Sunday, September 29, 2013

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Basara : an Epic Adventure

Basara by Yumi Tamura (it has a graphic violence and candid love scenes)
 I found this when I was browsing looking for good reads, and Basara is a hidden treasure in the ocean of manga titles, and that’s not an exaggeration.  A saga of 27 volume shoujo classic manga loaded with Action and Romance in both old and new senses of the words.  It actually ends at volume 25 and volume 26 to 27 is a collection of side stories of every significant character in the story.  It has a very much 80's art style and made me think twice to read, because I am not a fan of 80's drawing style (but because of Basara, I became a new fan of this style!!lol) I guess this manga was first published early 90's and won a prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award.  

 This is a story of the prophesied Child of Destiny,Tatara, who will save the country from tyrannical rule  of the Royal Empire. The birth of this child gives hope to everyone who hopes of freedom and a new nation. It was set in Japan after the global apocalypse, which made the country more remote and primitive than before.  Japan was divided to four regions and ruled by the four colored Kings:  White, Black, Blue, and Red, the four wicked sons of the cruel Emperor.


The child of destiny, Tatara, was born in one of the villages in the south which ruled by the young Red King, Shuri, a hard and ruthless young man. Threaten by the fact that there’s someone on his land who will lead a rebellion, the Red King raid the village and beheaded this ‘people messiah’, Tatara.


But Tatara has an identical twin named Sarasa, she took over her brother’s position and vows to revenge and to see her brother’s vision through, she takes his identity and begins to build the revolution to reclaim the country under the claws of the Royal Empire including the four sons, especially her mortal enemy, the Red King who killed her twin brother and raid her village. Initially,I honestly picked this up because of the hint of gender bender plot. I’m a sucker of gender bender genre and I love strong willed woman in a storyline. However as I was reading this, I cannot put it down and kept looking forward to each chapter with much curiosity, excitement, and anticipation. The whole story, not only the gender bender part, totally blown me away. 


On Sarasa's journey to fulfill her vow, she met this smart but obnoxious young man, they usually meet in a hot spring where she let her hair down and be a woman. They meet in mostly oddly places and they just know each other’s name Shuri and Sarasa! Not knowing they were the Red King and Tatara!!  And this fact excites me the most! Their frequent meeting chances blossoms into romance and they fall deeply in love and even promise to marry someday. As their love for each other grow, their hatred also grow towards one another unaware of their true identities and here where the sweet and agonizing love story begun. 

Their Poignant Face Off
   
Though Basara focused on Shuri and Sarasa’s love story, this manga has a huge cast of characters and most of them with interesting stories and points of view.  There are countless characters that are well-developed heroes and villains whose perfectly grey characters and I was moved and agonize at every wrong decision they made and applaud in all the right ones, I love watching them grow and they always swept me of my feet.  Lastly, I also love it when Sarasa and Shuri made unthinkable decisions that always shock me, how I tearfully watch their character grew mature and strong, and how they makes their romance work out in the end.

Inked with Love and Passion,
Simply Princess
09292013


 

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