Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors

Released: 1990-10-25

Runtime: 30 minutes

Episode Overview

The year is 1457. Princess Fuse, daughter of Yoshizane Satomi, Lord of Awa province, is forced into matrimony with her dog, Yatsufusa. This situation occurs when, under siege by the neighboring army of Lord Kagetsura Anzai and facing starvation. Yoshizane makes a desperate, last-ditch promise to the animal. Ultimately, the princess is killed, along with Yatsufusa, by a bullet from the gun of Daisuke Kanamari, who had come to rescue her. At the moment of Fuse's death, eight spirit beads from the necklace she was wearing disperse into the sky and the legend of the dog warriors begins.

Series Overview

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!