Basara 10

There’s some pretty epic battles in this volume.  Sarasa tries to hold off the assassins in the cave with the president, which proves to be a much more difficult task than it should be.  Then she randomly hops on Unten’s ship to try and stop him before he takes out Shuri’s ship, who’s been sailing under the pretext of being a ghost ship with the dead Red King on it.

Aside from Unten, both men need to worry about the Japanese Navy, which shows up off the coast of Okinawa after Unten’s assassination attempts fall through.  This doesn’t change Unten’s desire to take down Shuri, nor does it worry Shuri in the least, since he decides to take out the head ship and recruit his men back to his side.  He is only mildly successful until the European Navy shows up.

Shuri’s a clever boy, actually.  Both he and Sarasa.  Both feel the need to spill their guts to someone about the secrets they keep from others.  In Shuri’s case, he’s worried about telling Sarasa he’s the Red King, and in Sarasa’s case, she’s worried about telling her followers that she’s not really Tatara.

Sarasa’s problem seems less worrisome to me since it’s not actually Tatara the groups are following, but Sarasa.  Sarasa did something impressive to win each and every one of them over, and really only worked under false pretexts when she invoked her brother’s name in her home villiage to try and rally the people away from the slaughter with hope.  It just seems like she should have more pride in what she’s done.  And the person she confides in is right, anyone who gives up on her because she lied about her name is probably not worth having around anyway.  She should be worried about telling Shuri what she’s done, I think.

There’s a little more Shuri/Sarasa at the end of the volume, which I was not expecting.  The scene of the two of them on the bridge is quite lovely, but the scene that made the entire volume for me was the tantrum Shuri threw after he realized Sarasa had slipped off again.  Their devotion to one another amidst all these other things that they’re trying to accomplish is quite touching.

Also, Ageha is awesome, as always.  I know he meant to teach Tatara a lesson when he brought Senju to take care of, but the way he points out to him that there is no war where only one side is completely in the wrong is just awesome.  Tatara takes it to heart, but Senju doesn’t.  Senju is not at all happy with the arrangement.  I can’t tell if she’s going to stay or not.

Basara 9

YES.  The reunion happens here.  It isn’t quite what I imagined, but to make up for it, Shuri carries Sarasa into the ocean, dumps her, and then there’s a gloriously shoujo two-page spread of them hugging out in the waves.

I really, really love the art in this series.  I believe its vintage is early-mid 90s, and there are certain elements of 90s manga art in it, but I think there is nobody who can draw like Yumi Tamura.  I’m not even sure how to describe it… she uses a ton of screentone and just LAYERS of stuff.  There’s not a lot of detail, but there’s a lot going on in every panel.  Her linework is also insanely intricate and fluid.  I don’t think I commented on it before, but I really should have.

The first part of the volume details the political climate in Okinawa, along with a massive plot to turn the country over to Japan in exchange for the opportunity to rule over it.  This probably makes the guy setting up said plot one of the eviler characters that have appeared in the series, especially since his brother is such a nice guy.  Anyway, this plot involves drugging bulls, and then firing an arrow at the current president in the ensuing chaos.  I have to say, the bull thing is a new element to the assassination plots I’ve read.

Shuri sort of gets his second wind when he meets up with Sarasa, too, and Sarasa realizes Okinawa’s society is exactly what she wants to have for Japan.  Shuri tries out a few clever tricks and then sails off to battle, Sarasa foils some clever tricks and stays behind to do battle.  Their parting this time feels much better, and I think I can deal with the separation.  At least for a few volumes.

Clearly there is something very specific I want out of this series.  I like it because, while it is an extremely girly romance, there’s also no guarantee that they will be together in the end, which is not very characteristic of most shoujo series I read.  They could very well wind up killing each other, which would also be kind of interesting.

Basara 8

I was a bit sad this afternoon, since 7 was my last volume of Basara on hand and I didn’t even get any Shuri/Sarasa scenes.  I was pleased to find a fresh supply when I got home.  So pleased, in fact, that I read the next two volumes back-to-back, something I never do unless the series is excellent.  Basara is.

Alas, my Shuri/Sarasa thirst was not quenched in this volume.  I was teased right up to the very end with a reunion, and then it got pushed back to the next volume.  Literally, I was hoping for it right up to the last page.

Lots of other things happen that satisfy me, though.  The final outcome of the battle with the Red King at the shrine comes.  I’m not entirely clear on Shuri’s motives here.  I understand he was after his General, who he percieved as a traitor for sheltering Tatara’s mother.  Except he kept coming up with excuses as to why he shouldn’t attack.  Then he kept attacking, saying that it was an assault to flush out Tatara and all his forces.  I… guess he was targeting King Ukon?  Except King Ukon was aware of what was going on and was in no danger.  Perhaps he just wanted to destroy things.

This goes badly for him.  Very badly.  The second half of the volume seems to be an Asagi-engineered plot to oust and kill him.  It doesn’t quite succeed, but it does put Shuri in a very bad spot.  Very bad.  Shuri has no friends, and his calls for Sarasa wake her up in time to see that she is being assaulted.

Or not to see, since she’s damaged her eyes and has to keep them covered until she can see a special doctor, the man who taught Nagi.

Who happens to be in Okinawa.  Good thing Shuri winds up as a farmer in Okinawa!

The end.

Basara 7

I read this volume and the last one in shifts, where I’d read one half of it, then the other half days later.  I usually read every manga in one sitting, so it was hard for me to remember I actually hadn’t finished these.  This one I was actually in the process of writing up for the site before I realized I’d only finished half.

My initial review was going to talk about how this felt like a filler volume.  Tatara is enroute to intercept the Red King’s General at a holy shrine where the death of the Blue King is being honored.  The situation for both the Red General being there along with King Ukon and what exactly the shrine is I believe is explained at the beginning of the volume, then Tatara and company go there and start a journey through the woods, get to a villiage, recruit some more allies, etc.  In the first half, there’s not a lot of fighting or tension, and it’s really just setting things up for the epic battle that is going to take place.

And then, actually, the battle did take place.  Of course Asagi comes up with some brilliant plans and then thwarts them.  He is quite an aggrivating enigma, and I hate him, but I know the series needs someone who meddles as severely and effectively as he does.  The Red King appears, but the General mostly has Tatara and company trapped, with Asagi throwing a wrench in their works as well.

The outcome, as far as Tatara’s injury, the fates of Chacha and Zaki, and what happened between Tatara’s mother and the General, none of these things were expected, and they made for an epic story.

But with this massive battle and the epic end to the story… it just felt like a filler volume.  I can’t explain why.  I mean, there’s a lot happening with the plot here.  Maybe Basara is just so awesome that even filler volumes advance the plot.  But something just rang a bit false about this volume.  I don’t know.  Maybe it was because I thought it was a filler volume and then wasn’t.