Sengoku Basara (Production I.G.)

   While Sengoku Basara was originally a video game series by Capcom (Known for being a "crowd-fighting" action game in the vein of Koei's similarly themed Samurai Warriors series), it is here where we will talk about the anime TV series adaptation to brought it to its current level of popularity. It is also in this post that we will be focusing on the series that was produced by Production I.G. (Season 3 would instead be animated by Telecom Animation Film and in my opinion is very underrated when compared to Production I.G's own version... and so I might consider writing about them as well in the future).

Pirate Lord that surfs on his giant anchor weapon
whilst leaving a blazing trail behind him,

   Sengoku Basara's story is very loosely based on real events of the titular Sengoku era in the history of feudal Japan... and I mean: Very. Loosely. And quite frankly, I am not that all surprised, seeing as Capcom was also behind the Onimusha series, another Sengoku era themed game done in a similar style to the Resident Evil series that featured interdimensional demons bent on controlling the famous Sengoku Lords of Japan and taking over the world).

   This series has admittedly been a guilty pleasure of mine since last year, and while it is obviously not a piece of Shakespearean masterpiece, that certainly does not mean that no love was put into it (Far from it). I could go on really, but I don't want to get any more personal than I am already being about this series.

That's right, you flip that horse good, Yukimura.

   The easiest way to summarize this series is how incredibly over the top it was, and the sheer insanity and ridiculousness it was as an anime adaptation (Though, it really isn't to say that the game series is a lot tamer). Sure, another obvious reason as to why it became an even bigger media franchise than the game series it was based on was the fact that it featured a cast of nothing but eye candy and fan service (Which to me is reason why so many were unfortunately turned off by the third season, considering the slightly less appealing art style that was used, despite the fact that the studio were far more faithful to the characters' original designs from the game).

   With works like Seirei no Moribito and Ghost in the Shell, it is no surprise that Production I.G. is one of the better-known studios (If not one of top five) for its quality animation, and Sengoku Basara was thankfully not the exception. As mentioned before, in all of its over-the-top if not incredibly silly moments, the series also had some of the most well-animated fight scenes in any anime series. Whilst taking advantage of the fact that these samurai could defy gravity in this universe (Quite a far cry from Seirei no Moribito's far more realistic fighting animation), animators went all out in choreographing the craziest fight sequences (Refer to previous gif) while still somehow making it believable and of course enjoyable enough for its viewers. Aside from really nicely done weapon animation, there are lots of fun if not dynamic camera shots used in a lot of these sequences (There really is never a fight scene that is done in a flat shot). I do believe that there was one scene in one of the earlier episodes when it a completely different art and animation style was used simply to enhance the frenzy and blood thirst that was experienced between the two characters as they dueled with one another.

   And I can most certainly ALWAYS appreciate the animation of characters that are dressed in considerably detailed if not complicated clothing and/or armor. Yes, the character designs may have been simplified from its original source (The only way they could animate a character with detailed chainmail while keeping their sanity intact is to use a texture and static screen it, to be honest... and that would certainly not go with the rest of the art direction for this adaptation). I will always appreciate how shading and lighting is done in animations (Because I know how much time that takes along with coloring each frame), and this series does it absolutely beautifully without making it stand out far too much, especially when it comes to their armor pieces.

   To end it off, while this adaptation of Sengoku Basara might be questionable in terms of its story and character development (Again, this is why Season 3 has its own merits, to be honest), do watch it for its sleek character designs, amazing animation and over-the-top scenes between some of the most ridiculous samurai characters you will ever see... Also, do try to watch it in Japanese, the seiyuus did the most amazing job. This version of Date Masamune wouldn't have become so memorable if it hadn't been for all the Engrish that is thrown in there by Kazuya Nakai.

Oh. God. How could I forget about the dancing samurai...?