In the 1960s, an 18th century samurai named Shintaro appeared on Australian television screens. With TV in Australia barely ten years old, THE SAMURAI became a surprise hit - thousands of Australian kids tuned in each weekday afternoon at 3:30 to catch Shintaro and his ninja friend Tombei battle rivals such as the Koga Ninja. Samurai mania swept the nation with children crafting their own weaponry and wreaking havoc in playgrounds and backyards across the nation, while a visit from the show's star Koichi Ose resulted in thousands of fans flocking to greet the Samurai at airports across the country (it was reported that crowds surpassed previous records set by The Beatles)! For many years the complete 128 episodes have remained commercially elusive, but Siren Visual is proud to announce that THE SAMURAI SEASON TWO: KOGA NINJA hits Australian DVD in March 2010!
In Japan, 300 years ago, there were two secret societies of people who called themselves ninja. One group was called Iga the other Koga. They were professional spies and assassins, experts in acrobatics, swordsmanship, judo, karate and hypnotism. The secret scroll of the ninja had three basic rules:
To train your body to endure any hardship.
To forget all your friends and family and keep your real identity secret.
To accept death rather than divulge any of the secret s of the society of ninja.
SEASON TWO: KOGA NINJA
On a Tokyo street at midnight, a lonely courier carrying gold belonging to the Shogun's minister is robbed and murdered by a mysterious figure that seemingly springs from the darkness. The courageous Shintaro investigates, only to discover the involvement of the Koga Ninja, who are eager to get their hands on gold to fund their empire of crime and tyranny. Shintaro befriends Kurobei, who is allied with the Koga. With deadly ninja lurking behind every corner, Shintaro finds himself in his most dangerous adventure yet!
Set in Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture), the KOGA NINJA story also introduces audiences to Shintaro's boy companion Shusaku and was originally aired in Australia in 1964.