Basara Vol 26-27
The main story of Basara wrapped up in volume 25. These two volumes, the last ones (Which is why they’ve been on the shelf for a few months…I don’t want it to be over. Expect trauma if Blade of the Immortal ever ends.) are collections of various short stories and novellas. The main things here, of course, are the novellas. Two are set post series, and the other is set 100 years earlier.
Katana, the prequel story, tells the story of how the four swords came to be scattered, and the first rebellion against the royal family, through the eyes of Tara, a woman who fought alongside the four leaders. We know going in that some of these characters are the great-grandparents of the regular cast, that they’ll fail, some will die, and the rest will be separated. Most characters have counterparts in the main story, though who they are isn’t obvious until the end. It’s entirely possible that it’s at least as tragic and angsty as the main story. If you’ve read Basara, then you know that’s pretty impressive. The tragedy, however, isn’t in who dies, but in what happens to the survivors, and how they live. And just like Basara is always Sarasa’s story, Katana is always Tara’s story, right down to the final, and hardest, blow.
Kanata is about what happens with Shuri and Sarasa after the war. I’m glad Tamura didn’t have everything peachy with them just because they both lived. More than what they went through together, what they went through separately will always be between them. I’m also glad that Shuri still doesn’t regret the choices he made, with Sarasa being the only exception. We also get another of Sarasa’s badass moments, Shuri learning to cope with being one-armed, and more of Kikune’s inventions. And a poisoned-blood kiss, which did funny things to my insides. But that’s normal. I was a bit surprised that they decided to leave Japan, but it fits.
Wakaba is set around 10-13 years later, and focuses on Hayato. Hayato is a character I’m rather neutral on. Scarred, kinda-hermit Hayato, though, I rather approve of. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I want him to shut up. Just like Shuri and Sarasa’s problems not magically disappearing, all of Japan’s different factions didn’t magically get along just because the war was over. We also see Shuri and Sarasa’s twins, aged around 12 or so. As tends to happen, they are their parents, only genderswapped. And it is so cute. I maintain that their daughter will grow up to marry Motomichi. I will not be swayed from this conviction, despite the total and complete lack of textual indication this would happen. Their parents will approve. (Shido has no say in the matter, but he would still approve.) And she slearly totally lives to torment him.
The rest of the stories are a few fewback stories (Little Hijiri and Nachi! Also incredibly cute! Super hyperactive 10-year-old and super stoic and serious 10-year-old stuck on a drifting ship full of tangerines!) and looks into the lives of the surviving characters after the war. There’re also two AU stories, one of which features the cast participating in a musical context. I didn’t like it quite as much as the AU from a while back with Sarasa infiltrating an all-boy’s school (AU Tataras are always attacked, resulting in AU Sarasas going off to investigate and then panicking the AU Tataras by falling for the AU Shuris.) but the cast in musical bands is something else.
And I can’t help but notice that AU Shuris are always sweet and open and immediately protective towards Sarasa. Actually, this is true of regular Shuri, at least towards Sarasa. It’s just the rest of the world. (Yes, Shuri is a bastard. I love him beyond reason and most shoujo guys come up lacking when I compare them to him-just like most shoujo comes up lacking when I compare it to Basara-but he’s a bastard. Though part of it is that Tamura really does make him complex and never makes excuses for him-or letting him make excuses for himself-or creating easy outs for “angsty but not that bad” or pretending that he’s anything but what he is.) Then again, AU Shuri’s were never branded a slave as an infant by their fathers, had the fathers spend their lives trying to publicly get them killed and/or humiliated (preferably both) or sold into slavery by their brothers.
Katana, the prequel story, tells the story of how the four swords came to be scattered, and the first rebellion against the royal family, through the eyes of Tara, a woman who fought alongside the four leaders. We know going in that some of these characters are the great-grandparents of the regular cast, that they’ll fail, some will die, and the rest will be separated. Most characters have counterparts in the main story, though who they are isn’t obvious until the end. It’s entirely possible that it’s at least as tragic and angsty as the main story. If you’ve read Basara, then you know that’s pretty impressive. The tragedy, however, isn’t in who dies, but in what happens to the survivors, and how they live. And just like Basara is always Sarasa’s story, Katana is always Tara’s story, right down to the final, and hardest, blow.
Kanata is about what happens with Shuri and Sarasa after the war. I’m glad Tamura didn’t have everything peachy with them just because they both lived. More than what they went through together, what they went through separately will always be between them. I’m also glad that Shuri still doesn’t regret the choices he made, with Sarasa being the only exception. We also get another of Sarasa’s badass moments, Shuri learning to cope with being one-armed, and more of Kikune’s inventions. And a poisoned-blood kiss, which did funny things to my insides. But that’s normal. I was a bit surprised that they decided to leave Japan, but it fits.
Wakaba is set around 10-13 years later, and focuses on Hayato. Hayato is a character I’m rather neutral on. Scarred, kinda-hermit Hayato, though, I rather approve of. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I want him to shut up. Just like Shuri and Sarasa’s problems not magically disappearing, all of Japan’s different factions didn’t magically get along just because the war was over. We also see Shuri and Sarasa’s twins, aged around 12 or so. As tends to happen, they are their parents, only genderswapped. And it is so cute. I maintain that their daughter will grow up to marry Motomichi. I will not be swayed from this conviction, despite the total and complete lack of textual indication this would happen. Their parents will approve. (Shido has no say in the matter, but he would still approve.) And she slearly totally lives to torment him.
The rest of the stories are a few fewback stories (Little Hijiri and Nachi! Also incredibly cute! Super hyperactive 10-year-old and super stoic and serious 10-year-old stuck on a drifting ship full of tangerines!) and looks into the lives of the surviving characters after the war. There’re also two AU stories, one of which features the cast participating in a musical context. I didn’t like it quite as much as the AU from a while back with Sarasa infiltrating an all-boy’s school (AU Tataras are always attacked, resulting in AU Sarasas going off to investigate and then panicking the AU Tataras by falling for the AU Shuris.) but the cast in musical bands is something else.
And I can’t help but notice that AU Shuris are always sweet and open and immediately protective towards Sarasa. Actually, this is true of regular Shuri, at least towards Sarasa. It’s just the rest of the world. (Yes, Shuri is a bastard. I love him beyond reason and most shoujo guys come up lacking when I compare them to him-just like most shoujo comes up lacking when I compare it to Basara-but he’s a bastard. Though part of it is that Tamura really does make him complex and never makes excuses for him-or letting him make excuses for himself-or creating easy outs for “angsty but not that bad” or pretending that he’s anything but what he is.) Then again, AU Shuri’s were never branded a slave as an infant by their fathers, had the fathers spend their lives trying to publicly get them killed and/or humiliated (preferably both) or sold into slavery by their brothers.