Kage No Gundan 2 - Shadow Warriors 2
Starring : Sonny Chiba
In 1751, while hunting in the Iga mountains, former Iga Ninja Shinpachi Tsuge stumbles upon a wounded man, who, before dying, entrusts him with a scroll. Shortly thereafter, the Shiina group, a band of Koga Ninja responsible for the man's death, arrive on the scene and demand that Shinpachi give them the scroll.
Refusing to betray the dying man's final wish, Shinpachi battles the Shiina group and escapes to his village. There he examines the scroll and discovers that it contains 26 handprints and some strange foreign writing. Before he can decipher it any further, he is surprised to see his long-lost sister Okiri arrive. Dressed as a nun, Okiri asks Shinpachi to give her the scroll and to forget what he witnessed. Seeing that Okiri's attendants include Misato Shiina, female leader of the Shiina Ninja group, and her men, Shinpachi reluctantly agrees to give his sister the scroll.
Some time later Shinpachi visits Gennai Hiraga, a local scholar and doctor. Together they are able to decipher the meaning of the scroll: the 26 handprints belong to a group of conspirators who made a pact with Tadamitsu Ô'Oka to ensure that Ieshige Tokugawa becomes the next Shôgun. By appointing Ieshige as Shôgun, Ô'Oka will be able to wield great power and essentially rule the country from behind the scenes, and thus he is called the "Dark Shôgun". But before this can be accomplished, Ieshige's brother Yoshiharu, who is set to become the next Shôgun, must be eliminated. Ô'Oka meets with Shinpachi and asks him to assassinate Yoshiharu, promissing that if he does his Iga group will be permitted to return to their former post as Shôgunate agents. Shinpachi refuses saying that although poor, the Iga prefer to live in peace. Angered by this, Ô'Oka has one of the Shiina Ninja assassinate Yoshiharu and frame the Iga Ninja group for the deed. This leads to the mass extermination of the Iga villagers with only a handful of survivors able to escape.
Led by Shinpachi, the Iga survivors Gohei, Tsuruzô, Otoki, Utanosuke, Koroku and Ryûkichi form a band of "Kage no Gundan" (Shadow Warriors) who begin a quest for justice and vengeance against Ô'Oka and his 26 followers. Also helping them on their quest is Gennai and a thief named Hayate Kozô (Hayate Kid).
Remastered Print
This is season 2 of the TV show, it aired in 1981 - 1982. With 26 episode on 13 discs, NTSC Region free. Packed into a spindle cake box without artwork.
Color Fullscreen
Japanese language with English subtitles.
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