The Hakkenden (Legend of the Dog Warriors)

Reviewed By: Carolyn Garner

Pioneer DVD

Review based on episodes 1-13 English dub

Rating 16 and up

What it’s (basically) all about: During the Japanese feudal wars the Satomi clan of the tiny province of Awa face annihilation by a rival clan backed by demonic forces.  The Satomi clan is saved by the family dog that brings back the head of the enemy warlord, but demands the hand in marriage of Fuse, the Satomi lord’s daughter.  The unnatural union bears fruit (spiritually speaking), by Fuse and the dog are killed and their eight unborn pups are reincarnated as the Hakkenshi (hak=eight, ken=dog, shi=warrior).  These eight warriors are also imbued with the eight virtues of bushido, as illustrated with a bead that each of them carries (ko/filial piety, gi/righteousness; chū/loyalty; shin/faith; tei/brotherhood; jin/sympathy; chi/wisdom; and rei/courtesy).  During the course of the series, the reincarnated souls travel their separate paths of violence and retribution, slowly joining together to become a group powerful enough to slay the demons and redeem their clan.

Nitty Gritty: The Hakkenden is a three disc set based on the epic novel Nansoo Satomi Hakkenden written by Kyokutei Bakin during the latter half of the Edo Period. At 106 volumes, the novel bears the distinction of being the longest novel in classic Japanese literature.  At a running time of 420 minutes, sometimes the series feels like the longest anime.

The Hakkenden is known for its unique switches between distinct visual styles throughout the series and even within single episodes.  I saw very realistic depictions of humans and animals paired often with a more shorthand style of drawing that’s usually more at home in a comedy series.  Symbolic imagery and themes, like the beads and the character of Aboshi as an extension of the warriors own psyches, are used extensively in the series, blurring the line between animation and art.

The series is also known for re-examining concepts like feudal loyalty and devotion through a modern perspective during many of the conflicts in the story.  This is seen clearly in the triangle of Shino, Hamaji, and Doosetsu.  If Shino had not carried out his characteristic of filial devotion to its illogical conclusion, he might have noticed that Aboshi had switched the Murasame sword and therefore save Hamaji’s life.  And if Doosetsu had not let his loyalty turn to a reckless sort of revenge, he might not have killed Hamaji.

The English dub includes very little language to watch out for, a “damn” here and there, and a few variations on “whore.”

Sexual situations are not explicit and are confined to Keno’s ambiguous sexuality in his disguise as Asakeno and talk of affairs, concubines, and the like.

Special features on Disc Three include a character gallery, noncredit opening and closing sequences, DVD credits, and the Hakkenden Digest, an abridged version of the entire series.  I thought the digest (especially with an overly long music video) was more like padding, rather than preview/review.  There wasn’t any bad language, as it was mostly narrated, but violence and gore was as explicit as in the full series.

Survey says: From the beginning this is a rather gory story, with lots of blood sprays, hacked off limbs, and gruesome deaths due to swords and demons alike.  The creep factor of a “marriage of the heart” with a dog and some of the demonic encounters might also alienate some younger viewers (and their parents), so I would add it to an adult collection.

Personal Ad:  I’m a complete sucker for anime based on novels or short stories because I like to see if the visualization will go in an unexpected direction.  With manga-based anime, I usually have a strong expectation of how the anime will look and develop over time.  The cel animation in The Hakkenden is also very nostalgic in a “sit around with your friends for hours watching fansubs” kind of way.