is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Masaki Segawa. Based on the 1958 novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' by

Futaro Yamada was the pen name of , a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story and was awarded a prize by the magazine . He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja (忍法帖 ''Ni ...

, it was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Young Magazine Uppers was a semimonthly seinen manga magazine, published in Japan from April 1, 1998, until October 19, 2004, by Kodansha. List of serialized manga * ''Piano no Mori'' by Makoto Isshiki (1998-2004), (moved to Weekly Morning after the cancellation o ...

'' from 2003 to 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 was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

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. A 24-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series by

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

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 Tensei'' in 2012. Additionally, a two-part novel sequel titled , penned by Masaki Yamada, was published in 2015 with illustrations by Segawa; a manga adaptation, , illustrated by Tatsuya Shihira with character designs by Masaki Segawa, was serialized between 2017 and 2019, and an anime adaptation by

Seven Arcs Pictures is a Japanese anime production company and former studio, established on May 31, 2002, by former Pierrot staff. The studio made its first animated television series, ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', in 2004. Since then, the company has produced a ...

aired in 2018. ''Basilisk'' won the 2004

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

for general manga.

Plot

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 , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

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 was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. 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 The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

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 clan's 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.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Masaki Segawa, ''Basilisk'' is based on the 1958 novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' by

. It was serialized in the ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

'' from February 4, 2003, to June 15, 2004. The publisher,

, collected the individual chapters into five ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes between April 30, 2003 and August 7, 2004. The manga was published in English by

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

from May 2006 to May 2007, and then digitally by

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...

in September 2014. A sequel manga series, ''Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls'', based on a 2015 novel by Masaki Yamada, with character designs by Masaki Segawa and illustrated by Tatsuya Shihira, was published in Kodansha's ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at the adult male ( ''seinen'') demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the seco ...

'' from July 24, 2017 to April 8, 2019 and collected in seven volumes.

Anime

The first series (''Basilisk: The Kōga Ninja Scrolls'') premiered in Japan on the television stations

TV Saitama abbreviated TVS, doing business as is a Japanese fee-free terrestrial commercial television broadcasting company headquartered in Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its intended coverage is Saitama Prefecture but with some sp ...

TV Kanagawa (tvk for short) is an independent television station in Japan serving Kanagawa Prefecture and parts of the Greater Tokyo Area with favorable reception. The station was founded on April 20, 1971 and began broadcasting on April 1, 1972. Its call si ...

Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neighbouring prefectures. It is a m ...

, Mie TV, KBS, AT-X, Jidaigeki Senmon Channel, and others between April and September 2005. The second series, ''Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls'', premiered in Japan on January 8, 2018. It is set 10 years after the original series and focuses on a group of young ninjas who endeavor to carry on the ninja traditions and techniques.

Notes

References

External links

Official Japanese website

Kodansha USA publishing pageOfficial Funimation website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basilisk (Manga) 2003 manga 2005 Japanese television series endings 2005 anime television series debuts Anime and manga based on novels Anime series based on manga Battle royale anime and manga Comics set in the 16th century Cultural depictions of Oda Nobunaga Del Rey Manga Historical fantasy anime and manga Funimation Kodansha manga Manga adapted into television series Martial arts anime and manga Ninja in anime and manga Odex Seinen manga Seven Arcs Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (General)