Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou

Long Story short. I've really tried to like, even love, this anime... [FREE OF SPOILERS] The story started with a strong plot, introducing us a bunch of good characters that you hoped they were going to correctly develop. However, the story continues and you see no real explanation for any of their actions, and all that's left is the lack of consistency in the story line and its characters. Personally, the only characters that I could say that has been explained, are firmly consistent in their actions, and have been developed during the show are Oboro and Tenzen. Why?, you could ask; because along the story Oboro and Tenzen makes decisions that fits with her personality. Once you are watching the show you start to see flaws in a lot of the characters personalities, contradicting themselves and making the show really unpleasant to see. For instance, Gennosuke and Saemon Kisaragi during the show, they listen to things the other characters say or they make some statements, and you clearly see that they have change their mind, but in the end they make mistakes that they shouldn't really make, and have no real explanation. The art of the show is the only thing that seems respectable for me, it makes the combat flow and it fits very well the scenes. You know everything that is happening on the screen, and that's very complicated to achieve on these kind of animes. The sound is really mediocre, the only thing that stands out is the opening, but that's all, and for an anime of 24 episodes... It doesn't work for me. The best example of an ost well made would be the one on Rurouni Kenshin... After all, I saw the anime because I wanted to see how it could end, pretty obvious, but I encourage everyone to try it and watch at least 5 or 6 episodes, if you don't like it that's ok, drop it like its hot. Greetings!

First review Im ever writing and thats just only because this anime is terrible. Terrible, but decent. Probably the best way to describe this anime - lacking any sense whatsoever. Simply put, it has some great ideas but creators shown complete inability to make those elements work together therefore making it laughable at best. I couldve gone in depth and write 20 page essay, whats wrong, why plus some suggestions on improving. Not saying I could've wrote better one, but... Oh, cmon. Im so dissapointed in the way how this anime has been messed up that i feel I could actually write better one. Their mistakes are basic. Watching some anime series I had sometimes that feeling 'it wouldve been better if...' But its nothing compared to what I feel watching this series. Great potential. Great animation. You MAY like it. Watch couple episodes, but do not expect series to get better with time as some do. Got here cause of some comparisions to Berserk and Samurai X. Not even close.

Basilisk is a very good anime to watch. The different type of fighting styles from each of the 2 ninja clans is very neat to see. It really is a contest to see who has the best skills among them all. Being able to infiltrate each others camps, to sneak attacks, to just plain fooling the other side thinking it's this way when it's not. The characters were done very well to represent the type of fighting style they used as it reflected who they were and went right along with their personalities. The story is the basis of love but the hatred from the clans makes it impossible for either side let it happen. Which is your typical story for most things. So the fighting is what's gonna make you want to watch each episode to see what all the characters can do.

I remember finding this show on netflix when it very first came out. Kind of looked like the average 20 something episode generic fight slash kill series youd expect, but its a genuinely well written show. It doesnt have many bumps, and progresses through a good amount of story in a short period of time. I definitely enjoyed the large amount of foreshadowing that was subtle, but the references were in plain sight for the viewer to put the pieces together. Romeo and Juliet meet ninja clans would be the easiest way to describe the story. I've yet to be more impressed by an anime coming full circle than i was with Basilisk. There was no better way they could have presented the ending, it was tragically beautiful. Simply Perfect.

When I started watching this anime, after a friend recommended it to me, I didn't really like it too much. The characters that were introduced didn't appeal to me because of their looks, and I didn't understand what was happening. But after a few episodes, as the story started to develop and it became clear what the situation in this anime was and I got to know the characters more, I started to like this anime more and more, and I ended up looking forward to every next episode, hence the overall score of a 9. The storyline developed at just the right pace, explanaition was given where necessary, but there were some things left to the viewers imagination, which I really liked. This anime also contained symbolism of various sorts, which gave the story this extra bit of depth. The plot was never predictable, which made it exciting to watch, again and again. The art was a bit different from what I was used to, but I've really come to like it. The way the characters were portrayed was realistic, but not too much. The music was very fitting for the setting: traditional Japanese music may require some getting used to, but since it fitted the situations so well it managed to make tears come to my eyes during the final episodes. In Basilisk, on of the things I enjoyed most was how the characters really seemed to be real. Their actions were never predictable, their motives gradually showed themselves throughout the series and they were all unique, not simple stereotypes. All in all, Basilisk is an anime that will capture you, if you have the patience to wait for the story to establish itself. Real world adult problems are addressed as well, and I am sure that every viewer will be able to identify him/herself with one of the characters in some way, making it worth to watch for anyone, but in particular for those who take an interest in pre-Meiji reformation Japan or ninja's and pride in Japan's old days :P

Unlike many of the reviews prior to my own, the story here is a story that far surpasses what was understood. If you have seen Ninja Scroll (movie & /or series) & The Blade Of Kamui, you can almost tie the 3 movies together. Not only is there a forbidden, Romeo & Juliet-type love going on here. This was a time when the government was trying to get rid of both ninja and samurai. If you go through the characters of these 3 titles, you will run across similar names. This particular story is indeed a bloody battle of the 2 clans, but if you are like me & truly get into the story, it is worth watching.

Based on the manga by Masaki Segawa which itself is based on the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada published in 1958, follows the story of two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of the Iga and Manjidani of Kouga. They are tasked to battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. Breaking the peace agreement between the clans, 10 deadly ninja from each clan unleash a century old hatred for each other. The 24 episode series was pure entertainment from start to finish. If you were a fan of Ninja Scroll then you will love this series. Once the foundations have been set in episode one, what follows is an all out war between the clans. The sheer variety of ninja and their abilities make for some interesting battles. However what hooked me on this series was not the battles, but the step further Gonzo took, in terms of character development for each ninja. You get to understand the motivations of the ninja, why the hatred is there, the suffering some ninja have due to their particular art form. The series has an epic feel about it, due to the moving soundtrack, high quality animation and story. There are scenes which will make you have a lump in your throat - sorry as a man i will not publicy say i cried!! ;) and there is a scene which you will have hatred for one particular hairy ninja!! After all the entertainment of action, violence and nudity, the one thing i did take away from the series, was why? why the need for such bloodshed, such a war. The sacrifices people will do for each other and the love of their people. It also shows how such a war can destroy peoples dreams/lives for political justification, a theme we still see in our times. The anime follows the manga pretty closely, but i feel the anime slightly humanises some of the ninja more and in my opinion makes the anime superior. The anime is violent and has nudity, but nothing too excessive, and personally think of it as a mature anime. Animation quality is top notch and shows what Gonzo can do with the right budget. Opening and closing themes are pretty catchy, shame about the 1 minute speech every episode! Thank god for fast forward. All in all highly recommeded series and worth the investment in time if you enjoy historical action tragedy fantasy, with some moving drama. Phew!!

Okay so first of all the best episodes are the first and the last ones. All of the chracters were actually created perfectly i would love to watch them in a different anime where there isnt so many logical errors and so many deaths. Normally this many logical errors will bother me but after one point it becomes so funny that i started enjoying the anime but not like seinen more like a comedy anime with all these great chracters specially Tenzen: *kinda spoiler* Like he wants Oboro to forget her lover and care about their clan so he tries to rape her yellig: IM GONNE GIVE YOU THE SPIRIT OF IGA and then he grabs her boobs yelling: OHH THE BOOBS THAT GENNOUKE SAMA COULDNT TOUCH Normally i get super angry when someone tries to rape but this was unlogical and funny i didnt even take it srsly Like during the whole show everyone dies and dramatic shit actually happens and he just wants some pussy even when in the end.. So yeah it was just funny but all of the chracters are pretty good (not oboro) ESPECIALLY OGEN AND DANJO

It wasn't the worst thing I'd ever seen, but it definitely left me disappointed. I really love historical fiction and its hard to find one that sticks to its period consistently. This one manages to make their supernatural characters feel like Edo period Ninjas in a pretty unique way. Its got a cast of pretty fleshed out characters which is impressive since there are so many. What I dislike about the story is how goddamn depressing everything is. I realize this is supposed to be a brutal tragedy but feel that it was just overdone. It feels like the writers are literally psychopathic sadists as they find more horrible ways to treat the female protagonist. The poor girl can't catch a break and it veers on the side of fetishized abuse. The male lead goes through his own hardships as well, but nothing like the constant shitting on Oboro. To me the show was much too focused on the senseless violence and emotional whipping around. To really satisfy me, I need just hint of positive consequence and Basilisk really never gets there. The end is *spoilers* the worst case scenario and any amount of development in the characters really doesn't matter. Development is very thin to begin with and I guess that's the point since the theme is something resembling the "war never changes " trope. Still, something should have come out of it besides the extinction of some trouble making tribes. For gore lovers, its great! Just don't go into it thinking its got some deep philosophical purpose or a twist that makes you think. Its a straight forward story about horrible people doing increasingly unspeakable things and receiving justice for it. If it were strictly a killing show, it would be a pretty fun hot-mess. If it were strictly a drama, it would make some pretty smart statements. But throwing the two together at this volume is really jarring and unsatisfying.

I gave this anime a 6/10 because it has some work behind it and all that. SHIIIKAAASHI (read that with the voice of the narrator in Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji) How can this anime be so praised? To me it's just the work of an author who's so edgy he might fall off a cliff like -spoliers-. Seriously, the train of thought of this guy was "Ah.. I don't know how to make people feel sympathy for my characters.. I KNOW, LET'S JUST RAPE AND TORTURE THE WOMEN AND THEN MAYBE THEY WILL FEEL SORRY FOR THEM!" !SPOILERS! "Eh, this guy has a sister, let's rape and kill her." "Oh, and why wouldn't we rape the main heroine as well?" "I got an idea, in the lasts episodes, let's rape AND torture this girl (10min strait each)! Wow, that really sounds like a good idea. A woman screaming for 10min is so cool, the people watching will surely feel sorry for her now!" ! SPOILERS END! Like, what the absolute F? If you take all of the anime you could make 2 standalone episodes just about rape and torture. If you want an anime about impossible love, go watch Akatsuki no Yona. If you want an anime with sword fights and special powers, go watch Ninja Scroll. If you want something about samurais that is really gory, go read Vagabond. A dark atmosphere doesn't make an anime a good drama, nor does it make it a good anime in the first place. (sorry if I made any mistakes, english isn't my primary language)

Basilisk takes a page from Berserk and makes the first episode an intolerable piece of garbage. To say that this anime has one of the worst introductions I've ever seen would be a colossal understatement. The first episode is exposition from beginning to end, showing us scenes and characters with absolutely no context to back-up the action in front of us. It is the kind of episode that only makes sense after you've watched the entire series.... and while I am not opposed to heavy exposition in the first episode(s) of a series, Basilisk takes it up to 11 with absolutely incomprehensible jibberish.... so disregard the first episode for all that I will say after this point. STORY: The story is very flimsy and just an excuse to set-up the action of the series. To say that Basilisk's story is token once again, would be an understatement. The basic set up is this; Two rival clans are tasked to fight a proxy war of succession in the name of the Tokugawa Shogunate (Government) and the winner of the war will be rewarded whereas the loser will be destroyed (somehow). The set-up is meaningless and never properly explained beyond "Fight in our name yata yata yata". The story is not Basilisk's strong point. ART: The art of the anime is very strong, it has a very, VERY "Japanese" tone and feel to it, possibly the most 'traditional Japanese' style I've seen in an anime. The architecture is lovely and the scenery is often gorgeous. From the simple , almost hut-like inn rooms, to the salt-storage room... to the large Sunpu castle... to the small city structures of Manjidani and Tsubagakure... it is all wonderfully designed and displayed through gorgeous artwork. The animation can range from very good to 'just okay' but not once did I ever see a major animation shortcut or significant drop in quality. The creators went to great length to show what they wanted to show as vividly as possible. If you care about artistry, this anime will not let you down. CHARACTER: This is where this anime truly shines above everything else. Every single character , and there are a LOT, is developed. Though we don't get into the backstory of each one, even the ones that are not given backstory we can have a pretty good idea of what they're about. Characters like Udono Jousuke, we know are rambunctious, but hilarious, jackasses... characters like Nenki are stuck-up, arrogant and prideful... characters like Gyobu are given brief glimpses of development which tell us exactly where he is coming from, what his motivations are and what his potential weakness is. The characterization is so strong that unfortunately, the two main leads 'feel' very weak in comparison. Protagonist Gennosuke and Oboro , the leaders of their respective clans... feel very underdeveloped and underwhelming... their supporting cast is so much stronger and vibrant that we can only resent the show when we are stuck with Gennosuke and Oboro scenes, scenes that drag down the entire show. It's a bit hard to explain without revealing spoilers, but from a brilliant cast of grey-morality characters, we have a boring Mary Sue duo that produce almost nothing interesting.... that being said, the supporting cast is so strong that they carry the bland-as-hell leads which almost crush the anime with their dull, plodding George Lucas-esque love story. OVERALL: From a terrible beginning develops a fantastic anime which ends somewhat anti-climactically. That is to say, the beginning is awful and it drags a bit towards the end, but everything in between is absolute gold. I know this sounds like strange compliments but; The pacing in this show (Aside from the beginning and end) is absolutely perfect. The directing in the show is absolutely perfect. This show is very well done. The story is garbage, the two main leads are garbage, but everything else was done so well, so effectively that I can honestly give a positive recommendation despite that. Rundown; If you like action, especially ninja action, this is for you. If you care about art, architecture and traditional Japanese culture, this is for you. If you want a complex story with twists and turns; This is NOT for you, do NOT waste your time. If you want a strong lead and a deep, well-made love story; This is NOT for you. Overall, could have been wonderful but as it stands, it is only "Good".

Basilisk at its core is basically just a ninja adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Thus when it comes to the plot of the anime, I doubt that any of it will seem significantly fresh or too unpredictable. If you are able to get past the unoriginal storyline, however, I think that there is still a lot to like about Basilisk. The story moves at good pace: fast enough to prevent any dull moments; but takes time to develop the plot. As this is an anime about ninja, there is plenty of the action and fight sequences that one may expect from a series from this genre. I definitely feel my favorite part of the anime was probably the abundance of interesting characters. Although there were probably too many to fully develop, I thought that most of the Iga and Kouga ninja interesting and not too one-dimensional (except for the ones that die too early in the series). There were numerous things that I disliked about the anime. My biggest gripe is the gratuitous amount of nudity and violence. A lot of the time I found the blood and boobs a bit unnecessary, taking away a lot of the poignancy of certain scenes. My other complaint is the lack of elaboration on the sub-story of Oboro and Gennosuke. Other viewers seemed to find the underlying love story interesting but I found it a bit too underdeveloped. All-in-all, I liked Basilisk and would recommend the the anime to anyone looking for an action-packed, fan-service-filled, animated romp. The art is beautiful, the characters great and the plot not horrible. The story is definitely not a feel good anime, so anyone looking to find a happy-go-lucky series should probably look somewhere else. For all others, try a few episodes and see how you like it.

War is a terrible thing. One should never even wish for it to fell upon him or others. This show portraits the horrors of war in a really good manner. People lose ones they love, and the ending is not always happy. Unlike many other shows, this one does have the courage to show likeable characters die, and unlike sooo many shows it actually does tell you "You don't forget the ones that died". Wow, huge intro to this review, but I really felt that many shows just shrug off the ones that die, and that so many shows have characters that in the end just forget all those they loved and lost. Luckily this is not one of those. Story [7] I wouldn't mind giving story a higher grade than 7, but I can't force myself to do so. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends how you look at it) the story is pretty generic. It has been said million times so far. A story about two ninja clans in war, two people in love and their followers is nothing new, and if you've seen one of them, you know what this one is like. The difference is how it is played. Luckily, this one doesn't go generic way of killing all but main characters. You will see characters you came to like die in a second, and the ones you expected to live through die next second. There is no safe character in this war/love story. Art [8] Meh. I can't say it's bad. But I can't say it's good either. While fighting is nicely done most of the time, characters are just out of proportions and unlike themselves (art meaning) at other times. The colors, the reflections of sun, the colors of the trees and overall "atmosphere" art is really done great. Sound [9] Soundtrack for this one goes almost completely non-vocal style (I think only exception being op). And it hits top marks with it. Music never interferes with character talks, it never interrupts fights or bothers. It is there almost all the time, you can hear it and enjoy in it, but it's not going to distract you from watching the show. I gave it 9 just because of the fact many, and I mean many characters sounded so similar it was really hard to voice-recognize them. If you don't mind not recognizing characters by their voice, put 10 here. Character [9] To start off, huge cast. I see many people mention underdeveloped characters. But I disagree with that. I actually think characters are very well developed. The fact that I cared more for secondary characters than for the main ones tells a lot considering main characters have most of the screen time. 20 characters here in total (some minor ones in background). They go from harmless sexual maniacs to crazy old man. These characters have their emotions, they have their loves and their fears. One of my favorite characters in this shows acts all tough most of the time, but when shown with the one he loved in flashback, it is obvious even he enjoys peace when with loved one. Most of the characters in this show are like that. They are all strong and powerful, but they are also caring and gentle. When it comes to characters, this is closest to reality I've seen so far. They are doing their duties flawlessly, but they are still people touched and hurt by the horrors of the war. Enjoyment [9] As always, I won't comment this one. Those who read this review probably noticed a lot of "I this...", "I that...". Enjoyment is different from person to person, the fact I enjoyed it doesn't mean others will too. Overall [8] With some art flaws, not so good voice acting and generic story, this show gets "only" 8. That in no way means I didn't like it. I did, and a lot. It is a really great show, and a definite recommendation. There is a if you liked this you'll like that. I say, if you didn't like shows which just write off characters and horrors of war (for me it was valkyrie chronicles), you'll definitively like this one.

Basilisk is in a nutshell, Romeo and Juliet with ninjas. The fighting scenes and ninja techniques are phenomenal and there are no orange jumpsuits anywhere. Real Ninjas. As in all good anime there are some characters who you will be rooting for and others whom you can't wait to die. I found myself torn halfway through the series. This anime does a great job of balancing the love story with the fast paced action of ninja combat. One thing I did not like was the design of most characters the male characters are for the most part gross looking and half of the female characters look like raccoons. In spite of that a very good anime should please fans of many different genres.

I must say that i am not a die hard fan of animes that involve historical figures and change some facts with the help of fantasy,but Basilisk was,in my opinion,truly awesome.Why?Well,it has some really kick ass graphic,the characters are well designed and the background is astonishing.Another thing that really surprised me when I watched it was that the action starts immediately,it doesn't offer you time to get bored of it and you instantly feel like you want to know what is going to happen next,which was really exciting. The story may seem for some like a cliche,you know the story,a woman and a man love each other but they cannot be together because of the hatred between families,but this action filled cliche offers something more.Once the pact was nullified between the villages,only Iga became aware of the situation and gave the anime some funny moments too by not letting their "new chief in charge" find out about it and trying to kill as many kougas as they can.I think i would've enjoyed more a love story that evolves by the end of the anime. The characters are very different from each other and you learn about their lives,secrets,feelings and their relationship with the others,which will make you sympathize with both clans and maybe shed some tears when they are finally killed. Overall,Basilisk is an amazing anime which I'm really surprised that it doesn't appeal more to the viewers.I recommend it whole-heartedly to all of the ninja and action lovers and I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed..

Get a cauldron and stir in large amounts of gore, a hint of romance, some exceedingly intense eyebrows and you have Basilisk. This is a very melodramatic anime with plenty of death and disturbing situations for those who enjoy creepier adult themes. At first glance the storyline seems very predictable and linear but the more you watch, the more it slowly evolves into something more. With slow story progression, the series relies heavily on violent action scenes that assist in keeping the viewer entertained as the story unfolds. The ending is decent but leaves something to be desired. All of the characters are interesting and unique but because the series is fairly short it doesn’t allow for very much character development, which is disappointing once you become invested in the show and its plot. For someone who appreciates delving deeper into the motivations and emotional states of characters, there is a lot of missed potential here. There is some fanservice in this anime that was likely entered to ease the often apprehensive mood. Despite clear objectification, the female characters display strength in their own way and are highly resilient. To that extent, there are some disturbing sequences in regards to how women are treated by the rest of the vastly male cast. Viewers beware, there is a rape scene. In the beginning I was not very fond of the artstyle but as the show continued I found that it does flatter the era that is expressed – dark overbearing lineart accentuates the turmoil and anger contained in this series. The animation is fairly fluid for its time but there are a few segments that are lacking. For example, during a specific running sequence the characters are only bounced back and forth to display movement which feels effortless when compared to other action scenes. An aspect of this anime that really drew me in was the music, it is so well-suited and enhances the mood; from passive to sorrowful, everything is expressed in flutes and unintelligible chanting. Unfortunately, the voice acting in the English dubbed version is subpar in regards to phrasing and the delivery of lines, and often the voice work is garbled by loud music and sound effects. Despite its faults I found Basilisk a good anime with strong action scenes and interesting characters. If you decide to try it I’d suggest watching at least 4 episodes before choosing whether to continue or quit.

Just recently finished watching the series again after more than 3 years. It was among some of the first anime shows I watched when first getting into anime. Watched it on Netflix in dub and decided to watch in Japanese this time since Ive grown to like subbed rather that dubbed. I was very entertained even after a second watch and came to MAL to check its rating and was disappointed to discover its low rating. Basilisk is a pretty good watch. Yes it has the cliched Romeo and Juliet plot going on but Ive watched 2 versions of Romeo and Juliet and I would rather watch Basilisk any day over those. There are a lot of elements that are differentiate the show from a typical R&J series. First Oboro and Gennoske are both the leaders of their respective clans which makes the pairing a little more difficult. Second the action is quite spectacular, both clans are literally in an official death match sanctioned by the late shogunate, if anything one could at least appreciate the cool fight scenes. The story also goes a little more in dept of supporting character roles. Its a bit more dramatic when each side suffers losses. Although the fate of the 2 doomed lovers is the same as R&J it feels a little more tragic and heartbreaking, whereas in Romeo and Juliet their deaths are somewhat accidental. (SPOILER) Oboro chooses to die for Gennoske rather than taking her own life because Romeo is dead already. Anyway its not a flowery end and kind of leaves a bitter taste but a feeling that lingers much more than a happy ending. Anyway Id give Basilisk a solid 8/10. I rated it 10 because I feel it deserves more than what it now has but in honesty its definitely a solid 8. Some of the flaws that might not appeal to people is the artwork, some of the characters have very unreal figures, however that didnt quite bother me, other than that the art was beautiful especially the landscapes. Pretty good considering its from 05. The music was pretty good, not a masterpiece but it captured the moments well, especially dramatic scenes. OP was OK, I liked the ED better though. Ive already gone over plot and how I feel about it overall, so I recommend Basilisk, for anyone who enjoys action (with blood), or romance (tragic).

I watched the live-action movie before watching the anime series. Wow, I am so glad I did that because I would have been disappointed with the live-action because it does the anime NO justice. This series is definitely a LOT more mature with pretty gruesome murders/other mature scenes, lots of blood, etc. I'm not that squeamish and I had to turn off the sounds or turn away sometimes because it was kind of graphic and shocking, but that just means the creators did THAT good of a job with making you empathize with the characters. The story follows two lovers, Gennosuke and Oboro who are the leaders of the Kouga and Iga ninja clans. The two clans have a bitter history and were ruled by an anti-war pact that was suddenly lifted along with an order to commence a ninpou competition, giving the ninjas of both clans an opportunity of a lifetime to start going at each others' throats. Ten ninjas from each clan have been chosen to take part in the competition and must fight to the death. For the lovers Gennosuke and Oboro, they are torn between their love and their duty to their respective clans. This anime is about CHARACTERS. I must say that some of the characters in this anime are very unique and some have amazing depth and quality to them that make them more than just blood-thirsty superhuman ninjas. I've been told that these characters are much colder in the manga, and I'm so glad that in the anime, they have some depth. There are so many beautiful scenes in this anime, not necessarily because it's well drawn or super detailed, but because they provide a moment of stillness and a time for reminiscence among the numerous bloodthirsty-action packed scenes. That's why I LOVE the flashbacks in this anime because they are absolutely beautiful and tells the backstory of these characters. That being said, my opinion is that the character depth was not extremely well distributed among the two clans, as one clan just seems to have more straightforward bloodthirsty members than the other. But watch this anime. It's so beautiful and tragic and..gahhh...just great!

Violent but with an engaging plot. PLOT: Extremely straightforward Romeo & Juliet type storyline set in feudal Japan – with added ninjas. This concept may be a bit overdone, but Basilisk manages to get the balance just right, tempering the bouts of extreme and bloody violence with touching moments of humour and romance. I found the storytelling to be excellent and very well balanced – I got completely sucked into the word of the Iga & Kouga ninja’s and really cared about their fates. Basilisk does an excellent job of its character development with lots of well-placed flashbacks. Unfortunately for most characters these flashbacks are their death flags, but often they reappear in other characters flashbacks and so they continue to be developed even after they have been sliced into tiny pieces! That’s another striking aspect of Basilisk – the action scenes. As the setting is a ninja war obviously the fight scenes form the main core of the series, and they are spectacular! A broad range of unique ninja techniques makes for interesting and varied action scenes, but present throughout all of them is a huge amount of blood – the death toll is massive. There is also quite a bit of historical fact woven into the plot – the setting is quite realistic. However Basilisk is definitely for older anime viewers due to the gritty violence and mature themes that run throughout the series. The only gripe I have with the show is that my favourite characters were short-lived and I didn’t like Oboro at all – for a main character she is utterly useless for the duration and ate up too much screen time with her constant crying. ANIMATION: I loved the animation and the character designs. The animation is fluid with gorgeous and varied backgrounds – fight choreography is never dull or repetitive and makes for gripping viewing, but the slower reflective scenes are also presented well. The character designs are very striking and varied with lots of emphasis on the eyes and hair of the characters. Plenty of heavy shading is used and the characters facial expressions are extremely varied and add plenty of emotion to any given scene. Lots of attention to detail is on display with the historically accurate costumes and backgrounds too which all makes the viewing experience pleasurable. MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I wasn’t much fussed on the OP but felt that it probably fitted well with the tone of the series – liked the ED though, even if it is quite typical of anime EDs. The score was also quite fitting as it has lots of traditional Japanese instruments and blends into the tone of the show extremely well. Voice acting was also superb. All the characters show a huge range of emotion over the course of series and the seiyuu all pulled off these extremes well. Very much an ensemble piece so it’s hard to pick out standout characters. Overall Basilisk falls into my ‘Good GONZO’ category, it has excellent visuals and storytelling and a very satisfying conclusion. The reason I marked it down is that I personally felt that the two main characters could have been better developed and weren’t as interesting as the short-lived side characters. I also felt that the show occasionally got a bit too wrapped up in its own melodrama and spent too much time on long lingering close ups of Oboro’s eyes! But these are minor gripes and more about my personal preferences than anything else.

For 400 years the Iga and Kouga ninja clans have been feuding with reason long forgotten. Now at the beginning of the Edo period the retired Toguwara Ieyusu has revoked the anti war pact created by Hattori Hanzai that has kept the two clans apart. A list has been created with the 10 best ninjas from each clan must fight it out to the death. To the winner glory and the spoils of war. The problem is nobody has told the two young heirs to the clan heads, Oboro and Gennosuke, who are promised to each other to be married and are determined to use their marriage to end the feud between their two clans. However, why must the clans fight it out to the death and what is the real reason for the ninja war? There you have it a Romeo and Juliet story with ninjas. Awesome! The story is very good, however, it is a bit slow to get going. With the exception of the first episode which sets up the story very nicely, showing Oboro's grandmother and Gennosuke's grandfather in love until Oda Nobunga massacres the Iga village with "Kouga help" turning their love into intense hatred and when they die (sorry spoiler!) it gives one of the best scenes in the series, it takes until episode 7 for the series to get interesting and episode 9 for the story to get going.Up until then we're are shown fights between ninjas with super human powers, many with deformities, from the cool to the weird to the grotesque,fighting it out in spectacular sequences. However, once the story gets going it is highly addictive. We are treated to a couple of filler episodes, one which gives a recap which was useful as I lost tracked of who was dead and another which added nothing to the story. To be honest I didn't care for many of the ninjas if they didn't make it to episode 7 and once they were dead I was glad we wouldn't be seeing them again. However, once past episode 7 there is some proper character developments making the characters more human and turning inter clan feuding in to lusts for revenge making the death scenes more emotional and making you feel for the characters. Also to add a nice touch some of the surviving characters towards the end are shown to actually question why they are fighting. The animation is not bad with much of the scenes at night or in the shade. They are ninjas after all. The background music was very good and the opening and ending songs fitted the series perfectly. Obviously from the synopsis and the fact there are ninjas you are going to get blood, violent deaths and lots of it so be warned if you don't enjoy seeing that kind of thing. However, if you enjoy historical epics you will enjoy this but my advice would be to stick with it because you could easily drop it before you get to episode 7. You won't be disappointed!