Shogun's Ninja (1980) - A Review

 

An underrated ninja/martial arts movie from Japan.

Shogun's Ninja is a martial arts/ninja movie released in Japan in 1980, starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Sonny Chiba, Yuki Ninagawa, Etsuko Shihomi, and Isao Natsuyagi. It was directed by Norifumi Suzuki, with Sonny Chiba directing the action.

Hiroyuki Sanada as Takamaru.

In Shogun's Ninja, Hiroyuki Sanada plays Momochi Takamaru, the heir to the leadership of the Momochi clan (and possibly the leader of a united Japan) who escaped to China after his father was murdered by the Iga clan. Takamaru's mother sends her son away with a dagger (that is passed down to the heir of the Momochi clan), and ends her life so the Iga clan cannot get any information from her. Shiranui Shōgen (played by Sonny Chiba) is in search of the Momochi clan daggers because they have a map to the Momochi clan's hidden cache of gold.

Ten years later, Takamaru comes back to Japan, in search of the man who killed his father. He meets up with his surviving childhood friends, and together they plan to get revenge. The girl who saved his life in China and introduced him to Chinese martial arts, Ai-Lian (played by Etsuko Shihomi) has also arrived in Japan, looking for him. Unbeknownst to Takamaru, his childhood friend Otsu (played by Yuki Ninagawa) survived and is now living as the sister of Hattori Hanzō (played by Isao Natsuyagi). Hattori also wants the daggers. Takamaru has many people on his side, but is it enough to defeat  Shiranui Shōgen and his shogun?

Sonny Chiba as Shiranui Shōgen.

Shogun's Ninja is a Japanese martial arts movie that goes all out in in every way. There is a lot of action, lots of cool scenery, lots of memorable moments, and lots of memorable characters. Hiroyuki Sanada, in his first lead role, plays a great hero. He gets to show his martial arts skills throughout, and even his dancing prowess as well. He is likable, and Takamaru is a hero you can really root for. Sonny Chiba is more of a stoic villain in this movie. He is highly skilled and merciless. There is a scene where his character is torturing Takamaru, and it gets pretty painful (if you are a male, you will especially feel it)! It is always great to see Etsuko Shihomi kicking butt in movies, and she does a lot of that in Shogun's Ninja! She is a strong woman who wants to help Takamaru any way she can.

The plot is kind of basic (finding the twin daggers, which has a map to treasure engraved on them), but it really doesn't need a deep story when it has so much action in it. Takamaru just wants revenge, Shiranui Shōgen wants the daggers, and therefore the treasure and the power. Hattori Hanzō wants the daggers for the treasure, so he sends his sister to steal them. Since Otsu grew up with Takamaru, we are unsure of her motives throughout the movie. It's an interesting scenario. The resolution to everything is pretty fitting, I feel.

I have been looking for this movie for years! It's been decades since I last watched it on late night cable TV (TNT). These are the only things I could clearly remember about the movie: it was called "Ninja's Revenge", there were ninjas who crawled up and down trees like spiders, a female martial arts fighter ripped her pants when fighting some bad guys, the main character looked similar to Jackie Chan, and the main villain was played by Sonny Chiba. I looked everywhere for this movie, but as you can imagine, I wasn't finding anything under the "Ninja's Revenge" title. Finally, I see Shogun's Ninja on the American streaming site Tubi, I read the description, and I take a chance on it. Everything I remembered from back then happened in this movie! What a feeling it is when you find something after years of being unsuccessful looking for it. The only thing I didn't remember was the soundtrack to this movie. It has a very funky, jazzy soundtrack. The music is okay, I guess, but it is surprising for this type of movie! It was better than I remembered, that's for sure!

There is a lot of crazy ninja action in Shogun's Ninja!

There is a lot of action in Shogun's Ninja!  Hiroyuki Sanada gets to strut his stuff throughout the movie. His first fight in the movie is a good display of his hand to hand combat skills. He fights off a group of thugs with ease, and he does some sweet kicks and acrobatics in the process. In later fights, he mainly uses his dagger(s), which he is very proficient at. Sonny Chiba's character is a ruthless fighter, and one of his special moves is forming a human tower with twin fighters. It's very cool to see it in action! Etsuko Shihomi is great in this, and mainly uses nunchakus against her enemies. There are ninja battles high in the trees, with ninjas falling to their deaths. Lots of bloody action as well, with limbs flying and blood spurting. The action is very good in Shogun's Ninja!

If you like ninja action, swordplay, and historical Japanese stories, I think you would enjoy Shogun's Ninja. I think it is a very entertaining and enjoyable movie. This may not be considered one of Sonny Chiba's or Hiroyuki Sanada's best movies, but they are great in it. What a lead role debut for Hiroyuki Sanada in Shogun's Ninja. He really gets to show his physical talents in this, and it is like a preview of the greatness he would later achieve in movies like Ninja In The Dragon's Den (1982) and Royal Warriors (1986). Check out Shogun's Ninja, it's a wild ride!

Reviewed by David Williams