Basara Vol. 25

Rating T+ Genre manga Publisher VIZ Media External Links

The conclusion to the main story arc brings together all the pieces. Sarasa and her rebels are trapped inside the burning castle and their chances of escaping alive are decreasing. In a last ditch effort, Ageha goes down to the labyrinth to find a way to slow down the palace’s destruction and to save Sarasa in order to finally unite Japan. The story is powerful and moving and does not slow down even in the final hours.

Although there’s plenty of action, the story is still a shoujo manga. The romance between Sarasa and the Red King (Shuri) divides Sarasa. After all, she had set out on the mission in the beginning to kill him. Now she is torn between her love of Shuri, and her people’s desire to kill him for his deeds. How can one choose between love and loyalty? Sarasa’s decision is pivotal and moving. Besides Sarasa, everyone shows loyalty and courage beyond what is expected. Everyone is invested in the rebellion, and for that everyone must pay a heavy toll. Ageha’s sacrifice is perhaps the most pivotal and in a way he is finally free to be the blue wind, he is finally able to keep his eyes open at the end. This idea comes up in the extra chapter that explains Ageha’s troubled past. You learn how he became a warrior and the pivotal events that molded his life. The other bonus story explains the background of the White King and the brutality that created the person who she became in the stories. Both illustrate the consequences or triumphs of their choices. This series is best understood if you started at the beginning, although much of the previous story is explained at the end. You lose much of the emotional attachments to the characters without reading the previous volumes. Since this is a shoujo manga, most of the story is developed around characterization and emotional turbulence. It adds depth to the characters and creates a complicated storyline. What’s great, though, is that this can appeal to the male and female population. The fight scenes and bad-ass characters can appeal to the males, and the strong female protagonist and love story appeals to females. The art style is typical of shoujo as the men are stereotypical bishies. The drawing is very flowy with the big and sparkly eyes. But unlike many manga, Basara does not fall into the trap of making all the characters look the same. Each character has distinctive features that correlate with their personality. The artist paid a lot of attention to detail and it really paid off from the clothing to facial expressions.

The story line is intriguing and impactful. It is rare nowadays to find a manga that takes so many risks and is created for an older crowd (and doesn’t have fan service). I would highly suggest this manga for anyone.