Just like the first episode of Basilisk II, episode 2 continues the info-dump. It’s revealed the Iga and Kouga fight against each other to determine the next Shōgun. The Iga and Kouga are promised that which ever clan wins will have prosperity for a millenium. Hachirou and Hibiki are the son and daughter of Gennosuke Kouga and Oboro Iga, the main characters from the original Basilisk. 

The birth of Hachirou and Hibiki doesn’t seem possible though. Genosuku and Oboro don’t see each other until they fight each other in the final episode of Basilisk. There is a throwaway line that the spymaster of the Shōgun allowed Genosuku and Oboro to meet to continue the Ninja bloodline. I think a retcon is at work here!

Sadly, the animation quality went down in this episode, especially during the fight between the Kouga fighters and the laborers sent to kill Tadanga. The fight uses lots of still images and takes place in pure darkness. I honestly expected a drop off in animation to some degree but not to this low level so quickly. Geiin has the powers of a spider, trapping his enemies in a web dome. He can also see his enemies in the dark with a firefly like glow. Those are some pretty cool powers, but I wish the animation was at a higher level to actually showcase them.

Hachirou decides to leave the village without Hibiki, disappointing her. It’s hinted that Hachirou is leaving due to the sheer power of Hibiki he saw during their training. The episode ends with a cliffhanger of one Kouga fighters being killed by an unknown assailant.

The info-dump is still happening and the animation quality has gone down. Based on what I saw in the Crunchyroll comment section, viewers who haven’t seen Basilisk are getting confused. If Basilisk II wants to maintain viewers, the “info-dump truck” needs to drive away.

Random thoughts:

• Their were also a lot of animation shortcuts used in the talk between Hachirou and Hibiki, like not showing their mouths moving and the camera focusing on their eyes. 😦
• Fun fact! The voice of Geiin is also the voice of Brook from One Piece!
• I’d really like to see more ties back to the original show, but that might be Basilisk II’s monkey’s paw.

If I’ve forgotten a meeting between Gennosuke and Oboro from Basilisk (2005), let me know in the comments. It’s been a while. 

Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls streams on Crunchyroll and VRV on Mondays.