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The year is 1614 AD. Two warring ninja clans, each supporting
a son of Hidetada Tokugawa as the next shogun, send ten representatives
each to fight to the death for the possession of a scroll.
The prize: the annihilation of the other and the staunch support
of the Tokugawa government for the winning clan for the next
thousand years...
Basilisk tells a story of star-crossed love set against
the backdrop of a bloody conflict between two rival ninja
clans. Based on the popular manga by Masaki Segawa, itself
an adaptation of best-selling author Futaro Yamada's 1958
historical novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, and produced by
Studio Gonzo (Speed Grapher; Samurai 7; Gantz; Burst Angel),
Basilisk is a character-driven period piece packed with
super-ninja combat action and plenty of graphic bloodshed.
Japan,
1614 A.D. Unable to decide which of his grandsons should rise
to power when their father steps down, powerful Shogun Tokugawa
Ieyasu terminates a long-standing but tenuous non-aggression
pact between the rival Iga and Kouga ninja clans. His plan
is to assign one clan to represent each grandson and call
upon the ten deadliest ninjas from each to take part in a
battle to the death with the winners determining which grandson
will be the next Shogun. These skilful warriors and assassins,
having existed in an uneasy state of truce for so long, eagerly
embark upon their mission with fierce and gleeful abandon.
Inextricably tied up in the slaughter and chaos are the clans'
heirs - Gennosuke of the Kouga and Oboro from the Iga - two
lovers whose planned union held the potential to end centuries
of hatred and mistrust by permanently uniting the clans in
peace. Turned against each other by circumstance, Gennosuke
and Oboro must confront their conflicting loyalties and meet
on the field of battle. But can their love possibly survive
in a society where honour means nothing and power is everything?
Episodes
on Volume 1 include:
Destiny:
Lord Ieyasu calls Ogen and Danjo - leaders of the Iga
and Kouga ninja clan - to demonstrate their elite ninja's fighting abilities. Impressed, Ieyasu declares the battle against the
clans to determine the next Shogun.
Last
Rendezvous: After the death of both Ogen and Danjo, Gennosuke
and Oboro are in the midst of planning their wedding - a wedding
that could unite and bring peace to the clans. The two lovers
are unaware that Ogen and Danjo are dead and that the Iga
clan is gearing up for a bloody war against the Kouga clan
after receiving a scroll that lists the ten ninjas it needs
to assassinate.
The Onslaught of War: The Iga clan sets out to hunt down and
kill Kazamachi, who has the second scroll. With Tenzen leading,
some members of the Iga clan plan to make sure no news of
the start of war spreads to the Kouga.
The
Horned Owl: Thinking peace will soon come, Gennosuke and Udono
celebrate with Oboro and the Igas. However the Iga clan plans
to assassinate Gennosuke and Udono during the feast.
Extras on this collection include History of the Ninja (text based featurette); Character Cast Auditions (23 min audio featurette that sees the show's American dialogue director, Tyler Walker, run us through the main characters and let us listen to some of the actors' auditions); audio commentary on one episode with Walker and Mark Stoddard (who plays Yakushiji Tenzen in the American dubbed version); textless songs; and trailers.
This is one of the more visual pleasing animes to be released in recent years. Certainly worth checking out.
Nick Smithson
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