The Hakkenden is a six-tape, twelve part OAV series. I've only got the first three
tapes, but so far the series is amazing! I shit you not, this a must buy for anyone
who is interested in an anime with a fabulous story.

So far as I've been able to surmise, the series is the chronicle of eigth dog warriors
The first episode is a description of how these warriors came to be, and it's told in
the fashion that one would tell a legend or a myth. I'm still trying to sort out what
everything in it means exactly. So far that I can tell, to defeat an evil sorcerer-emperor,
a Japanese warlord tells his dog that if he kills the emperor, then he will give the mutt
his daughter's hand in marriage. Suffice it to say, the dog kills the sorcerer, and the
warlord has no choice but to concede. His daughter flees with the dog into the mountains,
where they live. The dog mates with her in her sleep. In the mean time her former love
has set out to find her and kill the dog. He accidentally kills her as well. As she dies
she makes him promise to live and reverse the curse which has been placed upon her house.
She then proceeds to cut her belly, and eight spirit beads fly from her necklace into the
night sky, beginning the legend of the eight dog warriors.

Now, I'm not quite certain what the series is all about. By episode six, the aforementioned
princess, Fuse, has appeared one more time. And then there's the issue of the villain, Samojiro
Aboshi, who is described as an evil sorcerer on the back of one of the video boxes, though I
suspect something much more demonic. The story is fabulous, unfolding so gradually that
by the end of the sixth episode the story still isn't entirely clear. It's intriguing to
watch it unfold, and you always find yourself wanting more.

Now that we've dealt with the story aspect of this anime, let's examine the animation aspect.
As you can see, I've got two different sets of stars for the animation. That's because
the animation for this series leaves something to be desired, at times. That's not to say
that it's complete garbage! Heavens, no! At times (like on the first and third tapes) the
animation far surpasses everything else I've reviewed so far on this page (there's a sword-
fight in the very first episode between one of the dog warriors and some ghouls that you simply
must see to believe). Unfortunately, and most notably on the second tape, the drawings tend
to be flat and seemingly two-dimensional instead of giving the illusion of three dimensions.
But, even the second tape shines through, with some of the fastest, most amazing fight sequences
I've seen in a while.

Do you like anime that's story driven? Then rent this. Ah, hell, forget renting, just go out
and buy it! It's more than worth it. Much more than worth it. Dubbed or subbed, it doesn't
matter (I've the dubbed, and for once all the voices fit and the music and sound hasn't suffered
much if at all). Just check it out!

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