Sonny Chiba, actor and face of Revenge of Shinobi, dies at age 82.

The film and gaming world is in mourning today, as legendary Asian actor Sadaho Maeda, aka Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba, passed away today from pneumonia cause by complications from COVID-19. He was 82. 

Chiba, recognized as the “Anti-Bruce Lee,” had martial arts style that focused on brutal take-downs. This contrasted with the finesse usually shown by Lee. Trained with several black belts in karate, judo, ninjutsu, kendo and kempo, Chiba first showed off his skills in “Karate Kiba” in 1973. Chiba gained international attention in 1974 with the movie “The Street Fighter,” as the mercenary Takuma Tsurugi. Hailed as a bloody success, Chiba starred in its several sequels. 

Although his impressive catalogue of over 200 roles are mostly Japanese based, he had sucess in front of Western audiences too. His ruthless character portrayals caught the attention and admiration of director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino cast Chiba as the Okinawan sword smith, Hattori Hanzo, who crafts the Bride’s katana, in “Kill Bill Vol 1” and “Vol 2.” Afterwards, Chiba appeared on screen as the Yakuza boss Kamata in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” in 2006. His last project, “Bond of Justice: Kizuna,” is set for release on October 1, 2021. He has said he enjoyed his portrayal of villains and anti-heroes.

Alongside his prolific screen acting career, he was quite the showman. Beginning in 1981, Chiba played a variety of roles, both on and off the stage, including Director. His last performance was in “Biohazard: The Stage (Resident Evil)” as Ezra Sennet in 2015. 

Retro gamers will recognize his perpetual frown on the title screen of Sega’s Revenge of Shinobi. Marred in copyright infringement issues for the inclusion of licensed characters like Spider-Man and Godzilla, the game still found success. And with that success, Chiba’s legacy lives on. 

Bael, his representative, and others describe Chiba as a “humble, caring and friendly man.” He is survived by his daughter and two sons.

He will be missed. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and fans.