manga: Basara vol 22
Feb. 27th, 2007 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAA*breathes*
*gasps and points*
That...that...*stares*
Also? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! There's a W Juliet 2. It needs to be licensed nownownow. *wants with the burning passion of a thousand suns*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAA*breathes*
*gasps and points*
That...that...*stares*
Shuri dear, why are you wearing yellow on the cover? You're the red king, wear red. And I love Nakijincrouched down behind him with that "you glory hound" look on his face. Anyway, just some babbling on the boys(cuz this volume focused mostly on the male characters):
Taro: poor, poor Taro> I knew you weren't with us for long because, you know...but still...why do I love you more now? Before, you mostly got by in my affections by being the cool reporter guy and one of 5 people Ageha cares about(2 of whom are now dead and another 2 of whom he cares about as an extension of the other dead one...) But now? You went to all new heights of awesome. Even if Ageha did cry.
Ageha: Ageha, no crying. Seriously. Seeing you cry is hard on a girl, given that it can be hard to remember that you have emotions. I mean, what are you going to do if Sarasa or the baby dies, slit your wrists? Actually, given your reaction to Taro's death, you'll leave a huge pile of bodies behind you. But yeah, no more crying, it's bad for me. And no people talking about how much you're always losing and never asking for anything...I don't need to be thinking about you maybe dying before the series ends since it's only a few books off.
Nachi: Aawww Nachi...if this were a dorama, Jiro Wang would learn how to fight and play you, seriously. I mean, you are the world's most rabid hunter ultra environmentalist ever. You go off to fight the elephant on your little horse(which is probably actually better than when you'd dive off your boat to fight the whales with just your spear) and then things go boom and you try to save the elephant? And then you let your enemies tag along? *sigh* Things like that are the only reason i worry about your survival chances. Otherwise...well, I'm fairly sure you're immortal.
Asagi: Dear I love you, a lot more than i thought I possibly could whn you first showed up, and I love that you're being dragged kicking and screaming into caring about people and a cause, but if you start acting like you might make moves o your brother's woman again, then we shall have words. This is the one place where OTP interferers absolutely WILL NOT be tolerated. Shuri and Sarasa have enough problems without adding that to them.
Nakijin: You know, between books, I ALWAYS forget how much I like this guy. He's utterly loyal, honest, forthright, earnest and selfless and a hopeless shipper. Give the boy half a chance and he'll remind Shuri how much he(Shuri) loves and needs Sarasa. He's the guy Shuri looks at any time he needs a reason for why he's doing all this...he's the guy Shuri looks at and thinks "him...he's the man I need to keep by my side forever so I won't be lost, and the kind of man who should one day rule this world." He usually functions more as Shuri's bodyguard than anything else, but the fact is that Shuri NEEDS him. He needs his honesty and goodness so that he can know that there are good people out there, people worth fighting for and leaving the world to. And honestly? Even though Shuri wanted(and ordered) Nakijin to stay safely out of the way, Nakijin is the ONLY one who could have helped Shuri in his fight against Hiiragi. Sarasa(and even Yuna, who was suspiciously absent here) he would have focused on protecting and ended up dead, and anyone else(except Shido, who's, you know, dead...) would have been a distraction because Shuri wouldn't have trusted them enough. But Nakijin? Shuri may not be able to call him friend right now(someday, but honestly, even though it's why Nakijin follows him, I don't think Shuri's capable of that right now, just like I don't think Ageha is capable of romantic love...though I think Shuri has a better chance of getting past that) but Nakijin is the one Shuri relies on more than anyone else.
And, naturally...
Shuri: Oh. My. *does not take the lords name in vain, so...* OMGOMGOMGOMG The most awesome thing about Shuri in this volume I can't talk about(too huge a spoiler to consider saying here) But, yeah, if we needed any reminding that this wasn't your normal shojo manga, this was it. (But don't worry it wasn't in the context of cheating or anything...A) I wouldn't be going nuts about it this way and B) He's not capable of it...proved that last volume.) But, not looking at that, he was still pure awesome. The thing about Shuri is that his outside is cold, crafty, harsh and ruthless, his private self(which we almost never see anymore) is open and playful and flirty, but he has what has to be the most indomitable will ever. Which, I think, is a large part of what's made it so hard for him to reconcile the fact that Sarasa and Tatara are the same...He started out with 2 goals...to save and protect Sarasa and give her the world, and to defeat Tatara before "he" could destroy everything, and eventually they became one goal...to destroy Tatara so that he could give a safe world to Sarasa. And then when he learned they were the same, everything in his life that he was working for became an impossible goal, so he refused to face it. Here, though, he's finally reconciled the two...he's accepted that Sarasa is Tatara, and even though he still doesn't believe they can ever be together, he still wants to give her the world, even if it means killing his mentor, no matter what the cost. And the thing is, he KNOWS how likely he is to come out of the fight alive or in one piece, but he does it anyway, because he knows that if he doesn't kill Hiiragi then and there, everything will be for nothing.
And what does he think about during the fight to give him strength? Not what everyone watching(except Nakijin) assumes. It's not glory or victory or power, it's (after a flashback to his being branded as an infant as a reminder of how far he's come) his childhood with Shidou, which INCLUDES Hiiragi as a positive thing, and his early days with Sarasa. And that's the thing. People look at him and assume that he just wants power, that he just wants to take his father's place and rule the country, making the royal family more and more powerful. But that's not it at all. He despises the royal family, their greed and selfishness and corruption, the fact that they only care about their politics and games and and self centered hatred. Only, to destroy them, he had to become something almost indistinguishable from them, only harder and smarter, so that he can create a world that people like Nakijin rule and are looked to for guidance, where girls like Sarasa don't have to pretend to be men and lead armies. Where men like Kazan and Shidou don't have to die because of loyalty and belief in their leader. And if he has to destroy everything, including himself to make something better, he will.
BTW, no, he doesn't die. What, you think I'd be coherent a little two hours after finishing it otherwise?
Taro: poor, poor Taro> I knew you weren't with us for long because, you know...but still...why do I love you more now? Before, you mostly got by in my affections by being the cool reporter guy and one of 5 people Ageha cares about(2 of whom are now dead and another 2 of whom he cares about as an extension of the other dead one...) But now? You went to all new heights of awesome. Even if Ageha did cry.
Ageha: Ageha, no crying. Seriously. Seeing you cry is hard on a girl, given that it can be hard to remember that you have emotions. I mean, what are you going to do if Sarasa or the baby dies, slit your wrists? Actually, given your reaction to Taro's death, you'll leave a huge pile of bodies behind you. But yeah, no more crying, it's bad for me. And no people talking about how much you're always losing and never asking for anything...I don't need to be thinking about you maybe dying before the series ends since it's only a few books off.
Nachi: Aawww Nachi...if this were a dorama, Jiro Wang would learn how to fight and play you, seriously. I mean, you are the world's most rabid hunter ultra environmentalist ever. You go off to fight the elephant on your little horse(which is probably actually better than when you'd dive off your boat to fight the whales with just your spear) and then things go boom and you try to save the elephant? And then you let your enemies tag along? *sigh* Things like that are the only reason i worry about your survival chances. Otherwise...well, I'm fairly sure you're immortal.
Asagi: Dear I love you, a lot more than i thought I possibly could whn you first showed up, and I love that you're being dragged kicking and screaming into caring about people and a cause, but if you start acting like you might make moves o your brother's woman again, then we shall have words. This is the one place where OTP interferers absolutely WILL NOT be tolerated. Shuri and Sarasa have enough problems without adding that to them.
Nakijin: You know, between books, I ALWAYS forget how much I like this guy. He's utterly loyal, honest, forthright, earnest and selfless and a hopeless shipper. Give the boy half a chance and he'll remind Shuri how much he(Shuri) loves and needs Sarasa. He's the guy Shuri looks at any time he needs a reason for why he's doing all this...he's the guy Shuri looks at and thinks "him...he's the man I need to keep by my side forever so I won't be lost, and the kind of man who should one day rule this world." He usually functions more as Shuri's bodyguard than anything else, but the fact is that Shuri NEEDS him. He needs his honesty and goodness so that he can know that there are good people out there, people worth fighting for and leaving the world to. And honestly? Even though Shuri wanted(and ordered) Nakijin to stay safely out of the way, Nakijin is the ONLY one who could have helped Shuri in his fight against Hiiragi. Sarasa(and even Yuna, who was suspiciously absent here) he would have focused on protecting and ended up dead, and anyone else(except Shido, who's, you know, dead...) would have been a distraction because Shuri wouldn't have trusted them enough. But Nakijin? Shuri may not be able to call him friend right now(someday, but honestly, even though it's why Nakijin follows him, I don't think Shuri's capable of that right now, just like I don't think Ageha is capable of romantic love...though I think Shuri has a better chance of getting past that) but Nakijin is the one Shuri relies on more than anyone else.
And, naturally...
Shuri: Oh. My. *does not take the lords name in vain, so...* OMGOMGOMGOMG The most awesome thing about Shuri in this volume I can't talk about(too huge a spoiler to consider saying here) But, yeah, if we needed any reminding that this wasn't your normal shojo manga, this was it. (But don't worry it wasn't in the context of cheating or anything...A) I wouldn't be going nuts about it this way and B) He's not capable of it...proved that last volume.) But, not looking at that, he was still pure awesome. The thing about Shuri is that his outside is cold, crafty, harsh and ruthless, his private self(which we almost never see anymore) is open and playful and flirty, but he has what has to be the most indomitable will ever. Which, I think, is a large part of what's made it so hard for him to reconcile the fact that Sarasa and Tatara are the same...He started out with 2 goals...to save and protect Sarasa and give her the world, and to defeat Tatara before "he" could destroy everything, and eventually they became one goal...to destroy Tatara so that he could give a safe world to Sarasa. And then when he learned they were the same, everything in his life that he was working for became an impossible goal, so he refused to face it. Here, though, he's finally reconciled the two...he's accepted that Sarasa is Tatara, and even though he still doesn't believe they can ever be together, he still wants to give her the world, even if it means killing his mentor, no matter what the cost. And the thing is, he KNOWS how likely he is to come out of the fight alive or in one piece, but he does it anyway, because he knows that if he doesn't kill Hiiragi then and there, everything will be for nothing.
And what does he think about during the fight to give him strength? Not what everyone watching(except Nakijin) assumes. It's not glory or victory or power, it's (after a flashback to his being branded as an infant as a reminder of how far he's come) his childhood with Shidou, which INCLUDES Hiiragi as a positive thing, and his early days with Sarasa. And that's the thing. People look at him and assume that he just wants power, that he just wants to take his father's place and rule the country, making the royal family more and more powerful. But that's not it at all. He despises the royal family, their greed and selfishness and corruption, the fact that they only care about their politics and games and and self centered hatred. Only, to destroy them, he had to become something almost indistinguishable from them, only harder and smarter, so that he can create a world that people like Nakijin rule and are looked to for guidance, where girls like Sarasa don't have to pretend to be men and lead armies. Where men like Kazan and Shidou don't have to die because of loyalty and belief in their leader. And if he has to destroy everything, including himself to make something better, he will.
BTW, no, he doesn't die. What, you think I'd be coherent a little two hours after finishing it otherwise?
Also? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! There's a W Juliet 2. It needs to be licensed nownownow. *wants with the burning passion of a thousand suns*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 04:21 am (UTC)I also need to read W Juliet.. I'm so behind the times.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-28 04:23 am (UTC)You must read Basara. I need people to talk to about Basara. Like with Damo.
and you should read W Juliet, you will love it.