Thursday, November 22, 2012

Ninja Obsession 忍者の執着

I am here to make confession, one that I have kept from most people I know until recently and now I want to share this secret with everyone. Ladies & Gentlemen, I am...obsessed with Ninjas.




Almost anything involving authentic Japanese ninjas, I'll drool over. None of that Godfrey Ho bright colored, Richard Harrison starring or the ton of "ninja" movies to come from Taiwan.
I recall my first "exposure" to ninjitsu  was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but I was the only kid on the block who was more interested in the fighting style and not the fact that it was being used by 4 giant talking turtles. When the turtle craze died down, Power Rangers decided to pick up the ball and become ninjas, renewing my interest in ninjas. At a time when a 13 year old should be more interested in girls, I, having a hard time in school socially and academically, needed some kind of escapism and ninjitsu did that for me. In the end, I am more fascinated with the mythology of ninjitsu that I've seen in movies, video games, manga and television. Not that actual ninjitsu is boring but the mythology has opened my eyes to other asian mythologies, which are far more interesting than most western mythologies.