This is an underrated masterpiece. It's almost Shakespearean with the amount of foreshadowing and the way the romance is constructed.
"Your loyalty to the Red King will kill you."
There are tons of foreshadowing early on that are reiterated. Nothing is accidental. Basara follows sets up similarly with Avatar The Last Airbender. Sarasa and Tatara are two siblings who grow up in a small village. Tatara is the chosen one, meant to unite Japan and defeat the Red King. Japan has turned into a desert. Sarasa one day ventures forth to see the ocean but sees a sea of red, the Fire King's army. They attack their village and kill Ma-kun, a village boy who disguises himself as Tatara. Three years later, the Red King's army comes again and kills not only her father, but also her brother. Without a leader, without the chosen one, Sarasa decides to cut her hair and assume her brother's role and live out her life as Tatara.
Her village is destroyed and from there she starts her journey as she forms alliances and comrade to take down the Red King. The Red King seeks to turn Japan into a dictatorship. You find out as you continue that the goals of the Red King and Sarasa are similar. They dream of turning Japan into a lush green land where cherry trees and vegetation can prosper once again . Even their means of getting there aren't that different.
It made me question what does it mean to be a hero. Is it being on the side that's considered right?
What shines is the story telling and the dichotomy and contradictions within the characters. Sarasa meets Shuri throughout her journey and bumps into him time and time again. She doesn't realize Shuri is The Red King. Their tones change when they are with each other. They can be theirselves without playing their respective roles. Sarasa can just be a normal girl and Shuri can just be a guy.
It woulda been a near masterpiece had it fully adapted the manga. I stopped around volume 5.
Animation is as limited as the current animes but I found the animation fluid for the most part. It looked natural, the animation.
This gave forth Avatar The Last Airbender.
