Review of Basilisk: Vol 3

Introduction

Basilisk`s tagline of Romeo and Juliet meets Ninja Scroll was certainly enough to pique my interest. But the first two volumes only really delivered on the traditional Gonzo eye candy, with tonnes and tonnes of ninja action. There hasn`t been the expected emphasis on character and storyline. So now I`ve learnt my lesson, put all expectations aside, and settled down with volume 3 looking forward to more ninja fighting action. Anything more than that will just be gravy.

It`s 1614 and the reign of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu is coming to an end. There are two possible heirs, but the court at Edo is split over which one. Rather than see the nation dissolve into bitter warfare once more, the Shogun decides that the successor will be decided by a proxy war. For decades the Iga and Kouga ninja families have had an uneasy external antiwar pact imposed upon them. But seeing the proficiency of the ninja on both sides, Ieyasu decides to lift the pact, and select ten ninja from each side to battle in the name of his would be successors. The last family standing will determine who will next rule Japan. This isn`t good news for Gennosuke Kouga and Oboro Iga, who have fallen in love, and whose impending wedding was expected to finally seal the peace between the two families. But there are those on either side who are all too keen to see the fighting resume and old scores settled.

The second volume of Basilisk saw the battle between the Kouga and the Iga intensify, while all the time their de facto leaders, Gennosuke and Oboro remained blissfully unaware, intent on planning their wedding. But following the initial Iga onslaught, the Kouga began to rally, and sent a party to the Iga home to contact Gennosuke. As we finished volume 2, Gennosuke finally realised what has occurred between the two clans, and Oboro was confronted with what has been done in her name.

Volume 3 sees Gennosuke and his clansmen trapped in the Iga camp, surrounded by enemies. Oboro has a difficult decision to make, when she finally learns just how bloody and bitter the feud between the Kouga and Iga actually is. The machinations at the Shogun`s court continue, as they keep informed of how the battle is progressing. To divert attention away from his clan, Gennosuke decides to take the surviving Kouga ninja from the roster with him to Sunpu to confront the Shogun about his decision. But he tells the Iga his plans, challenging them to attack him.

This second volume subtitled The Parting Of The Ways contains the next four episodes, as well as a hefty helping of extras.

Video

The 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer for Basilisk is very impressive. I`m used to NTSC-PAL transfers of anime to look a little soft, and exhibit a degree of jerkiness in the pans. This is practically absent in Basilisk, as the image is sharp and clear, and the animation is fluid and smooth. There is a hint of noise around moments of fast motion, but you would have to pause the disc to really notice. It`s filled with imaginative character designs that take a leaf out of Ninja Scroll`s book, while the less outlandish characters have a beauty and elegance to their designs that is very appealing. The show has a muted look and reduced palette that play up a very gothic feel to the show, and as you would expect from Gonzo, the animation is superb, especially in the action sequences.

Audio

It`s a dual language title as is typical for an anime disc, with DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese accompanied by translated English subtitles and signs. The theme tunes are the sort of soft rock that would suit a group heavy on leather and lace. My usual preference as always was the Japanese track; the dialogue is clear and the stereo does a good job of conveying the action. I sampled the English track, and as you would expect the surrounds are put to work with the action scenes, giving the whole affair an extra oomph. It`s one of those tracks however, where the sound effects are much more prominent and louder than the dialogue. The English dub is pretty good though.

Features

You get the usual jacket picture, animated menus, multi-angle credit sequences, textless songs and trailers for Ergo Proxy and Speedgrapher.

Once again there is a Behind The Scenes featurette. This collects episodes 5&6 of the Basidisk extra from the Japanese first run DVDs. This time around voice actors Tomokazu Sugita (Hattori Kyohachiro) and Fumihiko Tadiko (Hattori Hanzo) join Kousuke Toriumi (Gennosuke) and Risa Hayamizu (Kagero).

Both episodes total over an hour in length and we get some insight into the characters, the VA`s choose their favourite scenes from the episodes, answer fan mail, talk about certain aspects of Basilisk, and at the end there is a wake held for the Basilisk characters that kicked the bucket in the relevant episodes. There is also a set of ongoing interviews with the members of ONMYO-ZA, the j-pop band that recorded the anime`s theme song. There is also a brief poetry reading in each episode (Don`t worry, it isn`t as dry as it seems).

It`s all fun but frivolous stuff, although in terms of extra material, this is significantly more than the usual anime disc gets. I also notice that the interviewees often refer to the manga and the novel, and I get the feeling that the anime alone doesn`t represent the full Basilisk experience, which may be a reason why it doesn`t click with me.

Conclusion

Basilisk volume 3 continues in the same vein as the earlier two volumes, delivering with plenty of ninja on ninja action, sublime animation, and not a whole lot else. This is the ideal show to watch if you want to just put your brain in idle and marvel at some eye candy without having to worry about such complexities as story, plot or character. Because it is fast paced, energetic, and imaginative (especially in the variety of ways that ninja 1 can kill ninja 2), I found the ninety minutes an enjoyable experience, but I don`t see Basilisk as anything special, certainly not worth a re-watch.

For those following the story, there are developments to be had in this volume. The cat is truly out of the bag, and the mutual bushwhacking has ceased, as both Gennosuke and Oboro learn of the resumption of hostilities between their respective clans. After a tense stand off where Gennosuke`s powers are revealed, there is a brief respite as both sides consolidate and decide what to do next. Oboro is distressed about what has happened, while Gennosuke plays his cards close to his chest, opining on one hand that they should revenge their fallen members and defeat the Iga, while on the other hand insisting that they go and see the Shogun to get an explanation of why they have been set at each other`s throats.

The confrontations, recriminations and debates continue, and while the more bizarre of the ninja have fallen by the wayside, the new powers revealed in this volume simply beggar belief. Of the Kouga, Kagero is the human equivalent of a black widow spider, proving lethal to any man she is attracted to, Hyoma has the evil eye, one look from his normally hidden eyes is enough to contort his victims into a painful death, while Gennosuke trumps him. If he gives anyone a meaningful look, they will turn on their allies, and when no one is left to kill, they`ll turn on themselves. Watching these excesses of ninjutsu power, only one word sprang to my mind, "Dumb!" It`s hard to develop empathy for the characters when they have exaggerated and ridiculous abilities like this.

That is the heart of where Basilisk`s problems lie, the characters. For a show that is marketed as a ninja Romeo and Juliet, I found it impossible to give a damn about any of the characters. It`s a freak show, with successively more ludicrous special powers being bandied about to excess. There isn`t a likeable character at all among the supporting cast. Taking sides among the Iga or Kouga is hard when they are all as despicable as each other, looking for the slightest excuse to exact their vengeance. So I wound up watching the fights just to see who would win, rather more importantly how. The inventive animation outweighed any sense of partisanship on my part. But it wouldn`t matter how irredeemable the supporting cast were as long as there was some emotional hook to the main characters. Unfortunately, Gennosuke is one of those close-lipped taciturn types who don`t let slip what they are feeling. Judging by his actions in these episodes then, he comes across as just as loathsome as his cohorts and foes. As for Oboro, the term `wet fish` seems created for her, as she spends the run time lamenting her fate and temporarily blinding herself in a fit of self-loathing. For the supposed leader of the Iga, she does precious little leading and a sight too much whining.

The real downer on this disc is the recap episode. It looks promising enough, beginning with what looks like an exploration of the politics at the Shogun`s court that prompted the battle, but it really boils down to the Shogun catching up on what has happened so far in the ninja war. It`s a collection of action replays, and all that`s missing is the slow motion, and the commentary from Frank Bough.

Basilisk`s one saving grace is that it looks great, and the episodes are enjoyable to watch. It`s a sort of ninja WWE, it`s weakly plotted but you don`t watch it for the stories, you just watch it for the fights. But I only want to watch it once. Unless it can pull a rabbit out of the hat in the final volumes, Basilisk will go down as another forgettable anime action series.