History Manga / Basara

-->--'''Diamond Sanskrit Vajra'''

* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: [[spoiler: Asagi and Ginko. For a long time, it was assumed that they are siblings like all of Emperor Ukon's kids. Then its revealed in a {{Chinatown}}esque plot that Ginko was raped by Ukon. She's his mother and sister.]]

* WhiteAndGrayMorality: To an extent. There are very few truly evil, depraved people on the empire's side--instead, most are genuine idealists and honorable [[NobleDemon Noble Demons]] (that is, everyone on the Red King's side, and the Red King himself), or else more incompetent and conservative than malicious. Or else they have [[FreudianExcuse Freudian Excuses]]. This is demonstrated marvelously during the underground prison arc, when [[spoiler: pretty much all of the prison wardens turn out to be sympathetic characters who make [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turns]]]]. There are exceptions, such as Councillor Hagiwara.

* ZeroApprovalGambit: Asagi makes sure, that the royal family is absolutely hated before the regime ends. That way a new government can be formed without people romanticizing the past.

* ZeroApprovalGambit: Asagi makes sure that the royal family is absolutely hated before the regime ends. That way a new government can be formed without people romanticizing the past.

[[quoteright:238:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/basara1_3267.jpg]]

Now with a [[{{Characters/Basara}} Character page]].

Now with a [[Characters/Basara Character page]].

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Raizo sports a scar across his face - it adds to his warrior look and handsome ruggedness.

* NobleDemon: The Red King. He's utterly ruthless toward his enemies but in other respects, is a fair and competent king. He outlawed slavery, his taxes are much lighter than the rest of the country's and Suo, the capital city, is responsible for the revitalizing of trade and agriculture in the desert.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Hisoka of the Yarogumi appears to be a good-natured, bumbling fan of Ageha's Kicho persona. [[spoiler: Not only was he the one to figure out that Ageha was the one assassinating officials in Kyoto, he's the most skilled fighter in the Yarogumi.]]

* ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler: After the main series, in the side story ''Kanata'', Kikune makes an artificial arm for Shuri that is full of weaponry. He eventually admits that it is "fun".]]
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Chacha became the pirate leader by defeating every other claimant in battle.

* BadassGay: Ageha is a Badass Bisexual.

* BecomingTheMask: Asagi joins Tatara's group to sow discord but eventually ends up firmly on Tatara's side.

* BlindSeer: Nagi, one of Sarasa's mentors and the seer who prophesied that one of the twins was the Child of Destiny.
* BodyguardCrush: [[spoiler: Kakihito to the White King/Mistress White, Ginko.]]

* Deutragonist: Shuri's journey is almost as important as Sarasa's.

* DistressedDude: Hayato in the Abashiri Prison arc.

* EverythingButTheGirl: Asagi.
* EyepatchOfPower: Ageha. Surprisingly none of the pirates wears one.
* EyeScream: Ageha of course, or he would not have his EyepatchOfPower.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Nachi and Hijiri. The latter even mentions they ''would've'' been married if one of them was a woman.

* LadykillerInLove: Shuri once he gets serious about Sarasa.

* MagneticHero: Sarasa. Her greatest strength isn't her leadership skills or swordsmanship abilities (though she's good at that), it's her ability to attract allies and befriend enemies.
** Shuri as well - the man radiates charisma, no matter how injured or desperate or down on his luck he is.

* TheBerserker: Sarasa after suffering HeroicBSOD from finding out Shuri's identity. She wanders the North, slaughtering the Black King's forces in fits of blind rage (and earning her the name [[TheDreaded The White Tiger]])

* BigBrotherWorship: Sarasa admired her twin- so much that even after successfully leading the rebellion for some time, she still believes that he would've done a better job. Nakijin worships his older brother, Unten, just as much [[spoiler: and is devastated when he finds out that Unten is plotting with the Japanese government. ]]
* BigOlEyebrows: Hayato has thick, rectangular eyebrows.

* ButtMonkey: Muratake.

* CoolBigSis: Chacha to Sarasa. Her crew even addresses her as Big Sister.

* DeathSeeker: Ginko, and in the scary "taking you down with me" way.

* EvilChancellor: It wouldn't be a corrupt government without it. Ashou and Hagiwara are examples

* GenkiGirl: Kikune, and a rare male example: Nachi.

* PetTheDog: Deconstructed with Ageha and Shido. Shido tried to befriend Ageha as a kid but it only made him dislike Shido more as Shido treated him like a pet and not an equal.
* PirateGirl: Chacha, a pirate captain. [[spoiler: It's nevertheless implied that Ageha was in love with him after all.]]

* ArrangedMarriage: Shido and Senjuu were engaged by their parents, albeit at Shido's request. Also, Ginko was given away in marriage at a young age to secure the alliance with the island of Awaji. [[spoiler:Being the paranoid king that he is, her father still accused Awaji of treason when they grew too powerful, and ordered the death of Ginko's husband, taking Ginko back kickstarting her fall.]] Hijiri also has an arranged marriage waiting for him; he eventually meets the young lady and quite likes her, but is a bit grumpy that he's doing what his parents wanted him to all along.

* DeathSeeker: Ginko and in the scary "taking you down with me" way.

* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: [[spoiler: Asagi and Ginko. For a long time, it was assumed that they are siblings like all of Emperor Ukon's kids. Then its revealed in a {{Chinatown}}esque plot, that Ginko was raped by Ukon. She's his mother and sister.]]

* PirateGirl: Chacha, a pirate captain.

* RichInDollarsPoorInSense: Shuri to a degree. He is definitely a RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, being a brilliant WarriorPrince but the manga gets a lot of comedy and milage out of Shuri taking his wealth and status for granted. He considers basic chores beneath him and has no concept of money.

* DeathBySecretIdentity: [[spoiler: Any character who finds out that Tatara is Sarasa and can possibly inform Red King is immediately killed (Shido, Unten and councilor Asho. This doesn't include Asagi who was plotting against Tatara).]]

* [[FallenPrincess Fallen Prince]]: Shuri multiple times. [[spoiler: He is overthrown by Momonoi and after taking back Suo loses to Tatara. He then accepts rule as Emperor of Japan but willingly gives it up to Tatara.]]

* GottaCatchThemAll: Tatara is prophesied to assemble the 4 swords of [[TheFourGods Byakko, Genbu, Suzaku and Seiryū]]. While she does assemble them, the swords are just well made swords. The point of the quest was to procure symbols for the rebellion and for Tatara to travel all of Japan and gain allies.

* ParentalSubstitute: Nagi and Kakuji act like surrogate parents to Sarasa after her father dies and her mother leaves her to let Sarasa pursue her own path.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: Shuri's prophecy is a pretty clear example. King Ukon disowns, neglects and effectively abandons Shuri in a desert province as a result of the prophecy. This makes Shuri much more open to overthrowing Ukon and ruling Japan. (Though King Ukon is a terrible parent and Shuri might have tried to overthrow him anyway - most if not all of his children are actively plotting against him)

* DeathBySecretIdentity: [[spoiler: Any character who finds out that Tatara is Sarasa and can possibly inform Red King is immediately killed (Shido, Unten and councilor Asho). ]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Asagi.]]

* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler: Spoken word for word by Kazan at the end of the rebellion. Tatara and The Red King are dead and all that's left is Sarasa and Shuri.]]

* BettyAndVeronicaLoveTriangle: Shuri as the Archie caught between Shima (Betty) and Sarasa (Veronica). Though Shima never had a chance.

* BettyAndVeronicLoveTriangle: Shuri as the Archie caught between Shima (Betty) and Sarasa (Veronica). Though Shima never had a chance.

* EvilChancellor: It wouldn't be a corrupt government without it. Ashou and Hagiwara are example

* GracefulLoser: A couple of the politicians/rulers that Tatara or Shuri defeat/outgambit.
** Counselor Unten when faced with the idea that he was wrong and that Asato was right for resisting the Japanese, concedes gracefully and tries to go into exile.
** Mogami no Kata when Shuri engineers the deposition and death of the Black King, simply hands her son over and walks off into the snow.

* NobleDemon: The Red King. He's utterly ruthless toward his enemies but in other respects is a fair and competent king. He outlawed slavery, his taxes are much lighter than the rest of the country's and Suo, the capital city, is responsible for the revitalizing of trade and agriculture in the desert.

* TwoLinesNoWaiting[=/=]ThirdLineSomeWaiting[=/=]FourLinesAllWaiting: A various points in the story due to both the sheer amount of characters and complex, interwoven political situation.
** Shuri and Sarasa's journeys are often shown side-by-side to empathize the complicated dynamic surrounding the two

* DramaticIrony: Lots of it surrounding Sarasa and Shuri's romance. Notable is Shuri's condemnation of General Kazan's love for Chigusa not knowing that he's in love with her daughter.

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Hachiya and Yarogumi are loyal to the royal family despite all of the horrible things they are ordered to do and it being clear that the family is self-destructing.

** Averted both times. Sarasa gives up her vengeance, instead pursuing the dream of creating a better Japan. Senju also gives up revenge after meeting and getting to know Tatara. TheAesop both times being vengeance isn't worth dedicating and risking your life and goals.

* AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler: King Ukon by the end, is a frail, old man with many regrets. Shuri and Tarara are flabbergasted by how pathetic this big evil dictator actually is. Heck, he's killed offscreen, not by the rebellion, but by a group of angry peasants.]]

* TheBerserker: Sarasa after suffering HeroicBSOD from finding out Shuri's identity. She wanders the North, slaughtering the Black King's forces in fits of blind rage (and earning her the name) [[TheDreaded The White Tiger]]

* HonorBeforeReason: General Kazan crosses this with LoveMakesyouCrazy. Shuri gives him multiple outs and chances for forgiveness and Kazan rejects every one because he couldn't betray Chigusa and he refused to be anything other than honest about it.

* BreakTheCutie: Lots. Ginko got this as her backstory. She was a naive romantic princess who married the king of Awaji. Despite her protests and anger, [[HappilyArrangedMarriage she falls in love with him.]] Then her paranoid father accuses the king of treason and it's all downhill from there. Awaji burns, her husband is killed, she loses her legs in the destruction, [[spoiler: she's raped by her father and forced to bear his child, the fire renders her FirstLove and childhood friend impotent.]] It's no wonder she's an OmnicidalManiac.

* HalfIdenticalTwins: when Sarasa decides to impersonate her twin brother, she just cuts her hair and almost everybody believe she is Tatara - even Tatara's fiancee. However, it may be because people deeply want to believe it.

** Shuri as well - the man radiates charisma no matter how injured or desperate or down on his luck he is.

** Asagi who also considers chores beneath him, also has no concept of money and is even more helpless than Shuri (who can a least beat people up or convince them to help him).

* AnArmAndALeg: Shuri loses his arm when fighting his teacher Hiragi. As it was his dominate arm and he's a master swordsman, he spends the rest of the manga trying to recover from it.

** Shuri as well - the man radiates charisma no matter how injured or desperate he is.