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.

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.

Mr. E 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.