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[ScOULaris]

So I'm just going to be straight to the point here: I love ninjas. I have ever since I was a kid, and my fascination with these agile stealth assassins persists well into adulthood (and parenthood).

With that said, I struggle to find media that satisfies my ninja cravings these days. It seems to me that ninjas simply aren't as en vogue as they once were (I guess the 80's and 90's were their peak). Sure, you have popular anime properties like Naruto, but the depiction of ninjas on that show doesn't align with the representation that I prefer. I'm all about black-clad, impossibly fast, skilled, stealthy, and swift assassins. Their motivations don't even matter to me. I like ninjas both as enemy hordes and antihero protagonists.

So I thought I'd reach out to GAF for recommendations. I'm open to anything, whether it be films, anime, manga/graphic novels, or videogames. I just wanna gather everyone's favorites so I can pick through them to find new media that I have not yet consumed.

I'll round out the OP with some more badass Ninja Scroll GIFs because why not?

PS - Shinobido 2 is probably my overall favorite ninja stealth game ever, but I've already ranted about that enough on GAF.

 

[HStallion]

Not Naruto

 

[NoblesseOblige]

I thought this was going to be about the most accurate depictions.

 

[PingPongvonLaserstein]

GOAT

 

[ScOULaris]

I thought this was going to be about the most accurate depictions.

Nah. The reality of ninjas as they most likely existed in Japanese history is disappointing compared to the mythical representation of them that has been popularized in popular media.

 

[Mollymauk]

Gymkata, of course.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

Nah. The reality of ninjas as they most likely existed in Japanese history is disappointing compared to them mythical representation of them that has been popularized in popular media.

I dunno. They're basically spies. Which are pretty cool.

Anyway, for games you can play like you're a space ninja in Warframe.

 

[norm9]

GOAT

Fuck yes.

 

[theWB27]

Ninja Assassin

 

[Elegant Weapon]

tum tum

 

[capitalCORN]

If ninjas are so stealthy, why do woodwinds play wherever they are?

 

[Tagyhag]

I thought this was going to be about the most accurate depictions.

Hah, that's what I thought too.

And for those, I think Kagemusha fits the closest.

Realism just isn't cool nowadays, everything has to be anime. :[

 

[IISANDERII]

The American Ninja films. All 4

 

[DiscoJer]

Anything with Sho Kosugi

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0467563/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

He basically was the big ninja star (pun intended) of the 80s.

And while it's actually made by the Shaw Brothers, a Chinese company, 5 Element Ninja is a really neat film. As it sounds, basically there are five groups of ninjas each associated with an element.

 

[DiscoJer]

The American Ninja films. All 4

These are actually not bad , but Steve James (not playing a ninja, but just a badass) is the real star of them. The first 3 anyway.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

Ninjas in super fiction bore me now. Real life tales of these jerks literally walking into castles or places and setting shit on fire / causing panic are sweet.

 

[Skiptastic]

Was the dude from Ninja Scroll really a ninja? Or was he just a wandering swordsman?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPGgwd-01ZM

All you young ones need to get yourself educated on the ninja skillz of Timothy Van Patten

:lol watch the MST3K version of this instead. It's Master Ninja, episode 22 of season 3. There was a second one two episodes later, Master Ninja II.

 

[AMUSIX]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPGgwd-01ZM

All you young ones need to get yourself educated on the ninja skillz of Timothy Van Patten


edit: DiscoJer has the right idea, respect the avatar

 

[SkyOdin]

I dunno. They're basically spies. Which are pretty cool.

Anyway, for games you can play like you're a space ninja in Warframe.

Almost everything about ninja was invented by Edo-era Japanese pop culture. Ninja were basically invented by a mix of serialized novels, kabuki/bunraku plays, and other forms of 18th/19th century popular entertainment. The basic costume of the ninja originates from the all-black costumes worn by stage-hands, who were dressed as such to not attract attention as they moved props or controlled puppets.

 

[pirateluigi]

These are actually not bad , but Steve James (not playing a ninja, but just a badass) is the real star of them. The first 3 anyway.

Damn straight. He was my hero when I was a kid.

 

[mlclmtckr]

They were pretty cool in Shogun: Total War. Those little cinematics were cool, the way they could end in either success or failure.

 

[Dynomutt]

I actually liked the Ninja Assassin films.

 

[fade_]

https://youtu.be/o5WBSgJaVRc

 

[fluffydelusions]

 

[cj_iwakura]

Was the dude from Ninja Scroll really a ninja? Or was he just a wandering swordsman?

He was fighting against a ninja clan. The character was just a wanderer.

 

[Shaanyboi]

Not Naruto

First time someone told me Naruto was supposed to be a ninja, I called bullshit. Motherfucker looks like he's going skydiving.

 

[Sojgat]

 

[Txαi]

The Shinobi series (up to the third one) is my go-to ninja gaming experience. You get to beat Spider-Man, Hulk, Terminator, Batman and Godzilla in a single game.

 

[Guzim]

American Ninja and American Ninja 2: The Confrontation were some of my favorite movies when growing up.

Michael Dudikoff and Steve James are one of the greatest duos ever.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

 

[Shaanyboi]

I won't let anyone tell me the ninja attack in Last Samurai wasn't fucking great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WodaF5t5l3U

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Ninja Assassin from the Matrix siblings is basically Ninja Garden the movie.
It's shallow, but awesome.

 

[lightskintwin]

The Ninja attack scene in The Last Samurai was great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WodaF5t5l3U

I haven't watched it but supposedly Ninja: Shadow of a Tear starring Scott Adkins is good.

 

[Chichikov]

Richard Harrison yo!
FFS, in some of your examples the ninjas don't even has a headband that read "Ninja". It's like they don't care about historical accuracy.

p.s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpMC2_SCY7w

 

[chrisPjelly]

 

[Sojgat]

 

[Xisiqomelir]

I thought this was going to be about the most accurate depictions.

Middle-aged gardeners with hunched backs and a crazy eye grovelling in front of a daimyo for 8 years isn't a gripping story.

 

[RMI]

hard to top Ninja Scroll really. You started the show with a show-stopper OP.

 

[ForkNetwork]

Best stealth game of all time

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Anything with Sho Kosugi

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0467563/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

He basically was the big ninja star (pun intended) of the 80s.

And while it's actually made by the Shaw Brothers, a Chinese company, 5 Element Ninja is a really neat film. As it sounds, basically there are five groups of ninjas each associated with an element.

https://youtu.be/o5WBSgJaVRc

Came to post these. Glad someone else was on top of it.

I won't let anyone tell me the ninja attack in Last Samurai wasn't fucking great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WodaF5t5l3U

It is awesome.

 

[Switch Back 9]

Man Ninja Scroll was the fucking tits.

That era in the 90s where anime was still new and cool and BOOBS and GORE was really cool as a middle school kid/teenager.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

The ones in Black Dynamite made me laugh.

 

[itwasTuesday]

For an American movie, The Last Samurai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WodaF5t5l3U ninja attack
It sticks out my in my head partially because, my college mate shouted "Oh shit ninjas!" really loudly in our dorm they appeared on screen. Like out of nowhere.

edit: everyone has already said what I said

 

[Metalmarc]

I don't know if it is technically but the film Iron Monkey felt like a Ninja film when i saw it years ago, the 1993 one with Donnie Yen

 

[Zero-ELEC]

I came here to post this gif.

 

[zeemumu]

Is this a trick question?

 

[TheRedSnifit]

There's an episode of The Batman where Batman and Catwoman fight off a bunch of ninjas because it's The Batman.

 

[Strangelove77]

Naruto lol

 

[Allonym]

What!? No one posted Rikimaru or Ryu Hayabusa or Hattori Hanzo? Ehhh, surprising. I also like Hotsuma from Shinobi and Strider Hiryu. I like Ninjak as well, although I'm not too familiar with him. My exposure to him is limited to some XO Manowar stuff but he seems like a Batman-Ninja who kills.

 

[Leunam]

I only played Tenchu up until the first PS2 game, but it's a great series for making you feel like a ninja. Stealth kills, sneaking around guards, big levels, and gearing up however you wanted for every mission was awesome. The only thing particularly flashy about those games were the stealth kills, everything else was a little more grounded. The characters were memorable (Onikage/Sezaku especially), the enemies were varied (Spanish pirates and Oni!), and the levels felt unique.

I have very fond memories of the series.