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Shadow Warriors (TV series)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox television
| image =
| native_name = Kage no Gundan
| alt_name =
| genre = Jidaigeki
Ninja
| runtime = 46 minutes (per episode)
| country = Japan
| language = Japanese
| num_series = 5
| num_episodes = 119
| company = Kansai Telecasting Corporation, Toei Company
| network = Fuji TV
Kansai Telecasting Corporation
| director = Kinji Fukasaku
Eiichi Kudo
| starring = Sonny Chiba
Etsuko Shihomi
Hiroyuki Sanada
So Yamamura
Kirin Kiki
Junichi Haruta
Teruhiko Saig
Shhei Hino
Kantar Suga
Renji Ishibashi
Kaho Shimada
Mikio Narita
| narrated = Asao Koike (1-2)
Isao Hashizume (3)
Akira Kume (4-5)
| theme_music_composer = Shigeki Watanabe
| endtheme = "G no Inori" by Nobuyasu Okabayashi (Series 1)
| picture_format = Film
| first_aired =
| last_aired =
}}
is a Japanese television 'jidaigeki' show featuring Sonny Chiba that ran for four seasons in the early 1980s. The first season was a reimagining of the film 'Kage no Gundan: Hattori Hanz' directed by Eiichi Kudo which was released in 1980.
Chiba played different ninja characters in each series. In the first series he played Hattori Hanz III, in the second he played Tsuge Shinpachi, in the third he played Tarao Hanz, and in the fourth series and in 'Bakumatsu Hen' he played Hattori Hanz XV. In the 2003 direct-to-DVD series 'Shin Kage no Gundan' ('New Shadow Warriors') he played Hattori Hanz I.
Seasons
*'Hattori Hanz: Kage no Gundan' (1980) - 27 episodes
*'Kage no Gundan II' (1981 - 1982) - 26 episodes
*'Kage no Gundan III' (1982) - 26 episodes
*'Kage no Gundan IV' (1985) - 27 episodes
*'Kage no Gundan Bakumatsu Hen' (1985) - 13 episodes
*'Shin Kage no Gundan' (2003 - 2005) - 6 direct to video episodes (not part of the TV series)
DVD release
The complete first season of the show was released on April 17, 2007 on Region 1 DVD by BCI Home Entertainment.
In other media
Chiba reprised the Hattori Hanz character for 'Kill Bill'.
Quentin Tarantino stated in the supplementary material on the 'Kill Bill' DVD that the character was named in tribute to Chiba's former role as Hattori Hanz (the historical 16th-century Iga ninja) in 'Shadow Warriors (Kage no Gundan)'. The joke is that Chiba played multiple generations of the character: when the character died, the next installment would shift to covering his descendant, also named Hanz after his famous predecessor. The implication is that the character in 'Kill Bill', whom Tarantino called Hattori Hanz XIV, is another descendant of the same lineage. Chiba's daughter Juri Manase also appears in 'Kill Bill' as a member of the Crazy 88. A digitized version of a promo image for the series' second season infamously appears on the title screen of The Revenge of Shinobi.
Cast
Hattori Hanz: Kage no Gundan (Season 1)
*Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanz
*Kenji Takaoka as Hyroku
*Naomi Hase as Okiri
*Shhei Hino as Daihachi
*Junichi Haruta as Kiheiji
*Kyoko Mitsubayashi as Ok
*Kantar Suga as Minakuchi Kisanta
*Renji Ishibashi as Minakuchi Kisir
*Hiroshi Inuzuka as ikoma
*Nobuo Kaneko as Sakai Tadakiyo
*Teruhiko Saig as Tsutusmi Kyonosuke
*So Yamamura as Hoshina Masayuki
*Kirin Kiki as Orin
*Yko Kurita as O-ume
Kage no Gundan II (Season 2)
*Sonny Chiba as Tsuge Shinpachi*Jun Eto as Tsuruz
*Masato Hoshi as Utanosuke
*Hikaru Kurosaki (:ja:) as Koroku
*Mayumi Asaka as Otoki
*Isamu Nagato as Gohei
*Etsuko Shihomi as Shiina Misato
*Mikio Narita as oka Tadamitsu
*So Yamamura as Hiraga Gennai
*Hiroyuki Sanada as Hayate Koz
*Kirin Kiki as Orin
Kage no Gundan III (Season 3)
*Sonny Chiba as Tarao Hanz*Etsuko Shihomi as Och
*Hiroyuki Sanada as Sasuke
*Keiz Kanie as Takebayashi Toramaro
*Hikaru Kurosaki as Shunta
*Kawarasaki Kenz as Ryuken
*Kyoko Kishida as Takatsukasa Takako
*Yoko Akino as Kobue
*Eitaro Ozawa as Tokugawa Mitsusada
Kage no Gundan IV (Season 4)
*Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanz*Isao Hashizume as Hysai
*Kimiko Ikegami as Satsuki
*Jun Miho as Ayame
*Junichi Ishida as Kikuji
*Kenji Ohba as Gamahachi
*Tsuyoshi Ihara as Zenkyu
*MIE as Och
*Etsuko Shihomi as Oren
*Hikaru Kurosaki as Junta
*Mari Chihara as Toki
*Hiroyuki Sanada as Katsu Kaish
*Mikio Narita as Ii Naosuke
*Gaku Yamamoto as Hotta Masayoshi
*Kantaro Suga as Murayama Taiz
*Masanori Sera as Sakamoto Ryoma
*Bunjaku Han as Osai
*Kirin Kiki as Botan
Kage no Gundan Bakumatsu Hen (Season 5)
*Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanz
*Isao Hashizume as Hysai
*Kenji Ohba as Gamahachi
*Tsuyoshi Ihara as Zenkyu
*MIE as Och
*Isao Natsuyagi as Oguri Kozukenosuke
*Hiroyuki Sanada as Katsu Kaish
*Masanori Sera as Sakamoto Ryoma
*Seiichir Kameishi as Tateoka Dsetsu
*Kirin Kiki as Botan
References
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