Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls (2005) User Reviews

Great Justice

[DeusWar · 9/10 · 4 May 2008]

Perhaps one of the best all around Anime flicks of this era, Basilisk, does not let loyal fan boys down in any way, shape or fashion. Basilisk, Japan's unique animated twist of 'Romeo and Juliet' set in ancient Japan, provides its viewers with great pleasure as it combines elements of distinctly Japanese ninja lore fantasy with realism on an overwhelmingly emotional level. From the dreamy, innocent flirtatious puppy love scenes in peacetime hidden Tsubu valley with the lovely Oboro and the hopeful Gennosuke to the dreadful ending conflict between the weathered Gennosuke and the insidious Tenzen; Basilisk's atmosphere immerses its viewers into an emotional roller-coaster consisting of dread, rage, compassion, and a bitter-sweet depression that accompanies the conclusion of a great series. Hands down, Basilisk will not fail to deliver Great Justice to Anime veterans or new-comers alike.

This has to be one of the best anime series ever!

[lucius_420 · 9/10 · 11 March 2008]

It is simply an amazing show. Very well written. The story is about two ninja clans, the Iga and the Koga, who are ordered to assemble their ten best warriors to kill each other until only one side lives. Apparently there are two illegitimate heirs to the shogunate and whichever side wins will determine the next shogun. Meanwhile, the plot addresses a beautiful love story that is doomed, politics, martial arts, and philosophy. The artwork is superb. The music is decent. It is very similar to the script of the live action movie called Shinobi that came out not too long ago. It also has an association to the classic Ninja Scroll movie, where there are these ninjas who each have different mystical powers that are unique to them alone. It does great justice to Ninja Scroll, unlike a few other attempts to recreate that great story which is culled from myth. Of course, the myth was created because of the disappearance for many years of the real Jubei Yagyu when no one knew what he did during that time. He was the son of Munenori Yagyu, who was one of two or three instructors in the martial arts to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and his family. Munenori's father Muneyoshi had learned the Shinkage-Ryu or "shadow art" based on psychological martial skills and created the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu. In roughly the same part of the mountain ranges in the area where the Yagyu village still is was an area that had practitioners of the occult arts or voodoo. Many mythological traditions like to combine the two together because it makes for a wild array of skill combinations one person might have had. These stories are mostly fiction based on myths but they do have connections to real people and real events in Japan's history. Munenori left behind some writings about his art. In his book 'The Life Giving Sword' he says that you must make your mind clear like still water reflecting the full moon so that whatever thoughts are directed at you are reflected back upon the attacker and then you will be able to react with the proper counter measure to anything that comes at you and he says that this concept can be applied to more than just physical combat but also to business and politics and any walk of life. (or something along those lines)

very good looking and written action filled anime. one of the best!!

[jonathanh-3 · 8/10 · 31 August 2010]

Basilisk is a very good looking, serious and very well animated action packed ninja version of 'Romeo and Juliet' set in ancient Japan. It tells a compact and solid story about two rivaling ninja clans and their ninja. The story is pretty fast paced which kept me interested at all times and makes you care about the great characters in it. The animations in the series are one of the best-looking animations i have seen so far. Overall Basilisk is a pretty realistic anime for a ninjanime and has a lot of cruel, bloody and violent scenes, and a pretty good build up to the righteous violence climax, which makes it that much better.

Definitely worth watching!!!

rate it 8,4

Sublime....

[laviskrg · 10/10 · 6 September 2008]

This is definitely one of the best animes ever created! Beautiful, heart-breaking, expertly drawn, enrapturing and magnificent in all aspects, it is definitely worth seeing. First of all, it is a blend of so many myths and stories, of both historical and fictional origin. It is more than a love story, and more than a war story. It is the cruel, painful, yet epic tale of warriors, god-like and feared, yet vulnerable before fate, which in this case is decided by the unyielding regime of a country torn apart by war, and vulnerable before their own hearts. It contains numerous love stories that intertwine and evolve, and during its 24 episodes, the viewer learns immense quantities of information about each character, about their pasts, their dreams and aspirations, and when, in the end, all those dreams are broken and shattered, the viewer suffers along with the bleeding ninjas. Not one episode is unworthy, and not one will leave you unsatisfied, and yet, hopeful, until the very end. The end is bitter, that I have to say, and it may seem utterly unfair, but it is justified by more than a political choice. The battles are breath-taking. Some of the characters are freakish and rather unappealing, but their roles are deeply rooted and in the end, they truly matter and, one can observe, the exterior aspect will not be a mirror of the soul, in this anime. Each and every ninja is endowed with powers that amaze with their originality, inspire with their depth and frighten with their capacity. Each duel is more than a battle, it is more than a test, and the tension can be overwhelming. It is wonderful to see an anime with understandable violence, with battles fought both physically and mentally. Beside the perfect graphics, one shall not be able to ignore the blood-boiling music, marvelous and worthy of such an epic. The ending will cause pain, as will the entire series, but it will also offer some closure, as will the few but well-placed scenes of tenderness and mercy. I adore this anime and plan to watch it again some time. Knowing the ending does not spoil the journey, for there are many journeys the viewer can choose, ten for the Kouga Ninjas and another ten for the Iga Ninjas. Enjoy....

The best between modern anime shows (or at least one of the best)

[David_del_Real_Reviews_in_IMDb · 10/10 · 1 October 2017]

Note: Most of my reviews contain spoilers, but I always try that none of these spoilers "can actually spoil" any important surprise in the narrative arc, so you can read without worrying.

Basilisk is a story set in the early days of the Tokugawa period and narrates the fight between two clans of ninja warriors. Even when this story and its fighting is completely embedded in fantasy, it is important to say that the Ninjutsu styles of both the Iga and the Kouga actually exist in real life with the names of Kouga-Ryu and Iga-Ryu.

For history lovers, I also need to give a small warning: In this anime, in opposition to what most historians and fans of anime and Japan history think, here, Yeyasu Tokugawa is depicted as a villain. Well, it is just a novel and an anime and it is only this author's opinion, or this author's particular view for his story, so NO OFFENSE TAKEN for fans of Yeyasu Tokugawa; to many...the best Shogun in Japan history. Tokugawa, here, is actually one of the most important villains in the plot because the competition between the two clans is actually decided by him and one of his allies, in order to find a way to choose a heir without having people loyal to him dead, so they decide to make a competition between two clans, one clan favoring one possible heir, one clan the other.

This is a great show that has a little bit of everything: Great animation, interesting and appealing characters, fantasy, some history-based moments, martial arts and even a twist of horror (even Gore-like) at some points.

That said, I hope that these lines help you to decide to give this anime a try if you haven't seen it, or give you a pair of interesting data you didn't know about this great anime if you have already enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading

Ki o Tsukete ( "Take care" or "be well" in Japanese)

IMDb Review by David del Real. Ciudad de México, México. October 1st, 2017.

Amazing anime series

[fa-oy · 9/10 · 24 January 2012]

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

Solid series - very much worth a watch.

[kovach-83062 · 8/10 · 29 January 2024]

I honestly have to wonder if some of the more negative reviews here are based on the newer iteration of the Basilisk series from 2018, the Ouka Scrolls. That version is honestly terrible, uninteresting, and frankly, not worth anyone's time.

But this version, the 2005 Kouga Scrolls series, is solid. While I wouldn't add it to my short list of exceptional anime series, it is a very good one. In contrast to the later series, this one is absolutely worth the watch. At 24 episodes, it's also not too much of an investment.

The storyline is interesting enough, and marries feudal Japanese history with fantasy elements. The characters each have rather unorthodox ninpou techniques, which you learn as the series goes on. They aren't exactly your typical fighting techniques or scenes, so if you need a typical chanbara anime, you might be slightly disappointed in that regard. But the plot keeps your attention, the characters are interesting, the fighting scenes are worth watching, and the artwork (for the time) can be beautiful. I'm personally a big fan of anime series set in feudal Japan with ninja and/or samurai elements, and this fits the bill for me.

A note - if you're sensitive to rape and sexualization of some of the female characters, there are some elements of this in the series, which may detract from it for you. These sorts of things lessen the experience for me in some shows, but I don't think in this one that it was to the extent that it took away much from me enjoying the show. I would have appreciated a little more development of some of the female characters, as this is something important to me, even when watching shonen/seinen anime. But there is enough there and the majority of the female characters have enough depth to them that I stand by my recommendation.

TLDR; I don't think you will regret watching this if you have any interest in series set in feudal Japan, with ninja and/or samurai elements, that has a thread of romance throughout. There is some implied rape and sexualization of female characters, but this does not, in my opinion, detract from the quality of the series.

Amazing period piece and stunning animation

[HardLight · 9/10 · 15 May 2020]

This is a very very good anime that I somehow missed in the mid 00's and only finally caught now, so while my opinion has been somewhat coloured by the history surrounding this anime, it is a very good story on its own, with detailed animation and very interesting depictions of the succession war that happened during the Edo Period.

The problem I have comes from the localisation that has happened, see back in the mid 2000's, companies like Funimation weren't as on the ball with distribution of Anime as they are today and while they created a dub for this, they didn't provide a subtitle for it until more recent re-releases to digital media like Amazon, so the people who were tasked with giving an original version of this were the Fans.

Fan subs were a far more prominent thing until far more recently and there was no need to have any biases placed into the story by people who have political and social agendas, it was purely to provide a good quality version of the story that the fans provided.

And while fans still do this and the sub is a VAST improvement over the licensed versions, there are less of them today than there was 10 to 15 years ago.

With that comes the beginning of the issue with this anime.

If you have gotten this from an official source, the subtitles are not the traditional story, they are a socially injected version by Funimation that detracts from the story's ability to tell itself, by adding issues and changing word meanings around to better fit a "woke" agenda, Funimation have tarnished a decent property of theirs with the disgusting actions of their staff.

That point out of the way where I do hope my opinion has been given (go for fan subs, allow places like Funimation and Crunchyroll to burn themselves to the ground)

Lets talk about the dub.

I don't know what it is with Funimation's staff, but since their inception they have had a core staff of 6 voice actors who can be seen in virtually every piece that they have, one of them being Chris Sabat - a man who has less range in his voice than Wilford Brimley - and no matter the casting or crew working on in...with 1 or perhaps 2 very rare exceptions due to things from Japan being a concern, a Funimation dub will have several very telling signs of its lack of detail.

It will have horrible sound mixing where voices are going to be either too quiet or too loud contrasted terribly with over dramatic musical scores that are rarely faithful to the source material, the level of direction and skill in the voice actors has a massive dip in quality depending on the actual skill of the actor and the voice director. And most telling of all

Funimation refuses to have a scene where there is quietness going on, where there is no talking while a character's face is on screen, I do not understand this and it has never been something they're willing to allow - again, except for rare instances where Funi are having their arms twisted by the studio in Japan.

Basilisk, Kôga ninpô chô is an amazing anime that you can deeply enjoy for its very dramatic and dark depiction of what life was like for small clans in the Edo period of Japan, it doesn't shy away from dirtying up historical heroes like Hattori Hanzo and depicting well know figures like Lady Kasuga (Ofuku) or Oeyo for their involvement in the War. The only downside is that many will watch this in the English and take away from it a negative view due to the terrible localisation in dubbing.

So again

Fan sub is the way to go, do NOT trust the official source if it has Funimation or Crunchyroll in the title.

Greek (ehm... Japanese) tragedy at its best.

[Ladiloque · 10/10 · 31 May 2013]

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.

Super boring but occasionally artistically beautiful.

[airosloth · 1/10 · 6 February 2021]

Not much animation, maybe 6 FPS?

Really boring watching one clan get slain gradually for 6 episodes straight. There's no tension in fights and the characters seem very one dimensional with zero history or back ground until they fight.

I'm only 7 episodes in but I won't be watching any more. I've got better things to do with my life. Picking my toenails maybe?

Uneven experience

[bennyhagen · 31 July 2012]

Up until episode 12 this is a fantastic series keeping you in genuine anticipation, satisfaction and then anticipation again. The action is not the very best you have ever seen but it's okay and there is plenty of it around. The game with the truly exciting special powers makes up for everything though and you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat every time a new technique is getting revealed. These episodes are fairly well written too, featuring an interesting plot and also doing a fine job with character development and in setting up emotional attachment to most characters.

Now after getting you hooked I suppose, indicated by a token flashback episode a very different series emerges. The animation now becomes minimum effort most of the time, meaning a heavy decline on action scenes by definition and a lot of mere shaking of static pictures. This would be party acceptable saying that we'd have arrived at a more talky, story centered bit but unfortunately this is not the case either. The thing just runs out of steam and starts kind of going nowhere, doing that with a critically slow pace too. Ideas barely emerge anymore and everything just becomes very incoherent. Worst is that also the fights and deaths of the characters become disappointingly anti-climactic blowing a fantastic premise right out the window.

Now this doesn't stop me from genuinely recommending those first 12 episodes as they rocks quite hard nevertheless. I really can't recommend you to waste your time enduring the rest as there really is barely anything to look forward to, but maybe just reading the story (fighting those battles in you're head) on wikipedia and then cut to the final episode right away might be a good solution.

I'd give a 9/10 for the first half and a 2 for the rest.

Basilisk

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 7 December 2014]

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.

Basilisk

[WeAreLive · 8/10 · 12 May 2023]

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 Tokugawa government for the winning clan for the next thousand years.

The art style and animation for the series was good.

I thought the plot minus the sexual assault scenes were good. The fight scenes were excellent as well.

Laura Bailey and Troy Baker were excellent as Oboro and Kouga. As were the other voice actors in these roles.

The intro and ending of the series was also good as well.

If you are into a like an old Japan setting anime with ninja's and sword fights you might like this.

A Rape-y, Story-free Mess

[mitchlb452 · 1/10 · 8 February 2019]

This was a recommendation to me beause I love Berserk. The fighting in this show is similar, but the story is rubbish: two clans who don't like each other for no reason kill each other for no reason. The end. That's so close to the actual story I'm tempted to post a friggin' spoiler alert - and I would, except you know as much in sentence plot summary at the top of this page. Honestly, it's BS rubbish. But hey, if you don't care about story, and you love a ton of rape and implied rape, and like people killing each other for no plot-driven reason whatsoever, this is your show.

Boring!

[billyboy_88 · 8 August 2011]

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.

very boring don't waste your time .

[mohamedmagdy-03484 · 2/10 · 7 April 2021]

The animation is good and the character design are great but it was so boring if you are looking for fights there is not much and even when it happen it does not last long. For me this is one of the worst animation i have ever seen.

Awarded Worst Anime of all Time

[ANannyMoose02 · 1/10 · 13 November 2021]

Just when I thought I'd seen the worst anime of all time I try watching this boring, useless, poorly written and sloppy animated garbage. This is truly the worst anime I've ever seen which is saying a lot. Not only is the action not in the slightest bit exciting but there is literally no storyline, no plot, no character development and no clever dialogue. It's got all the making of an award-winning "worst anime of all time" title. DO NOT WATCH THIS GARBAGE!!!