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[Lucumo]

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

Yep, immediately what I thought of. Loved that game back in the day.

But I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Tenchu series yet.

 

[Mr. F]

Shadowkhan were dope, if a bit weak

 

[Valkerionseven]

I really like Ninja Gaiden's modern interpretation of not only Hyabusa but the general ninja garb.

I saw some people say they don't like it and want him to have all old school cloth type but that does not make sense in a modern slight futuristic setting. It would make sense for a Ninja these days to have body armor made of modern materials and other gear to make carrying equipment easier.

 

[Fox Mulder]

https://youtu.be/o5WBSgJaVRc

This.

I love this shit.

 

[Trouble]

Spoiler

Kung Pow! Enter the Fist

 

[itwasTuesday]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpZ-BWwQwJI
Onimusha 3 cg opening

 

[Transhuman]

 

[Einchy]

Shinobi PS2

 

[Lord Fagan]

While the movie itself is not a masterpiece like Logan, the previous Wolverine film set in Japan had some pretty cool ninja combat.

The duel against that woman's father wielding two swords right after he regains his healing, and in the snowy village against like 100 dudes with a woodchipper in the unrated version were both wild.

 

[gforguava]

The greatest ninja of them all...Dudikoff.

 

[OmegaZero]

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

My man. It could be tighter in some aspects of its gameplay (direct combat and maneuvering on tight places like rafters) but I loved the freedom it gave in almost every gameplay aspect.

As far as depictions go I liked the details on the various Zen costumes. The game looked pretty nice for a launch Vita game.

 

[lightskintwin]

It's been a long ass time since I've watched Samurai Champloo, but are there even any ninjas in it?

 

[the_darkness]

That Kotaku writer's son in Breath of the Wild.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

It's been a long ass time since I've watched Samurai Champloo, but are there even any ninjas in it?

There were these guys with the Tengu masks:

They were in the episode where Mugen burned their weed fields and accidentally got high.

 

[Rydeen]

Quoting a post from a previous thread on Samurai movie recommendations:

Iga ninpôchô aka Ninja Wars, directed by Kôsei Saitô, is a super-pulpy, mystical take on ninjas and their battle against a team of sinister Shinto monks with bizarre powers under the command of a powerful sorceror testing the fortitude of a samurai lord and discovering whether or not magic can truly best pure love. A young Hiroyuki Sanada stars as the main ninja hero, lots of blood spray, exploitative nudity and crazy ninpo magic abound. This is as close as you're going to get to a live action Ninja Scroll, as they're both based on the same series of ninja action novels in Japan.

Oh, and Sonny Chiba has a small role as a bad-ass, black clad samurai retainer / secret ninja leader.

EDIT:

Oh snap, how could I forget about Cyber Ninja aka Mirai Ninja? So awesome:

https://youtu.be/VMaY7oQ9Zcw

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

hard to top the best of the best op, ninja scrolls is just soo good

that been said, i like a lot Basilisk, im a sucker for ninja love stories and shit


also Shinobi no Kuni is one of my favorites ninja based stuff

 

[O.DOGG]

Goemon in the Shinobi no Mono movies from the 60s.

 

[MikeHaggar]

I'm with you, OP. Ninjas are awesome. It would be cool if they became as popular again as they were in the 80's and early 90's.

 

[lightskintwin]

There were these guys with the Tengu masks:

They were in the episode where Mugen burned their weed fields and accidentally got high.

Oh ok, that looks familiar now. I guess that gif he posted just threw me off. LOL

 

[Forerunner]

Not Naruto

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

I watched ninja 3 the domination for the first time tonight. The ninja golf course massacre is a slight to behold.

 

[gforguava]

Considering what constitutes a "ninja" is pretty flexible I'm going to proclaim that Reiko Oshida's Rui from Quick-Draw Okatsu is the greatest female ninja ever, unfortunately the character only appeared once so her taking the all-time crown from Dudikoff's Joe Armstrong doesn't feel right.

 

[sarcastor]

you fucking kids need to go OG and play Tenchu on the PS1. One of the best ninja games ever.

You could throw poison rice at a guard, have him eat it, cause who can refuse unexplained rice balls found on the ground in the middle of the night, kill him and then somehow retrieve the same ball of rice.

 

[JimiNutz]

For some Ninja gameplay in a modern game try Overwatch and playing as Genji!

I haven't read them yet but this series of Ninja Books books to be well received:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KFDQXSK/

 

[gforguava]

you fucking kids need to go OG and play Tenchu on the PS1. One of the best ninja games ever.

You could throw poison rice at a guard, have him eat it, cause who can refuse unexplained rice balls found on the ground in the middle of the night, kill him and then somehow retrieve the same ball of rice.

Love the first two games, the original's atmosphere is beyond excellent, but I wish they never strayed into the fantastical. Weird cults and demons are lame, I want to be killing Echigoyas all night, every night.

 

[Pyramid head]

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

I love the scene in Ninja Terminator where the the guy is talking about their clan's 25 year old 'ninja dynasty' while the camera pans across lanterns with pictures of ninjas on them.

Also, Richard Harrison's Garfield telephone. Every true ninja has one.

 

[Brakke]

Mark of the Ninja is the best ninja game.

La Blue Girl is the best ninja anime.

 

[Ne0n]

 

[HeatBoost]

Nobunaga's Ninja AKA Ninja Girl/Samurai Master
A fictionally styled but realistic (in terms of plot... relatively speaking...) historical account of Nobunaga Oda's conquest of Japan. The main character is a ninja who isn't too bright, but really good at her job. So much of media portrays Oda as a cackling super villain, it's interesting to see him through the lens of someone who believes in his cause.

If you ever enjoyed the historical cartoons by Disney or the historical segments on Animaniacs, you might like this. A good mixture of whimsical comedy and actual history. And the episodes are only like 5 minutes long so it's easy to watch the first few and see if you wanna keep going.

 

[Ben Morales]

Speaking of Sonny Chiba...

How about the Shadow Warriors (Kage no Gundan) TV series? The first season especially where he portrayed Hattori Hanzo and was the inspiration for the legendary title screen graphic in Revenge of Shinobi.

 

[retroman]

Here are a few good ones that haven't been mentioned yet.

Games: Last Ninja series, Strider series, Ninja Warriors series, Ninja Five-0

Movies: Ninja In The Dragon's Den, Ninja, Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear

And now for some GIFs!

Ninja In The Dragon's Den

Ninja

Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear

 

[Temp_User]

Just sayin'

 

[spineduke]

Samurai Champloo had one sequence featuring some high speed ninjas chasing down a guy.

https://youtu.be/eAYZByH__iI?t=3m27s

 

[HazySaiyan]

 

[woopWOOP]

Godfrey Ho films had the best ninja battles

I love, love, love that ninja training camp scene in American Ninja 4. They keep dying in the dumbest, easiest ways possible and the evil wealthy sheik keeps applauding them for "it's almost like they're proud to die by demand". It's so dumb. It's the best.

 

[Herr Starr]

Does any movie or game actually portray ninjas accurately, or is it all based on the legendary ninjas that had little, if anything, to do with real history? As far as I'm aware, real-world ninjas were more similar to modern spies, trying to dress as inconspicuously as possible (the black ninja suit we're used to from legends would stick out like a sore thumb, so no actual ninja would be stupid enough to wear one) and using subterfuge more than actual stealth. Combat wasn't really their forte.

Since the OP is asking about the best depictions of Ninjas, I would consider a historically accurate depiction to be a worthy candidate. Is there such a thing?

 

[Sojgat]

Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear

Brilliant movie.

So many great fights and each one has it's own clever little gimmick. One of Adkins' best.

 

[True Savior]

Duel to the Death has giant ninjas transforming into smaller ones

And ninjas flying

You can't go wrong with that

 

[Hambulance]

Ninja Five-0

 

[choodi]

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

 

[hom3land]

The ninjas that partake in the ninja parade get my vote. Simply because it makes me laugh whenever I think about it



https://youtu.be/WtR2m20C2YM

 

[Stiflers Mom]

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.

This...

 

[Chichikov]

I love the scene in Ninja Terminator where the the guy is talking about their clan's 25 year old 'ninja dynasty' while the camera pans across lanterns with pictures of ninjas on them.

Also, Richard Harrison's Garfield telephone. Every true ninja has one.

Yes.

 

[RangerX]

Mark of the Ninja is the best ninja media I've ever played or seen. Fantastic game.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Never seen it but I fucking love this poster

 

[British Monsoon]

RAGE OF A NINJA!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxCAPMzPZ-Q

"I was so close to becoming the ultimate Ninjaaaaaa!!"

He has ninja on his headband, you see. That's how you know he's a ninja.

 

[ScOULaris]

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.

you fucking kids need to go OG and play Tenchu on the PS1. One of the best ninja games ever.

You could throw poison rice at a guard, have him eat it, cause who can refuse unexplained rice balls found on the ground in the middle of the night, kill him and then somehow retrieve the same ball of rice.

Love the first two games, the original's atmosphere is beyond excellent, but I wish they never strayed into the fantastical. Weird cults and demons are lame, I want to be killing Echigoyas all night, every night.

All three of you need some Shinobido 2 (Vita) in your lives. It's a spiritual successor to the Tenchu series from the developers of the PS1 original, and IMO it's better than Tenchu ever was thanks to its better mechanics, open-ended mission structure, alchemy, and grounded feudal Japan setting without the demons and other weird shit that Tenchu got caught up in.

 

[Travo]

 

[Conciliator]

lol

kung fool

i get it

 

[SomTervo]

Edit:Moving this