

30 minSeason 1 • Episode 13
LatestThe time for the final battle has come at last. Will they savour victory...or suffer defeat? And what strange fate awaits the eight dog warriors after their fight?
During the war-torn feudal wars in Japan, the Awa clan faced certain extinction from a rival clan backed by demonic forces. However, a careless promise by their lord leads to both salvation and disgrace when their family dog brings back the head of the enemy warlord and insists on marrying the lord's daughter. Their unnatural union bears fruit but when both are killed, the eight unborn pups are reincarnated as the eight Dog Warriors - The Hakkenden. As they slowly find each other and come together as a group, these eight warriors, who represent the eight separate aspects of Bushido, engage in bloody battles with demonic entities and evil samurai in a final attempt to redeem their clan!
Direction
Takashi Anno's operatic staging turns demon battles into visual poetry.
Score
Haunting synth-orchestra hybrid that screams 'expensive 1990 production values.'
Practical Effects
Hand-drawn demon designs that CGI could never replicate — gloriously grotesque.
Creator
Bakin Kyokutei
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kyokutei Bakin's original 106-volume novel took 28 years to complete; this OVA covers roughly 12% of that sprawling epic.
The voice cast includes three future Evangelion alumni: Seki (Kaworu), Yamadera (Kaji), and Genda (Fuyutsuki) — this was their dysfunctional family audition.
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