a comedy. In this case, Chris Farley plays an American who was raised by a clan of ninjas to become a great master, but who doesn’t have the high level of skills expected from a ninja. Reviews for this movie were generally negative, with an audience score of just 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, 2010’s Ninjas vs Vampires is another attempt at adding humour to the ninja genre that met with limited success.
Many Games Are Based on Ninjas
The idea of ninjas has always appealed to games creators, with many varied titles released from the 1980s onwards. According to PCGamesN, the list of the best ninja games is headed up by Warframe, Mark of the Ninja: Remastered, and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. Recent releases include Aragami 2, which was created by Lince Works. It gives the player control over one of a band of elite warriors who can control the shadows.
The ongoing popularity of ninjas means that they also appear in other genres, such as casino games. The Online Casino Betway provides has a slot title called Ninja Ways. Developed by Red Tiger Gaming, it has a Japanese-style background and symbols such as various realistic ninja weapons over six reels with up to 4,096 ways to win, while a ninja moves across the screen leaving useful symbols behind.
We can also find ninjas appearing in board games, such as Night of the Ninja by Brotherwise Games. This is a social deduction game where up to 11 players can take part in fast, five-minute rounds. Each player has to work out which House their opponents represent and decide who to attack. The use of hand-cut paper craft gives this game an attractive visual presentation. Mobile games such as Ninja Revenge, Shadow Fight 2, and Ninja Arashi allow players to carry out stealth missions and engage in combat at any time. In Dark Sword by Nanoo Company Inc, the focus is on huge swords and also on the moves that the player earns as they progress through the levels.
TV Shows with Obstacle Courses and Ninja Adventures
American Ninja Warrior is a TV show that gets competitors to go over a variety of obstacle courses to determine who becomes this season’s top ninja warrior and wins $1 million. It’s based on the popular Japanese show titled Sasuke, which has been running since 1997. Versions of this format are shown in around 20 other countries, and the Ninja Warrior UK show, which retains Mt Midoriyama as the final obstacle on what some people have called the toughest obstacle course on television. In five series, only one British competitor has completed the full course.
While Japanese TV fans currently enjoy unscripted content like the new Netflix shows, American TV has a rich history of ninjas on TV and Bitcasino YouTube. One of the first American TV series based on ninjas was The Master, which ran for 13 episodes in 1984. It features Lee Van Cleef as an ageing ninja master who travels in a van with one of his pupils and gets caught up in numerous adventures. Ninjas have also appeared in series as varied as Hawaii Five-O, Quincy M.E., Days of Our Lives, Knight Rider, and CHiPs.
The ninja culture is now deeply ingrained in many different parts of the entertainment industry, meaning that it’s unlikely to disappear in the near future. People are fascinated by these legendary characters and the skills they possess, so we can expect to see them appear in many movies, TV shows, and games in the future.
