Ranked #158

Basara (Manga)

Basara is an epic tale about Sarasa who replaces her twin brother; prophesized to be the boy of destiny and unite Japan; after he falls in battle. That in itself is more or less a cliched setup for a show, but Basara pulls it off incredibly well.

The whole first volume deals with Sarasa's taking up of Tatara's name. After that, things get pretty deep. Each volume (of 7 that I have read thus far) seemingly add another layer of complexity to the story. I much more than a simple "Unite Japan after an Apocalypse" type story, which has much to do with its amazing characterization and their drive.

The characters are plentiful, and wonderfully diverse. Even stock characters somehow breath uniqueness either do to an interesting back story or the party around them in which they interact with. But for me, the best part about the characters is that both good and bad characters are given the same treatment. A character who is truly evil is few and far between. Most of the"bad guys" are just following a different path than Tatara is in order to unite Japan. Nonetheless they are provided with a full backstory early on along with their motives and relationships and inner thoughts being revealed which really makes them feel human rather than an arbitrary obstacle or goal. This makes it hard to root for "good" or "evil" to triumph, as well as adds pain when either actually does. However there are some truly evil characters in the story thus far, and I truly hate them; loathe them even, as I suspect was intended.

New characters never stop entering the picture, and old characters dissapear, reappear, and die often, keeping things fresh and really unpredictable. Not so unpredictable though that an event comes off as alien or out of place, or that deus ex machina is being used. Just unpredictable enough to be lead around by the manga-ka's story.

The only part of Basara I can really find fault in is the art. I am not going to complain about style or character design because, really, it is quite wonderful. There are just many pages in each book where I have no idea what I am looking at. The most recent example I can name comes in volume 7, where a whale leaps out of the water. I wouldn't have been able to identified it as a whale if the speech bubbles hadn't said so. To be honest, I didn't even see anything, I only saw a wave. But after really close inspection, there was a whale, it just happened to have the exact same shading as the water. It may just be that Viz messed up in printing Basara, but whatever the reason is, there are a few moments per book where I have to strain myself in order to understand whats happening.

But with that being the only real problem at least for me) I can safely recommend this manga to anybody who enjoys fantasy or adventure stories. I am sure you wont be disappointed. read more

Before I begin, I would just like to say that this is my first ever review, so please bear with me. thanks.

Story:
The short synopsis of Basara here on MAL, of one brave girl liberating Japan from tyrannical kings, is the basic gist of the story. But I want to stress that the story is also so much more then just that main conflict. There are many stories, each dealing with characters that we come across on the journey that the main character takes. And these characters' stories are interwoven with that of the main character to bring about a breath taking epic. And it is an epic with a total of 27 volumes. But unlike some series that seem to be going on and on for no apparent reason, Basara fills her volumes with stories that continue to build toward the dramatic finale. Even with a fair share devoted to telling the stories of side characters, the tale of Basara itself does not stray from the main tale it is written to tell. All this I believe, is the result of the genius and power of the story teller, Tamura-san. The story of Basara is really one of its strongest points, and I can't express enough how beautiful it is. Also I feel that the story has a bit of everything, so that almost everyone will be statisfied with this little jewel.

Art:
Art is the weak point of Basara, but that is not to say the art is bad per say. Rather the art is unique and a bit unpolished, but it does improves as the story goes on. I, myself, find the art average, it is not bad, but it is also not superb. Basically, it gets the job done.

Characters:
The characters of Barasa are by far the manga's strongest point. Characters are given ample room to be developed and most of the main characters undergo changes along with the manga, and in a sense they grow with the manga. The characters are also given realistic personalities, they have both strengths and weaknesses. Even the villains are given realistic personalities, and often you may find yourself sympathizing with their plight or their goals.

Conclusion:
I highly highly recommend this manga, it has a beautiful story with engaging characters. Tamura-san shows the extent of her story telling abilities here; the story will keep you yearning for the next volume as soon as you finish the last, and the characters will stir your sympathies (well maybe there is one exception) and you will actually care as to what happens to them. Basara will be one manga that you can really take pleasure in reading and I find that it has a bit of every genre to keep everyone satisfied. With all that said, Basara is not everyone's cup of tea. Although it has action and fight scenes, these take a back seat to character interaction. The primary focus of Basara is character interacts and for those who do not enjoy such manga (or shoujo in general) will probably find Basara to be a disappointment. Likewise, the art of Basara is unique and a bit unpolished, so for those who read manga primarily for its artistic value will also be disappointed. Other then these two reasons, I really do believe that anyone who tries it will enjoy it. So if you are up for a 27 volume long manga series, give Basara a shot. :) read more