History Manga / Basilisk

* BlessedWithSuck: Every ninja has one special ability, and even though some have an ability that appears to be useless, each character uses their power to be a deadly warrior. Examples: Hotarubi has the power to summon butterflies. Jingoro has the power to turn into a liquid slime when he touches salt. Kagerou's powers are literally able to cause DeathBySex. Hyouma has a ''doujutsu'' that can kill others with a glance, but he is unable to turn it off.

* BlessedWithSuck: Every ninja has one special ability, and even though some have an ability appears to be useless, every ninja uses their power to be a deadly warrior. Examples: Hotarubi has the power to summon butterflies. Jingoro has the power to turn into a liquid slime when he touches salt. Kagerou's powers are literally able to cause DeathBySex. Hyouma has a ''doujutsu'' that can kill others with a glance, but he is unable to turn it off.

* BlessedWithSuck: Every ninja has one special ability, and even though that ability may appear to be useless, each ninja uses that power to be a deadly warrior. Examples: Hotarubi has the power to summon butterflies. Jingoro has the power to turn into a liquid slime when he touches salt. Kagerou's powers are literally able to cause DeathBySex. Hyouma has a ''doujutsu'' that can kill others with a glance, but he is unable to turn it off.

* BlessedWithSuck: Kagerou (her powers are literally able to cause DeathBySex) and Hyouma (his fatal ''doujutsu'' is very hard to control).

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel manga, ''Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new. Another sequel -- the anime series ''Anime/BasiliskTheOukaNinjaScrolls'' -- was released by Kodansha in 2018.

Fully titled ''Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'', this manga was authored by Masaki Segawa and published by Kodansha in Japan in 2003 and 2004, based on the historical fantasy novel ''The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' by Futaro Yamada, published in 1958, which also inspired ''Anime/NinjaScroll''. 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.

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel series, ''Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new. Another anime sequel series -- ''Anime/BasiliskTheOukaNinjaScrolls'' -- was released by Kodansha in 2018.

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel series, ''Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new. Another anime sequel series -- ''[[Anime/BasiliskTheOukaNinjaScrolls Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls]]'' -- was released by Kodansha in 2018.

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel series, ''Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new. Another anime sequel series -- ''Basilisk : The Ouka Ninja Scrolls'' -- was released by Kodansha in 2018.

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel series, ''Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new.

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, [[StarCrossedLovers who have been bitter enemies for years]]. So, after the shaky truce is shattered, what will Oboro and Gennosuke do, as their warriors start fighting and killing each other with glee?

* BrotherSisterIncest: The Saemon/Okoi [[{{Shipping}} ship]] has somewhat of a fan following, due to their mutual devotion.

Fully titled ''Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'', this manga was authored by Masaki Segawa and published by Kodansha in Japan in 2003 and 2004, based on the historical fantasy novel ''Literature/TheKougaNinjaScrolls'' by Futaro Yamada, published in 1958, which also inspired ''Anime/NinjaScroll''. 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.

* BlindfoldedVsion: Hyoma keeps his eyes closed at all times because he possess the Dojitsu, an ability that could kill anyone he makes eye contact with. He taught disciple Gennosuke to also fight without his eyes.

** In addition to Juubei and Koshirou, mentioned above, when [[spoiler:Gennosuke is also blinded (though temporarily, via Seven Days Ointment), he ''remains'' an effective fighter, able to trick and kill Tenzen for the third time ''and'' letting Oboro give him the coup de grace]] This is because he was ''specifically'' trained by Hyouma in case he came across an opponent that blinded him as a means to nullify the power of his eyes.]]

->''"There were those who loathed one another. Bodies rotted in the fields; souls were stained blood; and bonds were severed by blades. Sunk into darkness, sincerity cried out... to loved ones 'prepare to die'. My beloved... please die../"''

->''"There were those who loathed one another. Bodies rotted in the fields; souls were stained blood; and bonds were severed by blades. Sunk into darkness, sincereity cried out...to loved ones "prepare to die". My beloved...please die.."''

* MeaningfulName: The anime's titular namesake, the Basilisk, is a mystical creature said to be able to kill any who meet its gaze. Eye contact is the most powerful asset that the main characters have: Gennosuke can reverse the murderous intent of any who meet his eye, thus forcing them to kill themselves; and Oboro can neutralize the ninja arts of any who meet her gaze.

* {{Badass}}: In fact, with but few exceptions, almost [[WorldOfBadass all the chosen shinobi]] of the dueling clans are highly competent, their skills ranging from unusual to bizarre to horrifying.

** The anime gives more room for CharacterDevelopment and expands the backstories of several characters.

%% * AnyoneCanDie: And does.

%% * BlessedWithSuck: Kagerou and Hyouma.

%% * CombatByChampion

** In addition to Juubei and Koshirou, mentioned above, when [[spoiler:Gennosuke is also blinded (though temporarily, via Seven Days Ointment), he ''remains'' an effective fighter, able to trick and kill Tenzen for the third time ''and'' letting Oboro give him the coup de grace]].
** [[spoiler: Gennosuke is an effective fighter even when blind because he was specifically trained in case he came across an opponent that blinded him as a means to nullify the power of his eyes.]]

** Okoi from the Koga ninjas is gorgeous in an AmazonianBeauty way, and at some point we see her naked. The reason why she's in the buff, however, is that [[ShamefulStrip she's been captured by the Iga ninjas]] and almost completely at their mercy. [[spoiler: It's much, MUCH worse when she's fighting her way to freedom... but when she attacks [[PrehensileHair Mino Nenki]], he fights back ''and the still naked Okoi dies via being becoming a HumanPincushion''.]]
** Kagerou is maybe [[FemmeFatale the most beautiful of the Kogas]], but she's also a PoisonousPerson who can weaponize DeathBySex. When [[spoiler: Tenzen survives her attacks]], we have a [[NippleAndDimed very detailed]] view of Kagerou's gorgeous body... but this happens when [[spoiler: Tenzen has re-captured her to subject her to ColdBloodedTorture via ''shooting her in the torso with needles when she's bound and completely helpless'', causing her to scream in utter pain.]] And it's made even more terrible when [[spoiler: Oboro attempts to reason with Tenzen so he'll stop abusing poor Kagerou... and Tenzen replies via ''pining Oboro down and trying to rape her'' [[ForScience to see if this will trigger Kagero's powers]] upon being ForcedToWatch.]] Ewwwwww.

%% * LoveAtFirstSight: Oboro and Gennosuke.

** Kagerou on the other hand, is one of the most tragic examples ever, and with 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, and Gennosuke has to ''use his powers against 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.. And ''then'' Oboro's eyes are unsealed and dispel Kagero's poison, derailing her desperate plan right before she succumbs to her injuries and dies.]]
** Oboro [[spoiler:averts this trope for still believing in and struggling to understand Gennosuke after he (apparently) turns his back on her and after all the tragedies she has experienced from his clan, and for letting Gennosuke choose to leave her and take Kagerou with him.]]

* ButHeSoundsHandsome: Kisaragi Saemon is prone to doing this.

* HimeCut: Common, but especially Hotarubi.

* TraumaticHaircut: In the manga, Yashamaru gets his long hair cut when ambushed by the Kouga. Subverted in the anime: He did it himself after Kazamachi nailed him with his spit.

* LeftForDead: Happens quite a bit with many characters, even after [[GenreSavvy precautions are made]] [[NotQuiteDead to prevent any unpleasant surprises later]].

* AdaptationExpansion: The anime gives more room for CharacterDevelopment and expands the backstories of several characters.

* AnyoneCanDie: And does.
* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Shogen Kazamachi.

* {{Back From The Dead}}: [[spoiler: Tenzen's]] ability.

* BattleCouple: Hotarubi and Yashamaru must have been one. But the show never lets us see them actually fighting as a team.
** In the flashback episode, Yashamaru actually discourages her from EVER taking part in a battle. Insisting that it would be a shame if someone like her were to ever smell of blood.

* {{Bishonen}}: Gennosuke and Yashamaru. The latter is even described as 'very handsome' in the original novel's character sheet.

* BlessedWithSuck: Kagerou and Hyouma.

* {{Bodyguard Crush}}: Koshirou for Oboro and Kagerou for Gennosuke.
* {{Break the Cutie}}: My goodness ... poor Oboro. And to some degree, poor Kagerou. And Hotarubi, for that matter.

* TheChessmaster: Tenzen.
* ClingyJealousGirl: As mentioned, anime!Kagerou takes this to the biggest, [[MurderTheHypotenuse more dangerous extremes]], [[spoiler: and that is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the key to her downfall]].]] It's not like she's doing it without ''any'' reason other than wanting Gennosuke for herself... too bad [[BreakTheCutie her sad backstory]] was only explained [[AllThereInTheManual in the original novel]].

* CombatByChampion
* CrashIntoHello: In both anime and manga, Oboro brings some tea for Gennosuke during their first meeting as adults, but she's so nervous that she trips and dumps the tray and its contents on him.

* {{Dead Person Impersonation}}: [[spoiler: Saemon]] does this several times over the course of the series. [[spoiler: It eventually backfires on him when impersonating Tenzen who, unbeknown to him, was {{Not Quite Dead}}]]

* DisabilitySuperpower: In addition to Juubei and Koshirou, mentioned above, when [[spoiler:Gennosuke is also blinded (though temporarily, via Seven Days Ointment), he ''remains'' an effective fighter, able to trick and kill Tenzen for the third time ''and'' letting Oboro give him the coup de grace]].

* {{The Dragon}}: Koshirou for Tenzen.

* DramaticIrony: All over the place.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Oboro prefers to kill herself rather than killing Gennosuke ''and'' continue as a puppet of Ofuku. And after she dies, Gennosuke drives ''a whole squad'' to kill themselves, then stabs ''himself'' to death.]]

* EvilMatriarch: Lady Ofuku. Not exactly Takechiyo's mother (she's his wet nurse and nanny), but her [[MamaBear devotion to him]] and thirst for power are equally fierce, and she'll stop at ''nothing'' to see her adoptive son as the heir of the Tokugawa shogunate.
** In the anime, Takechiyo's birth mother Princess Oeyo also counts, [[spoiler: having arranged poor Takechiyo's death via OddPoison to favor his brother Kunichiyo.]]
* EvilPlan The entire plot was this 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.

* FanService: Akeginu fights topless whenever she can manage it, due to the [[BloodyMurder nature of her powers]]. Okoi has a fight wearing nothing but a skimpy vest. Hotarubi is mostly covered, but manages to rip her kimono and expose her legs before one fight. Kagerou has her fair share of nudity, and Oboro has a little. Of all female ninja, only the crone Ogen remains (mercifully) clothed, except for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it [[spoiler:[[IWasQuiteALooker almost-striptease in her rendezvous with former lover Danjo]]]] in the first episode.

* GoodEyesEvilEyes

* HandicappedBadass: Hyouma, [[spoiler: Koshirou and Gennosuke when he's temporarily blinded.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: In the anime, Tenzen captures and ''savagely'' tortures Kagerou after she opts to murder Oboro in her sleep rather than run away to reunite with Gennosuke; [[WhatAnIdiot if she had not stopped to kill Oboro, she would have been somewhat more likely to avoid him]]. Later, the very same princess whom Tenzen broke so much through the whole series is the key behind ''his'' (final) death.]]

* IronicHell: Ofuku, after the end.
* {{Karma Houdini}}: [[spoiler: Ofuku]] at the end.
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: Hotarubi brutally stabbing Shougen in an UnstoppableRage for not receiving the answer she needed about Yashamaru, Saemon's specially messy murder of Hotarubi herself, how Saemon and Kagerou manipulate the blinded Koshirou and kill him, Akeginu stabbing Hyouma's remains in grief for Koshirou's death, Saemon and Kagerou's murder of Akeginu, etc.]]

* {{Living Forever Is Awesome}}: [[spoiler: Tenzen, though he isn't completely immortal]]
* LoveAtFirstSight: Oboro and Gennosuke.

* MacGuffin: The scrolls, sorta.

* {{Master of Disguise}}: [[spoiler: Saemon's]] ability.

* NamesToKnowInAnime: A good chunk of the dub cast consists of some of the best voiceovers Creator/FUNimation has to offer. Just like with ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', "Every Dick and Jane is playing the lead." First let's look at the Kouga's voice talent.
** Creator/TroyBaker as Gennosuke (With Creator/LuciChristian as a kid version of him)
** Creator/ChristopherSabat as Kasumi Gyoubu (With Creator/BrinaPalencia as kid Gyobu)
** Creator/StephanieYoung as Kagerou
** Creator/JasonLiebrecht as Saemon Kisaragi
** Creator/MonicaRial as Okoi
** Creator/EricVale as Jimushi Juubei
** Creator/JohnGremillion as Muroga Hyouma
** ChrisCason as Kazamachi Shogen
*** And on the Iga front:
** Creator/LauraBailey as Oboro
** Creator/JustinCook as Yashamaru
** Creator/ColleenClinkenbeard as Hotarubi
** Creator/RBruceElliott as Azuki Rousai
** Creator/JohnBurgmeier as Chikuma Koshiro
** MarkStoddard as Tenzen
* {{Ninja}}: Well, DUH.

* {{Pet the Dog}}: Koshirou's woodcarving skills and his relationship with the flautist boy.

* 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...]]

* TechnicalPacifist: Gennosuke and Oboro.
** I'd say Gennosuke is more of a MartialPacifist, since he ''will'' defend himself if under attack even if he's not willing to throw the first slash.
*** His first aim upon discovering this plot was to go and discuss the Shogun's intentions with this war. [[spoiler: And to tell the Iga his route, to protect the people of his village.]] He's clearly out to resolve the conflict with minimal casualties.

* TheUnFavorite: Poor, poor little Takechiyo.

* UsedToBeaSweetKid: Young [[spoiler: Gyoubu]] was a simply ''adorable'' child. Then [[spoiler: his dad died]]...

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: There is a clear tendency for the more grotesque ninja ([[spoiler:Juubei, Shougen, Rousai...]]) to die first.

* WomanScorned: Hotarubi ([[spoiler: after Yashamaru's death]]), to the maximum degree.

* WouldntHitAGirl: Subversion: Saemon Kisaragi thinks it's not in him to harm a woman if he can help it, [[spoiler: but even then, he kills Hotarubi ''very'' bloodily, since she had a part in the demise of his dead little sister.]] Not to mention, almost half of the Iga and Kouga warriors are females, and they ''all'' [[StuffedIntoTheFridge die very messily]].

*** 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.]]

Fully titled ''Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'', this manga was authored by Masaki Segawa and published by Kodansha in Japan in 2003 and 2004, based on the historical fantasy novel ''Literature/TheKougaNinjaScrolls'' by Futaro Yamada, published in 1958, which also inspired ''NinjaScroll''. 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.

''Basilisk'' is followed by a sequel series, ''[[Manga/TheYagyuNinjaScrolls The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls]]'', though with only a couple exceptions the entire cast is new.

* {{Action Girl}}: Akeginu, Hotarubi, Okoi and (to a lesser extent) Kagerou.