Basara, Vol. 25

Basara [バサラ] #25

by Yumi Tamura

Sarasa has led her army to victory, faced down King Ukon, and won the hearts and minds of her people. Now, in the final hours of battle, her actions--and Shuri's--will decide Japan's ultimate fate. Sarasa began her quest in Tatara's shadow. The time has come for her to step into the light, speak her real name, and accept her true destiny as the woman who will lead Japan into a new age of peace and freedom!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Fantasy, Shojo, Adventure, Post Apocalyptic, Graphic Novels

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 1999

About the author

Name (in native language): 田村由美
Birth Date: September 5
Zodiac: Virgo

Tamura is an avid RPG videogamer - Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc. She also loves to read mystery books, and going on the computer to chat with her fans.

Reviews

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect! Perfect ending! Literally not a single thing I would change! The resolution of Sarasa's double-identity was perfect; I nearly broke down in tears when she raised her sword to kill him, but then instead fell into his embrace crying - and how they looked knowingly into each others eyes, then held each other as the army turned on them. The peaceful expression on their faces as the arrows were flying at them was so poetic, as was the frame in which the arrows pincushion the ground all around them, but not a single one hit. Nagi's proclamation and Kaku's acceptance sealed the deal; Tatara and the Red King are dead, only Sarasa and Shuri are left, to live their lives as they please. I love that Asagi finally figured himself out. "I am me" - so simple, yet such a profound epiphany! I just love his crying face (is that evil?) because it's so expressive on a character that is so naturally cynical and sullen. Even Ageha's death was a perfect ending, even though I absolutely hate it that he died - it was fitting, especially the way that he appeared to both Sarasa and Senju in spirit (so tastefully done!). Ageha was my favorite character, amongst a whole gaggle of characters that I was in love with, so I'm quite in awe of him. He was too much larger-than-life to simply live happily ever after - the frame in which Sarasa grieved for him and his image was superimposed upon the sky was so eloquent. Ageha was merely a man with dark edges and a shady past, but more than merely mortal, he was a legend and a force of nature as well - the Blue Noble, a free spirit of the wind. ♥ The two extra stories in the appendix were great as well, I look forward to reading the rest of the bonus stories in the next two volumes. Normally I'm not much interested in side stories, but all of the characters in Basara are so compelling that I'm actually interested in their pasts! (I laughed though when the manga-ka did one of those a side panel mini character bios for King Ukon, and all it said was 'what, you don't want to know?' Ha!) This whole series was just so enthralling! Everyone should get their hands on a copy, it is so worth it!

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wept like a baby 🥲 aaargh this is simply too good story. Next to the fun epilogues! No more crying!

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume starts off with Chapter 94: Final Tale-Aubergine the Fallen

I'll write more when my editing mode hits.
Happy Readings!
Fly my Pretties! Fly!

[Tyra (PHR) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for all the twenty-five amazing volumes of the manga. I always put off finishing this. I first read this about six, seven years ago. I probably finished up to ten volumes and then I stopped. I only picked it up again yesterday. I have to re-read the whole thing because I kind of forgot everything. LOL. Sooo... let me just first say the whole series was really amazing. The story line, the characters, everything just pulls you into the whole world of Basara.

One of the things that I really like about this book was the development of every characters. Shuri - our hero - was a really selfish asshole at first. He doesn't care about other people's lives and he thinks that he's entitled to everything just because he's a prince. But slowly, after overcoming many hardships, he understood the value of life. He learned the true meaning of love and sacrifice. He became really quite selfless. The same thing happened to Asagi. He's even much more of an asshole than Shuri. But at the end, because of the help of the people around him, he changed for the better. Sarasa/Tatara - our heroine (who always gets the boys LOL) - was a scared girl without any self confidence. She always thinks that she could never be on par with her dead older brother. She doesn't even realize how great she is. That's why you can't help but be proud of her whenever she accomplished something. I'm like a proud mother when she finally reached her goal and brought freedom to Japan.

The resolution of Shuri and Sarasa's relationship was also done magnificently. I mean, that moment when she didn't know what to do, when everyone was shouting for her to kill him, and she just threw her sword and ran into his embrace. Gawd. That was beautiful. You could really see their love for each other.

And Ageha, my poor, poor Ageha. He suffered so much through his life. Being branded as a slave at a young age, then being raped by his master, then falling in love with his master's son. I'm not really sure if he did love Sarasa. I think he was just so focused by what that fortune teller told him that he was constantly looking for a woman whom he could sacrifice his life for. I think Shidou was the only person he truly ever loved (and no, I'm not saying this because I'm a fujoshi LOL). The way his life ended was really unfair. He didn't even receive the happiness that he so greatly deserved. He died, fighting alone, saving everyone in the process. Gawd. It's just so heartbreaking.

All in all, this was one of the best adventure/romance/historical/gender-bender manga I've read. Highly recommended to those who like the same genres. :)

[Lê Tuyền ICHI]

Truyện hết rồi, những gì phải "chết", phải nằm lại đều đã xong, mọi thứ cũng được phân định rạch ròi. Thật mừng vì Shuri và Sarasa được ở bên nhau.
===
Ageha, cánh bướm xinh đẹp, quý tộc xanh (lục) ngạo nghễ trên sa mạc, kẻ khao khát hơn ai hết một đất nước mới, một thời đại mới. Ageha yêu Tatara (not Sarasa), yêu lý tưởng mà Tatara gánh vác, yêu một nhà cách mạng và khởi nghĩa Tatara - "Đất con của số phận".

Ageha, vốn là đứa con du mục, chu du khắp nơi như một cơn gió. Sau này bị bắt làm nô lệ (số 31), chịu đủ mọi ngược đãi lăng nhục. Tại nơi đây, anh "yêu" (đúng chữ "yêu") Shido.

Khi được thả tự do, gia nhập đoàn Điệp Nương, anh đi khắp nơi, chu du khắp nơi, đúng nghĩa 1 cơn gió, đi cho đã cái nư của tâm hồn, của khao khát tự do, cho bõ những tháng ngày nô lệ. Anh đi, để tìm cho ra cô gái khiến anh hy sinh và tận hiến mọi thứ, kể cả sinh mạng. Anh đi, để tìm cho ra ánh sáng, cho ra hy vọng về một thời đại mới tốt đẹp.

Sau cùng, Tatara đã đem đến cho anh, đã trả cho anh, thời đại đó. Chỉ tiếc là, khi thời khắc đó đến, anh lại vùi thây nên tàn tích của đế chế cũ - tòa thành đầy cạm bẫy của Sư Tử Vương. Xót xa làm sao.

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synopsis:

Sarasa has led her army to victory, faced down King Ukon, and won the hearts and minds of her people. Now, in the final hours of battle, her actions--and Shuri's--will decide Japan's ultimate fate. Sarasa began her quest in Tatara's shadow. The time has come for her to step into the light, speak her real name, and accept her true destiny as the woman who will lead Japan into a new age of peace and freedom!

My Thoughts:

The journey and war have come to an end. The people of Tatara's army are calling for Tatara to take the Red King's head. But what does Sarasa want? If she remains Tatara, she'll have to kill him. If she goes back to being Sarasa, she can keep loving him. I won't give it away, but that second chapter in this volume really moved me. I cried my eyes out. I loved it. Perfect ending is perfect.

The main story ends at 53% of the volume and what follows are two bonus side stories. The first one brings us Ginko's story. We see how she became the way that she was. We also find out the truth of Asagi's parentage. Growing up in that woman's care, it's no wonder Asagi was such a horrible person at first. Meeting Tatara, though, changed him. He gradually became so much better. He actually became one of my most favorite characters in the series.

The second story was about Ageha. We saw how he came to be the Blue Noble of the Desert and the reason why he never followed Shido the way Shido asked him to. Ageha didn't get to live happily ever after with the woman worth dying for (there was actually more than one), but I think he still got a happy ending because he did what he wanted to do. He's definitely another one of my most favorite characters in the series. It's impossible not to love Ageha.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard of Basara and read read through a few pages YEARS ago when it was first available. Initially, I didn't set it as anything special and I wasn't moved by the art style. I never got fully immersed into the manga, which is shojo but not your traditional brand of shojo. A girl who was always pushed aside for her twin brother who was held up as the child of destiny--who was slaughtered and in her grief then she choose to assume his identity and avenge him, her shattered family, her village.

She stepped forward as a person fit to untie people across the land and stand firm in a revolution setting fire across the land. twenty four volumes later of love and sacrifice, memorable side characters, epic battles, death, heartbreak and everything else under the sun, I am so happy that I wasn't mature enough to appreciate this great manga series way back then when I was younger. It is truly a gem in the world of manga and just flips your perception of shojo mnaga and what it should be.

It's a dated series and the art style may miss some it has a superb story that sucks you in after so many volumes and a heroine that doesn't fit in any of your pretty little boxes but serves to inspire everyone on whoa hero is. Thanks Sarasa. You were golden.

[kleio ｡+.｡*♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the scene where tatara meant to strike the red king, but then she collapsed and fell into his arms as sarasa. 😭 she lived as a young girl behind her brother’s shadow, wanting to be him—the child of destiny. when she acted in her brother’s stead, rebirthed the new nation, it hit her—she wanted to be sarasa, she wanted to love, to live in peace, to live as a person free of their duties and commitments. i am so proud of her. one of the greatest MC’s i’ve ever read. 🩷

ageha 😭 his life was worth it. every bit of it. but boy was i so devastated 😭😭

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Please note that review is for entire series**

Recommended to me by a Japanese friend, I stepped into this series with really no idea what to expect. That was perhaps a week ago, and since then I have been consumed by it.

This manga is a master piece. I don't think I've ever read anything that can match it. It has far more in common with an epic fantasy trilogy than any other manga I've read. The story is grand in scope, and the characters are fully realised. It also has a very firm theme throughout, which is about finding your own path and creating positive change.

Prophesied at birth the change the nation, Tatara has since been raised to a lead a revolution. But when he is discovered and killed before the revolution truly kicks off, it is his sister Sarasa who steps forward to take his place, and his name. The story that follows is beautiful, as Sarasa (now Tatara) is forced to balance her two identities (with an ill-fated love story threaded through), and discover what it really means to lead a rebellion. And what comes after.

I think what I loved most about this entire series is Sarasa/Tatara's agency throughout. I've read so many mangas (and novels in general) where the main female character is rarely a force of change, instead being pushed around by the story and other characters. Here the reverse is true. Sarasa is determined to shape her fate. And the people around her all support her in this. There is a recurring message about needing to make choices for yourself, find your own path, and not leaning on others, which really resonated with me. Sarasa isn't perfect. She makes mistakes and has to learn & adapt as the story progresses. But she also isn't an idiot - she listens to those around her, and changes as a result.

In the end this was a truly uplifting story, about finding yourself, trusting others, and what it means to be a real leader. I loved the themes around "a country without killing", and "choosing not to hate".

While the art style felt a bit "old school" at the start, I got into it pretty quickly and really loved it by the final volumes. Can strongly recommend this to anyone willing to dive into a long, fantasy/fighting series.

[thi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Where she walked … a path opened up behind her.”

a series that is clearly a product of love, the care and gentle detail that outpours from sasara captivates not just her comrades but the reader as well

Dare I say that their love story is epic? I do … you know from the first chapter who they are, what they are to each other and yet the way they gravitate towards each other, the fantasy, I was even deluded in their bliss 😭

I love the supporting cast, their turmoil and celebrations were just as impactful and stood out against the backdrop of full scale battles

Part love story, part coming of age, part drama, and part fantasy that all come together .. there’s no shortage of compelling elements

It’s interesting to read an older shojo that has the tropes that people love to critique now .. but I don’t think this has aged badly at all and is truly a classic

a near perfect series (just my perfect series would have no surrounding sexual violence but I understand)

“May happiness be yours.”

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is the end of the official story (the other half of the volume and the next two volumes are side stories). Honestly, I was hoping for more from the ending, more about how the new government would be set up, the initial growing pains of a new nation. But I suppose ultimately, that was all secondary to Sarasa's journey as Tatara itself, and that has ended where it has.

The side stories give interesting background to the characters. I'll continue to read the next two volumes and do a full review of the series after the final volume, 27. With any luck, we'll get some glimpses into the future of this new Japan.

Post-Series Edit:

Can confirm we get stories about the future (they're mostly in Volume 27). I highly recommend reading them; they tie up the characters' stories nicely. Whatever you think of the ending of the main story of Basara, I think you would enjoy the stories that round out this world.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basara is one of those series that starts out pretty mid. It's not great but it's not bad either with enough going on to keep reading the next book. It's not until around halfway through the series that this series gets amazing. It's worth the long haul to get through its rather bland start, and honestly bland leads.

Basara becomes absolutely amazing thanks to its supporting cast, with Ageha and Asagi pulling most of the heavy weight, but that isn't to say or imply that the leads, Sasara and Shuri don't grow and evolve with compelling arcs of their own as the series goes on. Because they do and it's great seeing their journeys.

Basara is worth the chance. It starts as a diamond in rough, but ends a polished cut gem.

[Tina Sy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the final confrontation, the Red King is forced to stand before the rebels for his crimes. The people shout for Tatara to kill him but she couldn't do it. Kakuji is either really furious or a terrific actor inciting the people to shoot their arrows at the kneeling couple. Her Team surrounds them in protection. Nagi proclaims to the world the Red King and Tatara has died.

[Stéphanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une fin vraiment incroyable ! J'ai adoré ce tome, je ne m'attendais absolument pas à ces rebondissements. J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé les chapitres sur le passé de papillon de nuit et sur la reine Blanche. Il reste encore deux tomes et je ne sais pas du tout de quoi ils vont parler.

[Sara Samano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finale, what Sarasa's inner turmoil becomes the realization I needed for this story to close with, I cried for a beloved character, teary eyed for Sarasa's decision and absolutely relieved with how this was wrapped up. I NEED THIS TO PREPRINTED VIZ. PLEASE.

[izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“having something worth dying for is never the same as willingness to die.”

absolute peak enemies to lovers. no one is doing it like them. not sure how i should let these characters go.

[Rune · Rating 5 out of 5]

....

....


...


..

THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING?

-_-

series was still a 5 star for me...but really? REALLY?

[phelkyi]

might have cried over this volume because OH BOY

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mais quel manga ! 😍

[theblobfishreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭

[Maude · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal story, the ending gave me chills. i want to see more of sarasa and shuri i hope we get a side story with them 😭

[keniapandix · Rating 5 out of 5]

final perfecto, lloré horrible 😭

[Rain Rtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nah inilah jadinya kalau seseorang seperti saya mementingkan cover diatas segalanya. Saya jadi nggak jeli dengan isi dari komik yang panjangnya ada 27 volume ini.

Setelah mencicipi volume 1, bisa dibayangkan betapa besarnya penyesalan sekarang karena baru aja tau kalo komik ini SANGAT BAGUS.

Sasara yang berubah dengan kesadaran sendiri menjadi Tatara, seorang perempuan berumur 16 tahun yang menguatkan diri dengan tujuan membalaskan dendam desanya yang hancur dan kakak serta ayahnya yang mati diakibatkan serangan dari Raja Merah. Sasara hanya bisa menjadi dirinya sendiri saat ia berada di Onsen yang kemudia benar benar tertarik dengan seorang pemuda humoris tapi juga kharismatik dan seenaknya sendiri bernama Shuri. Tipikal kan? Nggak ada yang aneh dari jalan cerita ini. kecuali kalau Shuri ini adalah sang Raja Merah.

Hebatnya lagi yang membuatku sangat sangat kagum, Yumi Tamura menguatkan ikatan mereka tanpa terburu-buru dan alur yang keren, bisa dibuktikan dengan terbongkarnya identitas Shuri sang Raja Merah di buku ke-5.

Tidak perlu ragu lagi, inilah lambang dari cover not worth anything. :D

[Sinai C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh gosh...the last volume of the Basara main story...I am SO glad there are more volumes, since I can't live with that ending alone. The conclusion of Basara...I can hardly believe it. It's one of those--I just finished something I've dedicated countless hours and emotions to. The last volume won't be my favorite, but its something to respect, since everything and everyone was brought together so wonderfully and magically. And of course, Sarasa and Shuri <3 <3!!!

[Marielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just spent the last 30 minutes crying.... This manga impacted me so much and I literally feel like I was just punched in the face... Like I don't know if I'll be able to read the last 2 volumes, I'm literally traumatized from this manga, so.... I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now... Oh, wait I'm still crying...

[Reader17 Der · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series. This volume has the actual end of the story. At least it does wrap up the story of the red king/Shuri and Tatara/Sarasa.

[Littlenk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a cliche...

[Beiyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main story ends in this volume, with everyone's future on a bright and optimistic path