Igano Kabamaru is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by You Azuki. It's hero is a young ninja whose real name is Kagemaru, which means absolute shadow. However, every calls him Kabamaru - hippo's mouth - because all he wants to do is eat.
After the death of his ninja teacher grandfather, he moves to Tokyo and must adjust to living in the urban landscape of Tokyo after a life spent in Iga Province, a more rural area of Japan where the actual ninja that exist in our world first came from.
It's an intriguing idea, having this country boy in the big city. As of 2017, eleven million people live in the countryside areas of Japan while one hundred seventeen million live in the cities. My Japanese accent - ugh, my Japanese is horrible! - sounds like I come from the areas outside Osaka. I was excited to learn this, as that was the first city I spent time in.
I was told, "No, you sound like how people in America think people from West Virginia sound."
Igano Kabamaru is to stay with Ran Ookubo, who always loved his grandfather, and attend her Kingyoku ninja school. As an orphan, he bonds with Mai Ookubo, Ran's granddaughter and also someone who has lost her parents, but she sees him as a rude person and has no interest.
The main thrust of the story is the rivalry between Kin'gyoku School and Ogyoku School, which is, well, kind of like Meatballs in a super generalized way. I mean, it's the poor kids versus the rich ones, slobs versus snobs. But with ninja magic, which makes it better. The Ogyoku have also recruited the orphan that Igano Kabamaru spent most of his young life training alongside, Hayate Kirino, which adds plenty of drama.
The original manga was published from 1979 to 1981, with total 12 volumes of books released, and a sequel began in 2015. The anime aired from October 20, 1983, and March 29, 1984, around the same time that this movie was released.
The movie concentrates on the five-part competition between the schools, with such events of falling off of balloons, swimming, horseriding throwing star target practice, an eating contest that somehow Kabamaru loses and staying on a car while an enemy from the other school drives it.
Made by Toei and the Japan Action Club a group founded by Sonny Chiba - who is in this! - to bring elite stuntmen to Japanese film and TV.
This movie is frequently ridiculous but that's what I was looking for.
After the death of his ninja teacher grandfather, he moves to Tokyo and must adjust to living in the urban landscape of Tokyo after a life spent in Iga Province, a more rural area of Japan where the actual ninja that exist in our world first came from.
It's an intriguing idea, having this country boy in the big city. As of 2017, eleven million people live in the countryside areas of Japan while one hundred seventeen million live in the cities. My Japanese accent - ugh, my Japanese is horrible! - sounds like I come from the areas outside Osaka. I was excited to learn this, as that was the first city I spent time in.
I was told, "No, you sound like how people in America think people from West Virginia sound."
Igano Kabamaru is to stay with Ran Ookubo, who always loved his grandfather, and attend her Kingyoku ninja school. As an orphan, he bonds with Mai Ookubo, Ran's granddaughter and also someone who has lost her parents, but she sees him as a rude person and has no interest.
The main thrust of the story is the rivalry between Kin'gyoku School and Ogyoku School, which is, well, kind of like Meatballs in a super generalized way. I mean, it's the poor kids versus the rich ones, slobs versus snobs. But with ninja magic, which makes it better. The Ogyoku have also recruited the orphan that Igano Kabamaru spent most of his young life training alongside, Hayate Kirino, which adds plenty of drama.
The original manga was published from 1979 to 1981, with total 12 volumes of books released, and a sequel began in 2015. The anime aired from October 20, 1983, and March 29, 1984, around the same time that this movie was released.
The movie concentrates on the five-part competition between the schools, with such events of falling off of balloons, swimming, horseriding throwing star target practice, an eating contest that somehow Kabamaru loses and staying on a car while an enemy from the other school drives it.
Made by Toei and the Japan Action Club a group founded by Sonny Chiba - who is in this! - to bring elite stuntmen to Japanese film and TV.
This movie is frequently ridiculous but that's what I was looking for.
