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REVIEW: Basilisk DVD 1




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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
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Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:50 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Unfortunately FUNimation also continues their recent practice of front-loading an unskippable promo, so a viewer is obligated to wait through a couple of minutes of it every time they pop in the DVD. Although it may be a respectable advertising scheme, it’s also quite annoying after the first time.
Not necessarily--all you have to do is press the Title button on the remote and switch to some other title number--if that doesn't get you to the menu, it'll be some episode or extra, in which case the Menu button will get you back to the menu. That's what I usually do, though I just re-tested on Kodocha Vol. 7 and pressing Title took me straight to the menu without any further steps.

Hmm, I'd generally grouped Basilisk along with Trinity Blood and Speed Grapher as a "violent Gonzo series released by Funimation" series that I didn't really care to see, but maybe I'll wait on the second volume review and see how it goes--it seems a bit better than my general impressions of it.
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sabriyahm



Joined: 24 May 2005
Posts: 291
Location: Georgia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:17 am Reply with quote
I watched these four episodes on IFC and I agree with the review. The series seems to have a lot of potential. I am a bit displeased that the dub strays though. I prefer to watch anime in subtitles but infortunately IFC doesn't have that option.
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Huntsman



Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:37 pm Reply with quote
Basilisk is one of the best anime I've ever seen. I've seen every episode. The ending is the best and one of the most tear jerking episodes I've seen. I actually was crying my eyes out, and that's rare for me. I might shed a tear or two, but this just hit me. The story in a great kind of like a Japanese version of Romeo and Juliet. The animation is out of this world, and the fights are make you feel like your there in the battle. I'm going to have to update my top 10 anime. I haven't done that in almost two years. Razz Razz Razz Razz
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halochief_90



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:42 pm Reply with quote
I have to say the music does get much better in later episodes; even if you think some plot points are a bit predictable, the music does set the tone very well. Visually, Basilisk may be the best-looking TV series anime I've seen (there are some really good looking scenes when rain and fog gets involved).

Excellent review, probably what I would have given it (eh, maybe A-...). I strongly agree with the tense, "Who's next to go" mentality and the creativity for the character designs (though given the varied styles between them, there are probably a few anyone won't like).
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:51 pm Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
Hmm, I'd generally grouped Basilisk along with Trinity Blood and Speed Grapher as a "violent Gonzo series released by Funimation" series that I didn't really care to see, but maybe I'll wait on the second volume review and see how it goes--it seems a bit better than my general impressions of it.


Basilisk is a better series than both - far better technical merits and writing quality than Speed Grapher and a better and more coherent story than Trinity Blood. If you're only going to watch one of the three, watch Basilisk.

The vol. 2 review is scheduled for late next week.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:04 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Gonzo does deserve credit for being at least a bit creative with others


Not unless Gonzo changed them from the source material. Basilisk is an adaption of a manga series, so the credit goes to the manga creator or the author of the novel which the manga was (loosely, I believe) based on.

While I have the first volume (and LE box) sitting on my shelf, I haven't gotten around to watching it. But I enjoyed Speed Grapher a lot, so if this is even better, then it sounds like I've made a good purchase.
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El Oso



Joined: 20 Dec 2004
Posts: 105
Location: Rummaging through camp sites.
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:04 pm Reply with quote
I gotta admit, my favorite parts of Basilisk are when somebody gets killed. While not all the deaths are memorable, some are simply awesome and a couple are pretty heart-wrenching.

HitokiriShadow wrote:
Quote:
Gonzo does deserve credit for being at least a bit creative with others


Not unless Gonzo changed them from the source material.

They didn't. The techniques and character designs are identical to the manga.
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2260
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:13 pm Reply with quote
This made me lol

Quote:
And yes, that’s Laura “Can You Tell It’s Me” Bailey in another one of her nearly-unrecognizable performances as the soft-spoken Oboro. (Is there any other current English VA with better vocal flexibility?)


She seems like the perfect fit for this show, then. She's a voice ninja! :3
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Zalis116
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:55 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Basilisk is a better series than both - far better technical merits and writing quality than Speed Grapher and a better and more coherent story than Trinity Blood. If you're only going to watch one of the three, watch Basilisk.

The vol. 2 review is scheduled for late next week.
Now that I think about it, I saw some promos and packaging material for Basilisk at a Funi panel this summer, and it looked pretty intriguing. And now, I guess this review and the posts on this thread have won me over. After all, any series that draws tears from the made-of-stone types is bound to have a magnified effect on me, and Funi's presentation seems close to top-of-the-line. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Rightstuf's running a Funimation sale at the moment Anime smile Now, to find the only-three-months-old-yet-rare Vol.1 + box somewhere out in the field, since Rightstuf doesn't have it anymore. I don't think I've ever gone wrong in buying based on Key's reviews, so FUNimation wins some more of my cash on this series.
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kolibri



Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Posts: 712
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:31 pm Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
Quote:
Unfortunately FUNimation also continues their recent practice of front-loading an unskippable promo, so a viewer is obligated to wait through a couple of minutes of it every time they pop in the DVD. Although it may be a respectable advertising scheme, it’s also quite annoying after the first time.
Not necessarily--all you have to do is press the Title button on the remote and switch to some other title number--if that doesn't get you to the menu, it'll be some episode or extra, in which case the Menu button will get you back to the menu. That's what I usually do, though I just re-tested on Kodocha Vol. 7 and pressing Title took me straight to the menu without any further steps.

That depends on your DVD player, actually. FUNimation has designed these so that a "respectable" DVD player won't let you skip the promos (like my Sony) - usually these are just the FBI warnings and such but FUNi is using this feature to annoy us. But some DVD player manufacturers are not so strict and let you skip the "unskippable" warnings/promos (like my LG).
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NGE1113



Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1081
Location: Alexandria, VA.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:42 pm Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
Quote:
Unfortunately FUNimation also continues their recent practice of front-loading an unskippable promo, so a viewer is obligated to wait through a couple of minutes of it every time they pop in the DVD. Although it may be a respectable advertising scheme, it’s also quite annoying after the first time.
Not necessarily--all you have to do is press the Title button on the remote and switch to some other title number--if that doesn't get you to the menu, it'll be some episode or extra, in which case the Menu button will get you back to the menu. That's what I usually do, though I just re-tested on Kodocha Vol. 7 and pressing Title took me straight to the menu without any further steps.


Actually, on the three DVD players I've owned so far, all I've done is hit the 'stop' button then press 'menu,' and it takes me straight to the title menu.

The title itself seems intriguing enough, but with Ergo Proxy, Fate / Stay Night, and Hellsing Ultimate around the corner (plus a backlog from the Right Stuf Geneon sale), I guess I'll be waiting for a box set.
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indrik



Joined: 22 Jul 2006
Posts: 365
Location: yonder
PostPosted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:54 pm Reply with quote
This strikes me as a barely useful post before I even start, but here I go anyway.

On my dvd player and the playstation, I can skip the Funi front ads by hitting either the "menu" or the "top menu" button, but I don't remember which one. There is nothing worse, though, than a small child screaming to watch some movie and then screaming about sitting through the ads for movies that she doesn't want to see while you can't skip them. I don't remember who did that, but it prompted a really nasty letter that I'm sure hurt somebody's feelings and did nothing to solve the actual problem.
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