Ranked #471

Sengoku BASARA

Story.
It's very simple and easy to understand, it's far from being complex and it doesn't try to be. Characters are introduced in a battle with minimal background information.
However, the timesetting and some of the elements that appear are a bit odd but they were added to make it look even better. You shouldn't think of this as a historical anime or you won't like it.

Art.
I liked the art, it looked nice, and the effects used during combat scenes added an extra touch to it.

Sound.
Intro and endings were nice and I was never once disturbed by the background music meaning they did a good job. Use the music to magnify the events that are taking place and focus your attention on that and not on the music playing.

Character.
I have no idea how well they match the historical people that they were based on but each was interesting in its own way. Also the fact that while they all liked and respected each other, they still fought each other was something refreshing. They somewhat match the general idea one would have from that time. And some of them were given elements from the current time to amplify their personality. Like date's horse that looked like a motorcycle, the yakuza like army...

Enjoyment.
The whole show wasn't made to improve your knowledge of that time or anything like that. It was made for pure enjoyment. If you like some epic battles without complex background information and such, this might be the show for you. Since the series is only 12 episodes long, the story doesn't have time for sidestories, detailed backgrounds,.. I liked this series so much because I could just watch and enjoy without having to think over some things.

Overall.
I liked the series, If you want a good short action serie. This is your thing. Don't be fooled by the historical tag, It might've been based on that but I wouldn't study for a history exam with this or you will fail. If you ever liked bleach, naruto,.. but you hated the fillers, the dramatic flashbacks in the past to explain something and just wished they'd get on with the battle. Then watch this for a few hours of simple enjoyment. read more

Sengoku Basara is a shōnen anime set during the Sengoku Jidai, or ‘Warring States period’ of Japanese history, and is based on Capcom’s Playstation 2 video game Devil Kings (known as Sengoku Basara in Japan). It should be noted that Sengoku Basara is a world away from the period it draws its inspiration from – it's not historically accurate by any means. That said, a few features associated with the period, such as the rivalry between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, and the Oda clan’s use of firearms, are present. The characters, for the most part, are all taken from the era, although the manner in which they are presented is obviously highly fictionalized.

Sengoku Basara is a fairly typical tale of good versus evil. Initially it may not seem so simple, as we are presented with many factions fighting for control over Japan. Eventually though, they come together to fight a common enemy, namely Oda Nobunaga, who, as in Capcom’s Onimusha franchise, is presented as some sort of evil demon. The story itself isn’t complex, with no real plot twists to speak of. Spanning a total of 12 episodes, the series does a decent job of wrapping things up within its time limit, although it can feel rushed at times.

There isn’t really anything memorable in the music department. The only thing that is really worthy of mention is the opening theme, "Jap" by Japanese rock band Abingdon Boys School, which does a great job of capturing the crazy style of the series. The voice work is top notch for the most part, with the only notable mild annoyance being the character of Oichi, whose deliberately pathetic voice gets tedious after a while.

As you can probably tell from the poster, there are a lot of characters in Sengoku Basara; and for an anime of its length, this isn’t something that works to its advantage. Perhaps inevitably, character development is not one of its strong points, and this is one area where the anime can seem rushed. This is a shame, as we are introduced to several interesting characters such as Chōsokabe Motochika, the so called 'Demon of Onigashima', only for them to receive almost no screen time and end up as reinforcements for the more prominent characters during the final battle. Equally disappointing is that some characters that feature heavily, such as the ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, aren't really given any significant fights of their own. You may even find yourself waiting for a confrontation between a pair of characters, only to be disappointed when it never happens.

As far as the characters go; they’re a varied bunch, with Date Masamune being perhaps the most interesting of the lot. Arrogant with the strength to back it up and full of ridiculous one liners like ‘put ya guns on!’, it’s no surprise that he has been likened to Capcom’s Dante, the protagonist of Capcom’s Devil May Cry franchise. One other notable aspect of his character is that he incorporates English into his speech, which is as unique as it is refreshing. On the other side of the spectrum, we have Oichi; a character whose pathetic demeanor can become irritating, unless of course eternally depressed characters are your cup of tea. Likewise, listening to Yukimura as he reminds us that he’s burning with passion can become a monotonous chore.

An anime set during times of war, it's no surprise that most of the enjoyment from this series comes from its many battles, which are often utterly ridiculous: both action-wise and visually. One swing of an axe causing a tornado, a robot samurai with a jet pack and a massive drill as a weapon - the list goes on.

One final thing to note about Sengoku Basara (for you blood and gore enthusiasts) is that the violence is extremely modest and almost annoyingly so. Maybe I’ve just seen too many Seinen gore fests, but even by shōnen standards, the blood-levels are rather low. I found myself becoming more and more disappointed with the battles because of this. Rest assured, however, that the modest violence exhibited by this series doesn’t at all mean that there aren’t any deaths. On the other hand, if this sort of stuff doesn't bother you in the slightest, you'll be fine.

Summary:

+/- Interesting presentation of the Warring States period. If you know a thing or two about the period, you'll probably squeeze more enjoyment out of it (unless historical inaccuracies put you off).

+/- Series is short in length but has a large, varied cast of characters. As a result, character development isn't a highlight.

- One or two annoying characters (or possibly more/(less), depending on what you're definition of annoying is).

+/- Modest levels of violence.

Conclusion:

Overall, Sengoku Basara is OK. Some of the characters may be annoying, the level of violence isn’t all it could be, character development isn’t great, and the final confrontation is arguably a letdown, but ultimately, I'm sure some of you will find it entertaining. In general, if you think a guy wielding six swords at the same time (only two hands...) is just plain awesome, you might wanna give this one a try.

Final Score: 7/10 (Just OK) read more