In 1581, the great Iga clan of the Hidden Hilt was attacked by the Oda clan, which nearly wiped the Iga out all together. In response to the attack, the lifelong rivals of the Iga, the Kouga, looked to take advantage of the sudden weakness, so that they would be the one great ninja clan of Japan. To prevent the destruction of the Iga clan, Hattori Hanzo the first intervened, and forced the two clan leaders, Ogen Iga and Danjo Kouga into a peace treaty.
23 years later, The Great Shogun, Ieyaso Tokugawa needed a way to determine which of his two sons, Takechiyo and Kunichiyo, would become heir to his throne. To make this decision, Tokugawa decided that the Iga clan, representing Takechiyo, and the Kouga clan, representing Kunichiyo, would wage a 10 vs. 10 ninja battle to decide which of his sons would become Shogun. After having Hattori Hanzo the second dissolve the peace treaty between the clans, Ieyaso issued Ogen Iga and Danjo Kouga two ninja scrolls, with the names of the twenty ninja who would participate in this battle. The two would return to their villages and let the 10 chosen ninja know of the battle.
However, Gennosuke Kouga and Oboro Iga had fallen in love, and their marriage was supposed unite the two clans, but with the dissolving of the peace treaty the two clans instantly started battling. The true question is, will Gennosuke and Oboro’s love be able to stop the battle, or will they kill one another to decide, not only who the next shogun is, but also which clan is the greatest.
Plot: The story of Basilisk was a compelling one, not only was Basilisk a shinobi (ninja) anime, it also incorporated some romance themes to round off the theme. Every episode added a different twist to the ninja’s battle, which always left me wondering how the clans would act next.
Plot Overall – 8/10
Characters: The characters are by far the best part of Basilisk. No two ninja were similar; every ninja in the show had a technique vastly different from every other. This originality truly defined each character. The best part was, not only were the ninja original in terms of the show, they were original in terms of other ninjas in other anime, making for more interesting battles, the likes of which no one had seen before.
Characters Overall – 9/10
Animation: The animation was very rich throughout every aspect of the show. Facial expressions, body movements, even background details like buildings and walls were a treat for the eye. The only issues in the animation was that scenes at night, or in the rain, were hard to see, due to how dark the artist drew them, the shadows were really heavy at times. Also, the eyes were drawn a tad on the unusual side, but not so unusual that it took away from the show.
Animation Overall – 8/10
Sound: Throughout the entire show, the sound played a roll on the mood of the story. During intense fights, the music was intense, and during romantic scenes, the music was romantic, this should all be expected, but for some reason, this sound track was just a little bit above what is usually used. The introduction and ending songs were nothing special, but they both had relevance to the actual show.
Sound Overall – 7/10
Overall: The show was enjoyable, definitely one that any ninja anime fan could enjoy. The characters, plot, and animation were all strong, with the shows only shortcomings being in the sound department.
“Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou†Overall – 8/10
23 years later, The Great Shogun, Ieyaso Tokugawa needed a way to determine which of his two sons, Takechiyo and Kunichiyo, would become heir to his throne. To make this decision, Tokugawa decided that the Iga clan, representing Takechiyo, and the Kouga clan, representing Kunichiyo, would wage a 10 vs. 10 ninja battle to decide which of his sons would become Shogun. After having Hattori Hanzo the second dissolve the peace treaty between the clans, Ieyaso issued Ogen Iga and Danjo Kouga two ninja scrolls, with the names of the twenty ninja who would participate in this battle. The two would return to their villages and let the 10 chosen ninja know of the battle.
However, Gennosuke Kouga and Oboro Iga had fallen in love, and their marriage was supposed unite the two clans, but with the dissolving of the peace treaty the two clans instantly started battling. The true question is, will Gennosuke and Oboro’s love be able to stop the battle, or will they kill one another to decide, not only who the next shogun is, but also which clan is the greatest.
Plot: The story of Basilisk was a compelling one, not only was Basilisk a shinobi (ninja) anime, it also incorporated some romance themes to round off the theme. Every episode added a different twist to the ninja’s battle, which always left me wondering how the clans would act next.
Plot Overall – 8/10
Characters: The characters are by far the best part of Basilisk. No two ninja were similar; every ninja in the show had a technique vastly different from every other. This originality truly defined each character. The best part was, not only were the ninja original in terms of the show, they were original in terms of other ninjas in other anime, making for more interesting battles, the likes of which no one had seen before.
Characters Overall – 9/10
Animation: The animation was very rich throughout every aspect of the show. Facial expressions, body movements, even background details like buildings and walls were a treat for the eye. The only issues in the animation was that scenes at night, or in the rain, were hard to see, due to how dark the artist drew them, the shadows were really heavy at times. Also, the eyes were drawn a tad on the unusual side, but not so unusual that it took away from the show.
Animation Overall – 8/10
Sound: Throughout the entire show, the sound played a roll on the mood of the story. During intense fights, the music was intense, and during romantic scenes, the music was romantic, this should all be expected, but for some reason, this sound track was just a little bit above what is usually used. The introduction and ending songs were nothing special, but they both had relevance to the actual show.
Sound Overall – 7/10
Overall: The show was enjoyable, definitely one that any ninja anime fan could enjoy. The characters, plot, and animation were all strong, with the shows only shortcomings being in the sound department.
“Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou†Overall – 8/10