Available on physical media from Radiance Films on August 19th, 2025
This new set of the Shinobi films includes parts 4-6: Siege, Return of Mist Saizo, and The Last Iga Spy
Shinobi No Mono 4: Siege (aka Shinobi no mono: Kirigakure Saizo) (1964)
In this entry, the ruler of Japan decides to send his ninja to take over the last stronghold still fighting him. Written by Hajime Takaiwa and directed by Tokuzô Tanaka, this sequel keeps the tone and the mood of its 3 predecessors, giving the viewer more of what they liked in the first films, some drama, some old school action, and plenty of ninja goodness. This one is entertaining and a fun watch, a film to check out for sure, especially if one has loved the first 3 films in the series.
Shinobi No Mono 5: Return of Mist Saizo (aka Shinobi no mono: Zoku Kirigakure Saizô) (1964)
Closely following the previous entry, this one deals with the continuing adventures of Mist Saizo as he assists people in surviving their overlords and fighting back. This entry is written by Hajime Takaiwa and directed by Kazuo Ikehiro, bringing more adventures and misadventure for Saizo and his fans. Here is where the series starts to lose steam storywise while the cast does quite well, especially by Tomisaburo Wakiyama in the lead. The film is entertaining, but by this point, some of the storylines are a bit familiar and there seems to be a lot of recycled elements. It’s good, but it shows that the series was in its fifth entry (out of 8 total).
Shinobi No Mono 6: The Last Iga Spy (aka Part 6, Iga Manor aka Shinobi no mono: Iga-yashiki) (1965)
This new entry brings up new characters led by the son of the original ninja we have been following for many films. This entry is written by Kei Hattori and Kin’ya Naoi and directed by Kazuo Mori, and it feels like it’s less part of the series than the others. There are many stylistic and story elements that are changing in this one and that is likely due to the changes in who made the film and the story being about a different lead. This is the entry that, for this viewer, lost the attention and interest, leading to wonder what the next 2 sequels bring to the table. This one feels both familiar and like it’s trying hard, so hard, too hard, to be different. Something is off and it makes watching this 6th entry less fun and entertaining.
Overall, these films are decently entertaining with solid visuals and good performances. However, by part 5, the diminishing returns effect starts to be felt, and it really shows up with part 6. Of course, curiosity will make almost anyone who has liked any of the 6 first films want to check out parts 7 and 8.
This new set from Radiance Films was reviewed on Blu-ray and looks great. The black and white images and their clarity are fantastic, and the sound quality is decent. The extras aren’t exactly numerous, but what is there is great. The main points of interest here are the interview with Taichi Kasuga (a Japanese period film historian), and interview with Mance Thompson (a ninja film scholar), and selected scenes audio commentary by Tom Mes on the first film in this set. The physical presentation of the film is great with a solid box that sports great artwork on the outside and reversible artwork in each of the two Blu-ray boxes inside the set.
Read our review of the first box set here
