Product Details

• Actors: Ken Kramer, Ward Perry, Paul Dobson, Matt Hill, Matthew Smith
• Directors: Michael Dobson, Takashi Anno
• Writers: Bakin Kyokutei, Shô Aikawa
• Producers: Naoju Nakamura, Toru Miura, Yasuo Hasegawa
• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• VHS Release Date: May 28, 1996
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304175884
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,161 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on a serial novel by Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848), The Hakkenden is a sprawling samurai epic with supernatural elements. During the civil wars of the 15th century, Lord Satomi offers his daughter's hand to whomever brings him the head of a rival lord. His dog Yatsufusa appears with the head, and Princess Fuse insists on honoring the bargain. Although Fuse and Yatsufusa are killed in the first episode, they set the karma in motion for a group of eight warriors. These disparate ronin are linked to eight crystal beads from Fuse's shattered Buddhist rosary, each of which is inscribed with one of the traditional Confucian virtues: Brotherly Affection, Filial Piety, Faith, Loyalty, Wisdom, Proper Form, Duty, Sympathy.

Although the Dog Warriors share a common destiny, they usually act in twos and threes, rather than as a group, when they battle corrupt and drunken lords, ghost-soldiers, a cat-demon, and the spell cast by an enchanted flute. The tangled story line offers the requisite duels, battles, tearful separations, reunions, and defiant stances, plus a number of otherworldly visions, including a mysterious figure with a scarlet parasol, the magic beads, crimson pinwheels, and a blizzard of symbolic cherry blossom petals. Although the look of the film is often rich, the animation is extremely uneven, with the appearance of the characters sometimes changing within individual scenes. The results land somewhere between Samurai X: The Motion Picture and Sword for Truth. Rated 16 Up: Graphic violence, grotesque imagery, sexual situations, minor profanity. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who says history can't kick butt?, February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hakkenden 1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Hakkenden animated series is based on a very old Japanese novel (Nanso Satomi Hakkenden) that has a story that is anything but out-dated. It has historical dates and figures in it but has a fair dossage of supernatural bad guys and great action sequences. The simplified plot is that a Japanese Lord's daughter is forced to marry her pet dog that saved her province from an overly-oppressive Shogun. This was because the Lord jokingly said to the dog that if he killed the Shogun, he could have his daughter's hand in marriage. After living with the dog for many years, she released eight spirits from a beaded necklace when she died. These spirits would later become known as the Eight Dog Warriors.

I really liked the first video in this series. The story can be mighty hard to follow at times but it's obvious there is a very good plot in the works early on. The animation is good and not so good depending on the part of the show. Talking scenes and more idle moments in the show tend to have animation of a questionable quality. Once the fight scenes kick in however, it is top notch!

So if you are already a fan of anime and are looking for something with more of a historical slant to it and a very complex story, then the Hakkenden is just what you're looking for.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An authentic Feudal Japanese anime, August 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Hakkenden 1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first thing that hits you about this series is it's atmosphere. Based on a 200 year old novel, and set in the Feudal era of Japan, this series drips of the mysticism and and deadly grace of that era, with it's haunting background music, it's bloody sword battles and war scenes, and it's defined characters. The story is unusual; two clans are at war; the Satomi and Anza. The Satomi is at a brutal disadvantage, and in desperation and jest, the lord of the Satomi clan makes a pact with his dog. The result is amazing; among other things, it includes a curse, prayer-beads and eight warriors who we are yet to meet, and who are yet to meet each other. All this is made pretty clear in the first 1/2 hour episode of the series; what really keeps blowing me away is just how much of the plot is fitted in to each episode. Even after just episode one, the cares of the Satomi clan became my own. So, why didn't it get five stars then? Well, for all it's wonderful plot, the animation was a bit cruddy at places. I read somewhere that a lot of different creators took turns in producing each episode, and there are marked differences in the quality from episode to episode, even within an episode. When the quality is good, it really is something to behold, but when it's not....UGH!! -_-;; However, don't let that deter you, if you're into anime with a strong plot and diverse and equally strong characters. It's definitely a series to watch if you're an anime fan, or a fan of Samurai stories, or (like me) you're both!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Dissapointing, December 5, 2001

By 

"ladykitsu" (Richardson, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legend of the Dog Warriors - Hakkenden (DVD)

I read the back cover and got ready for some real entertainment. While I like some of the mech warrior type anime, I really just love history/fantasy based, anime of ancient Japan.

I thought the story was a little hard to follow at first because they kept throwing in new people in every episode. Then about the time when I could watch the movie without having to think who was who and how they realated to everyone else they went and messed with the animation. There was 2 or 3 episodes in the middle of the series where the animation was quite horrifying and someone nausiating to watch. Everyone had horses teeth and their faces looked like a wax doll stuck in the fire. At that point the series went back to confusing (since it was hard to tell the people apart since the animation style changed so drastically).

All in all, if you are going mostly for story and don't care about animation style, then give this one a try....but my biggest suggestion on this one is rent it or borrow a copy before you decide to buy!!!