Plustown
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Tweekums
In feudal Japan the Iga and Kouga tribes have hated each other for four hundred years; only a treaty forcing them not to fight prevents them from going to war. Then the treaty is ended and each tribe selects ten ninjas who will fight until the other side is eliminated. These aren't ordinary man and women they each have powers that make them hard to defeat. The matter is complicated by the fact that two members of the rival clans; Oboro Iga and Gennosuke Kouga are in love… that won't stop them fighting for their clans but fighting each other may prove more difficult.The differing powers the fighters possess make the battles interesting as we learn what method each will use and how it will be countered. As the numbers get whittled down inevitably favoured characters will be killed off; some the viewer will have grown to care about while others will be seen as getting what they deserved… either way this is not a happy series; it is a tragedy that gets darker as time goes on leading to a poignant final confrontation.The various skills the fighters possess are imaginative and entertaining and the characters are well designed and fleshed out; we get occasional flashback showing us the characters before the war so we learn more about them and occasionally get to see characters who have died once more… even if I did occasionally get confused with who was who occasionally! The animation is pretty good and done in a style that suits the story. The action scenes don't shy away from the brutality of the war and some of them are a little disturbing but not gratuitously so. Overall this is worth watching if you like action anime where characters just get on with the fighting rather than talking to their enemies and individual fights are not stretched over several episodes.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
Ladiloque Boh
Some desire love. Some desire peace and freedom. Some others want to protect their beloved ones. Some desire to temporarily achieve honor to enable further accomplishments or to justify their existence. Some finally simply want power to rule other's destiny in sight of their own perspective. And human history is just a huge conflict involving these major needs. I'm not going to list what's good and what could be better in this anime: it's 10y old and technology and tastes are different. It deals with great topics and it does it in a great way: animation, graphic, SFX and character design is top notch. I'm in my 30s and I cried a lot: ancient Greek tragedy sounds just like this and you can't avoid to feel what is deep in our souls when watching this. Watch it alone: your children won't like it apart from the battles. But let your grown children watch it if they don't want to read Euripide instead. I looked at all the serialised animes around in the last 20 years and found no one more deserving: this is great. Maybe just 3-4 other animes are of this level for our western perception. Buy it. Support it. Let this anime survive over the "consume to get something new" policy of these days. This will make you cry and dream and will motivate you to believe in human kind. In 5-20 years something better will be there but as per now anime poetry can be found nowhere else.
Luis Angel Gonzalez
Basilisk is a short yet wonderful Anime series that revolves around the Tokugawa era; although its story, rooted in ancient ninja lore, is not real, but only slightly based on some historical facts. The story centers on two antique and powerful ninja clan, Iga and Kouga, that had been at war for many years; but in recent years both parties had come to a peace agreement, which would be broken and unleash a fierce battle between the two clan once more. The story then, as I have just mentioned above, since the first chapter, begins with both clan having to battle themselves again, and guides us through the decisions and strategies made by both sides. The leaders of the ninja clan, Gennosuke and Oboro, had been together for a long time and were planning to contract marriage, which would definitely consolidate and signify lasting peace on both sides. But misfortune awaited them, for the breakage of the peace agreement would make it impossible for them to finally conclude the long-awaited marriage. However, not all of the ninja were satisfied by the marriage in the first place, mostly on the Iga side, as the hatred towards the enemy had not vanished completely yet. Many of the ninja still held a grudge against their rival clan, mainly because the hatred had been long generated by centuries of rivalry.Every single character in this story is backed up by an impressive personality; they all are well developed and full of ideals that are worth of respect. Even though the story involves assassinating each other, and unfortunately many of the characters perish in earlier chapters to be really appreciated and to become fond of them, it does not detract the story from representing them properly and showcase their characteristics. Furthermore, The many flashbacks in the series help in filling up the gaps that would have otherwise affected character development. All characters possess well-thought, fear-provoking and hidden ninja skills that had been passed from generation to generation throughout the years. One of the key factors to obtain triumph is that the enemies do not get to acquire knowledge of their abilities, so that they can take them by surprise.The animation is astonishingly well represented and polished and, as most of the story relies on bloody and long battles, it surely was necessary for the story. The soundtrack, which is very Asiatic sounding, fits beautifully to the environment and era; it helps in immersing you in the images and plot. Fans of gore and fighting Anime should love this, and not only them, but Anime fans in general, as this Anime offers a lot more than just simplistic, half-ass fighting scenes.It is difficult to give an accurate score to a series, as they go from amazing chapters to just good ones. But I can assure that this Anime series is worth watching, and it will always make you want to know what happens on the next chapter.My score: 9/10
billyboy_88
So I've been wondering for a long time if I should buy Basilisk or not. Well I finally bought it and have now seen it and I am very disappointed. Why?First of all there are so many characters to keep track of and get to know in such a short time that you end up not giving a rats ass about any of them. They are all shallow and one dimensional.Second reason is that its just plain boring. It keeps the same pace throughout pretty much the whole series, and that is a slow and undramatic one. witch doesn't always have to be a bad thing but here it is.The good things I guess is the animation which are fluid and nice in general. Some of the ninjas technique are awesome.But overall I thought basilisk was a pretty mediocre and impersonal anime series. And I don't recommend it.
