History Manga / Basilisk

* NanaMizuki: Provide's Oboro's voice and the ED theme, ''Wild Eyes''.

* PlayingAgainstType: On the other hand, the murderous Hotarubi is played by Miyuki Sawashiro, who usually voices {{Genki Girl}}s and {{Moe}} types. Then again, Hotarubi acts like one [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend if you don't mess with her beloved Yashamaru]].

* RapeAsDrama: Tenzen attempts to rape Oboro ''twice''.
** Hoping for Rape Is Love, or at the very least that it will turn her into an obedient little wife so he can be the leader of the Iga village.

* SpannerInTheWorks: The only thing Tenzen couldn't plan for was [[spoiler: Oboro's regaining her sight and using her power on him while he was vulnerable.]]
** [[spoiler: Though you'd THINK he'd be expecting her to try and murder him at the first opportunity, given the RapeAsDrama entry...]]

** Kagerou on the other hand has a much longer indication of dwelling under the shade of this trope. For most of her life she has been bitter that despite her worthy lineage, her inherited abilities keep her from getting too close to Gennosuke. The twist of the knife comes when he is [[ArrangedMarriage set up to marry]] Oboro, the heir of the hated Iga clan... and [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage is more than willing to do so]]. She manifests her hurt through her desire to kill Oboro and her clan once the truce has been dissolved, and she has Gennosuke promise that he himself will take Oboro's life. On her weaker moments she tends to be suicidal and wants Gennosuke to die with her. [[spoiler:The worst of these moments comes when, in near death after experiencing so much tragedy and personal torture from the Iga, she witnesses Gennosuke refusing to kill Oboro, breaking his promise to her. Though Gennosuke chooses to take Kagerou with him, she knows she cannot have the life with him that she wanted so much. So she attempts to kill Gennosuke so that they may both die together.]]

*** Actually, in the manga [[spoiler: he held her in place while Kagerou stabbed Akeginu to death.Still more than enough since it's clear that despite not liking it, he has no qualms harming women if he has to do so.]]

* TheComicallySerious: In the flashback episode, we get to see some of the near CompleteMonster territory characters of the Iga side... trying to cure Oboro's hiccups. Some of these individuals have done horrible things (including attempted rape) during the series, so this is actually really weird to observe.

* GoodEyesEvilEyes: Somehow, you can immediately tell who's the CompleteMonster...

** Jubei also counts as he was the first in the anime to kill [[{{CompleteMonster}} Tenzen]] ''with a knife concealed in his throat and wielded with his tongue'' and outrun the ten Iga ninja ''without arms or legs''.

[[caption-width-right:323:RomeoAndJuliet, with ninjas and blood]]

This show provides examples of...

* XanatosGambit: Tenzen pulls some of these through the series. [[spoiler: We later find out that the destruction of the truce is the result of a BIG XanatosGambit of his', bordering on GambitRoulette, that was ''this'' close to leave him as the pretty much last warrior standing in both clans, with Oboro as his puppet wife and as ManBehindTheMan for the next shogun.]] People like Danjou, Ogen, Gennosuke and Hyouma are also capable of these.
** The entire plot was a XanatosGambit by the shogun; he couldn't possibly lose. The mother and nanny of his grandsons Takechiyo/[[spoiler: the future Iemitsu]] and Kunichiyo/[[spoiler: the future Tadanaga]] were in a contest for behind-the-scenes influence of the heir that was turning violent. He wanted to prevent more assassination attempts now, and spare the samurai lives that would be lost if the grandsons grew up to fight for inheritance. So he arranged for ninjas lives to be lost instead, offering pardons and gainful employment to the winner between two clans who already passionately wanted each other dead. The ninjas who die are fewer ninjas to worry about, the ones who live would have the cunning to remove the winning nanny. The clan heads were smart enough to know just how they were being used, but their hatred for each other was too great; the rewards for winning was just icing on the cake.

* ImpliedSecondaryPowers: Akeginu's power is to expel her blood. Far more than a normal person's body could possess. Enough to create a cloud of mist.

** [[spoiler: Sure, Tenzen. Go ahead and attempt to rape the ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD CAPABLE OF NULLIFYING YOUR RESURRECTION POWERS. I'm sure this will result in RapeIsLove rather than your ugly demise.]]

** Attempting RapeIsLove, or at the very least will turn her into an obedient little wife so he can be the leader of the Iga village.

* WhyWontYouDie: Good lord, [[spoiler: Tenzen]]. What is it going to take to kill you? [[spoiler: Wait, you mean you had to kill him five times before it stuck?]]
** [[spoiler:Apparently the trick was to have Oboro use her anti-ninjitsu gaze on both Tenzen ''and'' the parasite that keeps bringing him back to life, in succession.]]
*** [[spoiler: Basically, his ability to reincarnate had to be disabled while he was attempting to do so, thus leaving him dead. Oboro does good work.]]
*** [[spoiler: Attempt to rape the only person in the entire series who can POSSIBLY kill you, huh?]] [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Flawless planning there, Tenzen.]]

** As was [[spoiler: Akeginu after Koshiro died]]
** Wait a minute, by the definition of this trope, it hardly applies on Akeginu. As for Hotarubi, we can only catch glimpses of her bordering on this trope, particularly when [[ClingyJealousGirl she quickly gets suspicious of and is about to lash out]] at Yashamaru [[spoiler:(who in truth has already been killed and is being impersonated by Saemon)]] when he voices his intent on seeing Okoi. She is ready to go ballistic at the slightest hint/mention of Yashamaru seeing someone else. Other than that she hasn't been given the chance to cross the line.

** Kasumi Gyoubu is really muscular and has to strip naked when using his power (merging himself with solid objects). He takes care of [[MrFanservice fanservice for ladies]] pretty much by himself.

* EvilEye: Gennosuke's eye technique turns his enemies' evil intent against themselves. Oboro too has her own eye technique. Even though it isn't as sinister as Gennosuke's, it's still powerful enough to render any other technique completely [[AntiMagic useless.]]

* Jerkass: Saemon's ability results in him doing some of the most awful, manipulative, things in the entire series. He gets a sympathetic point of view most of the time but he spends so much time cruelly leading people on that his death is satisfying.

** ChristopherRSabat as Kasumi Gyoubu (With BrinaPalancia as kid Gyobu)

* XMeetsY: 'RomeoAndJuliet' Meets 'NinjaScroll' gives a good impression of what the series is about.
* YourHeadAsplode. [[spoiler: Tenzen's final death.]]

[[caption-width-right:323:Romeo and Juliet, with ninjas and blood]]

The year is 1614. The Shougun TokugawaIeyasu is old and sick yet not senile, and war is about to erupt between the numerous noble factions that want to see one of his grandsons, either Takechiyo (the eldest) or Kunichiyo (the youngest), as the heir. To settle this, each group will be represented by two very powerful Ninja sects, the Kouga Manjidani (chosen to support Kunichiyo) and the Iga Tsubagakure (chosen to fight for Takechiyo), who will "compete" ([[KillEmAll yeah right]]) for their cause. However, there is a BIG problem.

The heirs of each group, [[WarriorPoet Kouga Gennosuke]] and [[YamatoNadeshiko Iga-no-Oboro]], are... [[ArrangedMarriage engaged]]. Have actually been for at least ten years. Unlike other arranged couples, though, [[StarCrossedLovers they're very much in love]] and [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage were very willing to tie the knot]]. And this engagement was settled many years ago ''specifically'' to bring peace among their clans, who have been bitter enemies for years ala RomeoAndJuliet. So, after the shaky truce is shattered, what will Oboro and Gennosuke do, as their warriors start fighting and killing each other with glee?

According to TheOtherWiki, this is the plot of Basilisk (バジリスク甲賀忍法帖, ''Basilisk Kōga Ninpō Chō''). This manga was authored by Masaki Segawa and published by Kodansha in Japan in 2003 and 2004, based on the semi-historical novel ''The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' by Futaro Yamada, published in 1958. The anime, produced in 2005 by GONZO Studios, closely follows the manga aside from a handful of distinctions. The manga itself also won the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.

Also, please check the [[Characters/{{Basilisk}} Character Sheet]]!

** The entire plot was a XanatosGambit by the shogun; he couldn't possibly lose. The nannies of his sons were in a contest for behind-the-scenes influence of the heir that was turning violent. He wanted to prevent more assassination attempts now, and spare the samurai lives that would be lost if the sons grew up to fight for inheritance. So he arranged for ninjas lives to be lost instead, offering pardons and gainful employment to the winner between two clans who already passionately wanted each other dead. The ninjas who die are fewer ninjas to worry about, the ones who live would have the cunning to remove the winning nanny. The clan heads were smart enough to know just how they were being used, but their hatred for each other was too great; the rewards for winning was just icing on the cake.

* XanatosGambit: Tenzen pulls some of these through the series. [[spoiler: We later find out that the destruction of the truce is the result of a BIG XanatosGambit of his', bordering on XanatosRoulette, that was ''this'' close to leave him as the pretty much last warrior standing in both clans, with Oboro as his puppet wife and as ManBehindTheMan for the next shogun.]] People like Danjou, Ogen, Gennosuke and Hyouma are also capable of these.

** {{R. Bruce Elliott}} as Azuki Rousai