Basilisk's tale of forbidden love amongst the Ninja clans of the Tokugawa Shogunate was a major hit when it played on Japanese television during the summer of 2005. Mixing bloody martial arts action with historical fantasy and a tragic Romeo-and-Juliet tale, the series was based on the manga of the same name written by Masaki Segawa (itself based on Futara Yamada's 1959 novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls).
Now FUNimation has brought Basilisk: The Complete Series to Blu-Ray. In turns gripping and gruesome, it's a powerful tale of love in a time of all-out war.
FUNimation Distributes Gonzo's Basilisk: The Complete Series
The year is 1614. Two rival ninja clans – the Iga Tsubagakure and Kouga Manjidani – are locked in an uneasy truce with both sides more than willing to restart the conflict. Emperor Tokugawa Ieyasu is about to step down when a quarrel over the succession erupts among his two grandsons.
Rather than plunge the entire country into civil war, Ieyasu orders the Iga and Kouga clans to select 10 of their best warriors to fight amongst themselves in a competition to determine which grandson will become the next heir. In so doing, he cancels the truce between the two clans, instantly plunging them into ruthless and bloody war.
Caught in the middle of the conflict are Gennosuke of the Kouga Clan and Oboro of the Iga Clan. Previously betrothed in order to bring an end to the feud, the two star-crossed lovers must choose between duty to their clans or the promptings of their hearts.
Since it's anime, Basilisk not only plays fast and loose with history but with reality itself. Gonzo's ninja not only hide in shadows and throw shuriken at each other, but also possess super-powers. Some spew sticky webs like a spider, others change their appearance to resemble an enemy, and a beautiful ninja can literally suck the blood from her opponent merely by touching them. Then there's Yakushiji Tenzen, a ninja warlord with a Wolverine-like ability to recover from wounds that would kill anyone else.
This series is probably one of the best-looking anime out there: Gonzo did some beautiful work with the backgrounds, character designs and action sequences. The latter are gripping: it's clear Gonzo wanted to rope fans in fast, since the body count eventually drops off after some pretty fierce fighting off the top.
It must be mentioned that this series is rated M for Mature, due to its bloody and violent content. There's murder, combat and torture galore – plus at least one rape. A minimum of one ninja dies per episode (Here's a quick hint/spoiler: if a supporting character questions the futility of war, start writing their obituary).
Unfortunately, the character viewers most want to snuff it is one of the central protagonists: Oboro, the heir of the Iga Clan. She's clumsy and naive, and acts very passive during the course of the series, which gets grating after a while (show some spine, girl!), especially when the body count starts skyrocketing. However, she possesses a doozy of a defense: she can cancel an opponent's ninja power merely by staring at them.
Basilisk The Complete Series Blu-Ray Extras
Since Blu-Ray is such a new medium for home entertainment (not to mention its introduction right before a global recession), entertainment companies still need to give consumers compelling reasons to make the switch. So kudos to FUNimation and Gonzo for upping the bonus features on this set, but their value to consumers is somewhat doubtful.
The English audio commentary for the episode 'The Onslaught of War' is informative but rather dry, as voice actor Mark Stoddard (Yakushiji Tenzen) talks more about his own character than about the events unfolding onscreen. The History of the Ninja featurette is possibly the biggest waste of potential: it's a static screen filled with unreadably small lettering. Okay, maybe a full documentary featurette was out of the question but couldn't Gonzo and FUNimation have at least made the font bigger?
The English cast vocal auditions are fascinating because the director also tells the viewer what qualities he was looking for in his voice actors, and how he found his voice cast. Gonzo also adds 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes featuring the Japanese voice cast and crew.
Basilisk: The Complete Series a Compelling Romeo and Juliet Tale
Loosely based on historical fact and featuring a haunting tale beautifully told, Basilisk: The Complete Series wins major point for combining brutal martial arts action and a powerful love story. It satisfies both viscerally and intellectually and that's why it gets a 4/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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