WHAT ARE BASARA'S ORIGIN AND CITIZENSHIP?
I feel it's necessary to point out how much I appreciate that none of this was actually explored in the show. I love that it's clearly stated that Basara is an orphan, but it's not used as a cheap way to garner sympathy for him, it's not a sob story - it's almost a nonexistent part of his story. I love that, because on the grander scale of Basara's character, it's not really the thing that matters. It gives some great understanding of why he might be the way he is, but the tragic aspect of it is not explored, because it most likely doesn't matter to Basara. It's stated in numerous of his songs that he doesn't look back - he looks towards creating a better future.
Anyway, this is another one of those things that only me and maybe two other people wonder about, but I really wanted to brainstorm and theorize a little bit about where Basara actually comes from or, well, doesn't come from. When I watched The Galaxy Is Calling Me!, I was originally convinced that the town he visited was his home town, largely due to there actually being a dusty silver guitar in it, and I assumed that was the same guitar that was mentioned in the song Remember 16. That was, however, not the case. Comparing the two towns one can easily tell that they are not the same. The houses are built in different ways, the climate is different, and the mountains are different. Basara's childhood town is full of houses with white walls, while wooden cottages seem to be the standard in the mining town. The area of the latter is completely covered in snow, while in the former it's merely cold and extremely windy, but not all white. The reporter states that there's snow all year round, but it seems that she is mostly referring to the mountain tops, as the village is clearly not covered in snow. Before seeing the mining town in The Galaxy Is Calling Me!, I was also convinced that Basara must've been born on Earth, but it's now very clear that there are other Earth-like planets. The mountain above the town is called Mt. Dream, which is not a mountain you can find on Earth. With that out of the way on to some more theorizing. You could assume that Basara was born and grew up in that mountainous town, but I don't think that's the case. If he was born there, there would be records of him being born, however according to the reporter, absolutely no record of him was documented in the town under Mt. Dream. According to her, there is absolutely zero information on Basara or anyone to ever be associated with him, which is definitely very odd. |
The explanation I find the most solid based on this lack of information is, that Basara was simply not born in that town.
If he were, there would be a birth certificate in the town's and hospital's database. His parents would also be known, as it's a very small town. If he lost them as a baby, someone would still have to take care of him, but no one did - in that town.
I have two theories on how Basara could end up like this, both fairly weak as there is no actual evidence or information about his time as an orphan, only about... well, the LACK of information about his time as an orphan.
If he were, there would be a birth certificate in the town's and hospital's database. His parents would also be known, as it's a very small town. If he lost them as a baby, someone would still have to take care of him, but no one did - in that town.
I have two theories on how Basara could end up like this, both fairly weak as there is no actual evidence or information about his time as an orphan, only about... well, the LACK of information about his time as an orphan.
THEORY 1: DEAD PARENTS
Basara is a fairly wild person, and it's likely that he would've gotten that from his parents. It's possible that they were travellers (would explain Basara's own need to go out on his own every now and then), and passed away near that town when Basara was maybe 8-10 years old. Should that be the case, there's a good chance that Basara would know at least the bare minimum of how to take care of himself. He might've been raised to be independent from a very early age, which would be why, once he ended up in that town, he didn't ask for help. Basara did not grow up in an orphanage, and he did not make any connections in that town, based on the reporter's statement that there is no information of his living space or acquaintances.
Even as a grown up, Basara still often refuses to ask for help, as it's apparent in the episode where he loses his voice and doesn't let anyone know about it, instead trying to overcome it all on his own. It's not far fetched to assume that he was the same as a child.
So while this boards greatly into the headcanon territory, which I generally dislike, I think the sequence of events that seems the most believable is the following;
Even as a grown up, Basara still often refuses to ask for help, as it's apparent in the episode where he loses his voice and doesn't let anyone know about it, instead trying to overcome it all on his own. It's not far fetched to assume that he was the same as a child.
So while this boards greatly into the headcanon territory, which I generally dislike, I think the sequence of events that seems the most believable is the following;
- Basara's parents were not from the town under Mt. Dream, because that town is small, and people would know who they were.
- Basara most likely lost his parents when he's somewhere around 10 years old - old enough to be able to get by on his own.
- He somehow ends up in the town under Mt. Dream, where he stays, but doesn't interact with people.
It's possible he even goes as far as to avoid them all together. - Around that time, Ray arrives to that town and most likely stays there for a while, seeing as he gets a job as a construction worker.
- It's likely that he took note of Basara and kept an eye on him.
- A few years later, Ray finally asks Basara if he'd like to join up with him and practically adopts him.
The reason Basara agreed to go with Ray was, because Ray approached him with an understanding that other people didn't have. Basara probably never expected anyone to get why he goes out to the mountains to play, but Ray clearly figured it out.
Why Ray didn't take in a homeless child earlier is beyond me.
theory 2: abandoned child
Originally this theory didn't occur to me at all, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Basara is very evasive when it comes to building relationships, he doesn't really seem to be willing to let people too close, and as established earlier, he is often unwilling to ask for help. Taking all of that into consideration, this theory sadly seems like the more plausible of the two.
The cold behaviour and lack of trust could very easily come from someone who was abandoned by their parents - the people you were supposed to depend on, and who were supposed to look out for you and keep you safe.
It would also explain why he is so grateful and loving towards people he does let close, and who do show him affection and kindness, and why he's quick to be kind towards children and sad or broken people, and why he sings songs in hopes to heal them. He's been there, and the people who were supposed to help him left him behind.
So here's a possible sequence of events based on that theory;
The cold behaviour and lack of trust could very easily come from someone who was abandoned by their parents - the people you were supposed to depend on, and who were supposed to look out for you and keep you safe.
It would also explain why he is so grateful and loving towards people he does let close, and who do show him affection and kindness, and why he's quick to be kind towards children and sad or broken people, and why he sings songs in hopes to heal them. He's been there, and the people who were supposed to help him left him behind.
So here's a possible sequence of events based on that theory;
- Basara's parents were still not from the town under Mt. Dream, because that town is still small, and people would know who they were.
- Basara's parents abandoned him near the town or threw him out and he found his way to the town.
- Because he has no reason to trust adults, he doesn't doesn't interact with anyone.
- Ray still moves to the town and gets a job as a construction worker.
- He took note of Basara and kept an eye on him, because it's not hard to miss his outcast behaviour.
- Ray finally asks Basara if he'd like to join up with him. The first glance Basara gives him in the construction site is a very suspicious, standoffish one, as he doesn't trust Ray, but he realizes that Ray understands him and is moved by it.
Why Ray didn't take in a homeless child earlier is still beyond me.
He was most likely seen and recognised by the townspeople (a man recognised him on a photo after all, so people DID know that he must've lived somewhere around there), but he didn't meddle with them and they didn't meddle with him. He was most likely very detached from everyone, as shown when he didn't even greet Ray when they first met. He clearly didn't want to make connections.
It's safe to assume that he wasn't a little thief who would steal food either, seeing as it's even specifically mentioned that there is no police reports on him. It's likely he simply earned his meals by playing and singing.
I feel it's necessary to mention that the reenactment of his childhood that we see in the first Encore episode is most likely NOT accurate and shouldn't be taken as fact. The only things in that episode that we can take as fully accurate is what's shown in flashbacks, the live report from the town under Mt. Dream, and the fact that Basara was indeed an orphan, as that is very clearly reinforced and supported by everything we see.
I also feel a need to point out that I DON'T think his passion for music came from anywhere else but within him. I think that if it was a learned thing he got from someone else, or if it was something he carried on for the sake of someone else, it would remove a lot of impact from Basara's entire character. He most likely grew to love music as a child (I mean, that much is quite obvious), and later on used it as a coping mechanism after he lost his parents, or was abandoned by them. It also most likely worked, giving him a different thing to focus on, which would also explain why he's so determined to share it with others - it's something that healed his pain, and would therefore also be able to heal the pain of others.
It's safe to assume that he wasn't a little thief who would steal food either, seeing as it's even specifically mentioned that there is no police reports on him. It's likely he simply earned his meals by playing and singing.
I feel it's necessary to mention that the reenactment of his childhood that we see in the first Encore episode is most likely NOT accurate and shouldn't be taken as fact. The only things in that episode that we can take as fully accurate is what's shown in flashbacks, the live report from the town under Mt. Dream, and the fact that Basara was indeed an orphan, as that is very clearly reinforced and supported by everything we see.
I also feel a need to point out that I DON'T think his passion for music came from anywhere else but within him. I think that if it was a learned thing he got from someone else, or if it was something he carried on for the sake of someone else, it would remove a lot of impact from Basara's entire character. He most likely grew to love music as a child (I mean, that much is quite obvious), and later on used it as a coping mechanism after he lost his parents, or was abandoned by them. It also most likely worked, giving him a different thing to focus on, which would also explain why he's so determined to share it with others - it's something that healed his pain, and would therefore also be able to heal the pain of others.
Skipping all the way to the time when the main series takes place, it's clearly stated that Basara not only has no city of origin, but also has no citizenship in general.
He lives on an unregistered block that's attached to Macross 7, and is not a registered citizen of Macross 7. Now, he definitely has no birth certificate for starters, and probably hasn't gotten any kind of passport or ID until he was taken in by Ray (at the age of 14, confirmed by the Animation Materials book), and even that is put into question, as the two live in the section of Macross 7 that is specifically known to be unregistered - it could be because Basara has no identity documents. Honestly, he probably has no driver's license either. He had no idea how to pilot a gerwalk, which would probably be taught in the Valkyrie piloting course. Ray most likely taught Basara everything he knows, except for music, which was apparently the one thing Basara has mastered early on, along with general survivalism. Since Ray and Max worked on Sound Force together, it's possible that Max could have these things covered up, and have all the basic and supplementary identification documents provided for Basara later on, or during the run of the series. By the time Dynamite rolls around, Basara seems to have all his documentation issues resolved, as he would most likely need a legitimate passport to be able to travel to a different planet via space bus. Anyway, that's all I have to say on the topic that wasn't really explained or explored within the show, probably because no one but me would find it interesting. |