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Basilisk (manga)

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Basilisk
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Kouga Gennosuke
バジリスク〜甲賀忍法帖〜
(Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls)
Genre
Manga
Written byMasaki Segawa [ja]
Published byKodansha
English publisher
MagazineYoung Magazine Uppers
DemographicSeinen
Original runFebruary 2003 – July 2004
Volumes5
Anime television series
Directed byFumitomo Kizaki
Produced by
  • Hidemasa Arai
  • Hideyuki Nanba
Written byYasuyuki Mutō
Music byKō Nakagawa
StudioGonzo
Licensed byCrunchyroll[a]
Original networkTV Saitama, TV Kanagawa, Chiba TV, KBS, AT-X
English network
Original run April 12, 2005 – September 20, 2005
Episodes24 (List of episodes)
Sequel

Basilisk (Japanese: バジリスク〜甲賀忍法帖〜, Hepburn: Bajirisuku ~Kōga Ninpō Chō~, lit. Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls) is a Japanese manga series by Masaki Segawa [ja], based on Futaro Yamada's 1958 novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Young Magazine Uppers from February 2003 to July 2004. The story takes place in the year 1614. Two ninja clans, Iga of Tsubagakure and the Kouga of Manjidani, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. The deadly competition between ten elite ninja from each clan unleashes a centuries-old hatred that threatens to destroy all hope for peace between them.

Del Rey Manga licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America; they published five volumes from May 2006 to May 2007. After Del Rey Manga's license expired, in September 2014, Kodansha USA acquired the license for print and digital in North America.

A 24-episode anime television series by Gonzo was broadcast in Japan from April to September 2005. Segawa continued producing serialized adaptations of Futaro Yamada's novels with The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls in 2005, Yama Fu-Tang in 2010 and Jū: Ninpō Makai Tenshō in 2012. Additionally, a two-part novel sequel, titled Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls, penned by Masaki Yamada with illustrations by Segawa, was published in November and December 2015.

Basilisk won the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.

Plot

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See also: List of Basilisk characters

At the dawn of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period (the late 16th century) two rival ninja clans, the Iga Tsubagakure and Kouga Manjidani, are engaged in a bitter blood feud that has spanned for centuries. The fighting finally ends when Hattori Hanzō the 1st succeeds in forging a cease fire between the two clans by conscripting both into the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu (the man who seized power to become shogun and form Japan's first truly stable form of centralized government). Regardless, hostilities and bad blood remain between Kouga and Iga, ensuring a tenuous co-existence at best.

Fast forward to the year 1614; Ieyasu has retired from power (although he still wields considerable influence within the government) and passed the torch to his son Hidetada. Unfortunately, a succession dispute has risen concerning which of Ieyasu's grandsons are destined to take up the reins of power when their father finally decides to step down. The various government retainers are beginning to take sides and the Tokugawa Shogunate is on the verge of tearing itself apart.

In order to solve the problem before it spirals out of control, Ieyasu orders the no hostilities pact between Kouga and Iga canceled and promptly commands each clan to send 10 of their best ninja to enter a ruthless and bloody competition of kill or be killed. Each clan will represent one of the two factions supporting Ieyasu's grandsons; the names of their selected fighters recorded on two identical scrolls to be marked out in blood upon their death. The clan that slays the chosen ten of the other will be given favor for a thousand years while the grandson they represent will be pronounced the undisputed heir to the Shogunate.

Prior to the conflicts renewal, Kouga and Iga's two young heirs (Gennosuke and Oboro respectively) were betrothed to each other in the hopes that their union would finally dispel their clans' long-seated animosity toward each other. Forced headlong onto separate sides of a conflict they want no part of, Gennosuke and Oboro must now choose whether to kill the person they love or lead their entire clan to annihilation.

Media

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Manga

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Basilisk was serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine Uppers from February 2003 to July 2004.[5][6] The publisher, Kodansha, collected the individual chapters into five tankōbon volumes between April 30, 2003, and August 7, 2004.[7][8]

In December 2004 it was announced that the series was licensed for English release in North America by Del Rey Manga.[9][10] The company released the first volume of the series with several hiatuses on May 30, 2006,[11][12][13] and continued until the release of the fifth and final volume on May 29, 2007.[14] Tanoshimi published the manga in the UK.[15] Kodansha USA released the manga digitally from September 2 to September 9, 2014.[16][17][18] In September 2023, the digital manga platform Azuki added Basilisk to its service.[19]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 30, 2003[7]978-4-06-346197-8May 30, 2006[13] (Del Rey Manga)
September 2, 2014[17] (digital, Kodansha USA)		978-0-34-548270-9 (Del Rey Manga)
978-0-34-548270-9 (Kodansha USA)
2 September 13, 2003[20]978-4-06-346212-8August 1, 2006[21] (Del Rey Manga)
September 2, 2014[22] (digital, Kodansha USA)		978-0-34-548271-6 (Del Rey Manga)
978-0-34-548271-6 (Kodansha USA)
3 January 18, 2004[23]978-4-06-346233-3December 12, 2006[24] (Del Rey Manga)
September 2, 2014[25] (digital, Kodansha USA)		978-0-34-548272-3 (Del Rey Manga)
978-0-34-548272-3 (Kodansha USA)
4 April 8, 2004[26]978-4-06-346238-8February 27, 2007[27] (Del Rey Manga)
September 2, 2014[28] (digital, Kodansha USA)		978-0-34-549046-9 (Del Rey Manga)
978-0-34-549046-9 (Kodansha USA)
5 August 7, 2004[8]978-4-06-346246-3May 29, 2007[14] (Del Rey Manga)
September 9, 2014[18] (digital, Kodansha USA)		978-0-34-549047-6 (Del Rey Manga)
978-0-34-549047-6 (Kodansha USA)

Anime

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See also: List of Basilisk episodes

The first series, Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls, produced by Gonzo premiered in Japan on the television stations TV Saitama, TV Kanagawa, Chiba TV, Mie TV, KBS and Mie TV between April and September 2005.[29][6][30] In June 2005, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they had acquired the series,[4][31] released the series as DVD volumes between 2006 and 2007 and released again on Blu-ray in 2009 and 2015.[32]

Reception

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Basilisk won the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.[33][9] By July 2017, the manga had over 1.7 million copies in circulation.[34]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Formerly known as Funimation.

References

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  1. ^ "Basilisk". Funimation. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  2. ^ "Basilisk". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Kimlinger, Carl (February 25, 2007). "Basilisk DVD 4 - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  4. ^ a b DeMott, Rick (June 7, 2005). "FUNimation Finds Basilisk Anime Series". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021. BASILISK can also be seen as a new take on the martial arts 'tournament' genre since ten representatives from two ninja clans fight to the death.
  5. ^ "Basilisk su VVVVID e per il futuro altre serie..." AnimeClick (in Italian). March 14, 2015. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Editorial Ivrea licencia Basilisk The Kouga Ninja Scrolls". RamenParaDos (in Spanish). November 16, 2022. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  7. ^ a b バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～（１） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  8. ^ a b バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～（５） ＜完＞ (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "TWO NEW DEL REY MANGA RELEASES". ICv2. December 10, 2004. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (December 7, 2004). "New Del Rey Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (May 12, 2005). "Basilisk Delayed or Canceled". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "DEL REY SHRINKWRAPPING MATURE TITLES". ICv2. December 11, 2005. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Basilisk 1". Del Rey Manga. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Basilisk 5". Del Rey Manga. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tanoshimi (Del Ray) UK manga release dates". Anime UK News. May 1, 2006. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 19, 2017). "Basilisk Sequel Novels Get TV Anime, Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Basilisk, Volume 1". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Basilisk, Volume 5". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (September 14, 2023). "Azuki Adds Over 300 Volumes from 77 Kodansha Manga Series". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  20. ^ バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～（２） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Basilisk 2". Del Rey Manga. Archived from the original on February 22, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "Basilisk, Volume 2". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  23. ^ バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～（３） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  24. ^ "Basilisk 3". Del Rey Manga. Archived from the original on September 17, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "Basilisk, Volume 3". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  26. ^ バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～（４ (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  27. ^ "Basilisk 4". Del Rey Manga. Archived from the original on September 16, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  28. ^ "Basilisk, Volume 4". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  29. ^ バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～ (in Japanese). Gonzo. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  30. ^ 【アニメ今日は何の日？】4月12日はTVアニメ『バジリスク ～甲賀忍法帖～』第1話「相思相殺」が放送された日！ 甲賀の弦之介と伊賀の朧、二人の愛の行方は……. animate Times (in Japanese). April 12, 2020. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  31. ^ "FUNIMATION NABS 'BASILISK' RIGHTS". ICv2. June 6, 2005. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  32. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 27, 2017). "Basilisk Manga's Sequel Novel Gets Manga in July". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  33. ^ Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  34. ^ 「バジリスク～甲賀忍法帖～」の10年後を描く新章「桜花忍法帖」TVアニメ化決定！. nlab.itmedia.co.jp (in Japanese). July 22, 2017. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
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