Anime Review: Basilisk
Basilisk (Gonzo Studios, 2005) is an anime based on a manga by Masaki Segawa, which is in turn based on a 1958 novel by Futaro Yamada. Ostensibly its a rewriting of Romeo and Juliet, but with ninjas. Its set in the early 1600s, when Tokugawa Ieyasu was trying to solve infighting regarding his heir. To stop the infighting turning into a civil war, he decides to pit 10 Iga ninjas against 10 Koga ninjas, with each side representing one of his potential successors. Unfortunately, this destroys a 100 year peace treaty between the 2 ninja clans, and wrecks our hero, Koga Gennosuke, and heroine's, Iga Oboro, marriage plans. Since these two do actually love each other, this makes it doubly tragic, and sets the stage for many internal conflicts with each of their clans. However, their personal tragedy is overshadowed by a vicious gore fest of ninja battles, which pretty much wipes out both clans. The ninjas have been genetically manipulated to the point where they are barely human, ...