Basilisk Review

This is not a new anime. My interest surfaced because of a recommendation by a friend.

Short synopsis of the story (from Wiki):
The story takes place in the year 1614. Two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of the Iga and Manjidani of Kouga, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. The deadly competition between 10 elite ninja from each clan unleashes a centuries-old hatred that threatens to destroy all hope for peace between them.

Just by reading this synopsis, I know the ending won't be what I would like. But still, since this friend likes it so much, I gave it a try.

The first ep was not shy in giving me an intro to what is installed in this 24 ep story. The hard lines, the ugly faces, the crude fighting ways. I was appalled. But the ending of the first ep had me intrigued. Throughout the fighting scenes between the two youngsters, there were scenes of a young couple from progressed from loving, to discovering betrayal, to hatred and finally, loss. The ending of the first ep was the start to the competition and the head of both clans wasted no time in killing each other. But what shocked me was that, they were that young couple who turned foes. Seeing their aged form drifting away on the lake had that emotional impact on me. And i could foresee that the 2 main characters fate would be something similar...

So after this first ep, the story unfolded at super speed. The two clans wasted no time wiping out the names of the enemy of the namelist. At ep 10, Kouga clan had 5 people and Iga clan had 7 (one blind). My my...what hatred. And they don't know why they can't stand the others's existence. But as the story progress, their reasons pile up. Comrades, lovers, family killed by the enemy. What other stronger reason do they need to seek blood... Such a vicious cycle they have let themselves slip into...(But I have to admit the fight scenes were good. I knew they were all gonna die, but I didn't know who was going to die first. So that was a big luring factor that kept me hooked.)

And throughout all these...what were the 2 main characters doing? Gennosuke was quick to take up the responsibility of head of the clan. Given, when he knew about this shit, 5 comrades had already been killed. It would be unacceptable to not avenge their deaths. Oboro...er...well...with no power, she obviously would not be able to control them...especially Tenzen.

But I thought I saw a difference. While Gennosuke was quick to resign himself to fate, Oboro tried to resist (no matter how futile it was). Hence, it was easy to see what their choices would be. No pity for either sides though. - -

Now on the side characters...
IMO, Iga's pple left a more lasting impression than Kouga's. They had irritating people like Koshiro, downright scumbags like Tenzen, and the oh so lovely Akeginu (but her death was so stupid it is infuriating - -). And of course, egoistic Nenki and the useless Hotarubi...

It's so fascinating how crazy the female characters can be when they know of their lovers death. So much so that they were tricked and killed by the enemy. I couldn't care less about Hotarubi, who had numerous chances to expose the enemy's trick. But my dear Akeginu (always looking so hot in a kimono and without it =P ) ...

Sigh...