English Dub Review: Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls “The Heavenly Robe Sees Carnage”

These episode names are starting to get weird.

Overview (Spoilers below)

Soldiers are marching to Murakumo castle, intent on destroying the sinister fortress before it can cause any trouble in the area. Watching those soldiers are the Kouga and Iga clan ninjas, taking stock of what events might come if the soldiers level Murakumo to the ground. They’re soon interrupted, though, by Hodaibo, who apparently Namenba already knows. He catches everyone up to speed on what Joujin’s master plan is: To plunge Japan into a civil war by reviving Oda Nobunaga from the dead. He proposes that the ninjas assist him and his master in stopping Joujin from destroying all of Japan, but the other ninjas are skeptical about the prospect. Such a duplicitous figure is hard to trust.

Later, the ninjas all take the time to talk out what it would mean to have the ninjas be in service once again, and the prospects of helping Hodaibo out. But soon, Saizou, Hibiki, and Shichigen are off to see what goes down in the battle at Murakumo castle.

Soon, the army is gathered and ready to besiege the castle. A heavyweight hangs in the air, as everyone is drawn to see what unfolds. Our old friend Tadanaga is inside the with Joujin; panicking, as he usually is. Joujin reveals that though the enemy may be strong, their weaponry is nothing compared to the cannons built into the castle. Soon, said cannons are armed and ready and begin to bombard the approaching army with powerful cannon fire. Its unlike anything Japan has ever seen. Within minutes, the army is completely leveled, and Tadanaga is completely stunned at the sight.

Meanwhile, Namenba has a flashback where she saved a young noble in a fallen castle from her demise. Using her flying magic, she soared through the angelically as she delivered her charge to safety. Later, she comes across a nearly dead soldier who had witnessed her flight. In a moment of tenderness, Namenbo witnesses the man’s last wishes: to fly on that angel’s wings through the pale of the sky. She grants his wish, by stabbing him in the chest and ending his life.

Back in the present, Namenba joins in on the strategy meeting the ninjas are having to plan their assault on Murakumo. Their plan is to destroy the castle’s defensive cannons with dynamite, then assault the castle. However, they don’t know what forces the Joujinshuu might have at their disposal, making the plan very risky. At this comment, Negoro reveals that Hodaibo is hiding outside. He comes in and offers to reveal the information he knows about the Joujinshuu and their powers.

Then we see the shoguns of Japan discussing the defeat of the army at Murakumo. They start to panic, but Tenkai assures them that all will be well, and they should wait for good news. And good news might soon be on the way, as Hodaibo remarks back at the village to a messenger that the ninjas have agreed to help Tenkai in his mission. He also notes that if they cannot save Tadanaga from his madness, then he must summarily be killed. Things come to a close as we see Joujin in the dungeon of Murakumo, getting ready to release some kind of incredibly powerful prisoner to aid in their fight against the ninja.

Our Take:

This episode has actually been a refreshing change of pace from most episodes of Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls. It was decently paced, brought together a lot of loose character threads into a setup for what might be a pretty cool climax to the series. I enjoyed the tender emotional moment Namenba had, which served to be quite moving and a real boon to this episode. It looks like things are about to go down, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out next week.