The Hakkenden

The Hakkenden (Jap. THE八 犬 伝dt " The legend of the eight dogs [ warrior ] ") is an OVA series by the animation studio AIC was produced. The Hakkenden is divided into two series. The first 6 episodes appeared in 1990/91 and the second The Hakkenden - Shinsho (THE八 犬 伝~新 章~ Shinsho = New section ) with 7 episodes 1993-95.

Development and design

The Hakkenden is based on the epic Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, the Kyokutei Bakin created in the late Edo period. Nanso Satomi Hakkenden (南 総 里 见 八 犬 伝) comprises 106 volumes and is considered most extensive work of classical Japanese literature.

The name Hakkenden refers to the main characters of the story, the eight dog warriors Hakkenshi (八 犬 士). The series consists of three main parts: the prologue, from the search and the reversal of history.

Content

The action takes place at the beginning of the Sengoku period in Awa, a small province in today's Chiba Prefecture. In the fight against a demonic, powerful enemy unexpected support of the Satomi clan gets by a dog, the daughter of the Klanoberhaupts calls as a reward for his bride, and also receives. From the compound are shown the eight dogs warriors who are still separated from each other as babies after killing the dog.

During the search, the dogs warrior indicated by the fact that their last names begin with inu ( dog), to a birthmark in the shape of a peony and a pearl, each with a signature symbol of the eight fundamental Confucian values ​​. The final part shows the final battle of the dogs warrior in the service of the Satomi clan.