Shadow Warriors 

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Stars:

Shin'ichi Chiba, Jun'ichi Haruta, Naomi Hase

Cast

Series cast summary:
Shin'ichi Chiba	...	Hattori Hanzô 1 episode, 1980
Jun'ichi Haruta	...	Kiheiji 1 episode, 1980
Naomi Hase	...	Okiri 1 episode, 1980
Shôtarô Hayashi	...	Yorinobu Tokugawa 1 episode, 1980
Shôhei Hino	...	Daihachi 1 episode, 1980
Renji Ishibashi	...	Kishiro 1 episode, 1980
Takashi Kanda		1 episode, 1980
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Tadakiyo sakai 1 episode, 1980
Kirin Kiki	...	Orin 1 episode, 1980
Akira Kume		1 episode, 1980
Yôko Kurita	...	Oume 1 episode, 1980
Kyoko Mitsubayashi	...	Oko 1 episode, 1980
Yukio Miyagi		1 episode, 1980
Jirô Miyaguchi		1 episode, 1980
Maki Mizuhara		1 episode, 1980
Hideaki Nagai		1 episode, 1980
Mikio Narita	...	Yorinobu tokugawa 1 episode, 1980
Teruhiko Saigô	...	Dr. Kyonosuke Tsutsumi 1 episode, 1980
Yoshiko Shinohara		1 episode, 1980
Kantarô Suga	...	Kisaburo 1 episode, 1980
Takeo Tabata	...	Shinanonokami Nagai 1 episode, 1980
Maki Tachibana		1 episode, 1980
Kenji Takaoka	...	Hyoroku 1 episode, 1980
Sô Yamamura	...	Masayuki nishina 1 episode, 1980
Victoria Hearst	...	Rola Whipple 1 episode

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

hero | epic | 

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 April 1980 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Shadow Warriors

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kansai Telecasting (KTV), Toei Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Quentin Tarantino, while filming Pulp Fiction (1994), showed an episode of this show to star Bruce Willis to give him an idea of how to descend the stairs and attack in the film's infamous katana scenes. He also showed it to Bruce's victim in that scene, played by Duane Whitaker, to give him an idea of how he was supposed to die at Bruce's blade.

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Connections

Referenced in The Super Shinobi (1989)

User Reviews

Live in Shadow. Die In Shadow.

Chances are, if you even are perusing this, you have either (A) seen the show at a Japanese station in your area or (B)have heard Quentin Tarantino's references to Kage No Gundan in regards to Sonny Chiba. I'm more of (A) but never got a chance to see all of it (they kept changing the times it would air!!!). All I can say about this series is that it is the perfect bland of drama, martial arts, and cheese that the ninja craze back in the eighties had to offer. BUT don't let that last comment fool you. This isn't some American production exploiting the ninja fad (such as Cannon Films and their poster boy, Sho Kosugi). No, this is straight out of Japan with as much authenticity as Sonny Chiba and his Japan Action Team can provide. "Kage..." provides a wonderful cast of characters led by Chiba's Hattori Hanzo amidst a genuine historical backdrop and engaging stories with enough political intrigue to entertain and educate (!) the viewer on the basics of Japanese history and (a cartooned version)politics. This series also gives a glimpse into the real historical context of what the ninja were (though not as heavy-handed as "Shinobi No Mono" another MUST SEE movie of what the real historical ninjas were like). The ninja were necessary evils of the Samurai elite, and were treated as such. Add to the fact that our heroes belong to a disbanded ninja group whose master was framed for treason, just adds more texture to the mix. In conclusion, just watch and enjoy "Kage No Gundan". There is just too much good stuff to mention without spoiling it for the uninitiated. It's just good fun and a production value akin to any good samurai epic (also watch for cameos from other great Japanese actors of the day). Abayo!