THE MEANING OF BASARA'S NAME
Ever since I became a fan of My Hero Academia, where pretty much every character's name is a pun on their super powers, I’ve been interested in reading up on definitions of names of anime characters.
Here's what Basara's name means: The meaning of his last name 'Nekki' has a very simple answer, seeing as the kanji of his name and the actual word are the same - 熱気 It means: heat, hot air, enthusiasm Obviously that’s pretty much spot on for the guy, and is to be expected. In fact it's so spot on, that I wouldn't be surprised if he took up that name himself instead of inherited it, he was an orphan after all. |
His first name is more exciting though;
Basara’s first name - バサラ - is spelled in katakana. While the dictionary definition is written in kanji (婆娑羅), but they should mean the same thing. Interestingly, it has two definitions which happen to coincide with two differing views people in the show AND outside it generally seem to have of him: Definition one:
Definition two:
The first definition is pretty much absolutely perfect for Basara, as each and every option applies to him. He's a wild and eccentric guy, acting without restraint and is often very self-indulgent, especially when it comes to comfort. The second definition on the other hand, is pretty much exactly what people often perceive him as. Pretentiousness is a big one for some valid reasons and some not so valid ones, he is thought to be egocentric, and people seem to assume that Basara thinks he's hot stuff - especially when it comes to women - when, let's be real, he really doesn't care much for outer appearances... or women, for that matter. Guy just wants to sing. Just let him sing. |
Fun fact:
Katakana, the alphabet used for Basara's name, is the simplest to understand, most straight-forward Japanese alphabet, as well as the one considered the most masculine due to it's sharp features. The fact his name is written in Katakana is extremely in-character. |
NOTE: It was stated in an interview in the THIS IS ANIMATION Special Macross 7 book, that Basara's first name was chosen by series composition head Tomohiro Tomita to reflect a free spirit who knows no hesitation. He explained that he wanted to create a protagonist that "brings out and helps to fire up the flame of the potential power in everyone".
Basara's possible ties to Buddhism
I've been contacted by LoreKan, a fellow Macross 7 fan and a reader of this site, who provided some very interesting observations regarding Basara's name and it's possible subtle ties to Buddhism, a non-violent religion practised across Asia.
Among the Twelve Heavenly Generals of the Buddhist mythology, the name of one of them, known as Vajra in Sanskrit, is romanized as Basara - albeit with a different spelling in kanji (伐折羅). What might instantly catch a Macross fan's eye is the fact that Vajra is also the name of the alien race in Macross Frontier, but interesting connections don't end here.
The Twelve Heavenly Generals are the protectors of Bhaiṣajyaguru, a Buddha of healing - healing being something that can certainly be associated with Basara. Vajra is also a symbolic ritual object, which is said to possess both the properties of a diamond and a thunderbolt, in a sense where it represents a firm spirit and spiritual power. It is said to be an indestructible substance that cuts through emotional instability and uncertainty. All of these things are very relevant to Basara's character.
The final thing of interest regarding this connection is the fact that Macross 7 Dynamite's ending actually features several live action scenes that Shoji Kawamori recorded in India, the birthplace of Buddhism.
Whether all of this was intentional or not is up to anyone to decide and I am not claiming that Basara's name having ties to Buddhism is a fact, but personally I feel like there's quite a lot of connections here, and it's hard to just call it all a series of coincidences. Either way, this was a very interesting thing to learn about, thanks again to LoreKan for bringing it to my attention!
Among the Twelve Heavenly Generals of the Buddhist mythology, the name of one of them, known as Vajra in Sanskrit, is romanized as Basara - albeit with a different spelling in kanji (伐折羅). What might instantly catch a Macross fan's eye is the fact that Vajra is also the name of the alien race in Macross Frontier, but interesting connections don't end here.
The Twelve Heavenly Generals are the protectors of Bhaiṣajyaguru, a Buddha of healing - healing being something that can certainly be associated with Basara. Vajra is also a symbolic ritual object, which is said to possess both the properties of a diamond and a thunderbolt, in a sense where it represents a firm spirit and spiritual power. It is said to be an indestructible substance that cuts through emotional instability and uncertainty. All of these things are very relevant to Basara's character.
The final thing of interest regarding this connection is the fact that Macross 7 Dynamite's ending actually features several live action scenes that Shoji Kawamori recorded in India, the birthplace of Buddhism.
Whether all of this was intentional or not is up to anyone to decide and I am not claiming that Basara's name having ties to Buddhism is a fact, but personally I feel like there's quite a lot of connections here, and it's hard to just call it all a series of coincidences. Either way, this was a very interesting thing to learn about, thanks again to LoreKan for bringing it to my attention!