Hakkenden -Eight Dogs of the East-
八犬伝 -東方八犬異聞-The village of Ootsuka—home to Shino Inuzuka, Sousuke Inukawa, and Hamaji—was lit on fire under the preconception that a virus had seen all of its life eradicated. Now surrounded by flames and on the verge of death, the three were approached by a strange man holding a sword. He tells them that they must reach a decision if they want to live. That night changed everything for these children. Five years later, the family of three now lives under the watchful eye of the small Imperial Church in a nearby village. All is fine and dandy until the Church attempts to reclaim the demonic sword of Murasame. To accomplish this, they kidnap Hamaji to lure Shino, now a bearer of Murasame's soul, and Sousuke, who possesses the ability to transform into a dog. The brothers must put their differences aside to rescue their beloved sister from the Church in the Imperial Capital, signalling the beginning of a very difficult journey.
Reviews
kihn.elyse - 2017-03-10 17:24:42
amazing anime.
jquigley - 2014-06-15 10:25:51
Cool and thrilling anime with beautiful boys, Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun is a fast-paced and exciting anime that keeps you engaged. The loyalty, friendships and emotions the anime builds on is beautiful and makes your heart ache. A truly interesting anime that contains sentiments of both historical and fantasy features, creating the best of both worlds.
hillard02 - 2013-04-18 00:01:34
Loosely based on the Hakkenden novel, our story follows the ever-thirteen Shiino and his loyal companion Sosuke on their journey to gather together eight men who hold certain gems and embody virtues, all of which have "Inu" (dog) in their name.
And that's not all. Shiino's possessed of a demon crow-sword, and Sosuke can turn into a dog (haha, get that loyal companion bit up there now?)!
The characters are beautifully rendered, and they each have distinct personalities. The story takes a while to get going, and doesn't actually get there in the first season, but it builds nicely for a continuation.
As for the shounen ai aspect, I'm not really a fan. If you are, it's easy to ship the characters in pretty much any way you want, but if you're not, it's also fairly easy to explain the undertones away as brotherly affection and/or comedic value.