Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou

I can actually make a 3 word summary for this anime. It would go like this : KILL, KILL, KILL. Heartless killing, endless dying. That pretty much made up the story. Almost every character was just blood thirsty, all except this anime’s Romeo and Juliet, aka Gennosuke and Oboro. It’s another story of forbidden love, I suppose. The forbidden love was a foot note for me – I was more engrossed by the fight scenes and the dramatic deaths of the ninjas. The concept was actually new to me, but I was able to understand most of it. I was familiar with Samurai – themed anime, but I have never watched a serious shinobi anime like this one (that’s right – Flame of Recca doesn’t count). I’m not sure what separates the two, but from what I notice, Ninjas are less moral and are more likely into killing, that’s why the Iga and Kouga ninjas were chosen to fight it out with each other to come up with the decision on who will succeed the third shogun. I am not sure whether or not this really happened (I don’t think so) but there were a lot of historical references that were explained (thank God!). It's another opportunity to learn about Japanese culture and history! So the characters ended up killing each other in the way they knew how – using their different techniques of course. They all had unique techniques, from super sticky phlegm to blood sucking skin to deadly glances. These techniques gave spice to the already violent carnage. Like their techniques, their respective practitioners were equally impressive and different (Although the girls looked alike, and Koshirou and Yashamaru as well). I was sad that some were only shown for a short time, because their personalities and character made it seem like they were going to stick around longer. I have to commend the voice acting for this one. Even though I’m not that fluent in Japanese, I know well enough Japanese slang to tell that the language they’re using was the one used in that era. They seem to say “Gozaimasu” a lot. Generally, the seiyus brought out the personalities of their respective characters, and that’s always a good thing. The drawing style was pretty good, but I found that it can be a bit exaggerated sometimes. Body proportions were kinda weird. Everyone and everything seemed to be big. The women had huge, nipple-less chests (Found out from all the naked girl fight scenes). The men had overly large frames, but they are ninjas so I’m not sure about that. The wrinkles on the elders were a bit too extreme. They were kind with Danjou, but poor Ogen. She was so beautiful in her youth and when she got old they made her look REALLY old. There were a lot of hair too - everyone just seemed so hairy. The landscapes and backgrounds were nicely drawn though, and I did detect a hint of CG just to compliment some scenes. I was kinda ticked that a lot of the scenes were in the dark, which made it hard for me to tell what was happening. Oh well, they didn’t have light then anyway. When the scenes were during the daytime, you could tell the colors were done nicely and complimented each other instead of clashing with each other. I noticed there was a great variety of BGM – most of them were gloomy though. It did fit the series well, but that’s about it. They didn’t heighten the mood of the scene or anything like that. The opening theme singer’s voice (which is actually Oboro’s seiyu) sounded a bit operatic, so I didn’t like the opening theme that much. I liked both the ending songs though, they seemed more current compared to the opening theme. Anyway, all in all the music fit the mood of the anime. Again I was hesitant with this one – Didn’t really want to watch it at first since I thought it was going to be too serious, but it ended up to be very exciting and likable. Let’s not forget the violence and gore either, It may seem like I like shojo more, but I actually love violent series just as much.

Story: (9/10) - Great The story is simple - two warring ninja clans kill each other. Don't let the simple plot fool you though, there is a forbidden love story thrown into the mix aswell, and that is pulled off well. The best way to describe this would be a ultra-violent Romeo and Juliet sort of story. I enjoyed the story very much, but it had it's flaws. Many of the characters that appear only last for a few episodes, and I felt that they could have been kept along just a bit longer. But, after all, the main premise of this anime is two ninja clans killing each other, so I'm not really that upset. Art: (10/10) - Outstanding This is some of the best art I have ever seen in Anime, period. I am not exaggerating one bit. Even if you don't like the plot, the sound, or the characters, you should watch this Anime just for the art. If I could rate the art eleven out of ten, I would. Simply epic art. Much detail is put into everything that you see. The backgrounds are rich and colorful, but not too colorful, and seem to pop out of the screen at you. The characters are well designed, and convincing. Even some of the CGI, although it is rarely used, is well done. The only bad point I would give the art would be that some of the characters were designed rather oddly, with massive deformations which takes away from the otherwise blatant realism of this Anime. Sound: 9/10 - Great There really isn't much to say about the sound. I watched this series dubbed for the first five episodes then switched over to subtitles. The dub is well done, but it is very strange watching Ninja's in seventeenth century Japan speaking English. The subtitles are well done, but they were a tad bit small for my taste, although I do have rather bad vision. The one bad point about the sound is that a lot of the characters that are voiced are given very unrealistic voices, and it is hard to see a character in real life speaking that way. Also, some of the sound effects are a bit overdone. Character: 8/10 - Very Good The characters aren't anything special in themselves, but a good amount of character development is done. As said earlier, the two main characters resemble Romeo and Juliet, in a forbidden love scenario. A complaint I have about the characters is also as mentioned before in the art section -- many of them are massively deformed with huge tumors and the like. I am not sure if they meant to do this to show that they had no modern medicine, but some of the deformations are so over the top that they would be almost impossible in real life unless the character was suffering from a severe case of elephantiasis. Also, some of the characters are killed off way too soon, and I feel that they could have had use in the plot. Enjoyment - 10/10 - Outstanding I watched this show in a matter of three days, which is pretty good if you ask me. This series if very, very enjoyable, one of the best around. If you have some spare time, I would recommend putting aside a weekend and marathoning it with some friends. This anime has a rather good re watch value also. Overall: 9/10 - Great This is a very good anime series, and despite some of it's flaws, is a must see for any fan. I would say that about 95% of the people who watch this will like it. I would say that this series is appropriate for children over the age of fifteen, because it does include violence, scenes of rape, nudity, blood, and mildly suggestive themes. Main Verdict - Buy, rent, or download this anime -- it is great!

Oh my word, this has got to be the greatest ninja/shinobi anime ever made. It is romantic, gory, action-packed, dramatic, deep and beautiful in every way. The story is a revamp of the old Kouga/Iga ninja conflict. It is interesting and involving. The story is a historical piece, but it becomes so much more because it reminds you that the people involved were PEOPLE, who had lives and loves and everything in-between. The plot follows a bloody death match; there's execution-style story-telling, and it reels you in from the first episode to the chilling final one. The art was excellent. Couldn't do any better. It has a unique style, the colour pallet was amazing, the background art was gorgeous and the animation was astounding (excellent fight scenes). The characters were deep and three-dimensional. There are more than 10 people you will see who has the focus on the anime on them, but each is interesting and has a backstory to them so it helps us understand who they are. If you think Naruto is the greatest ninja anime ever, this isn't for you, because you wouldn't know quality if it stuck you in the eye with a kunai. There was nothing unfabulous about this anime, so do watch it.

I absolutely adored Basilisk. Firstly, it probably had the most beautiful and well designed graphics in all the animes i have watched. The characters are well drawn, and the backgrounds and sceneries are simply breathtaking. It is most certainly a breath of fresh air from lesser animes with low quality graphics. Secondly, Basilisk is extremely fast paced. Expect to see lots of action in every episode, and at least one person dying in each episode. This is widely in contrast with slow paced but highly raved about anime like Naruto. Furthermore, the fight scenes are well paced and thought out. It is anyone's guess who gets to fight who next, keeping one in much suspense throughout the show. Also, this anime is not just about killing and fighting and killing and fighting. Because, underneath these violence belies the main crux of the story, which is the tragic love between both main characters of the opposing clans which spanned two generations. The final episode is a fitting albeit predictable (to most) ending to the story, and is simply touching. Expect to shed more than a few buckets of tears, if you are the emotional sort. Moreover, the reminiscence episode in the middle of the series brings in a tone of bittersweet happiness of the characters' past, which showed that the beginning of an acceptance of each clan before the killings started. Lastly, i have to express my surprise that this series is not more well known than it is. And has grown to become one of my favorite animes. Highly recommended to all.

Normally I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but this time it isn't possible. You have been warned. Do not read any further if you don't want to be spoiled. Basilisk has a simple plot. Two star crossed lovers with families that hate each other end up dying tragically. In spite of the simple concept it's capably done. The basic premise is that these two ninja clans, Koga and Iga, had a treaty that stopped them from killing each other for several years. This treaty is dissipated because the shogun is retiring and hasn't chosen a successor. He has two choices so the clan leaders are asked to choose ten people each. They'll fight to the death to determine which of the two candidates will become the next shogun. This comes at a time when the clans are about to be unified by their next leaders, Gennosuke and Oboro, marrying. The fact that the clans start out in a truce and the tragedy comes from the truce being annulled and them allowing old hatreds to destroy their hope of peace rather than the two lovers not being able to get together is a nice change from the usual story and provides for some good tension. Tenzen makes for a legitimately creepy antagonist. The fact that he comes back to life whenever he dies makes him a significant threat and the fact that he attempts to rape several women and tortures Kagero makes him the kind of unapologetic git who you want to see die. The flashbacks are an effective way to help develop the characters, especially those who die early on. The only major problem with the story is that there's a plot hole. In the beginning Iga finds out that their clans are officially at war first. So they trick Gennosuke and Josuke, another Koga ninja, into visiting their village while five Iga ninja, Tenzen, Hotarubi, Nenki, Koshirou and Rousai, try to secretly kill as many of their opponents as possible. This is a good tactic, the problem is that they leave Gennosuke alive, in spite of secretly killing Josuke. The reason given is that Tenzen doesn't know what Gennosuke's ability is and wants to attack him with caution, but it's a weak explanation since Tenzen and his group attack several other ninja that they don't know the abilities of. They even sneak up to the Koga village where several ninja with unknown abilities are. So, they'll go to an area where there's a virtual army of enemy ninja but they won't execute a sneak attack on one solitary man who's surrounded by their people? That is idiotic and doesn't make any sense. Moving on to the characters. Most of them are pretty three dimensional and developed either through flashbacks or through the main narrative except for Josuke who's a perverted moron, Tenzen who's a complete sociopath and all of the female characters who fit simple tropes like the frail love interest, the woman defined entirely by her lover or the jealous girl. The character designs are varied, for the men, the women are all traditionally attractive with large breasts and full lips. The abilities are also interesting and range from being able to kill somebody by looking them in the eye, to stretching, to shape shifting to butterflies... Okay, the women have ridiculous abilities. Most of which are virtually useless from a practical standpoint. You have Hotarubi who can distract people with shiny butterflies. Akeginu who can slow people down but, for some reason, has to take off her top to do so, no that isn't a joke, Okoi who can drain someone's blood by entangling them with her body so that she touches their skin with as much of her skin as possible, I know that might seem useful but consider how unlikely you are to be able to do that during an actual fight, and Kagero, who can poison men with her breath when she's either having sex or aroused. We're told that it doesn't work on women, probably because they didn't want to introduce the possibility of yuri. I swear I'm not making that ability up either. You never see Ogen's ability since she dies in the first episode. Oboro doesn't actually have any powers. She can cancel out a person's ninja arts by looking at them, but it's made clear that that's just something she was born with rather than actually developing. They make a big deal about how Oboro tried to learn to fight but remained useless anyway. Okay, martial arts, throwing shuriken, and sword fighting don't work that way. These are all things that you learn through practice and dedication not through having some kind of inborn talent. But she's the frail love interest so she isn't allowed to be competent. All of this makes me think that Segawa Masaki is a misogynistic prick Basilisk earns a yuri factor of 1/10. All of the women are canonically straight and none of them get scenes that are even slightly suggestive with each other. The voice acting, at least in the Japanese version, is very well done. The art is incredible. The fight scenes are awesome, even though most of them end very quickly. My final rating for Basilisk is a 6.3. I considered giving it a 7 but the sheer level of misogyny is just so unpleasant that I couldn't do it. But if you can forgive the gross levels of misogyny it's worth watching once.

Embrace the endless fighting, killing, and the hatred and sorrow that come with it. Basilisk brings the viewers into a cycle of war between two powerful ninja clans. Throughout centuries, the Iga clan and the Kouga clan have known none other than animosity and vengeance towards each other. Amidst this purgatory, the head of Iga and the head of Kouga love each other and decided to end the centuries of conflict through the act of marriage. The story might sound familiar and you might have already predicted their vetoed aspiration to marry might not go smoothly, but Basilisk will still entertain you, not via its compelling story, but the journey through its death valley and the flesh enriching characters walking on it. The highlight of the series is its character designs. The distinct physical appearances that match their unique fighting styles are visually pleasing. On the inside, their individual personalities and the way each character thinks and behaves are unexampled and unmistakably their own. People die mercilessly in Basilisk but none were discarded carelessly. It is clear, with much effort put into defining each of these characters; their deaths are as delineating as they were alive. “These are not samurais, they are ninjas, and they do not know honour.” A very harsh world is portrayed here. Behind the post of a ninja and their duties to their respective clans, their humanity and emotions surface between battles and through flashbacks. Each character is not just a chess piece to be manipulated at will. They fall in love; are fuelled by personal desires and self-esteem, the characters might not work under their clan jurisdiction in total faith. A lack of oversight from clan leaders might give rise to a costly mistake, for each individual will choose which choice to take themselves. The animation is great. The fighting is fluid but each move is profound and every contact is crisp both in visual and sound. The ninjas don’t wear bright orange jackets or have fancy haircuts that give them away like eyesore in the darkness. The art pallet in Basilisk is dark, gloomy and stays true to the hellish period with endless bloodshed when peace is an unobtainable luxury. The supernatural element added to the show makes attacks exciting and unpredictable. Many scenes are gory from decapitation to blood rivers and some rape scenes are present which need a pair of headphones if watching with other ears around. At times, it was irritating to not see clearly such fine animated choreography under a deservedly brighter spotlight. I watched this in English dubbed. It was pleasing to hear honourifics being spoken out loud comfortably. The voice actresses didn’t waver or fear screaming of pleasure in those sex scenes, and the males were never afraid to pronounce bizarre exclaims. However, the girls were too quiet in certain dialogue, but this is usual in English dubbed anime. Sound effects were good. Shout out to its latter ending soundtrack. Basilisk doesn’t cram fanservice but Gonzo certainly knows how to draw the female body parts, from lips to legs, in an erotic manner. The nudity is far between, but when on screen it doesn’t inflate to eclipse the action. A strong contender for the historical, adventure genre, Basilisk is Gonzo at their best.

Right to the point: if you prefer either an uplifting ending or an ending that says the next season will be even better look elsewhere because most (not all) characters want to just kill. It's not a horrible series altogether but the journey is much better then the destination, not to speak too highly of the journey though. The action, animation, and character design are pretty good. However it's just not my personal taste to end a series with tragedy. If that's your thing though you'll likely enjoy this series. Also ninja fans should be delighted to hear that this series is pirate-free.

Although Basilisk is essentially Romeo and Juliet with Ninjas, it becomes more like yet another example of why death games are bullshit, unless they are called Battle Royale. The inherent problem they have is that they are never about the story or the characters; it’s about seeing people die and, supposed, feeling sad about them. Only thing, you can’t feel sad about them because they die too quickly, too close to each other, and you already know that they will die at some point, so who gives a shit? It ends up becoming more like a game where you are cynically trying to guess who will die next. And even that becomes boring after awhile because as the contestants lower in numbers, it becomes easier to guess right, while at the same time, more apparent to tell who is clearly better than the rest or more favored by the story writer and is going to win at the end. Battle Royale is a very old manga by now, and yet nobody figured out all these years why it works so well, despite suffering from the same issues. It’s because its contestants have no superpowers. They had talents which, for the most part, where within the realm of reason, and felt very plausible. Said talents were not giving them that much of a head start over everyone else, and were still things everybody knew they possessed right away. All other death games fail because they try to throw in so much supernatural nonsense it becomes impossible to take the whole thing seriously. One can teleport, one can fly, one is immortal, and nobody knows the other guy’s powers until he is about to die. Although keeping your powers secret is fun, if keeping them hidden is the only thing that makes them work, renders pointless the kind of power you have in the first place. It doesn’t matter what strategy you use to exploit the other guy’s weaknesses, it only matters if you keep it a secret. So what’s the point of having crazy powers? You can have something as simple as a hidden dagger in your sleeve, and it wouldn’t make any difference next to a guy who shoots lasers from his eyes. Not only Basilisk made that grave mistake, it also made it worse by having characters that look like monsters. Despite being a colorful bunch the series revolves around just 3 of them; the main romantic couple and the imba immortal. They are the only ones you care for, not only because they matter to the plot but also because they look normal. The rest of them either are useless cannon fodder, or look like ugly mutants, accompanied by a silly voice and some really crazy ninja power. You cannot see them as people with some sort of drama surrounding them; you see them as Pokemons. Oh look, it’s the scaly guy who turns to water, and the bald guy who can walk through walls. It makes the whole thing seem like a silly kaiju movie from the 60s. Even if you try to watch the anime as a spectacle full of action and gore, Basilisk is still pretty bad but not because of pretty colors and nice sounds. Visually and acoustically the series is quite good, with detailed characters designs, magnificent sceneries, moody music score, and interesting battle choreography. What ruins it, is the two ninja clans that are fighting each other to the death not being balanced at all. They keep saying that they have equal chances of winning, and yet you constantly see the Kouga being obviously stronger and smarter than the Iga. 1) The Kouga lost half their people because the Iga kept the order of annihilation hidden for several episodes. As soon as the Kouga found out about it, they even the score, despite being outnumbered and unprepared. 2) The Iga were not wiped out right away, only because one of them is immortal. Half of the Kouga were killed only because they could not kill this guy no matter how powerful they were. 3) Two of the Kouga can kill anyone they want by simply looking at him. No Iga had the slightest chance against that. 4) The leader of the Iga is a crybaby who refused to do the slightest thing until the final episode. The leader of the Kouga is a badass who kicks ass right away. You know which team is going to win right away. And no, death games are not meant to be fair, or to have only balanced participants. It’s just that there is no challenge if it’s so obviously one-sided. And yes, there are many cases when the weaker guy wins, and it’s always because he kept his power a secret, or back stabbed a completely unsuspected opponent. It’s not a worthy victory, you cannot cheer for him, because he didn’t deserve to win. Not to mention how pretty much everybody in this show dies in a miserable way. There is no catharsis, they just die and kiss personal goals goodbye. And I am not saying that everyone deserves a heroic death, but it really makes the viewer not give a shit if the whole series is a monument of unfairness, based on imbalanced power levels which eventually mean nothing and overshadow any attempt at drama. And wait, it gets even worse. Eventually you realize that none of them have control over their actions. They are all peons, controlled by the nobles. They never chose to fight each other, they were ordered to. Yeah, they did hate each other but they never took the initiative; they were always waiting for orders. And if you think that makes them noble because they were loyal to their masters, that assumption crumbles as soon as you see how they try to kill their opponents by cheating. As for their masters, it’s not like they are better either. Aside from being nothing but an excuse for the whole extermination to happen, they don’t even care about their ninjas. In fact, the real reason they want the two clans to fight each other, is so they can exterminate both, as means to not be a problem in the future. Meaning, there was never supposed to be a winner in this stupid war; they were all meant to die at the end. So why were we even watching this show? To watch mindless drones killing each other because nobody wants them? What is the point of all this? Even the show becomes worse as it goes on. The pacing slows down more and more, because the amount of people left alive becomes smaller as time goes by. It was fun at first because of the variety and the mystery surrounding their powers, but then you get to see less and less things, about less and less people, of which you already know everything about. Even the ending is a mess. You don’t really understand what exactly happened. All three remaining warriors were so hax (and so painfully obvious they would be the ones in the finale) that it’s hard to figure out how their powers worked against each other. And it’s not like it matters much either, since by now you feel like shit since you know you are watching people die because of orders by leaders who don’t care. It’s so easy to figure out a way for how all this mess could have worked much better. If we had the stupid Iga being wiped out in a few episodes by the superior Kuga, and if our two lovebirds had run away from all this mess, we would have an actually good story going on, where they are chased by the Kouga, who are still supposed to be annihilated by the shogunate. It would still leave the show as a death game, while spicing things a lot, even after most of them would be dead. But nope, instead of this obviously better story I came up with in 5 seconds, all we got was a lukewarm death game, with Pokemon ninjas, unfair battles, and a boring finale.

Ouroboros is a symbol from ancient Greece which depicts a serpent that devours its own tail. It often symbolizes the cycle of rebirth, a cycle that constantly begins anew and never ends. Why am I referencing Ouroboros? I felt it was the only appropriate comparison to make with Basilisk, the story of hatred that is born anew every generation. Two rival Ninja Clans, the Kouga and the Iga, have been feuding for over 200 years and only 50 years ago, an anti-war pact was enacted to prevent any further bloodshed. No one remembers or cares to remember how the feud even started but in the minds of both the Kouga and Iga, the reason doesn’t matter. But now Gennosuke, young leader of the Kouga ninja, falls in love with the beautiful leader of the Iga, Oboro. Together, they hope they can end the longstanding feud between their two clans. However, the pact that prevented the clans from massacring one another just nullified. Will their love endure amidst the hatred and bloodshed that has plagued their clans for centuries? Basilisk is a show that will challenge your fortitude. The violence is visceral, and the story maintains a bleak tone throughout. Basilisk succeeds at showing hatred at its essence. Characters commit ghastly acts towards one another, throwing away any ounce of humanity they once had. The story starts off relatively light in tone but gradually delves deeper murkiest parts of human depravity. Day after day, ninjas on both sides of the war are killed off like gnats in increasingly depraved ways. Ninjas on both sides are not afraid to use the vilest methods of torture and violence to make their enemies suffer. And each death not only puts a strain on their comrades, but also strains the relationship between Gennosuke and Oboro. The war causes a struggle between their hearts and minds as they ask themselves, “Am I able to kill the one I love?” They are stuck between their responsibilities as the leaders of their clans, and their romantic relationship. This dilemma makes the show much more engaging because it has a noticeable effect on both characters and makes it easier for the viewer to sympathize with them. Basilisk is, in part, an action show. However, the battles rely on wit and cunning as opposed to sheer brawn. The ninjas on both sides have a plethora of unique powers and abilities at their disposal and use them in interesting ways. Most of the battles are relatively quick but are very tense as it is hard to tell who will win or lose. Basilisk’s cast is quite expansive. It has a cast of over 20 characters with 10 major characters in each clan. Not every character gets development but in this story it isn’t necessary. Some characters die early on and as a result, we learn little about them and develop no attachment to them. But it is all purposeful because the deaths of these characters facilitate the development of other characters. Throughout the story, relationships between characters become increasingly complex due to their feelings towards one another becoming increasingly pronounced. The supporting characters themselves are all relatively simple in terms of depth but still memorable in their own right. The story centers on the romance between the main couple. Gennosuke is a stern, honorable ninja who will do what is necessary to preserve the peace and protect those closest to him. Oboro is a clumsy ninja who is inept at combat but has a strong will a maternal aura around her. And despite her being emotional and clumsy, she also has a strong will and will do anything to protect her loved ones. The contrast between these two characters creates for fantastic chemistry as the love they share feels real. The moments they spend together are heartfelt and intimate and add an extra layer of believability as they express their dreams and profess how much they care for on another. However, with all of Basilisk’s strong points there are undoubtedly a few weaknesses. I felt the world building wasn’t adequate. I felt the setting of feudal Japan needed to be fleshed out a bit more because there was a political subplot which was reintroduced several times in the story but not adequately expanded upon. This is a big issue considering politics played a pivotal role in the story. I would’ve liked two stories occurring at the same time, one dealing with politics and the other dealing with the ninja. I feel this is appropriate especially do the epic feel of the story. There is a lot of room for potential and it disappointed me to see it not taken advantage of. Another issue I had with the story deals with a particular character named Tenzen. The show tried to establish a backstory for him but it was done in such a muddled way that it was basically incomprehensible. When you consider that his motivation, backstory and origin of his unique ability were one of the major mysteries of the show, you would assume it would be handled more competently. Normally, I would give Basilisk a 7 but I am not going to. Why? Because it ended on an incredibly strong note that not only tied everything up, but it was also incredibly moving. The ending was handled with such precision and care that I couldn’t help but bump it up. It isn’t too often that show has such a phenomenal ending and I believe that deserves praise. Basilisk is a romantic tragedy that succeeds when it is at its darkest. It is unrelenting in its depiction of violence, perversion and brutality but it isn’t just cruel. At its heart, Basilisk is a tale of love and compassion that is being counterbalanced by hatred and animosity. By the end of the show, you will receive chills every time you read the words, “And so my beloved….please die.”

In 1614 Japan, there is a dispute poisoning the tokugawa shogunate, over which grandson of Leyasu, the retired shogun, will assume power when Hidetada, Leyasu's son, decides to step down from his current position as shogun. This conflict threatens to tear the whole of Japan apart if not settled soon. In order to settle this growning conflict it has been decided that the the peace agreement between the Iga and Kouga ninja clans be abolished in order to renew their ancient feud. Instead of this governmental dispute becoming a problem for the whole of Japan, a small scale war has been arranged. The ten top ninja of each clan is to take part in this affair, and the clan to have the last shinobi breathing is the victor. The storyline plays out in this way. To begin the bloodshed, the heads of the clan (past lovers separated by trajedy and hatred) kill one another and the scene is set for the decimation of both clans. The Iga are able to intercept the news first, and kill the messenger of the Kouga clan. They take an early lead in the bloodshed, killing a number of Kouga members before Gennosuke and Oboro (the new clan heads and betrothed couple) are even informed. But when Gennosuke gets word not only is the union of the clans in shambles but the terrible power of his eyes is also revealed. Despite all this, he is a level headed man, yearning for peace. So he and the remanents of his people head out to confront Hittori Hanzo about the purpose of this conflict. The Iga (after Oboro binds her eyes which possess their own power) is led by the powerful and seemingly immortal Tenzen, whose goal is to stop them on their path. by the time both clans reach their destination there are only two members of each left fighting. And even in the last two episodes watchers are still left wondering not only which clan will be the victor, but even whether or not love has the power to blind the eyes of this ancient predjudice. I both loved and hated this anime. It was a simplistic story but brilliantly handled. Although the powers of the characters was a little far-fetched at times their development in the story was heart wrenching. This was one of those rare animes that get the watcher attached to every character, by inserting well-placed bits of character history and personality quirks; but at the same time does not lead to an anemic plot or boring fillers. I have to admit that i Cried over every death from Hotarubi until Gennosuke. I do not cry often but it was the product of brilliant story weaving, I am a sucker for good character development. The music of this anime was very good but it was missing a little bit of something, at one or two places the theme music for the characters and things did not fit as well as I would have liked. But, overall it was very appropriate for the time period and mood. This is a 10/10 for me. This is THE BEST ninja anime in a very long time; the pinnacle of this genre! The percentage of character development and fluff to fighting was perfectly balanced just enough to keep watchers on the edge of their seats at all times wanting more. Everyone who is a fan of good, quality storylines need to see this anime.

One of the most interesting action packed shonens I have ever seen, this show deserves far more credit then its received, truly a show that’s gone under the radar for some time. Incredible characters, incredible storyline and drama, with very intense moments. With that said what makes this anime so great? Its style is one thing, the show doesnt leave you a moment to breath, it immediately jumps into the conflict and pushes its viewers into the middle of a giant epic battle between two warring ninja clans. On one side is Genouske, the head Ninja of one clan and Oboro the head of the other clan. The two love each other but now have both their clans in a battle with each other and no way of avoiding the inevitable clash. Basilisk is indeed my favorite Ninja anime of all time, for Naruto fans I will use both in comparison since many people know of Naruto. First of all basilisk gives the true real life sense of being a ninja. basilisk has fantasy like battles if you enjoy those, but it primarily focuses on Ninja tactics of assassination and stealth. Naruto is more about a child looking to become the greatest(hmm pokemon? ). Every battle is eye popping violence with incredible animation and a very unique style of fighting. Even though its a Shonen, the show boasts a very strong romance story line which makes each episode that much better. If nothing else if you enjoy crazy fighting mixed with a very epic tale of two lovers, then you will really enjoy this show, basilisk is one of my favorite Animes and I recommend you get your hands on it now if you wish to be blown away

I can't really think of anything to start off this review, so I'll just get right into what I think of Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou. The show started off strong, with various characters being introduced with strange but interesting powers. Put in a Romeo and Juliet like love story in between two warring villages, and you have yourself Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou. However, after everything was established, I quickly got disinterested with the whole story. This is due to almost all the characters having no depth or worthwhile personality attached to them. Many of them only had cool powers and an unexplained hatred for the other clan. This is one of the most crucial things to making a decent anime, and Basilisk gets it completely wrong. When characters start dying left and right, how am I supposed to feel bad for them if I barely know anything about them? A lot of them don't even have decent character relationships with one another. This leads to a story that gets increasingly repetitive, which ultimately reduces tension and increases predictability. If you ask me, a show that showcases two clans fighting to the death should create a good amount of tension to get you invested in what is being shown to you. I can't get invested into the story if all I am seeing are these meaningless characters getting killed. If Basilisk focused more on these various side characters, it would have been much better off. There are a few instances where the anime tries to make us care for these characters, sure, but many of them are not well-integrated into the story at all. Even these few backstories and flashbacks shown don't give us much to grieve upon with these characters, just a bunch of simple stuff that we have seen a million times and done better. The Romeo and Juliet storyline between Oboro and Gennosuke is handled decently enough. However, it's a Romeo and Juliet storyline, it pretty hard to make a bad Romeo and Juliet storyline considering how many times it has been done before. Hell, two years after this was released, Gonzo produced an actual Romeo and Juliet anime called Romeo x Juliet. Oboro herself is a pretty okay character. She has well justified reasons for her actions, and has a strong sense of compassion to make up for her lack of physical abilities. I don't favour Gennosuke as much though. He makes pretty confusing decisions, and other than that, he is a stoic character that doesn't talk much, which is pretty run of the mill if you ask me. I'll talk about one last character before I move on, and that is Yakushiji Tenzen. He is by far the best character in the anime. Talking about him in depth would bring about too many spoilers, but he is very interesting to say the least. The fight scenes in the anime are pretty entertaining to watch, and the animation holds up during these scenes. My problem with this is the amount and length of these scenes. Given the studio we are dealing with, this was probably the best course of action to have good looking fights but have them scattered around, but I guess I'm a little too greedy and would have liked just a little more. The artstyle is easy enough to look at, and the character designs were also well-done. As for sound, the only thing really worth mentioning is the OP, which is my favourite part of the show (which when you think about it, doesn't say much about the quality of Basilisk as a whole). I watched the show in sub, and the voice acting wasn't bad, but it wasn't up to par with many of the other things I have heard. Basilisk is a show that could have been so much more. I really only have one problem with it, which is the characters, but they are handled so poorly that it stems to many other parts of the show, including its story, making it a dis-interesting and borderline edgy mess. I get that the show was moreso trying to focus on the depravity of people when pushed into a situation such as this, but that message gets buried underneath the mountain of underdeveloped characters. I can't recommend this show to anyone really, but if it still piques your curiosity, maybe you will find that you like it a lot more than I did.

Basilisk is the story about two warring ninja clans who were experiencing a period of peace with both their heirs engaging in an intimate relationship. However, the peace treaty that kept the peace was broken and they were ordered by the emperor to kill each other and the story focuses on the battles that take place and the characters in it. The story is a very dark and depressing story. That doesn't mean that it isn't good, in fact i thought it was a very meaningful show but it is quite mature.Those who are not fans of dark shows and prefer something more lighthearted, please avoid this. Other than that the action in this show was fantastic as displayed through the numerous battles that take place. The romance occurs on a more suttle level but helps to add to the immense drama that unfolds throughout the anime. The story is very different from most animes because of the realism that is emphasized(WARNING:death is common in this show), it is filled with suspense and is unpredictable, definitely worth watching if you don't mind the gore and dark themes present. Another word of caution is that the story can be complicated and may take a while to understand so do give it some patience when watching the show. The art was quite good. Since the story takes place in the Tokugawa era, the setting and scenery is very different from your modern day anime. The characters are drawn in a different yet eye-catching manner with dark settings to enhance the atmosphere. Some may complain that the darkness in the setting acts in contradiction and may make it harder to see what's going on so do expect this at some parts. Otherwise the blood and gore may not be so appeasing to the eyes but nonetheless provide realism to the story. The sound was probably the worst area in the show. The voice actors were fairly ok. But other than that not much was done in the sound department. Only a little background music to enhance the depressing and eerie atmosphere from time to time. Characters might i say were the best part of this show. Each characters was given some depth and we get to see the story from these characters perspectives from tim to time not just the main characters' perspective. Each character is elaborated on to show their reasons for their actions and it also serves to create more drama in the show. Many meaningful and deep messages are embedded in the thoughts and actions of the characters. And from the sheer number fo characters that were present in the show i must say that the producers did a fairly good job. I enjoyed he fighting scenes in the show due to its more unique and lifelike styles, unlike the shonen styles. The blood(gore) makes the battles more real and life-threatening and therefore builds up the suspense that makes the audience hunger for more at the end of each episode(WARNING:can be addictive). Comedy is evidently absent in this dark and dramatic anime. Thus i found the story interesting and meaningful more than enjoyable in the sense of fun. In conclusion, This show is meant for a mature audience due to the violence gore and partial nudity. Besides that the dark tones make it unpleasant to the lighthearted but otherwise bring out a meaningful and engaging story. If you are looking for some action and drama then this anime may be worth trying, but be aware that it is complex and requires patient and deep understanding. And for those who do enjoy the anime, there is also a movie produced based on this story. The name of the movie is "Shinobi", not bad at all, though slightly different from the anime.

First let me wipe up my tears. Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls is beautiful and heartbreaking. The story can only be described as a much more bloody and violent Romeo and Juliet with ninjas instead. The main characters, Gennosuke and Oboro are deeply in love, but each belongs to a different clan. The Kouga and the Iga. The Kouga and Iga have been warring for more than 400 years and the hate between the two is stifling. The only thing that keeps these two clans from literally ripping each others throats out, is the no-hostilities act. But peace is only a fairy tale. This act is nullified upon the decision that a shogun must be picked. And the winning clan, each who supports one future shogun, must fight to the death until only one clan survives. Thus begins a journey of no small amount of bloodshed. If you think this is just another prettied up Romeo and Juliet you should prepare yourself. Basilisk is full of violence and blood. Each of the ten members picked from each clan must fight each other. But these battles are heavy and brutal. In each episode someone dies and it is very quick. You meet the 20 people, and then you watch them battle to the death. This story is definitely not for anyone under 14-15 at the least. It is filled with blood, extreme violence, nudity, rape, and sexual themes. My downside with the characters is that you see only some of them once and them bam. Their dead. I was disappointed that a little more history wasn't put into some of the characters. I really wanted to see more of the ones that die early on in the series. But the series was fast paced and it worked well. I was never disappointed with an episode because each one was filled with something new or another battle. And most if not all of the battles ended in one episode. So they weren't prolonging them like most other animes. And the techniques of the ninja? Whoa. Some of them were far beyond what I thought they were going to be. Some were goofy, others were viscous but one person just really pissed me off throughout the entire series. I was happy when he died. Mwhahahha....haha....ha. Ahem. But behind all this is a tragedy with no mercy spared. The love was genuine between Oboro and Gennosuke and I hated watching the pain they were both being put through while having to fight each other. It was heart wrenching. I was dreading the end because I felt I knew how it must end. Let's just say that I ended up shedding a few years worth of tears. So if your the emotional type of person, like me, then be prepared. The art of the story of beautiful when they used it, but otherwise some of the characters were, frankly, disgusting. The shogun in the first episode has this huge unreal disgusting growth or abnormality jutting out from his chin. And he's fat and ugly. I think it was detail that made everything about a character stand out. Old people had wrinkles out the butt and fat people had roles the size of Mt. Everest and it was just to the extreme. Most of the women (well the ninja ones) were sexy looking and it really bothered me that their hair covered up their faces like all the time. But otherwise I enjoyed the art style. Generally I'm a person who watches anime with romance and happiness. I was depressed when watching this, but also enthralled. I just had to watch to know what happened. The sadness that I felt while watching this series does not stop me from loving it. It is now my top favorite. This was also something that I finished in 2 days. Unless you'd like to account for the sleeping I had to do. But since it only spans 24 episodes its quick, enjoyable and well worth the time spent to watch it. A mere weekend would suffice to finish this series. My only complaint is that this anime (I haven't read the manga yet) is poorly advertised and known. I hadn't even heard of this until I went searching and saw recommendations for it. And still I didn't decide to watch it until now. Actually I bought it before I watched it (I tend to have good luck when deciding on buying anime before watching it) and I am so happy that I did. It was well beyond worth the money I spent on it. I would recommend this to anyone. Although I suggest you keep a box of tissue's with you on the last disc.

Basilisk has an ownage story line with really well drawn battle scenes. Their skills are all unpredictable and you wont know all the skills till the end. there isnt much things that are bad but if you have to say one it would be my favourite character died to early.

The story about two ninjas who are in love but come from two families that are in a hatred war against each other. As the two ninjas are trying to create peace between their families there is a battle between trying to possess a scroll which will lead to the winning clan being supported by the Tokugawa government and the death of the losing clan. There is a lot of amazing kills in this anime, if you like blood and just a kill after kill after kill type anime you will LOVE this one. The characters are amazing and strong, each have a great power that makes it all the more entertaining. A bit of romance make these genre of anime all the greatest the two fighting for their love but it being very difficult. In general if you like historical, ninjas, violence. powerful characters, a strange sense of humor, a bit of nudity and a lot of killing this is an amazing anime

Normally when people say an anime has "potential," I scoff and think that it's a total excuse for not being able to give it an honest rating. However, I cannot find any other word to describe this anime than "potential." Story: 7/10 As the synopsis suggests, the story centers heavily on fighting and action, so there's not that much story development. All you need to know is that the two clans are trying to kill each other. This doesn't dampen the anime in any way since it was intended as an action anime, but I think there was a major issue with pacing. It was both rushed and painfully slow at the same time. By rushed I mean the story needs to kill off 18 characters (there's 10 for each side and obviously it's going to be 1v1 at the end) in a mere 24 episodes. This means many of the characters barely contribute anything to the story (some of them honestly only appear for 10 min and then they die), and I think the story would've been a lot better had they reduced the number of characters per clan. But I know the producers didn't have much control over this since it was based on the manga, but then I wish they would have extended the series to be longer to allow more story development for each character. But it was also painfully slow for the action scenes. You'll notice moments in the fights where the two foes just stand and stare at each other for way too long. Normally that kind of stuff builds anticipation, but here they exaggerated it way too much and it gets to the point where you just want the action to start already. If they had just fixed these minor pacing problems, the story would have been fantastic. And just keep in mind that this anime is dark; you won't find many comedic scenes that usually come with action anime. Art: 10/10 I definitely liked this kind of animation style, even though this was my first time watching a historical anime. The people and environment are all nicely drawn, and there's definitely a focus on very dark colors, reflecting the tragic mood of this anime. Sound: 10/10 I think the opening and ending themes were nice, as well as the various themes used in the sad moments. There's also a flute tune which serves as an emotional motif which I thought was extremely fitting of the story. Nothing wrong here. Character: 8/10 I mentioned this previously, but there's very little character development save for 3 or 4 characters, and the other 17 or so are just basically ignored. It was strange because for the 3 or 4 that they developed, they did it extremely well and I found myself becoming pretty attached to the main characters, but the scenes with the minor characters just felt too filler-like because of how brief and undeveloped they were. It was almost like the producers were just looking for excuses to kill off the characters. But you won't be disappointed by the two main characters as you watch each one's love for another shatter from their clan clash and how they struggle between their love for each other and their duties to their families. Enjoyment:7/10 The pacing kind of ruined the enjoyment for me, as well as the episodes where all you see is a bunch of minor characters get killed off for no reason. But the anime does pick up near the end however, since most of the characters are dead at that point which left a lot of room for story and character development, so I think the last 5 or so episodes were extremely well done. Overall: 7/10 I understand a lot of the complaints I had were not the fault of the producers since they had to stick to the manga, but there definitely were some small things that they could have fixed which would have had a major impact. There really was a lot of potential for this anime, but I definitely wouldn't say they did a bad job. If you're looking for action and a dark story, give Basilisk a watch, but don't hope for too much in complex character development or plot twists.

A great piece of art. I wish other animes had such depth and strong storyline. It's amazing how authors pictured the phenomena of the blind hatred between people, when both sides think they're 'different' and treat the other side as animals rather than humans, although virtually being identical human beings and living their life the same way. This story is always present in real life, assuming the fact that the world is drowning in the hatred and blood. I absolutely love the connection between Gennosuke's idea (stopping pointless hostility) and his doujutsu. He's never harmful except when threatened. What I would also like to mention is the balance between two rival sides, it's very important that in such kind of story there's no spoiled one -- both clans don't regret to use nasty tricks and all sorts of deception when it comes to slaying enemy ninja. So it's only a question of your choice which side to support. Finally, there's a special part inside my heart for Hyoma. Imo, this full of wisdom character is the authors gentle way to touch the topic of Zen. He's the image of absolutely enlightened person or absolutely Present, (if you know what I mean), so that he even doesn't need any eye vision. I would not disagree with people who call the part where Hyoma and young Gennosuke are practicing a 'filler'. The culmination of that episode is brilliant, when they reach the top of the mountain and young Gennosuke refuses to remove the eye bandage because he can feel and enjoy the moment without seeing details and analyzing them with his mind and that's when he obtains his real inner power. Generally, the idea of inner power is dominant in this anime. It's absolutely clear from the last episode and the end of that ninja scroll story and those who 'burst into tears' didn't actually get the main motive of the story. It can be partly gathered from Oboro's and Gennosuke's dialogue about their spirits as two parts of a single one. The ending says that the spiritual power of lovers is so great that there's no necessity to care about their Earth life that much. They finish it with honor and respect to the gore of fallen, doing their best for their loved ones and their clans, then passing away and slowly floating down the stream hugging, which is actually a very touching metaphor for proceeding their travel in the Eternal as the single entity henceforth. Basilisk deserves 10 out of 10 for each parameter.

The fight scenes were entertaining, the art was beautiful, and the countless moments of suspense kept me glued to the screen. If the idea of Naruto and Romeo & Juliet having a baby piques your interest, you'll likely enjoy this series. Basilisk was a breath of fresh air for me after coming off of a romcom/drama binge spree. However, this was also to my detriment as it left me hopelessly waiting for the typical happy ending you see in most anime that contain a romantic subplot. This show is dark and heavily centers around deceit, manipulation, and senseless bloodshed - all of which become more prevalent as the show progresses. As a result, I was left devastated and disappointed with the developments in the latter half of the show, especially the ending. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but continue spamming episodes until I saw things through to the end. I should have known better considering the obvious Romeo & Juliet theme. Although spread incredibly thin, there are a few cheerful and lighthearted moments... but don't be fooled like I was. I wanted to rate this show much lower than a 7 but felt it wouldn't be a fair score because of how quickly I completed the show. Besides, I don't usually feel compelled to write a review for a series unless I was very passionate about it. Hope this helps.

I had been meaning to watch this anime for some time, but I didn't expect anything special. To my surprise Basilisk turned out to be an incredibly enjoyable anime. It starts off a bit slow and even confusing, but after a few episodes you start to get the hang of things. The plot is basically a Battle Royale or survival game between two clans named Kouga and Iga. Each clan has 10 ninjas or elite warriors with supernatural abilities. Many of these ninjas are amazing characters. You have "beautiful heroes" and "ugly monsters" on both sides. No clan is fully good or fully evil, which is something I appreciated a lot. It's up to the viewer which clan to root for. I am #TeamKouga for sure though, mainly because their characters appealed to me more and Iga had one too many rapists... (There's a central romance to the plot as well.) I caught myself cheering at times when Kouga used teamwork to outsmart the Iga or to kill them. Gyoubu, the psychically strong "chameleon", was involved in a few of those. He was probably my favorite character of all. Rarely do I get this engaged while watching a new anime series. Some scenes were surprisingly powerful emotionally. A great soundtrack adds to that. To sum it up; Basilisk is a fantastic anime for those looking for medieval action-fantasy with romance.