Ninja (theme)

Ninja is a LEGO theme based around the Samurai and Ninjas of feudal Japan. It ran from 1998 to 1999, with additional figures created for the Mini Heroes Collection one year later, in 2000.

It is frequently considered to be a subtheme of Castle, as the traditional European-style medieval sets were discontinued the year prior, and the Ninja packaging sports the same shade of orange as the Castle boxes throughout the 1990s. Ninja accessories were also included in 10066 Castle Accessories released in 2002. However, the line was never explicitly advertised as a Castle theme by LEGO.

Design[]

The Ninja line draws visual inspiration from feudal Japan and oriental architecture in general. However, the presence of firearms (flintlocks, muskets and cannons) sets the line in a somewhat amorphous historical period. Interesting new elements for the Ninja line include samurai helmets and armour, ninja hoods, katana swords, and ornamental fish statues (possibly from the Sengoku Jidai).

Story[]

United States[]

1998[]

Shogun Gi-Dan (play on words from Sengoku Jidai) leads the Shogun's Defense to protect his treasure. Among his allies is Grey Ninja Ito. The Shogun is threatened by Bandit Chief Kendo and his band of Robbers, aided by Dark Ninja Bonsai.

1999[]

From LEGO MANIA Magazine:

An evil emperor invades the land of the ninja. He robs from the rich. He robs from the poor. He even robs from the Shogun. This evil emperor keeps the treasure hidden in a super stronghold. Dangerous traps, secret entrances, and a booming cannon protect the castle. No one has tried to stop him - until now.

From a secret fire fortress, the mysterious Ninja Princess leads a brave band of red ninjas against the emperor. Trained by the wise Ninja Master, the red ninjas are the sneakiest ninjas around. The Ninja Princess plans to invade the emperor's castle and return the treasure to her people.

Notably, this story does not seem to match the actual models, where the red ninja are clearly shown serving the evil emperor - for example, they man his boat in 3050 Shanghai Surprise. Their home base, 3052 Ninja's Fire Fortress, is also emblazoned with the emperor's symbol.

United Kingdom[]

The story is laid out in the January/February 1999 issue of Bricks n' Pieces Magazine:

For years, peace has reigned across the land thanks to the wisdom and power of Shogun Gi-Dan. He has ruled with an iron fist - helped by his loyal Samurai warriors, the trusted and noble Grey Ninjas.

They have fought to keep the unruly bands of robbers at bay by threatening war if they dare steal the Shogun's treasure.

But now the Bandits have a new leader - the cunning and dangerous Chief Kendo, who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the precious loot!

The 1999 Ninja launch in the UK was in fact the same product line that had debuted in 1998 in the US, and it appears the UK marketing team borrowed heavily from the US story. Names and roles are copied over, with only the sillier elements of the US character descriptions being omitted (such as the pizza-slinging shogun). Even the LEGO Maniac comic featuring Ninja is copied over into the Jan/Feb issue of Bricks n' Pieces - although this was common practice at the time.

Japan[]

In a 1999 commercial, the red ninja army, the white ninja, the emperor from the 1999 wave, and the shogun from the 1998 wave are all shown to be allied against the robbers, who are led by the robber figure wearing a black samurai helmet.

Germany[]

The May/June 1999 issue of World Club Magazine includes a story that details some of the names and roles of the Ninja characters in Germany. The shogun character is known as The Old Shogun. He is accompanied by a bodyguard, the 'Ninja Shogun.' The leader of the robbers, as in Japan, is the helmeted robber figure, going by the title of 'Ninja Bandit.'

Sets[]

#	Set	Number of pieces	Minifigures	Price	Release
1099	Ninja Blaster	23	Robber Chief	$2.00	1999
1184	Ninja Blaster	24	Robber Chief	$1.99	1999
1185	Mini River Ninja	24	Bonsai	$2.00	1999
1187	Glider	22	Ito	$2.00	1999
1269	White Ninja	22	Ninja Princess	$2.99	1999
3050	Shanghai Surprise	102	Samurai Lord, Red Ninja (2)	$14.50	1999
3051	Blaze Attack	143	Red Ninja (2)	$14.99	1999
3052	Ninja's Fire Fortress	167	Red Ninja Master, Red Ninja, Red Ninja	$30.00	1999
3053	Emperor's Stronghold	328	Samurai Lord, Ninja Princess, Red Ninja (x2)	$44.00	1999
4805	Ninja Knights	26	Bonsai, Ito, Robber Chief, Kata, Gi-Dan	$6.75	1999
6013	Samurai Swordsman	13	Samurai		1998
6033	Treasure Transport	81	Ito, Robber Chief, Chief Kendo	$5.99	1998
6045	Ninja Surprise	109	Bonsai, Chief Kendo, Robber Chief	$13.00	1998
6083	Samurai Stronghold	272	Bonsai, Kata, Gi-Dan	$20.00
6088	Robber's Retreat	273	4	$30.00	1998
6089	Stone Tower Bridge	402	Bonsai, Ito, Gi-Dan, Kata, Robber Chief	$50.00	1998
6093	Flying Ninja Fortress	687	9	$90.00	1998

Kabaya[]

#	Set	Number of pieces	Minifigures	Price	Release
3016	Chief and Cannon	23	Robber Chief		1998
3017	Ninjutsu Water Spider	24	Dark Ninja Bonsai	$2.00	1998
3018	LEGO Shogun GO!	25	Shogun Gi-Dan		1998
3019	Ninjutsu Big Bat	22	Ito	$1.99	1998
3074	Red Ninja's Dragon Glider	20	Red Ninja		1999
3075	Ninja Master's Boat	21	Red Ninja Master		1999
3076	White Ninja's Tank	23	Ninja Princess		1999
3077	Ninja Shogun's Small Fort	16	Samurai Lord		1999

Mini Heroes Collection[]

In 2000, after the main Ninja line had been retired, LEGO produced three packs of Ninja figures as part of the Mini Heroes Collection. These introduced a new Shogun Warrior character in red (set 3344), as well as two matching samurai (Old Samurai and Young Samurai) for him to lead (set 3346). Two Green Ninja accompanied the emperor minifigure from the 1999 wave in set 3346. Here, the 'emperor' is described on his card as a "fair and righteous" Samurai Lord.

#	Set	Number of pieces	Minifigures	Price	Release
3344	Ninja 1	9	Shogun Warlord	$4.99	2000
3345	Black Ninja and 2 Robbers	19	Bonsai, Young Samurai, Old Samurai		2000
3346	Green Ninja & Samurai Lord	23	Samurai Lord, Green Ninja, Green Ninja	$5.00	2000