Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun-Eight Dogs of the East

This is a long and unique name for an anime. But the story idea is based on a old time Japanese story. The plot consist of a boy who chose a curse life instead of death. Because of his choice he stays as a boy, never growing up. After a few years, the boy enters the church where he is given mission to find eight beads, or his past life brothers.

Shino Inuzuka
The young cheeky boy who is actually suppose to be a 18 year old. A loud person who is unwillingly to back down, but easily scared. He seems to have a knack of getting in trouble. However, he cares deeply for his friends to give up his life for them. He is the wielder of Murasame, a sword that can depose of anything, god or non god. He holds the Devotion bead.

Sousuke Inukawa
The ever so reliable young man who makes sure that Shino is not getting into too much trouble. A tall man who is good at cooking, kind and polite. and seems perfect. However, there is a twist, he is not a whole person. It seems that he is missing something important. He has a dog spirit and holds the Duty bead.

Genpachi Inuka
The captain of the Imperial Military Police, but he sometimes acts like a predator due to his infatuation with Shino. Strong and proper, he is always serious showing only a poker face. He is never seen fooling around taking everything serious. He has the soul of a lightning demon, rarely using that power. He holds the Integrity bead.

Kobungo Inuta
Worker at the bed and breakfast inn owner, he was able to be proficient in cooking. He was also involved with the Imperial Military Police, during that time he gained the power to transform into the wind demon. He was shown to be a gentleman, but he can be loud and overreact. He holds the Fraternity bead.

Keno Inusaka
The beautiful dancer who is bent on revenge on a person who destroyed his life. He now has a heart of a demon princess by the name of Kokonoe. He seems to be a bit hot tempered, quick to react and act on his notions, taking little time to think through a situation. Shown to be be able to wield swords, with the intent to kill. He holds the wisdom bead.

Dosetsu Inuyama
A man who wear glasses and a long coat. He seems to be easily swayed, especially by Shino. In search for someone, holds a hair pin like a keepsake. Yukihime, a snow spirit, saved his life and as a result, the two are inseparable. Because of her presence, he is always avoided by friends and lovers due to giving a freezing atmosphere. He holds the Loyalty bead.

Rio Satomi
He holds the Wolf spirit, Yatsufusa, one of the Sacred Beast Four Family and a high position in the church. He is always calm and serious, giving the aura of a perfect and holy man. He seems to manage Shino and mystical matters, he is the main reason for Shino being part of the church. However, he apparently has history with Shino which is shown more in the second season.

The show does have other characters that are also appealing, but these characters seem to be the main focus. Or will play an important part in the end of the story. Remember there all eight brothers with the same mark and hold a bead.

The show is pretty ok, it seems the main concentration of the show is the characters interactions with spirits and other magical beings. As a result, not much on a real plot, so no big cliff hangers or epic fight scenes. Even though it is based after the epic novel, it has its own plot but uses the same characters. Also more for a mature auidence due to the blood (rarely shown) and hint of boy love.

The music is just ok, nothing really special, it just makes the show decent. The opening and endings are adequate, not a big fan, more interested in animation sequence than the song. However, the openings are better when compare to the ending. The music is nothing spectacular, just decent to help set the mood and emotion of the plot. It seems really subtle that most of the time I am unaware of the music playing in the background. In all, just ok for the songs and music.

Animation is beautiful, from the character design to the background. One thing is that the characters look like they have soft hair(due to the shine) and their eyes are just assortment of beautiful colors. So character design are pretty, expect for a few(grandmas). Also the creature design for the spirits are interesting, some can change form like Murasame(bird/sword). For the background, they have nice shadowing and aesthetics. Really heavily inspired by Kyoto, beautiful scenes of their buildings and nature. However, there are some awkward parts, one is the the characters are more stiff so it seems like they are more posing. Also when Sousuke changes to a dog, he doesn't talk like normal. Is it a rule than anyone expect a human can talk without moving their mouth?

The voice actors are well matched and seem to give emotion without holding back. However, there are times where it is overplayed or over dramatic. Especially with Keno and Shino, who try to be funny but it just makes it look more corny than funny. But just ignore the voice and just watch the characters, and your focus will be on the characters than the issue.

Highly doubt that this anime would be turned to an English dub due to the inspiration is popular in Japan. The original novel was a huge success in Japan before Westerns even came. As a result, some watchers may not appreciate the show as much. But if it does, it would be interesting to see how they match the characters. But what's up with that eye ball?

Manga and anime differences are subtle so does no great change to the overall plot. The manga is more open in showing how much Genpachi loves Shino but overall they are pretty similar. Also a bit of the sequence for the show is different, in the anime they show Dosetsu later compare to the anime. However, I do prefer the drawings in the anime compare to the manga due to the coloring.


In the beginning the show is more fast paced, so it may be confusing at first but when you keep watching it makes more sense. For the overall moral or theme, it seems to be over the place from will to live and facing reality. However, this show seems to be about brotherhood, but it really shows how we can be related to people without realizing it. Sometimes things work out on their own whether we want to or not. As a result, we should all be family. So haters stop hating, that person can be your future brother or sister or....

There is a second season for this show so we get to see the other "brothers" and person from the Sacred Beast Family. So the show will probably tie the loose ends of the show, so want something that answers your questions, continue watching.

Verdict: The show has a tiny bit of blood and gay, so if hate that, don't watch. Also not a big religious theme going with this story. Really good if you want something that is visualizing appealing or a new interpretation of the epic novel.