Basara, Vol. 12

Basara [バサラ] #12

by Yumi Tamura

The northern rebels have sent a terrifying message, but Sarasa is determined to make contact with them and retrieve her missing ally Hayato. Unfortunately, Sarasa not only fails, but she and her comrades find themselves inmates in a bizarre underground prison!

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

191 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 1994

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

[অর্পিতা · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should've rated this 3 star (the whole prison arc was absurd to begin with). But there were some interesting and powerful parts that kept me hooked (Ageha and Sarasa's bonding, Wind Owl forcing Sarasa, Hayato drowning, etc.). I can feel this is going to be my all time favorite manga series, so I'm being generous with the rating.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a shoujo manga, Basara can get pretty dark. I'd sooner mistake this for josei rather than shoujo. What took me by surprise was the amount of sociopolitical commentaries present in this series. I thought it was just going to be another historical/post-apocalyptic story with more romance than actual plot, but Basara has so much more to offer! I guess it's a great thing that I went into this w/o expectations at all.

This volume deals heavily with topics such as:
- children trying to survive in the midst of war without any parent or guardian
- one's (Ageha's) struggle with his slave identity, having no choice but to engage in prostitution or was it rape?—taking a man despite being straight, in order to protect a woman.
- prisoners being forced to do labor under the influence of drugs
- a woman's (Sarasa's) feeling of shame and fear when others (mostly men) constantly subject her to humiliation all because of her gender.

Basara skillfully deconstructs various forms of oppression, you'd really have to wonder why this isn't as popular as it was back then. This could easily become a really great piece of feminist fiction if only Japan promoted it more.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

ngl I fee like it would have been a slightly better choice had Hayato actually died but I understand why that didn't happen. Despite touching on darker topics, this is meant to be more on the lighthearted side.

I wasn't 100% sold on this arc with Sarasa getting stuck in the prison nor do I really understand why Wind Owl looked like Shuri as it didn't lead to anything. It's things like these that more or less confirm my suspicions that longer-running manga are written mostly on the fly. Sure, there is an overall series goal/endgame, but stuff like this arc gives the impression they exist simply to be used for padding to prolong the story.

It was still fun, though, and I'm not actually upset by it.

[Tiffany ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this whole prison arc is kinda dragging. i really thought they killed off hayato but i'm happy he's still alive. i'm giving this three stars because i'm enjoying sarasa's development but I hope by the next volume, this arc is over with.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

[Stéphanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un tome incroyable ! Il se passe pleins de choses ! J'ai adoré cet arc de la prison, les rebondissements sont vraiment incroyables ! J'adore !

[Wankumbu Chisale · Rating 5 out of 5]

😩😩😩 ageha leaves to go do who knows what again

[Antuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Tina Sy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Everyone was a victim as well as an aggressor, who should I hate ?"

Each person's life is directly or indirectly effected by the royal family. Tatara asks herself who her real target is.

[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

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

Synopsis:

The northern rebels have sent a terrifying message, but Sarasa is determined to make contact with them and retrieve her missing ally Hayato. Unfortunately, Sarasa not only fails, but she and her comrades find themselves inmates in a bizarre underground prison!

My Thoughts:

This volume was nuts! Wandering around in this underground prison, Sarasa and Ageha experience quite a bit. I'm just glad they found Hayato. I was worried about him for a bit, but thanks to Nachi and Muratake, he should be okay. Good thing Kaku showed up when he did, too!

It seems that the situations for the guards of the prison weren't all that they seem to be. The scene where Sarasa comforts Wind Owl was powerful to me. Asagi didn't seem to like that at all.

Speaking of Asagi, he was ready to throw them all to the wolves. So self-serving.

I did like seeing Sarasa and Ageha get closer, though. Those two really care for each other. I think that more than anyone else, Ageha needs Tatara to succeed. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayato yang tertangkap oleh pasukan 'hantu' ditahan dalam penjara bawah tanah yang tak memiliki jalan keluar. Sasara, Ageha, dan Ashagi yang mencoba menyelamatkan hayato malah berakhir sama di dalam penjara. Penjarah yang mengerikan itu berisi semua pria yang sangat rakus saat mencium bau wanita.

Pada akhirnya Ageha harus mengorbankan dirinya untuk menjadi santapan para lelaki agar bisa melindungi sasara.

Penjara level A berusahan membuat aliansi dan mencuri peta yang ada pada setiap penjaga, diketahui belakangan bahwa mereka tak berhasil keluar dan malah naik ke pejara tingkat B. Apa sebenarnya rahasia yang tersimpan di dalam penjara? Konon ada salah satu tahanan yang mampu keluar, siapa dia?

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to remember volume 12 of Basara being a little slow in comparison to v11 and v13. The current book description (from Amazon) is incorrect too.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Program BUBU

[Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probabaly the weakest volume so far. This whole "prison" story arc is just ridiculous.

[Khari · Rating 5 out of 5]

浅葱のこと結構同感する。

彼が尊敬しているの人達は彼を道具のように扱い。浅葱は彼らに愛されたい。愛せれたいけどその愛を博さなくならい。その態度は子供に持ってるのはひどい。愛とほめることは挙げるものだ稼ぐものではない。浅葱はこな変な育て方から精神おかしくなった。

なんか嫌なの勘がする、浅葱は悲劇に死んじゃう。白王に裏切られて自分を犠牲して死ぬとか。