By: John M Jerva

The action community is suffering another loss today as it’s been reported the iconic martial arts star Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba , best known for the 70’s Street Fighter films, has passed away due to complications from Covid-19.

Chiba was a legend in the genre having starred in such blood soaked classics as Shogun’s Ninja, The Ninja Wars and would later appear in Kill Bill Volume 1 and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. My personal favorite was Immortal Combat which also starred the late, great Rowdy Roddy Piper. The two stars had such easy chemistry with each other and Chiba looked fantastic in his older years.

Chiba was the real deal onscreen and was most noteworthy with a sword as he executed flawless moves with the legendary weapon countless times in movies and if you know action than you knew Sonny and the impression that he has left on the action community. This is definitely sad news to start the day.

Chiba is survived by his three children Juri Manase, Gordon Maeda and Mackenyu Arata who are also prominent in the Japanese film industry. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family and friends. RIP Warrior…

Check out the late, great Sonny Chiba doing what he does best in the definite lesser known gem Immortal Combat courtesy of Yuki on YouTube