Kamen no Ninja Akakage

Kamen no Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者 赤影) 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
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).

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

Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa (1987 Anime)

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

Voiced by: Masako Nozawa (1987 Anime)

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

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

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (1987 Anime)

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

1967 Tokusatsu series
Kamen no Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者 赤影), 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
This was Toei's first color tokusatsu superhero show and Japan's first color live-action ninja TV series. Aokage's footage from the series was used to create several Watari films with the titles like The Magic Sword of Watari (not to be confused with the unrelated 1966 film Watari, Ninja Boy).

1987 anime series
Kamen no Ninja Akakage (仮面の忍者赤影) 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
A video game was created based on the anime version. It was released in 1988, by Toei, for the Famicom. The game music was composed by J-Walk.

2001 live-action film
Red Shadow (RED SHADOW 赤影) 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.