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Ninja Akakage

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"Red Shadow" redirects here. For other uses, see Red Shadow (disambiguation).
Ninja Akakage
Cover of the first manga volume.
仮面の忍者 赤影
(Kamen no Ninja Akakage)
Manga
Written byMitsuteru Yokoyama
Published byShogakukan
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run1966 – 1967
Volumes3
Television drama
Produced by
Written byMasaru Igami [ja]
Music byHirōki Ogawa [ja]
StudioKansai Telecasting Corporation
Toei Company, Ltd.
Original networkKTV, Fuji TV
Original run April 5, 1967 – March 27, 1968
Episodes52
Further information
Live-action film
Tobidasu Bouken Eiga: Akakage
Directed byJunji Kurata
Written byMasaru Igami
Music byHirooki Ogawa
StudioToei Company
ReleasedJuly 20, 1969
Runtime52 minutes
Manga
Shin Kamen no Ninja Akakage
Written byMitsuteru Yokoyama
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintShonen Champion Comics
MagazineWeekly Shonen Champion
Original runSeptember 18, 1987 – April 15, 1988
Volumes3
Anime television series
Directed bySusumu Ishizaki
Produced by
Written byToshiki Inoue
Yoshiyuki Suga [ja]
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
StudioToei Animation
Original networkNNS (NTV)
Original run 13 October 1987 – 22 March 1988
Episodes23
Video game
DeveloperShouei
PublisherToei Animation
GenreAction
PlatformFamicom
ReleasedMay 20, 1988
Manga
Kamen no Ninja Akakage Remains
Written byMasaomi Kanzaki
Published byAkita Shoten
ImprintPlay Comic Series
MagazinePlay Comic
Original runMay 25, 2012 – May 25, 2014
Volumes4
Television drama
Masked Ninja Akakage
Directed byTakashi Miike
Produced by
  • Moe Ouchi (TV Asahi)
  • Takato Akiyama (TV Asahi)
  • Kiryu Kazuma (Toei)
  • Hiroya Ishizaki (Toei)
  • Minami Takashima (Toei)
  • Misako Saka (OLM)
Written byYusuke Watanabe [ja]
Music byKoji Endo [ja]
Studio
Original networkANN (TV Asahi)
Original run October 26, 2025 – scheduled
Live-action film

Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者 赤影, Kamen no Ninja Akakage; "Masked Ninja Red Shadow") is a Japanese manga series written and Illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1966 to 1967.

The manga was adapted into a 52-episode tokusatsu series by Toei and was broadcast on Kansai TV and Fuji TV from April 1967 to March 1968, followed by a film adaptation in 1969. A 26-episode anime adaptation by Toei Animation was broadcast on Nippon TV 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

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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 ninjas 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

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Akakage

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Portrayed by: Yuzaburo Sakaguchi (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film), Masanobu Ando (Red Shadow)

Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa (1987 Anime)

Akakage (赤影; "Red Shadow") is a ninja 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

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Portrayed by: Yoshinobu Kaneko (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film), Jun Murakami (Red Shadow)

Voiced by: Masako Nozawa (1987 Anime)

Aokage (青影, "Blue Shadow") is a young boy who plays with explosives and uses a chain weapon.

Shirokage

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Portrayed by: Fuyukichi Maki (1967 TV Series and 1969 Film), Naoto Takenaka (Red Shadow)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (1987 Anime)

Shirokage (白影; "White Shadow") is an old man who is armed with a pole weapon and flies using a large kite.

Media

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1967 Tokusatsu series

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Kamen no Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者 赤影, Masked Ninja Akakage), was produced by Toei Company Ltd., and aired on KTV and Fuji TV 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 Fuyukichi Maki.

Development

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This was Toei's first color tokusatsu superhero show and Japan's first color live-action ninja TV series.[1] Aokage's footage from the series was used to create several Watari films with the titles like Watari the Conqueror (not to be confused with the unrelated 1966 film Watari, Ninja Boy).[2]

1987 anime series

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Cover art of the DVD box for the 1987 Kamen no Ninja Akakage anime.

Kamen no Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者赤影, Masked Ninja Akakage) is the anime 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

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A video game was created based on the anime version. It was released in 1988, by Toei, for the Family Computer.[3] The game music was composed by J-Walk.

Famicom title screen

2001 live-action film

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Main article: Red Shadow (film)

Red Shadow (RED SHADOW 赤影, Reddo Shadō Akakage) is a loose adaptation of the original Kamen no Ninja Akakage series. It was released in 2001 and was directed by Hiroyuki Nakano. It stars Masanobu Andō in the title role. The story, characters, and their costumes were, however, re-designed from scratch.

2025 drama television series

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Another live-action television adaptation titled in English as Masked Ninja Akakage was announced on September 7, 2025, this time being a drama adaptation.[4] Co-produced by TV Asahi and Toei, the series was directed by Takashi Miike who also handles chief direction and is written by Yusuke Watanabe [ja] with general production by OLM and Toei Studios Kyoto [ja]. The series is scheduled to air on TV Asahi and its affiliates on October 26, 2025.[5] The opening theme is titled "Swish Dat", performed by Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Kamen no ninja Aka-Kage (1967)
  2. ^ The Magic Sword of Watari (1970)
  3. ^ 忍者ゲーム 【ファミコン】 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2011-07-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Masked Ninja Akakage". TV Asashi. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  5. ^ Loo, Egan (2025-09-06). "Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Kamen no Ninja Akakage Manga Gets Live-Action Series by Takashi Miike". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  6. ^ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (2025-10-16). "Live-Action Kamen no Ninja Akakage Series' Trailer Previews Opening Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
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