The biggest flaw of this one is that all of these characters are just killing each off one by one without developing their personalities at all and for a reason that seems like an arbitrary pretense to have them fighting. Sure the character abilities are very well developed, but I find it difficult to care about characters in a manga where I don't find myself caring all that much who lives or dies and cheer on characters based entirely upon who seems more cool this time. Even when the cooler character is the one defeated in a fight, there's no motivation to care. Although the anatomy can seem unrealistic at times, the art is still far better than the story/plot.

... Last updated on June 12th, 2011, 7:14pm

Out of curiosity I began reading basilisk, after reading Y+M (which isn't that much better).
The art is in my opinion rather grotesque, even when the characters aren't dying a horrible death. Of course the story is what's important, and in this case there isn't much of one.
The characters are thrown right in from the beginning, and they die off before anyone would even be able to establish some kind of connection to them (if you could fall in love with any of their hideous faces).
The "romance", if you can call it that, is melodramatic and I didn't sympathize for anyone.

Shallow: Lacking interest or substance.
The characters and their little magical ninja power gimmicks are boring and uninteresting-- even the large-busted naked ladies, yes-- and when one of them dies, I've asked myself: Do I care? The mangaka, whatever his name is, is terrible- terrible at establishing a connection to any of them. So, unless you yourself find some interest in them, you probably won't care if their heads are lopped off. Or you will care that they aren't being lopped. All-in-all, just not very well-though-out.

... Last updated on June 15th, 2010, 1:59am

This is truly a Romeo and Juliet story-- you have been warned.
The art is what I found most unique about this; it's very clean, especially the scenery, and I could actually TELL what was happening during fighting scenes, which was nice. It wasn't just a mess of body parts and undistinguishable shapes.
Basically this is reccomended to those who like fighting rivalries, ninjas, and a tiny bit of romance tossed in. And for those who can stand a sad ending.

It's very good. But it's got some flaws. Can't really put my finger on it but I guess it's that characters aren't really established. They're all just mean motherfuckers that want to kill each other. With some romance in between, and a few of them having a sense of justice. Throw in a conspiracy or whatever from the government and you've got this manga.

You'll like it if you like action and colorful 'ninja' abilities.

This one was just a regular remoeo and juliet story, which I totally despise. The only twist would have to be the fact that there deaths weren't accidental. Really good fighting scenes, background art, not that great; although, I really enjoyed the character art, I just hated the story.... -_-. Well If you like MASS suicide in stories this one is for you . +4 for the art +1 for the story...

This is basically a manga focused mainly on the clash of two major ninja clans and the major excitement source are the variety of techniques used. Here is a quick review:

-Art: Frankly speaking I have to heavily disagree with other people saying that the art in the manga is great. Frankly speaking the characters are drawn very mediocre and there is an overuse of computer drawn backgrounds. Usually I have not any complaint using the advances of computer for graphics... but simply the styles (characters VS background) does not match. This is not evident all the time but for me became annoying at some parts.

Plot/story: Since the main topic of the manga is the fight between the clans the main plot simply is an excuse for it. So don't expect a masterpiece regarding the plot. On the other hand the story is not as bad since you can see both sides of the behavior of the ninja clans and their relations between them. That's a good point.

Characters: Most of them are well depicted and the difference in fighting techniques/style are the major source of this manga.

Overall it is a fighting manga with a simple plot and some good depth for some of the characters.

Oh, and in this case I would recommend the anime since it follows the manga all the way around.

... Last updated on November 5th, 2008, 9:43pm

prob would be one of my favorite manga if it wasnt for the tragedy part very sad manga but im a romance freak. but seriously if you put that much time and effort and love into someone and in the end they just die its enough to make you crazy

Basilisk is a lot like Ninja Scroll. If you like Ninja Scroll, you'll probably like Basilisk. Its main flaw is that there is relatively little character development - it seems like most of the characters only exist for the sake of their special ability. The consequence is that you feel very little attachment to characters when they die and have little stake in preferring one clan to win over the other. If the author had been able to create fleshed-out, likable characters, this manga might have been great.

The fighting aspect of Basilisk is what makes it shine. The romance falls flat at times but ninja warfare is the real name of the game here, and it's a game that's played at fever pitch. Filled with intense one-on-ones in a 'tournament' sort of way, plenty of blood, guts, and insane ninja powers. There's no shortage of hot-blooded excitement. For those who want a good fight series with twists and turns, betrayals and the like, don't miss this one!