Basara Vol 23

[meganbmoore]

As tends to happen when series I love are coming to an end, I’ve been putting off reading the last few volumes. So it won’t end. Anyway…

I maintain facing your mentor in battle because he’s been sent to assassinate your Very Estranged girlfriend, and deliberately going in expecting to lose an arm just so you can kill him is kinda hard to top in the "loss of body part means love" department. Especially when you consider the fact that you and said girlfriend are leading opposing armies at the time doesn’t hurt. Also, giving a rousing speech to both armies to snap her out of her (very understandable, given the circumstances) stupor while you’re bleeding to death, what with the recent arm loss and all, helps…ESPECIALLY when you announce to both armies that you’re turning your army over to her. It’s hard to top an army as a make-up gift.

If this happens to make your evil father’s enthusiasts try to kill you. Don’t worry, it’s probably what she needs to snap out of it and save you. And hey, for once, the entire cast standing around going "WTF?" actually makes sense. And hey, she may even show her appreciation by, after the battle (while someone is finally patching you up) tenderly picking up the lost arm, stroking her cheek with the hand, and then giving the arm a burial. Also, if you two start automatically planning strategy together later, don’t be surprised by more staring at you like you’ve lost your minds.

Meanwhile, Ageha is still running around Kyoto as a masked assassin. Ape mask and cloak or no, the guy is about 6’4" and has a giant eye-patch…how hard is it to figure out? Shuri and Hayato do some bonding over Hayato killing Shuri’s best friend bit about 20 volumes back, and Asagi decides to try his hand at being Judas. Though I suspect pro-Tatara plotting on his part.

 

Comments

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

I really need to start reading this series again. I read up to volume 10 or 11 (what had been released at the time), and then I distracted by other manga.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes you do. And you need to post on it while you read, so I can read Basara posts.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Since the main story is finally all published, I splured on the currently available 26 volumes in one go and made myself a lot more financially insecure. The big box arrived yesterday ^^. I'd only read up to vol 15 in scanlation.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*nods*

It's one of many series where I'm glad I started reading early in publication (I think, though, that it's 27 volumes total.)

I wish Viz would publish the art books. Sadly, I don't think it's popular enough.

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

It means that I have to find them somewhere (which, seeing as I'm in Japan, you would think it'd be easy, but English versions of various manga are a little hard to find here). I have seen Basara manga in Japanese, so I guess I could just buy those and look at the pretty pictures...

[estara.livejournal.com]

That's why I said currently published ^^. I'll by the last one when it's out anyway and since the main story is finished I can read that in one go.

Actually I used to own the first seven when they came out, but I didn't believe that they would finish the series at the time (so many other series were being stopped and Basara never had the popularity of, say, Fruits Basket), so I gave those away.

Expensive mistake, heh.