The Unweeping Uke: Ageha

A quick intro to the series in which Ageha figures: Basara by TAMURA Yumi. Long-running series that appeared monthly in Shoujo Betsucomi (Bessatsu Comic) and is now collected into 26+ volumes published by Flower Comics. The title, Basara, is written in English but is a sanskrit word of great significance in early Buddhist writing: diamond, adamantine, etc. Something very hard indeed. And Ageha, incidentally, has three syllables: A-ge-ha. Means swallowtail butterfly, and written with the kanji for 'raised wings', as of a butterfly poised to fly.

We're 300 or so years in the future when large parts of Japan have become desert areas and civilization has reverted to a feudal medieval level. All this is because of some dimly remembered cataclysm at the end of the 20th century. After a period of chaos following said cataclysm the country was united under the rule of a tyrannical royal family, the line of Saffron Kings. The capital is Kyoto, ruled by the High King. The current High King has divided the country among his four children. The still fertile and still rebellious north, including Hokkaido, is ruled by his oldest son, the Black King. The area around the old capital, Tokyo, is ruled by his second son, the Blue King. The central rural region is under the control of the third child, the unbelligerant White King. Kyuushu and the desert region in the west of the main island belongs to the youngest child, the Red King. (Or King Crimson, as we 60's nostalgia freaks would have it.)

In this latter area in a small village a child is born whom the blind seer Nagi declares to be the Child of Fate destined to bring a rule of peace to the country. This is Tatara, who is carefully raised to carry out his high destiny. He has a twin sister Sarasa and the story begins on their twelfth birthday. There is a great ceremony to celebrate Tatara's coming of age, at which he will receive the sacred sword White Tiger. Sarasa is a little jealous of all the attention and feels a desire to touch the sword herself. Her father stops her and slaps her away, saying that the sword must not be dirtied by a woman's hand. Sarasa runs crying out into the desert night and comes across a line of soldiers all dressed in red, led by a boy not much older than herself- the Red King. Her 'uncle', Kakuji, has followed after her. He finds her watching the army and tries to catch her, but she runs away from him, cutting across the procession. A huge soldier is about to kill her for running in front of the royal presence when a voice from the darkness addresses the Red King- "You intend to soil your honour like this?" The king reaches over and slashes the newcomer's eye out with his sword. "I'll forgive her in return for your eye," he says. "What's your name?" "Ageha", the stranger answers- and so enters one of the most fascinating characters in manga into one of the most engrossing manga series.

Sarasa and Kakuji return to the village to find the villagers lamenting. The army attacked, looking for Tatara and the sword White Tiger. The sword-bearer, Ma-kun, pretended to be Tatara and was slain. Ma-kun's sacrifice only makes Tatara more determined to rid the country of the evil royal family.

Three years later the Red King returns, having realized from the continuing rumours that Tatara is still alive. This time his general, Sanzan, captures Tatara and cuts his head off before the villagers' eyes. The Red King orders the village put to the torch and the villagers to be penned inside and burned alive with it.

The army retreats and begins to fire burning arrows inside the walls. Sarasa recalls how her brother had said just that afternoon that he would have to leave soon and begin his travels. "When I'm not here, I'm counting on you to protect the village." She cuts off her long braids, puts on her brother's clothes, and appears to the villagers saying she is Tatara and that Sarasa was the one who was killed. She tells them to climb up the mountain at the back of the village while she takes her brother's horse and draws the army's attention away at the front. The army is amazed, but the Red King quickly realizes that this is a feint and tells them to see what the villagers are up to round the back. Several men come on the straggling climbers, including the seer Nagi, but Ageha appears again and saves Nagi's life. Nagi thanks him politely and Ageha looks amazed- 'You're not a woman? Oh- too bad...' Ageha agrees to help Tatara in her fight. "A seer once told me that I'd find a woman worth venturing my life for but I haven't met her yet." He gives Nagi a long look. "A pity you're not a woman." Do we need any further indication that this man is prime slash material?

Obviously his artist decided he was. In the next few volumes she put him into any number of classic doujinshi situations, climaxing in vol 16 with a whole angsty Ageha side story. I figure she got annoyed that no-one was doing Ageha djs, and decided to do one of her own.

The Red King, Shuri, is an enlightened monarch in his fashion, when he's not burning villages and lopping his underlings' heads off for incompetence. (Shuri has an itchy sword hand. This is a problem because he's also supposed to be the romantic hero. The plot is one of those 'natural enemies meet and are attracted to each other not realizing who the other is' ones. Shuri knows Sarasa as a girl; Sarasa knows Shuri as just this ordinary guy she keeps meeting at hot spring places. Alas, however 'otokorashii' and manly the Japanese may find Shuri, other people find him a dweeb.) He's abolished slavery and is trying to improve irrigation and agriculture in his fiefdom. In this he is aided by his foster-brother and closest friend Shido-and Ageha was once a slave of Shido's father when they were both boys.

That's what the side story is about, as if you couldn't guess. Ageha's people, an independent desert tribe, were wiped out by the high king and their children sold into slavery. Ageha becomes Shido's father's catamite and whipping boy. Ageha considers killing Shido's father but doesn't- because of Shido, natch. Father comes across Ageha leaning over to kiss the sleeping Shido and thinks the worst. Ageha is staked out in the desert to die but is rescued by a troupe of wandering dancers and their leader, Madame Butterfly, who gives him his name and an occupation. Ageha becomes the star of the troupe. Shido btw isn't worth the angst Ageha wastes on him. Basically his father's son: merciless, rigid, and fixated on Shuri. Some men have no man sense.

Shido and Ageha meet again while Ageha is aiding Sarasa in her first steps in leading a rebellion. It should be said here that Sarasa is a marvellous character. She has a natural charisma and a natural talent for- well, leading rebellions. But she isn't intellectually aware of any of this; as she sees it, she only does what has to be done and one thing leads to another and... The result is that she's frequently unhappy, perplexed and in pain because of the things she finds herself doing in the role she's chosen to play. But she never blinks the fact that she has chosen to play it: no whining about 'I never really wanted to be a rebel leader' from her. Ageha is her low-key support throughout the early volumes, but he keeps telling himself he's only interested in seeing whether she can pull it off. For that matter, he doesn't know she is a she for a long time. Since Sarasa is in disguise half the time and calling herself Tatara, I have a tendency to call her Tatara too. This confuses some people. Sarasa or Tatara, however, she's the same person- the true Child of Fate sent to bring down the line of Saffron Kings.

Shido is hot on the trail of the rebel Tatara and is told that Ageha knows his whereabouts. He attempts to get the information from him in the usual fashion. Observe this encounter between Ageha, Shido (in the glasses) and Shuri the Red King. Note how Shido abuses Ageha but does his best to stop Ageha in his suicidal response to Shuri. Slash opportunity, everybody.

The story continues with a wonderful and varied cast of characters, stirring action, nice psychology, and lots of abusing Ageha. Here he is in chains; here he is suspended upside down; here he is the focus of attention from Shuri's poisonous and fascinating brother the Blue King. And finally, here he is when he sees Shido killed. In a stroke of natural justice, Shido is shot down by the boy he used and betrayed long ago in an attempt to get hold of Tatara. It happens at the moment when Shido is about to kill Tatara and hesitates as he realizes that Tatara's not only a she, she's the girl Shuri is in love with.

Ageha's greatest moment comes in volumes 11 and 12, when he and Tatara and Asagi the Blue King are up in Hokkaido arranging a meeting with the rebels there. (Never mind how Asagi comes to be working with Tatara. It's a long and fascinating story.) They find themselves thrown into the royal prisons, and when they walk into the cavern where the prisoners are, all the sex-starved inmates take a look at the seemingly 14-year-old boy Tatara and lick their lips. Ageha realizes something has to be done, fast, and does it. Turning to the prison boss, he makes him an offer he can't refuse.

This scene notwithstanding, the Hokkaido scenes are one long tease for the fans because it finally looked as if Tatara was going to come to her senses and realize how wonderful Ageha is and how he's worth twelve of that macho dweeb Shuri. Lots of hugs, lots of kissing, lots of hurt/comfort. (Oh, the things that happen to Ageha in Hokkaido...) But no. She remains determinedly non-sexual with him, so he leaves. Walks off so that Tatara will become independent and stop leaning on him. Rats.

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