Category: Manga of the Month

Manga of the Month: Basara

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Basara (バサラ) by Yumi Tamura

narutaki_icon_4040 Before anyone even thinks it, I know this series is woefully out-of-print. However, I was finally able to read more of it thanks to the library so I’m hoping others can do the same. And amazingly, it is available digitally!

Basara is a classic, fantasy series set in a future (yup!) Japan which has been devastated by war and environmental destruction. A loss of energy and technology has pushed people back to a simpler time and allowed for the country to be conquered by the harsh, oppressive Saffron Clan. In the desert region controlled by The Red King, there is a small village with a prophecy about The Child of Destiny that will lead the people against their oppressors.

That child is a young boy named Tatara. But unlike some other stories, this king does not let it go unchecked or laugh it off, oh no he roots out the rebellion while the child is still young. Tatara is killed when the village is attacked; the army leaves believing they have eliminated their problem. (This part, by the way, is very violent and sets the tone for much of the series.) But Tatara’s twin sister Sarasa makes a hasty decision: pretend she was killed instead, and become “Tatara” with the help of a small group who know the truth. Sarasa sets out to unite the villages and bring down the tyrants who have taken so much from her.

Sarasa becomes “Tatara” in everyday life, so much so she can start to forget herself. The exception is when she sneaks away to the secluded hot springs; on one such visit she meets a boy her age and ends up starting a distant love affair. Little did she know the man she met is The Red King whom she has sworn to destroy; and little did he know she is The Child of Destiny he is so desperately trying to snuff out.

Sarasa is wonderfully headstrong, and so fearless to the point of undervaluing her life. She has lost her identity and it shows so well as she becomes the idea of “Tatara.” Sarasa struggles with all the aspects of her life she has lost: the villages’ relief that Sarasa died instead; the constant masquerade; not being able to experience developing into womanhood in any normal way. But even if it stemmed from a lie, she is truly changing the course of her world and doing things she never thought herself possible of. She is surely a better “Tatara” than the namesake ever would have been.

The melodrama is high as the manga barrels toward revolution. Sarasa sets in motion a bloody conflict, spanning the continent, which is fraught with secrets and danger. And of course many surprises along the way, do not believe for a second The Red King is what he seems. An epic fantasy sure to satisfy.

~ kate

Manga of the Month: Sgt. Frog

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Sgt. Frog (ケロロ軍曹) by Mine Yoshizaki

hisui_icon_4040 As I mentioned in last month’s pick there are a few selections for Manga of the Month’s early run that we never archived and are now lost to the annals of history. I could try to deep dive the collective unconscious of the Internet and find those old posts but I rather just write some of them over now that we have a few years at this under our belts. Lets start with Sgt. Frog. It was always a bit of a strange manga license back in the day. It was clearly one of those titles that would have only been picked up at the height of the manga bubble when manga publishers in the US were trying anything and everything. It sort of existed with a minor US fanbase and it even got some of the anime released with a dub. But as time went on the series never really caught on and has pretty much faded from the collective fandom’s memory.

Since Sgt. Frog is getting a new anime series this year it seems like a good a time as any to revisit the show.

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Manga of the Month: Saturn Apartments

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Saturn Apartments (土星マンション) by Hisae Iwaoka

narutaki_icon_4040 Saturn Apartments depicts a future where most of the population has moved to an orbital ring above the Earth’s surface with the wealthiest living at the top, the blue-collar living at the bottom, and the middle being a neutral territory. Predictably, the lower class is used for all the most dangerous work including manning the power plants, checking for damage from space debris, and washing windows. This is the story of a window washers guild, one of the few groups able to move between floors, go outside the ring, and gaze upon the Earth.

Ms. Iwaoka lovingly crafts a world where people are in a bubble of machinery and steel in the lower level where little natural light gets in and takes that detail all the way through to the breathtaking sight of Earth from the atmosphere. The dreams of those who dwell on the bottom floor, their lives and their relationships, are equally depicted with delicacy and a simply beauty.

Bright-eyed Mitsu is the catalyst for the story as he enters the window washers guild at 16, following in the footsteps of his respected-by-all father, Aki, who fell from the orbital ring while on the job. Those swirling around him have their own strife and stories: Mitsu’s partner and mentor the ornery Jin is devoted to his ill wife; Aki’s ex-partner Tamachi now working at the power plant, struggles to forgive himself; young and isolated Makoto can’t accept Tamachi leaving the guild or accept Mitsu as apart of it; Kageyama is a family man facing a decision about his future; and many others’ tales that are told within these seven volumes. Things come a head after an accident in the lower levels threatens everyone and the need for hope sways the balance.

Saturn Apartments reminded me of Twin Spica in that it was a slow and quiet space story that was utterly moving. And, just as Twin Spica was, Saturn Apartments is a testament to the human spirit.

~ kate