Sakura Wars

Original Title: サクラ大戦
Romanized: Sakura Taisen
Literal: Sakura Wars

Plot Synopsis

The story takes place in Japan of the 1920s... sort of. In this world, after the great demon war, humanity took to technological development, and steam technology reigns. Humanity has not sat idly by as the demons prepare secretly for a new assault--an internationally agreed upon, semi-secret organization has been formed to defend Tokyo, and only the best and brightest will join its ranks. At the heart of this organization is the Uba Spirit Armor, robotic suits developed by Kanzaki Heavy Industries powered by the operators' own spiritual energy. Only one problem: No one in the army seems to be up to the task. Fortunately, a handful of people are.

Hence, Ikki Yoneda and Ayame Fujieda set out to round up the world's most impressive group of misfits--the only ones with enough spiritual energy to mobilize the armor: Sumire Kanzaki, the spoiled granddaughter of old man Kanzaki and a highly trained warrior, Maria Tachibana, a deadeye Russian markswoman, Kanna Kirishima, a good natured street brawler and Karate master with inhuman strength, Iris Chateaubriand, a young girl with some very capable telekinetic abilities (plus a teddy bear and a cute streak a mile wide), Sakura Shinguji, a girl in training to become the master of a powerful ancient weapon, and Ri Kohran, Hong Kong watchmaker and steam-powered-weapon fanatic... er, specialist. Oh yeah, and there's also Ichiro Ohgami, who spends the early part of the series mopping the decks of a boat and reading about the fledgling group's exploits in the paper, but he eventually gets cooler.

The group is going to have a heck of a time not killing each other before they start saving the world...

Quick Review

Rating: 3 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2003-07-05

Sakura Wars is a well done series with a blend of fun alternate-past demon fighting and more serious character-driven themes. The characters are great (and well acted), the art is top notch, and the animation is solid. Unfortunately, the plot only touches the surface of the large-scale themes, has essentially no conclusion, and takes a turn for the weird at the non-end, leaving you wishing there was more to it. The series also starts off a little slow, and you might not see as much action as you would expect--true to the games it's based on, it's more about character development than combat.

But, it's still worth a look for anyone who likes steampunk-style stories of alternate pasts, or goes for the motley demon hunting crew stuff. And if you do have fun, you can look forward to another OAV series, a TV series, and a movie.

US DVD Review

This DVD is a big step up from ADV's first attempt, but not perfect. The video transfer is sharp, bright, and generally quite impressive, as is the audio (although the volume tends to jump around a little). This one includes both the Japanese and English soundtracks, and (unlike ADVs first disc, Tekken) it has real subtitles, rather than the "dubtiles." On the down side, the subtitles seemed to kind of freeze up a couple of times, and although it wasn't severe, it was definitely annoying. The credits were a bit on the creative side, with two sets of opening credits--depending on which angle you have set, you get the Japanese or English version. Unfortunately, for some reason they didn't feel like doing the same for the end credits, so while you can read who the primary voice actors were in either voice track, if you want to know who all the minor players were, you'll have to settle for the dubbed cast only. The menu is animated and soundtrack-equipped, and includes an animated chapter index as well as a large selection of ADV trailers.

Content Guide

A little bit of violence and conflict (and some relatively scary monsters), but not much objectionable. Probably deserves a 10-up rating.

Violence: 2 - Not terribly violent, but has it's share and is fairly realistic.

Nudity: 1 - A nightshirt or two.

Sex/Mature Themes: 0 - Zip.

Language: 1 - Mild.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a 1996 video game from Sega, which was a combination dating simulator (you played Ichiro, who interacted with the various ladies) and RPG-style combat simulator. The series is huge, now consisting of 13 games (5 of which are connected plot wise, the rest are spin-offs), two OAV series (this one and a second), a TV series, and a movie released toward the end of 2001. There is at least one more major game in production as of this writing (Sakura Taisen 4), and things show no signs of letting up.

If you enjoyed the music in this series, you're in for a treat, because one of the defining features of the franchise is its assortment of character-themed songs. There are quite a variety of lively songs with international overtones--everything from jazz, to traditional Japanese, to Chinese. My personal favorite of what I've come by is a vocal version of Kana's theme: a slightly Okinawa-flavored boogie that's so catchy you can't help but tap your foot (I'd rank that near the top of my all time favorite anime songs, in fact).

If you want a detailed rundown on the plot, here it is, just because I felt like it:

Act 1

We begin the story by witnessing the inaugural test of the Uba Spirit Armor with an unlikely pilot, and the formal creation of Tokyo's new self defense force. We then get to meet the first three members of said defense force, and the christening of the first three suits of (rather colorful) Spirit Armor (dubbed the Pansy brigade, of course). The trio's first assignment seems to be an easy one--just see the sights of Tokyo and enjoy the beautiful weather. Well, that would be fine and dandy if it weren't for one of those pesky demons who's just itching to mess up a perfectly nice walk in the park. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a miss Sakura Shinguji, who lost her father when he left home to battle the demons, and now begins her training to become the wielder of the spirit sword Arataka--but will the sword accept her as its master?

Act 2

The theater house that will be the base of the newly formed defense force is nearing completion, and the current members are put to work on their next assignment--learning to dance (hey, they've got to do something to maintain their cover and keep the natives happy, right?). Things are going acceptably well, until Sumire Kanzaki joins the team--let's just say that her rather pampered upbringing doesn't mesh with one of the free spirits on the team. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... er, dojo, Sakura has been accepted by her father's sword, and instructed by it to travel to Tokyo, but she must master the ultimate technique before she leaves, which proves to be more difficult than it would first appear.

Act 3

The team is almost complete, but now that Sakura's finally made it to the team, things have gotten a little messy behind the scenes... literally. You see, Sumire is more than pleased with her own performance in the team's recent stage productions, but Sakura wants to be more than just a stage hand: she wants to act! Maria, the current team leader, decides that this is the best way to improve on Sakura's lack of self-confidence, but Sumire is outraged. Worse yet, the team's first encounter with the robotic legions of darkness is on it's way, and no one knows how the Spirit Armor will fare...

Act 4

The Flower Brigade has a new leader, Ichiro Ohgami--apparently the only guy with enough spirit energy to get the armor movin'. He's doing his best to please everybody, but that is no easy task, and he ends up feeling more like a world-class gopher than a leader. But, things are going pretty well as their next production approaches. Until, that is, the forces of darkness decide to attack on opening night. What will become of the team, its new leader, and their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Availability

Available in the US from ADV on "anime essentials" bilingual DVD (buy from RightStuf). There was a previous DVD release that was essentially identical save for 5.1 audio, and a collection that combined both this OAV series and the two following ones into one set; both are out of print. Even earlier, there were two subtitled or dubbed VHS volumes of this series (only).

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store