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Legend of the Dog Warriors - Hakkenden Actor: Dog Warriors-Hakkenden Number of Items: 3 Picture Format: Academy Ratio Format: Color, Animated, Box set Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 420 minutes Studio: Pioneer Video Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-10-09 Buy from Amazon |
 "Who says history can't kick butt?"The Hakkenden animated series is based on a very old Japanese novel (Nanso Satomi Hakkenden) that has a story that is anything but out-dated. It has historical dates and figures in it but has a fair dossage of supernatural bad guys and great action sequences. The simplified plot is that a Japanese Lord's daughter is forced to marry her pet dog that saved her province from an overly-oppressive Shogun. This was because the Lord jokingly said to the dog that if he killed the Shogun, he could have his daughter's hand in marriage. After living with the dog for many years, she released eight spirits from a beaded necklace when she died. These spirits would later become known as the Eight Dog Warriors. I really liked the first video in this series. The story can be mighty hard to follow at times but it's obvious there is a very good plot in the works early on. The animation is good and not so good depending on the part of the show. Talking scenes and more idle moments in the show tend to have animation of a questionable quality. Once the fight scenes kick in however, it is top notch! So if you are already a fan of anime and are looking for something with more of a historical slant to it and a very complex story, then the Hakkenden is just what you're looking for. "Superb!"This sure is a great series and you can be sure that the ending will have you biting your nails of. The conflict betwen the dog brothers is what I liked best about these episodes. Some questions are answered just to be replaced by a bunch of new ones. The only thing I want to complain about is that the series is too short. We never got to know all the dog warriors well enough. "Animation which deserves recognition"Yeah Samurai movies in Japan are like cowboy movies for us. Great animation, story, and depth makes this series a classic. This movie is a must for fans of the samurai genre. Many people may feel that animation is for children but this is definitly not your saturday morning cartoon. The Hakkenden is based on a story written two centuries ago and has an authentic feel. |
