Basara (バサラ) is the name of a manga, and later an anime, written by Yumi Tamura . The manga consists of 27 volumes; the anime follows only part of the manga story, and cuts off after 13 episodes. In North America, he manga is published by Viz Communications in English

The story takes place in a future Japan, reduced to a barren desert by a catastrophe at the end of the 20th century. The main character is Sarasa, a girl whose twin brother, Tatara, is prophecied to be the "child of fate" (運命の子供 or 運命の少年) who will bring back the country's wealth and abundance. When Tatara is killed, Sarasa pretends to be him in order to keep the downtrodden from losing hope.

Characters

• Sarasa 更紗 -- the protagonist, a young girl
• Tatara タタラ -- her twin brother (deceased)
• The Red King 赤の王
• Makoto (Maa-kun)　マコト (まーくん) -- Sarasa's childhood friend (deceased)
• Nagi ナギ
• Ageha 揚羽
• Shinbashi 新橋／シンバシ -- Sarasa's pet owl