Anime Review: Basilisk

Basilisk orginnally a manga written by Masaki Segawa from Febuary 2003 to July 2004 was a short seinen manga. The Basilisk manga is actually only 5 volumes long but it has incredibly breath taking, detailed art. It was a highly rated manga and then Gonzo an anime studio famed for its incredible high quality animation decided to adapt the manga to a 24 episode long Anime. It ran from April 2005 to September 2005 and had acomplished the impossible to have the same level of detail in the animation in the anime as the manga. This anime is an Action and Historical fantasy and has alot of historical elements which is based on the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada published in 1958. Did I mention the manga won the Kodansha award? making it one of the highest rated manga's ever.

Set in Japans Azuchi-Momoyama period which is the late 1500s there are two rival ninja clans, The "Iga Tsubagakure" and the "Kouga Manjidani" Between these 2 clans have been a bitter blood fued for dominance which has spanned for centuries. However Hattori Hanzo the 1st, the greatest ninja in japan at the time forged a ceasefire between the 2 clans and got them both employed with Tokugawa Ieyasu the emperor of Japan. Regardless there is still great hostility becuase of all the past blood shed and tensions are rising. Lets fastforward to 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu is no longer emperor but he commands great influence. However there is concerns regarding which of the 2 grandsons of Ieyasu will inheirt the throne in the future. The goverment are now in turmoil in desperate struggle to work out who will become the next emperor of Japan. Ieyasu than decides on a grand but evil plan to solve the problem before it spirals out of control.

Tokugawa Ieyasu issues the ceasefire between the Iga and Kouga clan to be cancelled. He demands that the 10 best ninjas of each clan must enter a ruthless and bloody competition of kill or be killed. Each clan will represent one of the two factions supporting Ieyasu's grandsons. The names of their selected fighters recorded on two identical scrolls to be marked out in blood upon their death. The Ninja clan that successfully wipes out the opposing clan will be given favor for a thousand years while the grandson they represent will be pronounced the undisputed heir to the Shogunate. With both Ninja clans fueled with hatred for each other, and with the command of the emeperor they finnaly get to seek blood after centuries of turmoil! However not everybody in the ninja clans wish to kill eachother. Kouga and Iga's two young heirs Gennosuke and Oboro  were betrothed to each other in hopes that this union will forever dispel the hatried towards each of the clans. Gennosuke and Oboro love one another deeply but they have been forced to kill each other, is love capable of suriving?

Kouga Gennosuke: Gennosuke is the leader of the Kouga clan and is a very kind and warm individual. His words fill people with comfort and honesty. He has been engaged with Oboro the leader of the Iga clan. They are deeply in love with each other, and even though there was much hatred between the 2 clans they felt a moment of peace and serenity. With the ceasefire between the Kouga and Iga they have been forced to kill each other off, however their love still remains and he is in a desperate struggle to try and sort things out. But Gennosuke fails and is forced to fight and he is a capable swordsman. He also has one of the most powerfull Dojutsu Eye techniques in manga even more than the sharigan. Whenever an enemy approachs him with a killing intention, the enemy loses control and commits suicide. He can do this to many people pretty hax right?

Oboro: She is the leader of the Iga clan however she quickly loses control becuase she is far too kind. In another life Oboro would not even be born into a ninja clan it does not suit her. She is like a traditional japanese house wife, kind, caring, warm her entire demeanor is very passive and peacefull and she detests violence. She also loves Gennosuke very much. It is not good news than that the ceasefire between Kouga and Iga has been cancelled. With each clans ninja's out to kill each other Oboro finds herself in a difficult positon. She is a pacifist and cannot bring herself to even watch a person die. However Oboro does have one ability she was born with 'Mystic Eyes'. With these eyes whenever she looks at a ninja she neutralizes their technique. To a ninja their secret techniques is how they survive, with Oboro simply staring at them they become a fragile human.

The Kouga Clan: They specialize in stealth and assassination with techniques that, for the most part, rely on subterfuge. One ninja specializes in the poisonous needle arts, another whose breath becomes poisonous when she's sexually aroused. Do remember that Kunochi use deception to attract their prey to kill them, they will openly have sex with them. A ninja can assume the physical appearance of others and imitate their voice, and another simular Once in direct physical contact with the skin of another, she is able to drain their blood into herself. One fat guy has layers of fat give his body the resiliancy of rubber. Another has Spider-like in his appearance and movements where his tongue secretes a sticky glue-like substance. Finnaly the best is a ninja who has no arms or legs, but can slide across the ground at high speed using the scales on his chest!!

The Iga clan: Rather than relying on deception, the Iga prefer more direct methods and their techniques tend to be mostly offensive to better give them an edge in close combat situations. One Kunochi can spread her blood like a mist to blind the enemy. One ninja when in Contact with salt allows him to dissolve into a viscous liquid like form, useless lol. Another guy is able to control his hair to use as a grasping tool or even a weapon. Another girl can summon swarms of butterflies which can distract enemies or conceal her and others when fleeing. This one dude Can extend and contort his limbs to kick or punch from a distance with tremendous force. Finnally one of the best guys A master of garrote wires made of maidens' hair which can be manipulated by Yashamaru to cut through stone or momentarily bind an opponent.

The first thing you will notice is that the animation is at an extremely high calibre. Every episode of the anime is done with movie quality animation and that would costs hundreds of thousands. Some animes have basic good looking anime and on some episodes have great animation. Basilisk has great animation throughout the entire anime! Alot of the action goes on in night and I keep mentioning the night time scenes are really difficult to animate becuase of the series of dark tones use. Gonzo the anime studio who did Basilisk seem to pull out great animation like it is dead easy. The action scenes are so high quality, you are not blinded by random, generic light blinking, you see every detail in the characters movements. As a plus the backgrounds in Basilisk are truly breath taking and beautifull. In this time of battles and blood when your gaze sets on the horizon, you can experience a sense of peace. The art quality in the basilisk manga was amazing. However to adapt that to the anime and even make it better in some scenes is truly amazing. By far one of the best animation for an anime I have ever seen.

Basilisk is an anime not of entertainment, it does not contain any anime refrences and there is not any hilarious moments. People actually die in this anime yes, all the characters that you have loved seeing will eventually die. The plot demands it and this is why this anime is a seinan. In shonen too many characters escape death, how an author protrays death and the aftermath will contribute to a greater understanding of the anime. Most people will avoid it becuase of the fan base or it is to difficult. Basilisk is different they handle the characters emotions and speech so well, it almost becomes real. Back to my original point this anime is not a piece of entertainment, it is a piece of art the pinicle of what an anime strives to become. It is like a 24 part oscar winning motion picture. Put the laughter to one side and focus on the drama and plot unfold. Get ready to experience one of the greatest animes you will jave ever watched with the highest quailty animation possible!