Line #107 Manga/Basara


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_basara1.jpg]]
2
3	->''Basara: the spirit of freedom which denies old authority, transcending traditions and customs.''
4	-->-- '''Diamond Sanskrit Vajra'''
5
6	''Basara'' is an award-winning manga created by Yumi Tamura, which ran from 1990 to 1998 in ''Bessatsu Shoujo Comic''. It was later adapted into a thirteen-episode TV series in 1998, which started airing two months before the manga ended. It centers around a sixteen-year-old girl, Sarasa, who uses her wits and the PowerOfFriendship to lead the people of a [[AfterTheEnd Post Apocalyptic]] future Japan to freedom.
7
8	At the end of the 20th century, an [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt undisclosed catastrophe destroyed the civilized world]] driving society back to a [[JidaiGeki feudal level]]. Japan is ruled by the Golden King, a tyrant who came to power by [[EvilPrince assassinating everyone ahead of him]] in the line of succession. Now his greatest fear is to [[KarmicDeath suffer the same fate]]. To avoid this he divided the land among his three sons, the Black King, the Blue King and the Red King, so they would expend all their energy [[SiblingRivalry fighting each other]] instead of him. Naturally it's their subjects who suffer most by this.
9
10	In the tiny Village of Byakko in the now [[ThirstyDesert desertified]] western region of Japan, a [[HalfIdenticalTwins pair of brother-sister twins]] are born under a prophecy: one of them will become the [[ChosenOne Child of Destiny]] and lead the country into a new era of freedom and prosperity. The boy Tatara is taken for the ChosenOne, while his sister Sarasa languishes in his shadow. However, when the local ruler, the Red King, learns of the prophecy, he attacks the village, finding Tatara and executing him. Sarasa [[MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe disguises herself as her brother]] to keep her people from falling into despair.
11
12	Newly promoted to leader, Sarasa initially only seeks {{revenge}} against the Red King for murdering her family, but over the course of many adventures her motivation gradually shifts to dethroning all the kings and establishing a country where everybody is equal. And as if leading a rebellion wasn't enough for a sixteen-year-old, Sarasa's relationship with Shuri, a TallDarkAndHandsome stranger she meets time and again on her journey complicates her life further.
13
14	Now with a [[{{Characters/Basara}} character page]].
15
16	Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara''. Or [[Anime/Macross7 Nekki Basara]].
17	----
18	!!This manga provides examples of:
19	* ActionGirl: Sarasa, Chacha, Kikune, and Yuna. In the prequel story, Tara as well.
20	* AGodAmI: The Snake King. He's quickly deposed when Sarasa reveals him for the sham he is.
21	* AlwaysSecondBest: Asagi's grudge against Shuri comes from Asagi's sense of inadequacy compared to him.
22	* AmbiguousSyntax: The source of the ProphecyTwist. Nagi looks at the twins and predicts the "Child of Destiny" not "Boy of Destiny". Everyone assumes it's Tatara - until he's killed and Sarasa takes up his mantle.
23	* AnArmAndALeg: Shuri loses his arm when fighting his teacher Hiragi. As it was his dominate arm and he's a master swordsman, it's pretty crippling for him.
24	* AncestralWeapon: Tatara's sword Byakko, one of a set of four swords passed down by people who vowed to rebel against the dynasty of their day.
25	* AnimalMotifs:
26	** Ageha and (what else) butterflies. His stage name is Madame Butterfly and he wears them everywhere. He's associated with the ButterflyOfDoom (being a small but important leader of the rebellion) and general flying and freedom themes.
27	** Asagi is associated with snakes as per his treacherous nature. The imagery dies down once he starts BecomingTheMask.
28	* 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 and 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.
29	* AvengingTheVillain: Averted. [[spoiler: Senjyu finally decides not to raise her son to harbor the desire for revenge.]]
30	* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: A constant worry. The Europeans have a heavy interest in Japan, either as a trading partner or a colony. Should the political situation become too chaotic or threatening to their interests, it's entirely possible that they will interfere in the civil war. Also as an AllPowerfulBystander, various factions will try to use them, though only Shuri really succeeds and he's very careful when doing so.
31	%%* BabiesEverAfter: Epilogue. Duh. [[spoiler:Mind you, this is AFTER Sasara and Shuri start up a successful merchant corporation and end up even more rich than if Shuri crowned himself emperor]].
32	%%* BattleCouple: Zaki and Chacha.
33	%%** Shuri and Sarasa pre-and-post reveal often lead and fight together.
34	* BatheHerAndBringHerToMe: Happens to Sarasa in Episode 13 of the anime and volume 5 of the manga, when the Blue King plans on sacrificing her.
35	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler: Ageha's predicted death.]] The series tells you from the very beginning that [[MarkedToDie it's going to happen...]]
36	* BehindEveryGreatMan: Despite Japan being a patriarchal feudal society. The Black King is a puppet caught between Murasaki no Ue and one of his concubines. Most of King Ukon's machinations are revealed to have been [[spoiler: the White Lady's plots]].
37	* BettyAndVeronica: Shima (Betty) and Sarasa (Veronica) to Shuri (Archie). Though Shima never had a chance.
38	* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Japanese Royal Family ticks all the marks: filicide, patricide, [[spoiler: incest]], illegitimate children, affairs and cheating, AbusiveParents.
39	* BirdsOfAFeather:
40	** Shuri and Sarasa. Both are [[MagneticHero charismatic]], [[TheStrategist intelligent]], [[TheDeterminator stubborn]] [[AFatherToHisMen loyal leaders]] with heavy [[TheChosenOne dest]][[SelfFulfillingProphecy inies]]. Both are idealistic, sharing similar visions and goals of a better Japan.
41	** Best shown when they are commanding two armies against each other. Despite being on opposite sides, it's noticed that they are predicting each other's strategies and seem to be reading the other's mind.
42	* ABirthdayNotABreak:
43	** At one point, Sarasa is going off to fight when Kakuji and Nagi realize that it's Sarasa's birthday and she's turned 16. She's been so busy with the rebellion that she forgot.
44	** Shuri remembers that it's his birthday halfway through organizing the Okinawa resistance. Shuri being Shuri, he immediately uses it to his strategic advantage
45	* BoyMeetsGirl: Sarasa and Shuri. First they meet at a hot spring, then they meet again and travel together [[spoiler:until they find out they are enemies, have [[HeroicBSOD emotional breakdowns]] and get better in the end.]]
46	* BreakTheCutie: Lots. Ginko got this as her backstory. She was a naive romantic princess who married the king of Awaji. Despite it being arranged, [[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: the fire renders her FirstLove and childhood friend impotent and she's raped by her father and forced to bear his child.]] It's no wonder she's an OmnicidalManiac.
47	* BreakTheHaughty: Shuri loses his closest friends, sees his city fall, is ursuped, regains his city only to be defeated, finds out his lover is trying to kill him, is sold as a slave and looses his sword arm. He always bounces back and it kickstarts an enormous amount of CharacterDevelopment.
48	%%* CainAndAbel: Shuri and Asagi, to an extent, though it's mostly one-sided on Asagi's part.
49	%%* TheChosenOne: Shuri is prophesied to overthrow King Ukon. The grief the prophecy caused him makes him adopt a very ScrewDestiny attitude.
50	%%** Subverted and played straight with Tatara and Sarasa.
51	* ComingOfAgeStory: For Hayato, who grows from a childish CowardlyLion into Sarasa's NumberTwo and a powerful leader of the rebellion. [[spoiler: He's implied to end up leading Japan]]
52	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Tamon. Muratake and Hida could also qualify.
53	* CuteOwl: Sarasa's pet owl Shinbashi that she receives from Ageha (who has a somewhat less cute pet owl himself). Shinbashi is adorably small, round and fluffy and his appearance and penchant for doing funny things are often used to bring some levity into the story.
54	* CycleOfRevenge: Eventually [[AvertedTrope averted]], when Senju finally decides not to raise her son to seek revenge for his father.
55	* DamnedByFaintPraise: Shima asks if the woman Shuri loves is more beautiful than her and Nakijin can only reply "Well, she has more energy."
56	* DeadGuyJunior: Repeatedly averted. Senju does not name her son after his father, and an omake has Sarasa and Shuri vetoing the idea of naming their children after one another’s dead friends.
57	* DecadentCourt: Most of the royal courts. Shuri's inner circle is the only one that averts this due to him killing off all the corrupt politicians and surrounding himself with (mostly) loyal, honorable and competent subordinates.
58	%%* DeadlyGame: The Suzuka Murder Race.
59	* 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).]]
60	%%* DeathIsDramatic: [[spoiler: Shido, Taro, Ageha, and Ginko.]] Tamura really likes her grandiose deaths.
61	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Sarasa wins her first allies, the pirate crew, this way.
62	%%* DepravedHomosexual: The Snake King.
63	* DidYouGetANewHaircut:
64	** Sarasa didn't even recognize [[spoiler: Tamon]] after he trimmed his. Then again, [[TheFaceless she probably couldn't even see his face beforehand.]]
65	** Ageha lops off his hair mid-series.
66	* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: Ageha, and Taro who dies while looking at the future of the land, and never closes them even after death.]]
67	* DiscOneFinalBoss: The Red King and his advisers. They destroy the Byakko tribe, capture the rest and start Sarasa's journey. However, the prisoners are rescued and Shido and Kazan are killed fairly early. The Red King continues on alone but is deposed halfway through the story and the rebellion turns its attentions towards King Ukon.
68	* DramaticIrony: Yumi Tamura milks Sarasa and Shuri's romance for all it's worth. The amount of times Shuri or Sarasa talk about killing each Tatara or the Red King to their face...
69	* TheDragon: After Shido's death, Shuri gets a new NumberTwo - Nakijin. Solidified when Shuri gets a vision of Shido telling him that the job of being by his side is no longer his.
70	%%** Shido to Shuri.
71	* DrivenToSuicide: General Kazan, because of the conflict between his loyalty to the Red King and his love for Chigusa.
72	* EvilChancellor: It wouldn't be a corrupt government without it. Ashou and Hagiwara are examples.
73	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Villains and heroes alike will calmly and willingly lay down their lives for their beliefs, hopes and ambitions. In fact, aversions are more notable and usually a sign of a DirtyCoward (like King Ukon).
74	* [[FallenPrincess Fallen Prince]]: Shuri multiple times. He is overthrown by Momonoi and after taking back Suo loses to Tatara. [[spoiler: He then accepts rule as Emperor of Japan but willingly gives it up to Tatara.]]
75	* 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 ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''-esque plot that Ginko was raped by Ukon. She's his mother and sister.]]
76	* FourLinesAllWaiting:
77	** At various points in the story due to both the sheer amount of characters and complex, interwoven political situation.
78	** Shuri and Sarasa's journeys are often shown side-by-side to emphasize the complicated dynamic surrounding the two
79	** The ending weaves together about 4-5 simultaneous events: Shuri and Sarasa's confrontation with Ukon, Kikune's battle against the Virtues, Asagi's fight with Hiragi and confrontation with Ginko and Ageha's attempt to stop the castle from falling apart.
80	* GambitPileup: As expected of a series filled with [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]] and [[GuileHero Guile Heros]]. The final battle of Shuri and Sarasa has multiple plots with Shuri plotting his own agenda, Sarasa fighting Shuri, Hagiwara planning to burn them both and Ginko using Hagiwara - plus the many SpannerInTheWorks running around.
81	* GiveMeLibertyOrGiveMeDeath: [[spoiler: Ageha sacrifices himself for Sarasa and the rest of the rebellion.]]
82	* GottaCatchThemAll: Tatara is prophesied to assemble the 4 swords of [[TheFourGods Byakko, Genbu, Suzaku and Seiryu]]. 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.
83	* GracefulLoser:
84	** A couple of the politicians and rulers that Tatara or Shuri defeat
85	** Counselor Unten after losing the GambitPileup, concedes gracefully and tries to go into exile.
86	** 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.
87	* GuileHero: Sarasa is very good at coming up with clever tricks and plans to outwit her enemies.
88	** Shuri as well, though he's a [[ManipulativeBastard darker version]]
89	* HalfIdenticalTwins: when Sarasa decides to impersonate her twin Tatara, 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.
90	** It helps that most of the people who know Tatara and Sarasa best are [[PutOnABus removed from the story]] (Sarasa's mother), [[DeathBySecretIdentity killed]] (Tatara's fiancee, Sarasa's grandfather) or keeping the secret for her (Nagi).
91	* HarpOfFemininity: Princess Senju at one point plays the lyre.
92	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Kikune eventually betrays the rest of the Four Virtues for Sarasa. Asagi seems to go through a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor but in the end his loyalties lie with the Tatara Army.]]
93	* HeroicBSOD: Sarasa [[spoiler:after she realizes that her lover Shuri is actually the Red King she has sworn to take revenge on for killing her family. Shuri is in about the same condition.]]
94	* HiddenEyes: Tamon's hair always covers his eyes, even when he cuts it short.
95	* 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.
96	* HotBlooded: Ichimatsu of Hida, whenever anyone attempts to insult him or his lady.
97	** Shido as befitting the Red King and all the fire imagery associated with him.
98	** In the extra stories, Rasho of Genbu. His nickname is "runs with scissors".
99	* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The Suzuka Murder Race. Groups of soldiers hunt conscripted peasants and ignorant foreigners as they try to reach the end.
100	* ImportantHaircut: Sarasa cuts off her braids when she decides to pose as her brother. Later, Ageha get one as well.
101	* InternalReveal: For a good part of the story, Sarasa doesn't know her beloved Shuri is also her fatal enemy, the Red King, and he doesn't know that Sarasa is the rebel Tatara. The audience knows from the start, adding suspense to every time Sarasa and Shuri are together.
102	* IntrepidReporter : Taro and Akane with their newspapers
103	%%* IronicHell: [[spoiler: Ageha]] gets one of these.
104	* IronLady: Murasaki no Ue. She stares down Tatara.
105	* UsefulNotes/JapaneseChristian: Most of the characters are Buddhist, implied areligious or follow local superstitions (or some combination of the 3). Princess Senju however is a devout Christian.
106	* LaResistance: A major theme. Sarasa recruits and allies with people from all over the country in her quest to overthrow the monarchy.
107	* LimaSyndrome: General Kazan actually falls in love with his captive Chigusa- whose child is his king’s sworn enemy- and betrays his king in his efforts to keep her safe.
108	* LoveAtFirstPunch: Sarasa rebuffs Shuri's first advances by bloodying his nose. He's intrigued by the fact that Sarasa does not treat him like other women do.
109	* MadeASlave: Ageha. [[spoiler: Also happens to Shuri. After the disastrous battle where he and Sarasa discover one another's identities, Asagi sells him into slavery.]]
110	* MadeOfIron: Shuri regularly survives what should be fatal wounds. He attempts seppuku, gets shot at by arrows, burns his back (on purpose) etc. He once looses his arm and is bleeding profusely and still manages to give a RousingSpeech.
111	* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Asagi to the Snake King, since he is the real Blue King. Or is he?]]
112	* ManipulativeBastard: Everyone in the royal family. Even Shuri. ''Especially'' Shuri. His habit of bluffing, heavy reliance on LoopholeAbuse and PlausibleDeniability and tendency to have his enemies HoistByTheirOwnPetard is very manipulative. A good chunk of his CharacterDevelopment is growing to respect people as more than pawns and moving past using them.
113	* MeaningfulName: See the page quote. Also Senju's son. Everybody thinks she'll name him [[DeadGuyJunior Shido]] after his father, [[spoiler: but she names him Motomochi, basically meaning 'find your own path'.]]
114	%%* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler: Ageha]]
115	%%* MessianicArchetype: Sarasa. Her coming was even foretold.
116	* MightyWhitey: Europe seems to handle unspecified cataclysm juch better, than Japan. By the time of series, they already have circa XIX-century level of technology, with ironclads and rifled artillery. And they consider Japanese as merely barbarians, who understood only force. To be fair, they aren't all wrong...
117	* TheMole: Asagi joins Sarasa's band with the intention of sowing chaos and discord.
118	* MrFanservice: Take a shot every time Shuri is shirtless. In one scene, Shuri is fighting on the front lines in a swamp and he's just randomly shirtless and soaking wet.
119	* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Hachiya and the 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.
120	* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: Sarasa takes on her brother's name and role after his death early in the series.
121	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The results of overthrowing Momonoi.
122	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Subverted. Although Sarasa does not have her period for extended periods of time, after spending some time [[SweetPollyOliver out of her Tatara alter-ego]] she gets it again and comments on how her body reacted to her wish of living as a woman again.
123	* OffingTheOffspring: The Golden King seems prone to this. He already had one of his sons killed and what he did to his youngest wasn't very nice either.
124	* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler: Ginko is implied to be a somewhat more restrained, but still scary, version.]]
125	* OnlyTheChosenMayRide: The horse Yato is said to have only allowed Tatara and no one else to mount him. Yato is initially hostile to Sarasa's attempts to ride him, but eventually after some adventures he develops great loyalty for her.
126	* OutOfFocus: Sarasa's early allies (Hayato, Chacha, Nachi) start getting less focus as the story settles on developing other characters (Shuri, Ageha and Asagi in particular). It's a bit inevitable due to the large cast.
127	* PaperThinDisguise: Come on, "Tatara" is just Sarasa with her hair down and wearing a headband and pants. Justified by the fact that nobody outside her village even knew Sarasa existed, nor what the original Tatara looked like, so they have no reference to realize what's up.
128	* ParentalAbandonment: Lots of characters. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope understandable]] in such an unstable country where there's always fighting going on.
129	* ParentalSubstitute: Nagi and Kakuji act like surrogate parents to Sarasa after her father dies and her mother leaves to let Sarasa pursue her own path.
130	* 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. [[spoiler: It's nevertheless implied that Ageha was in love with him after all.]]
131	%%* PirateGirl: Chacha, a pirate captain.
132	* PlatonicLifePartners:
133	** Tara, [[spoiler:Shuri's great-grandmother]] and Genshou, [[spoiler:Sarasa's great-grandfather]] from the side-stories qualify for the most part, given that Genshou is already seeing someone and Tara thinks very little of romance.
134	** Nachi and Hijiri. The latter even mentions they ''would've'' been married if one of them was a woman. Similarly, Shuri with Shido and, later, Nakijin.
135	** Nakijin and Yuna (Yuna's engaged to the President of Okinawa) who also serve as ThoseTwoGuys to Shuri.
136	* PlausibleDeniability:
137	** Shuri pre-CharacterDevelopment loved this trope. He's not burning down a shrine, he's retrieving an ally and if the shrine burns as collateral damage that's incidental.
138	** The Europeans aren't supporting Shuri and the Okinawans, they just "set off fireworks for a birthday celebration".
139	* PlayingBothSides: Asagi joins Tatara's group with the intention of doing this. By extension, the White Lady also.
140	* ThePowerOfFriendship: The formation of Tatara's Army relies on this trope.
141	* PuppetKing: The Snake King lives his life in decadence while Asagi (the actual [[KingIncognito Blue King]]) does most of the day to day ruling.
142	** The Black King is a powerful warrior and military leader but most of the ruling is done by either his wife or concubine.
143	* TheQuisling: Ashou, pretty unashamedly, butters up to whoever is in charge of Suo.
144	* QuiveringEyes: Sarasa almost constantly at the beginning.
145	* RacialRemnant: Ageha once belong to a nomadic desert people. They were hunted down and killed and the survivors were enslaved. In the extra stories, a few other survivors appear.
146	* RealWomenDontWearDresses: Averted. While the story is filled with {{Action Girl}}s, it also puts as much attention on more feminine characters who are able to help the revolution in their own way. Shima uses guile, wit and charm to help Shuri and Sarasa's mother leads a cadre of healers. Senju becomes TheHeart of Tatara's group and represents the mothers who will birth, raise and shape the new generation.
147	%%* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Sarasa delivers quite a satisfying one to King Ukon.]]
148	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Murasaki no Ue, the Black King's wife.
149	* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler: Shuri and Sarasa are reincarnations of a 20th century couple who lived before the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]
150	* {{Revenge}}:
151	** Sets the plot rolling. Sarasa wants revenge on the Red King for destroying her village and killing her family. Later, Princess Senju seeks revenge on "Tatara" for Shidou's death.
152	** 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. The moral both times being vengeance isn't worth dedicating and risking your life and goals.
153	* RichInDollarsPoorInSense:
154	** Shuri to a degree. He is definitely a RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, being a brilliant WarriorPrince but the manga gets a lot of comedy and mileage out of Shuri taking his wealth and status for granted. He considers basic chores beneath him and has no concept of money.
155	** Asagi who also considers chores beneath him, also has no concept of money and is even more helpless than Shuri (who can at least beat people up or convince them to help him).
156	* RoyallyScrewedUp: The royal family's dysfunction is also entirely responsible for the miserable state of the country.
157	* SelfFulfillingProphecy:
158	** 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 his children are actively plotting against him)
159	** Sarasa's prophecy as well. Tatara was only hailed as a hero due to the prophecy which led him and his tribe to start plotting rebellion, which attracted Shuri's attention which lead to his death and Sarasa dedicating herself to overthrowing the Red King. Considering that Shuri is a fair if ruthless leader, had the Byakko tribe not been so restive, they would have no reason to rebel.
160	** Ageha's prophecy is this as well as it's stated that Ageha is [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife actively searching for the woman he would give his life for.]] Once he finds Sarasa and her cause, he dedicates everything to the rebellion and his death was merely a single decision in the line of things he does and sacrifices for Sarasa.
161	* ShootTheBuilder: King Ukon's uses slaves and captives to build a giant gold Buddha and then buries the slaves alive.
162	%%* SlaveBrand: Ageha [[spoiler:and Shuri]] have them.
163	* SoHappyTogether:
164	** [[spoiler: Shuri and Sarasa consummate their love - the night before Tatara leads his final attack on the Red Army and the InternalReveal of each other's identity.]]
165	** Shido and Senju also consumate their love before Shido leaves for Sakurajima where he's killed.
166	* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Princess Senju conceives only days before Shidou dies in battle against the heroine. In the prequel story ''Katana'', both Tenmaya and Gensho leave pregnant girlfriends behind when they die.
167	* StrongFamilyResemblance: A side panel shows King Ukon as a young man. He looks almost exactly like Shuri.
168	* SubordinateExcuse: Zaki, Chacha’s second in command, is deeply in love with her and wants only to support her.
169	* SweetPollyOliver: Sarasa in order to have people believe brother the Son of Destiny is still alive.
170	* TeamChef: Asagi joins Tatara’s group and almost immediately begins to cook. (Sarasa refuses to eat his cooking at first out of distrust.) [[spoiler: Asahiko, the wielder of the original Genbu sword, was also the cook for the failed first rebellion.]]
171	%%* TenderTears: Sarasa cries often, but is by no means weak.
172	* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler: Spoken word for word by Kakuji at the end of the rebellion. Tatara and The Red King are dead and all that's left is Sarasa and Shuri.]]
173	* ThereAreNoCoincidences: Shuri realizes this too late. Every time he met Sarasa randomly in a hot spring was because he was off to fight Tatara.
174	%%* TheStoic: Zaki, Raizo, Masunaga and Hiraagi.
175	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Sarasa is the Tomboy next to the resident {{Yamato Nadeshiko}}s Senju and Shima.
176	* TrueCompanions: Sarasa gathers up close friends everywhere she goes. Her army is practically one big bunch of Companions.
177	* TheUnchosenOne: Even towards the end, no one really knows who the chosen one really was.
178	* UndyingLoyalty: Everywhere though Sakaki takes the cake.
179	* UnrequitedLove: General Kazan loves his captive Chigusa, who thinks he’s being very nice to her under the circumstances but still wants him dead because he killed her husband and son. She admits she can’t hate him several volumes after his death. There’s also Erik the Red, whose crush on Chacha never goes anywhere (not least because she has a thing for her first mate, Zaki).
180	* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: Tatara and Sarasa. [[spoiler: A side story set later on also reveals that Sarasa and Shuri's children are also girl and boy twins.]]
181	* WalkingTheEarth: [[spoiler: After the revolution, Sarasa and Shuri found a merchant company and are traveling the world like the dream that Shuri mentioned to Shido once.]]
182	* WeakerTwinSavesTheDay: Sarasa certainly thinks about it this way, but it's implied that the prophecy was about her all along.
183	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The last few chapters detail the fates of the main characters. [[spoiler: Ageha's in an IronicHell, Sarasa and Shuri have kids, Asagi is WanderingTheEarth etc etc]]
184	* WhiteAndGreyMorality: To an extent. There are very few truly evil, depraved people on the empire's side--instead, most are genuine idealists and honorable {{Noble Demon}}s (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 {{Freudian Excuse}}s. 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.
185	* WholesomeCrossdresser: Ageha, who's praised as being the best dancer in Japan. [[spoiler:Umewaka also posed as a woman while spying on Shuri and Kazan.]]
186	* WonTheWarLostThePeace: [[spoiler: The revolution nearly fell into this trope when forming a new goverment as a charismatic demagogue assumed control. Japan falls into limbo until Hayato is convinced to lead the government.]]
187	* WoundedGazelleGambit: How Asagi got into the heroes' group.
188	%%* WrenchWench: Kikune.
189	* 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.
190

Context Manga / Basara