Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade Japanese theatrical poster

Shinobi - Heart Under Blade or Kouga Ninpouchou Basilisk - The Live-Action is a 2005 Japanese ninjutsu romance film directed by Ten Shimoyama and written by Kenya Hirata. The story is an adaptation of the novel, The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada, which depicts the clash between two ninja clans, Iga and Kouga, and the fated love between Gennosuke (Koga) and Oboro (Iga). The theme song of this movie was the number one hit, HEAVEN, by Ayumi Hamasaki. This movie won both best actor and best new actress awards at both the Kinema Junpo Awards and Yokohama Film Festival in 2006 according to the Internet Movie Database.

On February 6, 2007, Funimation Entertainment released the film in the United States. The contents of the DVD is a 2-Disc Set with the main movie available in Japanese and a new dub from Funimation themselves. The 2nd Disc contains Special Features and making-ofs. All of the films are subtitled in English.

Also a manga and an anime called Basilisk are based on the same novel, and bear the same character names as in the novel and the movie. Although their characters in the film are highly altered from both the original novel and the manga/anime series. Some of the film's ninja characters are similar or even have the same name as characters in the anime movie "Ninja Scroll," which is also based on the novel.

Cast

Kouga Clan

Joe Odagiri as Kouga Gennosuke - leader - he has the power to see, react, and move at very high speeds.

Takeshi Masu as Muroga Hyouma - has abilities similar to a 6th sense (seeing enemies kilometers away)

Mitsuki Koga as Chikuma Koshirou - no supernatural powers, best weapons user.

Tomoka Kurotani as Kagero - poison specialist. Poison flows within her veins and she is able to breathe poison at enemies or poisoning them with a kiss.

Houka Kinoshita as Kisaragi Saemon - he is able to assume the physical appearance of others and imitate their voice.

Minoru Terada as Kouga Danjo

Iga Clan

Yukie Nakama as Oboro - leader - she has the "eyes of destruction", completely incapacitating an opponent with one glance

Kippei Shiina as Yakushiji Tenzen - he is the host to parasitic worms which prevent him from aging and heal any wounds he sustained, allowing him to quickly recover from nearly any injury.

Tak Sakaguchi as Yashamaru - he manipulates thin wires, using them like whips. The wires are also sharp enough to cut through various objects.

Shun Ito as Mino Nenki - beastman that has a keen sense of smell

Erika Sawajiri as Hotarubi - she uses some sort of dust that manipulates butterflies and moths.

Rin as Ogen

Other characters

Takeshi Masu as Kuroga Hyouma

Masaki Nishina as Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi

Toshiya Nagasawa as Yagyū Munenori

Yutaka Matsushige as Hattori Hanzō

Renji Ishibashi as Nankōbō Tenkai

Kazuo Kitamura as Tokugawa Ieyasu

Trailer Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTf1dHz9UI

Theme Song MV(w/ lyrics): http://www.jpopasia.com/play/85/ayumi-hamasaki/heaven.html


Comment: I wouldn't forget this malevolent film. The film amazed me, not only in the action scenes, but also to the love story of Gennouske and Oboro in the film. I was also inspired especially in the scene when Gennouske chose to be killed by the hands of his beloved one, Oboro. The song "Heaven" by Ayumi Hamasaki was also a great effect for me, because it was match to their love story.