Basara 1
Posted: January 26, 2009 Filed under: Basara 28 Comments »So I figured it was about time I start this one, too. Next up on the list of classic shoujo series released by Viz: Red River.
I actually loved Chicago, Yumi Tamura’s other series, as I read it in Animerica Extra years ago (weirdly enough, I ran across a bar called “Shi Kago” the other day). The only reason I didn’t read this as it was coming out was that I could not afford it when it started. Then I just took my time going back to it.
It really is my thing. I love girly fantasy series, and this one stars a particulary strong heroine. In fact, this is probably the mold for every other girly fantasy series that came after.
There’s not much I can say about the first volume. It basically sets up a few characters and the political situations for what will be a massive epic. Sarasa is forced into a leadership role without flinching, and she needs to lead her people, who think that she is her twin brother, in a rebellion to overthrow the monarchy of the entire country. I think she’s going to need more than just a handful of surviving villiagers though, so let’s see who else she can get on her side.
Of course, there’s also the tragic, doomed love story. I love it a little for that, too.
I’m not instantly addicted, but I liked the first volume well enough. I got the first seven volumes together, and I have no doubt I’m going to be wishing for more once I finish them.
“Of course, there’s also the tragic, doomed love story.”
Ha ha ha, there are at least five doomed, tragic romances in Basara, and that’s only counting the ones which are mutually requited. However, though there are patterns, each romance is doomed in a different way. Personally, I think the most tragic romance is the one where the couple spent over 20 years living together … but they were so scarred, physically and psychologically, that their love only hurt each other.
I love tragedy, so this is right up my alley.
Anyway, I’m really happy that you finally picked this one up. I was not addicted immediately either. Fortunately, it gets even better.
Basara is one of my all time favorite series! I’m glad you’re reading it.
Nice. I really must re-read the first couple of volumes to get going with the story.. BTW, I’m reading UZUMAKI now and it’s simply amazing. Even better than Tomie. You probably heard about it but I don’t see it being reviewed on your site. As a fan of horror manga, you totally need it! ^_^
BASARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I think you pretty much knew this was gonna be my reaction.)
I look forward very much to reading your impressions. :)
Red River is on my list, too. I’ve been collecting the volumes as they’ve been released, so I’ll probably wait ’til vol. 28 comes out before embarking upon it.
good luck finding volume 19. some arse is selling for around 340$ on Amazon. i own the whole thing except for that volume. but it really is a good series. i love ageha.
Ame: It’s 20 I’m having problems with. I’ve been picking up random volumes on the internet the past couple weeks. I’ve got most of them, and the ones I don’t have aren’t particularly worrisome, but I can’t find volume 20 anywhere, and I’m not yet desperate enough to pay $100 for it.
Well, maybe 19 too. My order for 19 hasn’t processed yet.
Jun: Yeah, I should have listened to you a long time ago. Now I’m rushing around trying to buy random volumes before they go out of print and the price skyrockets. Plus, I know I’ll really, really like it.
Hmm… for some reason, I thought Red River was only 24 volumes. I may just wait for the end, now, too… I guess in another year? The setting for that one got me, I hadn’t really looked at it closely. Ancient Mesopotamia sounds like it would be different enough to be quite interesting.
Pirkaf: Way ahead of you on Uzumaki. I read that before I had the site, I’ve got the older editions of it. I absolutely love everything Junji Ito has done. You should check out Gyo, too, if you were into Uzumaki. I like both Gyo and Uzumaki better than the short story collections that have been published in English by him. They’re probably my favorite horror manga series.
Anna: I knew I’d like it, too. I put off reading it for way too long.
Sara K: “there are at least five doomed, tragic romances in Basara, and that’s only counting the ones which are mutually requited. However, though there are patterns, each romance is doomed in a different way.”
See, when you say things like that, it only makes me want to read this series harder. I think I’ve got almost half the series on its way here right now.
I seem to think that Red River is unique in that the “modern girl” who is deposited in that setting has to spend time and effort learning the language and stuff rather than instantly comprehending it. I think I’ve heard that From Far Away shares this trait, too. That’s another one I own but haven’t read.
Well, I hope your order for volume 19 goes through. If you did it through Kinokuniya, it should (unless somebody else ordered it in the past day).
Technically, Red River mostly takes place in Anatolia (present-day Turkey), and is also known as ‘Anatolia Story’. I love the full title – “Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori” or “Heaven on the Banks of the Red River” (though I understand why Viz didn’t use the full title).
About half of the plot of Red River is loosely based on real events. Even some of the sorcery is historically accurate. I was impressed. So if you decide to read about the history of the Hittite empire, expect to find some spoilers. I know a little Hittite (totally random, I know), so I enjoy trying to imagine what the characters actually sound like. “Tuk assiyahhi”, for example, means “I love you”.
Sara K: I did get it through Kinokuniya. It’s encouraging that they took volume 20 down when they ran out of stock, but I tried to order volume 2 at the same time, and they cancelled my order and left it up on the site, so I’m hoping that the same situation doesn’t happen with volume 19.
Wow, I didn’t realize Red River was so meticulously researched and historically accurate. Now I’m even more interested in it. I’ve been reading a lot about the plot and stuff recently, and I tend to rush out and buy things when I get into a mood like that, but I’ll most likely wait for the next time I see it on sale.
I do like both of the other titles for it. I think the Japanese name is far prettier, but I also just like the sound of “Anatolia Story.” I didn’t know what it meant until you explained it, though, I hadn’t heard of Anatolia before.
If VIZ is unwilling to reprint Basara volumes, there should be some scans around I guess (just for the sake of not missing anything in the story)…
Red River is an awesome series. I’m only up to the 7th volume, but I’m really looking forward to continuing reading it. It’s pretty long, but the historical aspects make it hard to get tired of it. I’ll be looking forward to what you have to say about it ^_^
It’s actually interesting having done a little research on the Hittites, because now I think I know a little bit about what’s going to happen in the last few volumes of Red River, and I look forward to seeing if I’m right.
Kinokuniya’s New York Main store has different management than their Palisades store, so maybe they handle online orders/inventory differently?
Anyway, since I’ve made you want to read Basara harder, I need to make you want to read Rose of Versailles so hard that you will brave the Spanish edition. So I’ll tell you a little bit about the bishonen -
Count Axel von Fersen – He’s brave, smart, and has great sincerity. Which makes him a perfect match for Marie-Antoinette … except Marie-Antoinette is married to the king of France. Ouch.
Andre – He works in the stables. At first, he’s a support character, but he has some pretty deep feelings. And when he can no longer suppress those feelings – WHAM!
Bernard Chatelet – He is a revolutionary. So he hangs out with Robespierre. And he likes to play Robin Hood.
Alain de Soisson – Though he is officially a noble, his family is poor poor poor, so he has issues. Like malnutrition. And aggression.
Girondelle – He is the perfect gentleman – well-mannered, with a strong sense of honor. He’s the man Oscar’s father wants as a son-in-law.
As for what happens to these beautiful men … well, one lives happily ever after. One survives, but everyone he loves dies. One of their fates is unknown. And the other two just die.
Of course, maybe you already know what happens to all of them, depending on how many Rose of Versailles spoilers you’ve seen.
Bah, no luck with Basara 19. I’m not too bothered by it, I’ve cancelled my fair share of customer orders over the internet due to inventory discrepancies. Now I just have to look harder around here for it.
And… I haven’t seen that many Rose of Versailles spoilers at all. I know vague plot summaries and I’ve read the little bit that was in Manga! Manga! There are… a lot more men than I suspected. Bizarre-sounding men. I suspect Alain will be a favorite of mine. And I think you’re casualty report at the end is the final push I needed. Now I have to get the Spanish editions next time I get paid. It will be expensive, but shipping them all over at once is probably going to be for the best.
Well, Rose of Versailles is one of those books you would take with you to a desert island. And if expense is really an issue, the French and Japanese editions are reasonably inexpensive if you’re willing to use the text-only translation.
As for Basara … I heard that someone got a free copy of Volume 20 by asking Viz directly. It can’t hurt to ask Viz for review copies of Basara 19 & 20, if they still have any copies lying around.
You wouldn’t think the cost would be an issue since I already buy so much stuff, but it looks like it will be over $100 to have the complete series shipped here in Spanish. I did forget about those translations, so I may just get the first few volumes in Japanese next time I place an order at Amazon Japan, since they are dirt cheap. The shipping is not at all cheap, but if I’m already getting a few things, one or two bunkoban won’t raise the shipping price any more. I do like the covers to the Spanish editions better, though.
Yeah, I might see what I can do about Basara. I’m still looking around here at a few shops and stuff, too. There’s a nice comic shop in the suburbs that might know a place with a huge selection of manga, I think I’m going to ask them about it next time I go in there.
Well, if you want to get ROV in Japanese, I would recommend getting the aizouban. Each volume of the aizouban has 5 tankoban volumes, so it’s fairly cheap, but high quality. While I’ve never seen the bunkoban, I’ve generally heard that they are not recommended compared to the other editions (especially since, I think, the complete bunko set costs about the same as the superior aizouban set).
I just checked Amazon Japan, and the complete aizouban set is a little cheaper than the complete bunko set, and since the aizouban set is only two volumes maybe you’ll save a little on shipping too. The ISBN for the first aizouban is 4120015599.
Holy crap, thanks. I don’t think I own books that thick, these should be amazing when they arrive. I’ll probably get those within the next couple weeks, when I place my next Amazon Japan order. Amazon Japan’s shipping isn’t cheap, but it’s usually not that much more for additional items, and since I’ll already be getting a couple things, this should work out great.
Hurray! I love getting people to read my favorite manga of all time! And every American who turns into a ROV fan brings us a teensy bit closer towards getting it licensed in English (though I know you would have bought it in English immediately without my prodding).
True, I would have. And still will. I think it will happen eventually, but it may be a few years down the road. I can have my Japanese mega-editions with translations to keep me company until then.
Wow. Basara. Yeah, that’s about it. They had Basara at my library a few years ago, but i never read it because the art was soooooooooooo ugly. My sister said “i guess it was ok” and seemed to think that Sarasa was an improvement over certain heroines. But she thinks Tamora Pierce’s Keladry is better than Oscar from Rose of Versailles, so i’ve learned not to trust her. And she thinks romance is for schmucks. But anyway, needless to say, i dismissed it as not worth my time.
But the i read rant about how awesome it was from the same place that got me interested in From Eroica From Love, so i felt obligated to read it. I saw the 13 episode anime, and got hooked. That is an example of anime done right, actually following the series. Any way, I just finished a few hours ago (it is TOUGH to get the manga). But. . . . i love it. I just love it. It just went up to the top of my favorite manga list. Like, forever. The art definitely took getting used to, but by the end, I thought it was really pretty. Everything came together. Just wonderful.
Still, it’s similar to all the other fantasy stories like Red River and From Far Away (which i both thought were good, though i haven’t finished Red River). But i see it being compared to other fantasies like Fushigi Yuugi and Ao no Fuuin for the Byakko/Suzaku/Seiryu/Genbu references too.
Gasp! I love the art in this series! I was totally stunned when I saw her art in Chicago when I was younger, it’s so unlike any other manga art I’ve seen. But I can see how it can take some getting used to. Her composition in particular is quite excellent though, it’s far better and more arty than most standard manga series.
In the series you mention, Basara, Red River, Fushigi Yugi, and From Far Away all ran at around the same time. I was going to say something about how Fushigi Yugi was sort of inspired by it, but Basara only predates all those other series by a couple years, and I don’t think it had been that influential yet. Fushigi Yugi is way older than I thought it was ^_^; It’s kind of amazing that all these great fantasy comics came out around the same time. I like seeing the Four Gods pop up in different things just to see different takes and uses for them, especially in these cases since Basara and Fushigi Yugi have little or nothing to do with the actual legends as far as I can tell.
The Four Gods legend (as far as I know) is just some random Chinese astronomy thing that caught on in Japan. Like how our constellations are orion or pegasus, or how chinese restaurants and old calanders use the Chinese Zodiac, that kind of thing. i haven’t really heard of any “official four god legend”
Yeah, I sort of wondered about that after I posted it. I’m sure there’s an obscure legend out there somewhere (like there are for the constellations), but, oddly, after I thought about it, it seemed like most of the references to the Four Gods I’d read about were mostly symbolic rather than any sort of partial retelling or anything like that.
Yeah, mostly they look like constellations with minimal history behind them. At least for Byakko and Genbu. Haven’t checked the others.
“she thinks Tamora Pierce’s Keladry is better than Oscar from Rose of Versailles”
First, I must say that I have been reading Tamora Pierce almost as long as I’ve been reading novels, and I have nothing but love for the Song of the Lionness Quartet, and the other Tortall (as well as the Emelan) books are dear to my heart.
However, comparing Keladry and Oscar feels like comparing apples to oranges to me. Yes, they’re both women who openly adopt masculine roles in strongly patriarchal socities, just like apples and oranges are both fruit. But Keladry’s tale is a coming-of-age story, whereas Oscar is over 30 years old for most of Rose of Versailles.
During the parts where Oscar is a teenager, I would say that I like Keladry more than Oscar, if only because Keladry’s problems are more interesting. But the mature Oscar who is trying to make sense of the chaos around and within her, escaping in her drink, but finally facing down fate … well, you have one of the most fascinating characters in fiction.
I don’t know. I never liked Keladry. I’m not sure why. I used to love Tamora Pierce (and I still do), but the problem was I read Tamora Pierce (read: all her Tortall books) and Rose of Verailles right after each other. And that isn’t very fair, now is it? I mean, trying to live up to the signature work of a member of Year 24? Poor Kel never had a chance. Though I’ve always had a soft spot for Alanna.
Still, this thread is really about Sarara and she is someone who really stands on her own. At 15-17 years old, completely unprepared with absolutely no idea what to do, Sarasa basically takes on the world . . . and wins. (Well, sort of, anyway) Plus, she has live with all sorts of emotional scars that Kel and Oscar don’t really have to deal with. (Family gatherings must be simply AWFUL for poor Sarasa)