Yumi Tamura

Ok Lexie be strong. Be strong Lexie. BE STRONG DON'T CRY.

And for gods' sakes don't write about how you're sobbing.

Hello readers! Welcome to the Basara Re-read! Much like my Red River or From Far Away reviews I'm going to try and do an actual review for each of these volumes! Let's see if I succeed this series is 27 books long! ahahahaha

kill me now.

So a lot happens in this book because a lot needs to be set up. There's only 188 pages to this volume and in it we have multiple deaths, upheavel show more in the main character's life THREE times, introduction of a prophecy, end of a prophecy, the actual prophecy, Big Bad 1, Big Bad 2, nebulous other Big Bads mentioned, dystopia Japan, Death of Innocence, death of Ideals, and...romance! Plus a sassy horse.

Principally this is our cast:
- Tatara/Sarasa who takes up the mantle of Tatara at the beheading of her twin brother, who was known as the Boy of Destiny. Previously her best friend Makoto died to save Tatara and Sarasa has some bitterness over the fact everyone forgot she existed. She is optimistic to a fault, rather naive about how the world works and didn't want to become a revolutionary--just wanted revenge. As Sarasa she meets a traveling Shuri who flirts with her and gives her some ironic, but well needed advice about how the righteous are not wrong.

- The Red King/Shuri who is the youngest child of the current Ruling Dictator of Japan (King Ukon XV), he's an ends justify the means. He has a vision, that vision is paramount and he doesn't care who tries to get in his way. He cares for very few people on a personal level, is a bit of a lady's man, loves his horse A LOT and while he'll enforce his father's edicts about putting down rebels that really only is tangential to his real agenda. As Shuri he meets a wounded, recuperating Sarasa at the hot springs and starts up a flirtation with her.

-Nagi, a "prophet" who foresaw the day that the "child of destiny" would bring life back to the land and overthrow the ruling monarchy. He conveniently never thinks to question why everyone assumes its Tatara who is the "Child of Destiny" while teaching Sarasa all about things most women didn't need to know. He's super old, with super nice hair and is super zen.

- Ageha, known as the "Blue noble of the desert" he let the Red King take his eye in exchange for letting Sarasa and Kaku live 3 years prior. He is easily amused by Sarasa/Tatara's optimism, was given his own prophecy that he'd "meet a woman worth dying for" and is in general super helpful with his own highly secretive agenda.

- General Kazan, the Red King's military might and absurdly loyal to the Red King. Known Shuri since he was a young boy and believes in his vision

- Asho, a politician and loyal to nothing so much as his ambitions and greed. Him and Kazan often find themselves dueling to see who can influence Shuri more

- Kaku, a family friend of Sarasa's who has watched out for her and tried to corral her all her life.

Tamura is, to my opinion, a master at foreshadowing and setting things up. Sarasa and Shuri don't have a reckoning about their alter egos for four or five more volumes, but when they meet up its always amusing to see them being each other's personal cheerleader for vengeance and revenge...without realizing how badly that would go for them. They are the classic "same ends, different means" sort of enemies. They both want a world that is united, peaceful and ALIVE. They both want the end of King Ukon's tyranny. Unfortunately they can't achieve their goals independent of each other and they have to get through a lot before they realize their personal histories have to come second to the greater good.

The fact is neither is really a hero. Shuri is violent, ill-tempered and cold. Sarasa is too emotional, too impetuous and too irrational. They both trust where they shouldn't and ignore what they should. Tatara (the actual one) was doomed from the start - the so-called "rebellion" was no secret and no one felt a need to keep it that way. Shuri could not have survived the final battles against his family without the knowledge that Sarasa brought to the table. In their own ways they were both naive and optimistic. The meat of this story is how everyone finds a way to move forward together.

Kazan and Tatara's mother form a bond. Ageha, with his cynical help and jaded optimism, learns that one man's injustice is another's "redemption". Certain spoiler characters I love and are not yet in the story learn that no one is above redemption if they are committed to it.

This series is hard. Its heartbreaking, its a kill your darlings scenario almost every book. Its violent and brutal and oh so very well done that I'm hard pressed to find a reason why y'all shouldn't be reading it (well other then its hard to find in print now). show less

I read this manga years ago! I believe I even own a copy of this volume and it is stacked in a box somewhere.

What's the plot of the first volume? Centuries into the future, the survivors of a world cataclysm have no memories of our era. Japan is now a sand desert separated into 4 kingdoms ruled by 4 ruthless sibling feudal leaders.

A blind priest has a vision of a prophecy that two twins will help liberate their town from the Red King, which is one of the 4 rulers and deemed to be show more particularly despotic. The twins named Tatara (male) and Sarasa (female) are well aware of the prophecy after their birth.

As expected, Tatara gets all of the accolades and sword training while Sarasa is set aside to watch her brother practice using the sword with a sense of longing. Of course, when a town becomes famous in the region for housing a potential military threat, it makes sense for a feudal warlord to thwart the rebellion. Tatara is killed and the mother is kidnapped by a general to become his new wife. Concerned about the despair being inflicted on the villagers she loves and appreciates, Sarasa does something insane: she cuts off her hair, forfeits her feminine identity and pretends to be her brother.

I gobbled this story up with glee. I love stories written by female authors that explore the societal roles of women and how they wish to fight against stereotypes of the weak damsel in distress. Sarasa never hated her brother, but at the same time wanted to perhaps surpass him. Whether she regrets this decision or not, Sarasa is now forced to pretend being her brother 24/7 among the villagers. There is no turning back now that the Red King believes this lie is the truth.

Two of the villagers, her brother's fencing teacher and the priest instantly know Sarasa is impersonating her brother and do everything they can to keep the lie going. That doesn't mean they are happy about what she did. And yet, they too feel a sense of foolishness they underestimated her brawn. Maybe she was indeed the true child of the prophecy...

While volume 1 focuses mostly on Sarasa's childhood and the attack of her village, we do get snippets of the main plot of the story. Yup, this is a romance manga! Just because Sarasa pretends being an assertive swordwielding rebel doesn't mean she has entirely given up her female persona. Sarasa likes wearing dresses and looking pretty too. I really appreciate this because it spins the whole concept of strong woman = masculinized swordswoman. Being in reality female grants Sarasa a huge advantage because she can travel undetected through the villages dressed like any peasant woman with shorter hair as she locates swordsmen that wish to join her cause.

Oh, and ahem... spends quality free time with a very handsome and mysterious man named Shuri. A guy who both infuriates and fascinates her. Volume 1 cuts off before we know Shuri's true identity. Yes, we have a Romeo & Juliet plot broiling, sizzling hot!

Now, while I just love the general plot of this story, I did feel it was good, but not my favorite volume I have ever read. Felt like an appetizer for the fun that is expected to happen later. Still, the manga is great, well worth reading. show less

This is my all time favorite manga series, and one of the few I would recommend equally to boys and girls. There is a good deal of violence, so I would recommend this series for teens or older readers.

The setting is in the far-future after some unnamed catastrophe has reshaped the Earth, geographically, but most importantly, socially and politically. Japan, along with the rest of the world, is coming out a dark age, and new ideas abound but in a society that is still fairly primitive and show more brutal.

Into this setting, a pair of twins are born. At their birth, a seer announces that the child of destiny has been born, the one who will reshape Japan and bring about social change for the better. Everyone assumes it is the boy, Tatara, leaving his sister Sarasa in shadow. But the nobility fear the rebellion that is building behind this young man, and the Red King and his men raid the village, killing Tatara and many of the other villagers. In desperation to save who she can, Sarasa takes up her brother's name and rallies the remaining villagers behind her. Still as her brother, Sarasa takes up the cause her brother stood for and the world slowly begins to realize what the seer always knew - the child of destiny is the girl twin.

This series has much to recommend it. There is a lot of action - individual sword fights and epic battles are everywhere. There is a lot of character development - Sarasa's balancing of her own needs and wants with the duties and expectations laid on her as "Tatara" is especially compelling, along with the evolution of Shuri, the Red King, as he begins to understand more and more what his people are going through. All the characters are interesting and complex. There is a fabulously tragic romance plot, but it is supported by a wealth of other interconnecting relationships. There is never a dull moment in this delightful series. show less

The cases were interesting in this book. I thought it was funny how often people point out that Totonou is weird/annoying :P but the reason for at least some of that is revealed here! Also, he finally gets to eat some curry (after that, I had to make some curry for myself too).
Inudou's story was very interesting here too! It was unusual for things to switch to his perspective, but I really enjoyed that case.