REVIEW: ‘Watari Ninja Boy’ (1966)

Japanese superhero action and ninja conventions converge in this fantastic, high-energy fantasy actioner pitting an axe-wielding child warrior of manga origin against a subversive ninja master in order to stop a plot to create a war between two rival Iga ninja clans. Toei’s colorful WATARI NINJA BOY is filled with a dizzying display of vintage live-action and animated special effects, classic 1960s-era tokusatsu style, and frenzied ninja zaniness that will leave any child or child at heart smiling.

To create WATARI NINJA BOY, screenwriter Masaru Igami adapted a manga series from Sanpei Shirato that first appeared in the pages of “Weekly Shonen Magazine” in 1965. Igami went on to pen KAMEN RIDER TV series episodes and feature films throughout the 1970s.

The movie features early direction of Sadao Nakajima (RENEGADE NINJAS) and stars child actor Yoshinobu Kaneko who subsequently co-starred in the period tokusatsu series MASKED NINJA RED SHADOW. This was basically a Japanese ninja version of the ’60s-era BATMAN TV show. Due to the popularity of Kaneko and WAKARI NINJA BOY internationally, this unrelated TV show was edited into three feature films and marketed overseas as “WAKARI” movies although they had nothing to do with WAKARI NINJA BOY apart from having Kaneko in a leading role.

WAKARI NINJA BOY takes place in 16th century Japan, in Iga province where rival ninja clans, the Momochi and Fujibayashi, are locked in a bitter feud fueled by an Iga code hatched by leaders of both clans to keep all the ninjas of Iga divided and under their control. To fill clan ranks, children are kidnapped and forced to train as ninjas in camps scattered throughout the province. Wakari and his one-legged grandfather are traveling ninjas who begin investigating the plot which puts them at odds with a ninja master named Joko and his multi-colored minions, the deadly Six Iga Ninja.

The plot is presented in a more confusing manner than it needs to be, given that very little is going on apart from ninjas fighting each other. Also, it isn’t exactly clear what Joko intends to get out of causing so much chaos but it could be reasoned that he’s planning to take over all the ninja in Iga, either that or kill them all off.

Where the eight-part SHINOBI NO MONO film series (1962-66) delivers semi-realistic ninja drama and action in a rich historical context, WATARI NINJA BOY drops realism in favor of pure comic book escapism in the emerging tradition of subsequent tokusatsu and anime properties like KAMEN RIDER and SPEED RACER. More recent ninja movies that carry on the same manga/superhero-inspired convention include RED SHADOW (2001) and AZUMI (2003). Of all of these super screen heroes, Watari is one of the most fascinating. It’s a wonder and a shame that this pint-sized warrior with a mop of hair covering one eye has been largely forgotten after 45 years.

Elaborate special effects and trick editing play a dominate role in the film’s many action sequences. There are lots of compositing sequences with characters that grow or shrink, swing through forests and leap extreme distances. It’s crude by today’s digital effects standards but looks good for its time and holds up well thanks to the inventiveness and energy of the presentation. Combined with colorful costumes, sets and an infectiously boisterous score, the film is comparable to Shaw Brothers’ classic MONKEY GOES WEST trilogy in presentation. Making WAKARI even better is use of clever moving backdrops and Disney-grade animation overlays from Toei’s animation department. With costume design that includes brightly colored skin, elaborate kimonos and exaggerated hairdos, the overall look is consistently stylized and manga-like. WATARI is one of the best-looking manga/anime adaptations I’ve ever seen. Like the Wachowskis’ SPEED RACER, WATARI looks and feels like a live-action comic book but with more endearing characters.

The downside of all of these effects is that the action sequences are heavily edited and possess little in the way of quality, live stunt work. Even so, there are still a number of relatively long takes during fights that would almost never been seen in a modern day film with the same amount of effects.

Looking at WATARI NINJA BOY, it’s easy to see where Chinese and Hollywood action filmmakers might have gotten some of their ideas for making ninja movies. Here you’ll see ninjas vanish in thin air, toss dozens of shuriken like a machine gun, scale steep inclines with superhuman speed, and perform acts of illusion to trick opponents into seeing one’s body where it doesn’t actually exist.

Wakari and his grandfather both favor large one-handed axes with chains attached to the handle as their primary weapon. They’re essentially a variation on the traditional kusarigama, or “chain-sickle.” Due to the exaggerated size and thickness of their single-sided blades, these weapons would be impractical for anything other than theatrical use. The weapon that looks the most lethal and cool is a cable dart wielded by the main villain. It actually looks like a large spear tip attached to a three-quarter inch, highly flexible metallic cable. In one sequence, the weapon is used to impale three opponents with a single throw. The villain also has the ability to temporarily freeze or mesmerize opponents to render them helpless. The villain in Cannon Films’ REVENGE OF THE NINJA had a similar trick where he was able to hypnotize a woman into doing his bidding.

There are a surprising number of deaths for this being essentially a kid’s movie but they’re bloodless and not particularly gruesome. Having grown up on a healthy diet of Godzilla, kung fu, ’70s and ’80s-era anime, ninja flicks, Hammer horror, and Hollywood fantasy classics like THE NEVERENDING STORY and FLASH GORDON, I have strong feeling this movie would have been a favorite of mine had I been lucky enough to see it as a kid. Even as an adult I find myself intrigued. There is something wonderful about a little ninja boy with a giant axe raising havoc through the countryside in highly stylized fashion while set to a pop jazz ballad with an impassioned crooner frequently belting out “Wa-ta-ee!” WATARI NINJA BOY is ripe for a revival or remake but I doubt any attempt in the digital age could ever capture the same magic as Toei’s original.

Toei Video released an official, non-subtitled version of WATARI NINJA BOY on DVD in 2004. It has not been released in the U.S. but a little searching online may produce a version with English subtitles.