Shadow Warriors - The Complete First Season

In 1651 during the Edo Period the 11-year-old Ietsuna becomes the 4th Shogun leading his influential chief retainers to plot against each other to take the reins of power. The Hattori family a clan of Iga Ninjas who were former vassals and protectors of the previous Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu have since fallen from grace. Their third generation ancestor Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba) is now working as the master at public bathhouse in Edo City. Etsuko Shiomi Hiroyuki Sanada and Kenji Oba stars in this series. Extras include new interviews with Chiba and 12 page booklet on the series by Patrick Macias.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES/MIXED MARTIAL ARTS UPC: 787364713493 Product Description

The Best Ninja TV Series-- Highly Reccommended

If you are into martial art movies and ninjas this is a must have. This is where Quentin Tarrentino got some of his ideas for his Kill Bill series. Hence the Taro Hanzo sword. It is in Japanese with english subtitles. The nice thing too about this series is it is not edited for American Television. So expect to see more blood shed and a little nudity. For mature audiences. Some may complain about the video quality, but you have to realize when the series was made. I feel the series is well written for the most part and draws your interest with excitement. Hanzo is one awesome respected ninja leading his Iga Clan of ninjas against evil in feudal Japan. Enjoy. March 28, 2008

Classic Sonny Chiba - A Precursor to Kill Bill

A must have for anyone interested in early Ninja/Samurai TV series from Japan. First in a series featuring Sonny Chiba (Chiba Shinchi) as Hattori Hanzo the chief of the Iga ninjas. Good action, decent storylines, and very good acting by a variety of supporting characters. Subtitling is decent and easy to read. This is one of the main sources of inspiration for Kill Bill. Only available in poorly copied bootleg VHS and DVDs for many years so it is great to have a quality transfer at a very reasonable price. I hope they put out the rest of the series soon. October 22, 2007

Great Series

Kage no Gundan Hattori Hanzo (Shadow Warriors) is an excellent series with a mix of drama and action. Sonny Chiba is great as Hattori Hanzo by portraying him with emotion. The rest of the cast did a great job and there is a heavy amount of big cast of guest actors and actresses. The action sequences are good to watch especially when Hanzo and his band of Iga ninjas finishes off the enemies. If you are big into jidaigeki (period drama), you might want to try and see this one. I've seen this series repeatedly over and over since I got a hold of it. August 23, 2007

Hattori Hanzo - Charismatic Ninja Hero

We found this series very enjoyable. I bought it because I wanted to see how Shinichi/Sonny Chiba became associated with Hattori Hanzo, since in movies Chiba tends to be a supporting character or bad guy rather than H.H. himself. I am not disappointed: we like the characters, the stories, and the combination of action, drama, and humor. At about $30 per hour-long episode it is a very good deal.
I only have two complaints:
1) we want to watch more but only the first season seems available;
2) Chiba's Hattori Hanzo does not say "VERY GOOOOOD!" even once! :o)
(Maybe it's because the H.H. in Okinawa who makes the exquisite blade for
B. Kiddo/"The Bride" is meant to be a descendant centuries later.)
June 30, 2007

Good but Not Great

Great ninja action but for that price it should have been restored or remastered to restore contrast & color. May 14, 2007

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