The 80’s - The Ninja Revival Years

Who could forget the 80’s? The clothes, the hair….the ninjas? You may not associate the 80’s with ninjas but upon closer inspection, you’ll find that this decade more than any other was THE period of ninja revival. Don’t believe me? Read on.

The decade of ninjas, as I will refer to the 80’s for the rest of this article, began with the release of Cannon Films’ 1981 film - Enter the Ninja starring Sho Kosugi (a man who went from karate champion to stuntman to eventual actor). With the success of the film, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination, and American Ninja soon followed. American Ninja in particular, proved to be the most successful film for Cannon. Telling the tale of a ninja who had forgotten his traditions, it was only after defeating his enemies that was he able to rediscover his heritage.

With ninjas fresh in everyone’s minds, ninjas soon began appearing in other mediums as well. Popular children’s cartoon G.I. Joe went as far as redesigning a major character to cash in on the sudden ninja craze. It might surprise some to know that Snake Eyes, everyone’s favorite G.I. Joe, wasn’t always a ninja but rather a commando. Of course, Snake Eyes wasn’t the only ninja to be found in children’s cartoons. By the late 80’s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had swept the nation and had become a phenomenon, selling a plethora of VHS tapes, action figures, t-shirts, and more. The success of TMNT even led to three hollywood films (although the first two were really the only good ones). Even Batman, who had been fighting evildoers since 1939, got a little schooling in the way of the ninja during the 80’s.

By the mid-80’s, video games had hit the market. Serving to only fuel the flames of ninja craze, arcades everywhere were assaulted with one ninja game after another. Releasing in 1986, Ninja was one of the first games to feature these shadowy assassins. A year later, The Last Ninja and Shinobi would hit arcades everywhere with Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Warriors following the year after that. Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja and TMNT brought the 80’s to a close with plenty of more ninja games to come. Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden would later see revivals on the playstation 2 and XBOX.

While the 90’s would continue to fuel the developing ninja revival, with movies like 3 Ninjas and Beverly Hills Ninja, the 80’s will always be remembered as the decade that really started the resurgence of ninja interest. I for one, a child of the 80’s, will always remember the sheer volume of kids dressed up as ninjas during halloween. Back then, every kid wanted to be a one. Heck, to this day, I still want to be a ninja but then again, who doesn’t?