Review of Basilisk: Vol 4

Introduction

Basilisk is a series that just hasn`t endeared itself to me with its first three volumes, and the arrival of the fourth didn`t spark much enthusiasm. In terms of action and anime eye-candy it certainly delivers, but I`ve found the story lacking thus far. Although with each subsequent volume, I maintain a slender hope that the story will pick up, and the characters will become interesting. To make matters worse, I wound up with a review disc that my player took one look at and then raised a white flag. Many thanks are due to the PR company, who gave me four bites at the reviewing cherry, before it entered my thick skull that my player was incompatible. Fortunately one of the discs was less temperamental than the others (the problem was with the menus and one of the extras alone) and after much kicking of my player, it deigned to load the menus long enough to allow the episodes to play. They played without problem thereafter. Hopefully it`s a problem with just the review discs, but if you are a Basilisk fan with a Sony DVP-NS705-V, then hold your breath as you insert the disc.

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.

All pretence vanished at the end of disc 3, as both the Iga and the Kouga realised what was at stake, and just who their enemies were. No more skulking and bushwhacking, this was open war, and to Oboro`s horror, her fiancé Gennosuke numbered her among his enemies. In despair, she temporarily blinded herself, and lost the will to fight, much to the disgust of her retainer Tenzen. Gennosuke on the other hand tried to chart a centre course. While the Iga couldn`t be trusted, and should an opportune moment arise to attack, it should be taken, the real motivator behind this war was the Shogun, and Gennosuke decided to travel with his companions to Sunpu to confront him directly.

As this volume begins, so does the journey to Sunpu, and it becomes a race to see who will get there first. The Kouga take the relatively safer, but longer overland route, but not before Saemon confronts one of the Iga he holds responsible for his sister`s death. The Iga opt to travel by sea, and Tenzen is determined to make Oboro see the light, and commit herself to fighting the Kouga and Gennosuke. The lengths he will go to are chilling, but there is a stowaway on the ship, who has the Iga survivors in his sights. No matter how committed Gennosuke is, he can`t help but think back to better times.

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. I did notice some macroblocking in darker scenes in this volume however, which knocked the score down a point. Basilisk is 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, textless songs and trailers for Trinity Blood and Berserk. The multi-angle credits vanish for this volume, leaving just the English credits behind.

Once again there is a Behind The Scenes featurette. This collects episodes 7&8 of the Basidisk extra from the Japanese first run DVDs. This time around voice actors Naoki Yanagi (Yashamaru) and Miyuki Sawashiro (Hotarubi) join Kousuke Toriumi (Gennosuke) and Risa Hayamizu (Kagero). I noticed in the earlier volumes this was presented as just one featurette, and when you pressed play, you just got the time displayed for just the first of the shows. I was quite surprised when a second show started straight after the first, and some reviews have failed to mention the second show completely. This time around, both shows appear on the menu select screen. So you have no excuse missing the second one.

The 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).

Conclusion

That`s better! It`s not the volume that single-handedly redeems the series, but it does begin to live up to the promise of the earlier episodes, and I was left with the niggling question of how much more would I have appreciated the show if it had started off in this vein. The story hasn`t changed much from before; it`s still the Romeo & Juliet dynamic masking what is at heart a combat tournament anime. But from the first scene on this disc, it becomes apparent that the character dynamics are finally being explored.

I`ve avoided naming names in the ongoing bodycount, after all that is 90% of the fun with Basilisk, and you don`t want anyone spoiling that for you. But it`s the earliest confrontation that really impresses. It`s between two characters that have had some history developed in the show. Both have lost loved ones in this proxy war, and both blame the other for their loss. The battle sequence is short and sweet, even unimpressive given some of the unrealistic explosions of ninjutsu that we have seen so far, but the animators have given the death scene poignancy and poetry. It`s a moment that is filled with metaphor and hidden meaning, and it`s certainly visually striking. Given the history between the antagonists, you`re left wondering who truly won and lost. As I said, it happens right at the start of the disc in episode 13, and all of a sudden I`m interested in Basilisk again.

We follow both sides as they travel to Sunpu, but for the Kouga it is a relatively uneventful journey. It`s the Iga who face significant adversity, not least old Slug Boy, who`s faced with his worst fear, the salty sea. I`ve previously described Oboro as a `wet fish` of a leader, and that is at the heart of the events that occur here. In effect it is Tenzen who is de facto leader, but he feels hamstrung by the fact that Oboro has in effect given up. She even admits that were she to face Gennosuke, she would rather die than fight him. This frustrates Tenzen to the point where he decides that the only way that Oboro will see the light is if she has an Iga husband, whether she wants one or not. It`s a distasteful sequence, just as it is meant to be, made all the more chilling as none of the other Iga, who are supposedly loyal to her, come to her aid.

The journey takes up 3 episodes. The fourth is devoted to a flashback, taking us first to a time just before Gennosuke and Oboro`s first meeting as adults, and also back to when they were children about to be betrothed. We get some idea of what drew them together, and begin to understand the depth of their commitment, and consequently the pain that the betrayal ultimately causes. It`s also a chance to see the dearly departed ninja again, and it`s charming to see them having fun in happier times.

That final flashback episode was the capper on a much-improved selection of Basilisk episodes. Had this been shown earlier in the run, or even right at the beginning, I would have had more emotional investment in the characters. As it was Basilisk jumped straight into the ninja fighting action, leaving character development hard pressed to catch up. It`s interesting to note that the flashback episode was an original to the anime, not to be found in the manga or novel. The final retail discs should be problem free, but listen out for odd grinching noises when the menu screen loads, just in case. Halfway through and Basilisk gets interesting. Now if it can just keep it up…