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Aug. 18th, 2011 07:33 amSo did I ever mention I had finished Basara? I have finished Basara! It continues to be grade-A ridiculously dramatic crack all the way through.
There was a while there in the middle where I had a private theory that Basara and Angel Sanctuary must have been coming out at the same time; there were a few (hilarious) narrative choices that seemed directly designed to compete with Kaori Yuki's preferred incest-and-zombies plotting style. EXHIBITS A AND B
( are spoilers! )
But then I found out that Angel Sanctuary didn't start coming out until Basara was almost over so my pet theory was disproved. However, this does not make these scenes any less hilarious.
I also really approve of the profusion of different kinds of female characters in the second half. I especially approve of the fact that Yumi Tamura's way of getting the story out of severe narrative depression when both leads have plummeted into BSOD pits of despair is to throw in a SPUNKY TEENAGED GENIUS INVENTOR SPY ASSASSIN GIRL to be best friends with her heroine. Kikune, you make everything better! (I also really like Kikune's narrative arc towards the end, because how often do you see stories about ladies being torn between loyalty to a female mentor and a female best friend? NOT OFTEN.) I thoroughly enjoyed the whole Lady Purple storyline too. As for the White King . . . I was taking her tragedy seriously! I was! And then there was the side story in which, well . . .
WHITE KING: So I have lost everything I love, been horribly abused by my family, and am now partially paralyzed and psychologically scarred in twelve different ways, and as the icing on the cake my childhood boyfriend is directly to blame for it all!
CHILDHOOD BOYFRIEND: I know you will always hate me! I hate me too. I will dedicate my life to serving you and protecting you and allowing you to abuse me in an excess of unhealthy codependency!
WHITE KING: Oh well, the one upside to this situation is we can have lots of really hot hatesex, y/y? :D
CHILDHOOD BOYFRIEND: I am sorry I did not think to mention this when I applied for this unhealthy codependency situation, but . . . all of our shared trauma has left me impotent. :( Hatesex is unpossible.
WHITE KING: . . . . . WELL THIS IS JUST THE LAST STRAW, ISN'T IT.
And only then could I truly appreciate her tragedy as it was meant to be appreciated. (Never change, Yumi Tamura. NEVER CHANGE.)
The one thing that confused me about the ending was( last spoiler-cut )
Is there other Yumi Tamura manga I should be reading? If her plot sensibilities are always as amazing as they are in Basara I will fall upon her other works like a whole pack of wolves!
There was a while there in the middle where I had a private theory that Basara and Angel Sanctuary must have been coming out at the same time; there were a few (hilarious) narrative choices that seemed directly designed to compete with Kaori Yuki's preferred incest-and-zombies plotting style. EXHIBITS A AND B
( are spoilers! )But then I found out that Angel Sanctuary didn't start coming out until Basara was almost over so my pet theory was disproved. However, this does not make these scenes any less hilarious.
I also really approve of the profusion of different kinds of female characters in the second half. I especially approve of the fact that Yumi Tamura's way of getting the story out of severe narrative depression when both leads have plummeted into BSOD pits of despair is to throw in a SPUNKY TEENAGED GENIUS INVENTOR SPY ASSASSIN GIRL to be best friends with her heroine. Kikune, you make everything better! (I also really like Kikune's narrative arc towards the end, because how often do you see stories about ladies being torn between loyalty to a female mentor and a female best friend? NOT OFTEN.) I thoroughly enjoyed the whole Lady Purple storyline too. As for the White King . . . I was taking her tragedy seriously! I was! And then there was the side story in which, well . . .
WHITE KING: So I have lost everything I love, been horribly abused by my family, and am now partially paralyzed and psychologically scarred in twelve different ways, and as the icing on the cake my childhood boyfriend is directly to blame for it all!
CHILDHOOD BOYFRIEND: I know you will always hate me! I hate me too. I will dedicate my life to serving you and protecting you and allowing you to abuse me in an excess of unhealthy codependency!
WHITE KING: Oh well, the one upside to this situation is we can have lots of really hot hatesex, y/y? :D
CHILDHOOD BOYFRIEND: I am sorry I did not think to mention this when I applied for this unhealthy codependency situation, but . . . all of our shared trauma has left me impotent. :( Hatesex is unpossible.
WHITE KING: . . . . . WELL THIS IS JUST THE LAST STRAW, ISN'T IT.
And only then could I truly appreciate her tragedy as it was meant to be appreciated. (Never change, Yumi Tamura. NEVER CHANGE.)
The one thing that confused me about the ending was
( last spoiler-cut )Is there other Yumi Tamura manga I should be reading? If her plot sensibilities are always as amazing as they are in Basara I will fall upon her other works like a whole pack of wolves!
