Basara Vol 26-27

[meganbmoore]

The main story of Basara wrapped up in volume 25. These two volumes, the last ones (Which is why they’ve been on the shelf for a few months…I don’t want it to be over. Expect trauma if Blade of the Immortal ever ends.) are collections of various short stories and novellas. The main things here, of course, are the novellas. Two are set post series, and the other is set 100 years earlier.

Katana, the prequel story, tells the story of how the four swords came to be scattered, and the first rebellion against the royal family, through the eyes of Tara, a woman who fought alongside the four leaders. We know going in that some of these characters are the great-grandparents of the regular cast, that they’ll fail, some will die, and the rest will be separated. Most characters have counterparts in the main story, though who they are isn’t obvious until the end. It’s entirely possible that it’s at least as tragic and angsty as the main story. If you’ve read Basara, then you know that’s pretty impressive. The tragedy, however, isn’t in who dies, but in what happens to the survivors, and how they live. And just like Basara is always Sarasa’s story, Katana is always Tara’s story, right down to the final, and hardest, blow.

Kanata is about what happens with Shuri and Sarasa after the war. I’m glad Tamura didn’t have everything peachy with them just because they both lived. More than what they went through together, what they went through separately will always be between them. I’m also glad that Shuri still doesn’t regret the choices he made, with Sarasa being the only exception. We also get another of Sarasa’s badass moments, Shuri learning to cope with being one-armed, and more of Kikune’s inventions. And a poisoned-blood kiss, which did funny things to my insides. But that’s normal. I was a bit surprised that they decided to leave Japan, but it fits.

Wakaba is set around 10-13 years later, and focuses on Hayato. Hayato is a character I’m rather neutral on. Scarred, kinda-hermit Hayato, though, I rather approve of. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I want him to shut up. Just like Shuri and Sarasa’s problems not magically disappearing, all of Japan’s different factions didn’t magically get along just because the war was over. We also see Shuri and Sarasa’s twins, aged around 12 or so. As tends to happen, they are their parents, only genderswapped. And it is so cute. I maintain that their daughter will grow up to marry Motomichi. I will not be swayed from this conviction, despite the total and complete lack of textual indication this would happen. Their parents will approve. (Shido has no say in the matter, but he would still approve.) And she slearly totally lives to torment him.

The rest of the stories are a few fewback stories (Little Hijiri and Nachi! Also incredibly cute! Super hyperactive 10-year-old and super stoic and serious 10-year-old stuck on a drifting ship full of tangerines!) and looks into the lives of the surviving characters after the war. There’re also two AU stories, one of which features the cast participating in a musical context. I didn’t like it quite as much as the AU from a while back with Sarasa infiltrating an all-boy’s school (AU Tataras are always attacked, resulting in AU Sarasas going off to investigate and then panicking the AU Tataras by falling for the AU Shuris.) but the cast in musical bands is something else.

And I can’t help but notice that AU Shuris are always sweet and open and immediately protective towards Sarasa. Actually, this is true of regular Shuri, at least towards Sarasa. It’s just the rest of the world. (Yes, Shuri is a bastard. I love him beyond reason and most shoujo guys come up lacking when I compare them to him-just like most shoujo comes up lacking when I compare it to Basara-but he’s a bastard. Though part of it is that Tamura really does make him complex and never makes excuses for him-or letting him make excuses for himself-or creating easy outs for “angsty but not that bad” or pretending that he’s anything but what he is.) Then again, AU Shuri’s were never branded a slave as an infant by their fathers, had the fathers spend their lives trying to publicly get them killed and/or humiliated (preferably both) or sold into slavery by their brothers.

Comments

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Hooray, Basara! My favorite bit of the musical contest is Senju singing while wearing Motomichi as an accessory. :)

Here's what I wrote in my review of Vol. 27, which echoes what you said in your first spoilery paragraph:

What I like about how Tamura envisioned these appendices is that they feel like natural extentions of the main story. She didn’t have to manufacture some conflict for Shuri and Sarasa that was insulting to them, like inserting some new vixen who’s a threat to their relationship. Instead, it’s a story about guilt and atonement, adjusting to the needs of another person, and making amends by doing something with one’s life."

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

That's always been one of the charms of Basara: no need to manufacture problems like most (and,sadly, more popular) shoujo to keep things "interesting." (In ways that always end up borig or annoying me.) I was sad we didn't get to see Shido reacting to Motomichi.

ETA: *finally finds where HTML was broken and fixes* And now I have to find a new shoujo to be as obsessed over. Night of the Beasts is over, and Kaori Yuki and Higuri You are different kinds of shoujo altogether, ditto for Skip-Beat and Wallflower. Maybe once Kaze Hikaru takes off...

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm reading lots of other shoujo that I really like, but nothing is like Basara, really. Not even 7SEEDS, which still feels like it's ramping up.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's sad, really. Basara was (rightly) one of the most popular shoujo in Japan while it was running but the art (which I've never really seen the problem with) and lack of making it easy for the readers to justify everything.

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

I've never seen the problem with it, either. You just have to get used to the occasional scribbly eye, is all. :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I prefer it to a lot of the more popular shoujo art, really. A lot of the popular stuff is too busy or cluttered for me, and often doesn't tell the story at all, just has pretty pictures slapped on the page. And is more focused on pretty pictures than anything else.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really really wish I could like Basara. So much of the story hits me right where it counts, i.e. is something I normally would love.

But I am afraid my Shuri dislike just interferes too much (I understand there are reasons for his behavior, but the problem is there are certain acts I don't find forgivable no matter how tragic a character's background.)

Oh well...maybe I'll try it again some other time when I am feeling more mellow towards him.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Shuri's saving grace is that, unlike other characters, neither he nor the mangaka ever make excuses. There are a lot of fictional "heroes" I might be able to like if the texts were telling me they were great and to forgive them because of their angst.

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

i really wish more of Tamura's works would come here. I mean she's had 3 (Basara, WildCom and Chicago) but the last two were very short (and Wildcom was short stories anyhow). I would like to see 7 Seeds come to these shores...or even some of her older works of short stories.

Then again I have this complaint for Fuyumi Soryo as well--only Mars and Eternal Sabbath have come to these shores! I would love to see Boyfriend or Three3 come to the shores as well. or the one-off Tamara.

Difference isn't bad publishers! I'm so sick of syrupy shoujo!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the less generic shoujo is, the less likely it is to get licensed. Most manga buyers only want the all-romance (and sometimes laughs) focus on the boys angstfests.

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

you know I had high hopes for Viz and Del-rey and CMX at one time. especially CMX since they seemed to want the older mangas...and i've always approved of Viz's translations, quality and time management skills...sadly I think I will just read my scanlations.

though Yen Press is pleasing me with their Yen+ mangazine. It at least has diversity. I approve heartily of Soul Eater, Jack and Sarasah. Pig Bride is also rather fun and so is Nightmare School...here's hoping it lasts.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think Del Rey and CMX are still doing fairly well with diversity. Viz still dips it's toes in the more interesting ponds, but does mostly stick to the more generic stuff. Go! Comi is doing pretty well, though, and ther's also Dark Horse. Tokyopop is rather...random, it seems.

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

if I had to choose I'd think Dark horse would pick up 7 Seeds at least. Not so sure on the older shoujo/josei of Soryo's though...

TokyoPop seems to want to push the 'big ticket' titles associated with animes moreso then their smaller titles. Saver, a korean manwha I follow, is awesome fun (you might like to check it out if you ever see it) in a similiar way to Basara. sort of. Follows similiar paths (ie: Girl dressed as a guy is the prophecied savior, rather overzealous sidekick, man who is might be her enemy is a love interest...). Not very well promoted (if at all).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think I've seen Saver around, but are they still putting it out?

(And yeah, most Tokyopop series I'm most interested in,their heyday has come and gone, or they never had one...)

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

they are, but not in the stores (at least none of the stores I frequent even carry it). Since volume 3 I've been amazon buying it and their release schedule is ridiculously sporadic and uncertain.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I looked it up on mangaupdates.com, and they list it as discontinued...

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

that is news to me and unpleasant news at that. >.< i'm off to threatenemail tokyopop to get the low down now.

[lotuseyes.livejournal.com]

okay emailed...though figuring out the appropriate email addy gave me a headache. there's like 10! I finally sent it to the general info one...

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Hello Megan; it's been a while (and I'm late in posting yet again, but Basara should always be commented upon). I have to admit to having this tiny moment of hesitation myself before I picked up the last volume. But the side stories are a great way to ease us out of the story (actually, I'm fairly certain that I started re-reading the whole thing from the start after finishing Vol 27, so maybe it just re-kindled the flame of Basara-love?). The Sarasa-Shuri story was a very fine one (not to mention downright sexy in places); this is the story that I've re-read the most. And Tara's story had this great epic feel to it; it almost felt like it could support a whole series itself. Hmm, what else happened? I kind of liked seeing Asagi and Muratake doing the 'odd couple' thing *grin* (and how typical of Shuri that he deliberately tuned out during this part of the letter, heh). Little Nachi and Little Hijiri were so ... Nachi-and-Hijiri-like it; that was a cute story, alright! The pop star showdown was good silly fun. Tatara is obviously perpetually doomed to be the buttmonkey of the story (you know he'd get the 'funny syphillis' if it cropped up). And poor Hagiwara, foiled again - he would have got away with it, too, if it weren't for those damned kids!
Ah, Basara. Just thinking about it gives me a happy; I really wish more people would give it a try.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Sadly (in terms of popularity), Basara doesn't cater to the general needs to have things nicely tied up in easy to understand boxes with pretty wrappings to make them look more complex than they are, but strips the romantic excuses away.

Tatara just suffers. Forever. Though at least he gets to live in AUs!

(And hey! I'd been wondering where you were.)

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that about sums up Basara vs the average reader (or perhaps what the publishers think the average reader wants). Such a shame, because hot damn, it's such an awesome series. (It's not even that I don't like some of the more popular mainstream stuff, because I think things like - for example - Fullmetal Alchemist and Fruits Basket have a lot to say and plenty of complexity to them. But it makes me sad to think that few people will ever be exposed to Basara.)
And the last six weeks or so have involved me frantically writing and re-writing (and re-writing...) a 20 000 word research report to finish my degree, hence my absence from Livejournal. All done now, and real life can finally recommence :-)