Sengoku Basara - First Impressions

Conclusively proving that the effeminate gay stereotype has no grounding in reality, Sengoku Basara is both the manliest thing I've seen since Gurren Lagann, as well as the gayest thing I've seen...since that time in Akihabara when I bought a yoai porn manga in the mistaken belief that the two feminine characters on the cover were actually women...

OVERVIEW

So what exactly is Sengoku Basara? It's about the Warring States period in Japan. On crack. Massive amounts of crack. And gay overtones. But mostly crack. Gay crack.

Why do the soldiers even try?

The show is unashamedly over the top; whilst some drama does exist, it's mainly an excuse to watch cool characters do really batshit insane stuff. Physics is optional in the world of Sengoku Basara, as is historical accuracy.

Noble warriors of the 16th century.

And while it's a little hard to describe the gay undertones, trust me. It's there.

Even the grunts are gay.

STORY

So a bunch of crazyass warlords with magical powers want to rule the land, and therefore fight endless battles with each other, much to the chagrin of their soldiers, who get killed in the hundreds everytime a plot important dude takes a step, let alone swing his weapon.

Obviously a battle between evenly matched adversaries.

Anyways, amidst all the fighting and manloving, Oda Nobunaga, the granddaddy of all evil bad dudes begins amassing his armies, slaughtering generic townspeople the world over. Apparently, whilst it's ok to indiscriminately kill thousands of peons per battle, it's a mortal sin to burn down defenseless villages, so most of the other warlords form a temporary alliance to oppose Nobunaga and his peasant burning.

Once you see this man's ride, you'll understand why he's so happy.

So yeah, that's about it really. Mainly, this show is about crazy cool shit happening, and that's all it needs.

CHARACTERS

Sanada Yukimura
One of the two main characters, serves the warlord Takeda Shingen with fanatical loyalty/lust. Has a habit of getting punched in the face by Shingen. Harbors a similar mancrush/rivalry with Date Masamune. 7.5/10 on the gay scale.

You want phallic imagery? How bout two long, hard spears!?

Masamune Date
The other main character. An cocky warlord called the One Eyed Dragon, who wields six katanas simultaneously and rides a Harley Davidson horse. Immeasurably cool and leads an army of rejects from Cromartie High School. Speaks in Engrish. 9/10 on the gayness scale, also a textbook seme.

Are you ready guys!? Put the guns on!


The Elvis cut was all the rage in 1580.


Date's my favourite character. Can you guess why?

Takeda Shingen
A cunning and powerful warlord known as the Tiger of Kai. The constant recipient of Yukimura's mancrush. Has a habit of punching people in the face, particularly Yukimura. Stands on two horses when riding into battle. 7/10 on the gayness scale.

YUKIMURA! MY LORD! YUKIMURA!! MY LORD!! YUKIMURA!!! MY LORD!!!


Shingen dickslaps physics.


This picture pretty much encapsulate Shingen's relationship with everyone.

Uesugi Kenshin
Exceptionally effeminate warlord and rival of Shingen. Known as the Dragon of Echigo. Skills include sword fighting, impeccable fashion sense, and the ability to make Kasuga orgasm on demand. Probably the only straight man in the entire series.

He's also voiced by a woman, thus adding to his manliness.

Kasuga
The only female character in the show (Oichi's there too, but no one cares about her). A ninja who is helplessly aroused by Kenshin. Seemingly straight, but she's probably under the mistaken impression that Kenshin is a woman, thereby proving she's a lesbian, or at least bi.

I do wonder how many times she has to change her pants per day.


Goddammit woman! Get a hold over your libido!

Sarutobi Sasuke
A ninja in the service of Yukimura. Has a friendly rivalry with Kasuga. Generally plays the straight man. Tries to tell people that he's straight by constantly hitting on women, but we know he's faking. 8/10 on the gayness scale.

Jeez, I'm getting serious Naruto vibes from this guy.

Katakura Kojuro
A calm and levelheaded retainer of Date's. The uke to Date's seme. 8.5/10 on the gayness scale.

It's kinda sad when the background characters look cooler then you.

Maeda Keiji
Scion of the Maeda clan, who are allied to Nobunaga. However, he simply travels the world as a wanderer. Not particularly gay, though he did get awful friendly with Kenshin once (prompting much hostility from Kasuga). 4.5/10 on the gayness scale.

Normally I'd say Kasuga would be overreacting, but given the context of the show, her resulting antagonism was probably justified.


I have strong suspicions that the monkey is also gay.

Tokugawa Ieyasu
The patient and honorable lord of Mikawa. Despite his friendship and admiration of Shingen, he is allied to Nobunaga. Commands the mighty warrior, Honda Tadakatsu. Also has a sexy midriff. 6.5/10 on the gayness scale.

Ieyasu, in the arms of another man.

Tadakatsu Honda
A GIANT, FUCKING ROBOT.

Listen Honda! Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!


He'll be back.

Azai Nagamasa
A JUSTICE obsessed warlord and brother in law to Nobunaga. Is happily married to Oichi, so he might not actually be gay. But then again, his wife has all the personality of a log, and they've got less chemistry then those two kids from Twilight, so it might just be for show.

Fear his bangs of JUSTICE!

Oichi

(Insert something interesting here)

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Oda Nobunaga
The big bad dude. Want's to, "spread milatarism," across the land for vaguely defined reasons. Sits on a thrown of skulls. Is followed everywhere he goes by his evil posse and latin chanters. Like Nagamasa, he's married, but doesn't really care about his wife.

Did you know? He's the badguy.


We just want to make sure you know that these are the antagonist.

Akechi Mitsuhide
Evil, effiminate right hand man to Nobunaga. Actually doesn't seem that gay, but given his status as the show's white haired pretty boy, he'll invariable wind up in yoai doujins the world over.

Spikes. Because all evil people wear spikes.

ANIMATION
Sengoku Basara is produced by the lovely people of Production I.G, who were behind Ghost in the Shell S.A.C and that anime scene in Kill Bill. Unsuprisingly, Sengoku's animation is very, very good.

Production I.G utilises a lot of CG, particularly for when animating large numbers of soldiers, but do it in a way that is far subtler then the CG work of studios such as Gonzo, whose CG often contrasts horribly with the hand drawn characters.

Also, in keeping with the over the top atmosphere of the anime, the animation often takes stylistic bents, such as dark, jagged lines and other cool effects.

Just incase you didn't know; they're rivals.

OVERALL

I am honestly kicking myself over not watching this sooner. After watching but a few episodes, Sengoku Basara has already overtaken Mazinger Z and Shangri-La as my favourite anime this season, and it looks like it's going to go strong all the way to the end.

By the time you see this scene, it really doesn't come as a surprise.

The sheer manliness is insane! It's basically a show with an entire cast of Kaminas! And the action is as creative as it is irreverent to the most basic rules of physics and even common sense.

I so fucking want to be Shingen.

And I know I do spend quite some time making fun of how gay the show is, but really, it is incredibly gay. I personally find it good fun, but the homophobic may find the overtones a little overbearing. Yaoi fans however, will find plenty of top grade masturbation material.

The best part is that Shingen does this immediately after lecturing Yukimura on the preciousness of life.

In conclusion, WATCH THIS SHIT! It's unapologetically the craziest, manliest and gayest thing on TV, and is unlikely to be surpassed for quite some time.

Huh? Women exist in this show??


Shingen punch!