Warriors, Ogami, and Teddy Bears! Oh My!

Mechas, charming theater performances, teddy bears named Jean-Paul, and resurrecting demons in an alternate 1900s steam-powered Japan? Oh heck to the yes!

As I mentioned before, Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen in Japan) the animated series is a different fish from the original video game. Granted, I haven't played the first Sakura Wars given my lack of prowess in Japanese (unless the dialogue goes along the lines of “Good morning, my name is Sakura. It is a pleasure to meet you.” “Is that so?” “Yes. Thank you for the meal,” I probably won't be able to follow along) but to my knowledge, it's supposed to be very similar to the So Long, My Love title I discussed earlier. Sakura Wars features young, straight laced cutie Ogami as the assistant commander of the Japanese 'Flower Division,' which take on baddies such as mecha like machines called 'Wakiji' and demons called 'Kouma'. As far as I know, the dating sim elements are still in place, and the mecha battles are in the turn based strategy style.

Please, Ogami! Show me the way!

Having played a Sakura Wars video game first, I was expecting the anime to feature Ogami as the commander of the Flower Division as well as the harem of pretty she-warriors. However, all of the dating sim elements are notably absent from the animated series. Rather than Ogami, the newest member of the combat revue, Sakura Shinguji, is the primary protagonist, and the anime documents her challenges in becoming a fully accepted member of the combat division while coming to terms with her family's past. Romance is surprisingly not emphasized. If the ladies want to get into Ogami's sexy white Navy pants, they don't really show it.

Our beautiful protagonist, Sakura Shinguji

Sakura makes a very likable protagonist. She reminds me quite a bit of Tohru Honda of Fruits Basket fame in the sense that she's as tough as nails when it comes to protecting others, but a bit weak in situations when she needs to stand up for herself. Like Shinjiro, she goes through a phase where everyone in the combat revue wants to kick her out, but even after most of the team begins to accept her, she still allows resident bully Sumire to constantly tell her she's worthless (which she isn't; her spiritual pressure is even greater than Sumire's). All in all, she is a fairly able leading lady. She may not have the cool decisiveness ad natural bravery of some of her teammates, but she fights with compassion and takes care of everyone, even the older and more experienced members of the Division.

Alongside Sakura is the rest of the female cast, who I didn't quite like as much as their So Long, My Love counterparts, although they definitely have their strengths. Maria, who takes on the role of vice commander/Ogami's assistant, is a cool headed and stoic Russian, and is slightly androgynous like Subaru, although it is made completely clear that she's all woman. She is a more neutral member of the party; she can be supportive and apathetic in equal measure, and only goes berserk when reminded of the death of a superior in the past. Sumire, as I've mentioned earlier, is the bully. She's the star actress of the theater troupe, and she hates it whenever someone outshines are on the stage or the battlefield, especially Sakura. Kanna is the gung-ho tomboy, Kohran the lovable geek in charge of repairing the mechas and telling everyone to become one with their machines, and Iris the mentally troubled French tyke with special powers and a teddy bear named Jean-Paul. Together they make a rather dysfunctional family, but one that comes together when it matters. Each member of the team has their own character development episode, naturally, with Iris' being my favorite.

Our supporting cast: Maria, Sumire, Kanna, Kohran, and Iris

Ogami plays a smaller role as the team's commander and cheerleader. He fights well in battle and issues orders, but mostly does his best to keep everyone relating to each other positively. He is part of the glue that holds everyone together, but since Sakura also fills that role, he doesn't do as much as I was expecting him to. Which is a crying shame, in my opinion. Ogami is a nice and strong willed good boy (totally my type, in case I haven't made that clear), but he doesn't get the kind of love he would probably receive in the game. His meeting with Sakura has the aura of a meet-cute, and Sumire at one point gives him an awe-struck, happy look, but that's about the extent of it.

As for the plot and styling of the anime, there were things I liked and things I didn't. For now, let's start with the good:

1. The Bonding Dynamic: Like So Long, My Love, Sakura Wars focuses on the friendships of the Flower Division, and takes a group of distant individuals and makes them a fluid team that works through their weaknesses and helps each other discover their strengths. They aren't perfect, and they still bicker like children, but the way the characters become like family to one another is particularly endearing.
2. A Baddie With Emotional Scars: The Big Bad of the series, Aoi Satan, isn't just a hulking mass of pure evil. In fact, he has a pretty tragic back story, and was once the close friend of the members of Flower Division's mission control team, as well as Sakura's father. Unfortunately, circumstances led him to snap and lose his sanity, but you can tell from his former friends' reactions to him that they dearly remember the man he once was.
3. Mechas: Mechas are a staple in a lot of anime, but I'm a big fan of how Sakura Wars utilizes them. They aren't just machines to the girls (and Ogami); they are dependent beings that rely on the strength and trust of their user to fully function. At one point, Kohran even meets the 'spirit' of her mecha, and her interactions with it give her a reason to fight and believe in herself when she loses hope. The fact that the mechas were invented by the Big Bad before he snapped make them that much more interesting.
4. Tough Females: Ogami kicks butt, but for the most part it's the ladies maneuvering the difficult battles. Sakura is particularly adept at taking down the enemy while at the same time making sure her companions don't get hurt in the process. Even without the assistance of mechas, characters like Kanna, Sakura, and Maria can do some pretty serious damage based on their own strength.
5. Japanese Voice Acting: The vocal talent was strong across the board, and none of the characters ever really bothered me in that department. However, I flipped the English dub on at one point just to give it a whirl, and it was... a bit lacking, to say the least. If you're planning on watching this series, stick to the subtitles and just enjoy the original language. It does not disappoint.
6. Ogami: Ogami in his Naval uniform especially. And in his vest. I just liked him in general. He was the heart of the Flower Division, even though he wasn't the strongest out of the warriors.

And among the weaknesses:

1. Sumire: As the bully and vain superstar of the team, it's only natural that Sumire is the one picking on Sakura when everyone else grows out of it. And that's not the problem; in fact, her hostility towards her competition often makes Sakura a stronger fighter because it helps her grow out of her self-doubt and occasionally half-hearted approach to the task at hand. However, Sumire's path of character development was a bit grating, and was never fully realized in the way it could have been. Most episodes featuring her begin with her getting upset because Sakura is in some way stealing her spotlight, and continues with her berating Sakura, calling her worthless, and storming out when Sakura fails to deliver as well as Sumire thinks she herself can. After Sakura works through her difficulties and at last delivers, Sumire goes through a moment where she's impressed by Sakura's efforts and realizes that she does contribute quite a bit to the team. And then by the next episode she starts back at square one. Over and over again! Come on, Sumire! Get over yourself!
2. Video game fights vs anime fights: One of the things I loved about So Long, My Love was the amount of strategy that went into defeating the bosses. The Flower Division does utilize a variety of strategies (which usually end up with them half-dead in their mechas while the bad guys get away), but none of them were all that interesting or effective. The fighting could have used more spice, and less of the mechas getting completely destroyed each time the Division deploys.
3. The bosses that will not die: The Big Bad happens to have the power to use summoning to bring back the minions that have been killed by the Flower Division, namely Crimson Miroku. Rasetsu, and Setsuna. That's nice for him, but I feel the Flower Division's pain whenever they enter into battle with baddies they have already fought several times before. At least the baddies change forms slightly when they are resurrected, but I was still getting a bit sick of seeing their ugly mugs.
4. Not enough Ogami: 'Nuff said.

Luckily many of these issues were rectified by the... DUN DUN DUN DA DUN... Sakura Taisen manga! Yup, as soon as I finished up the anime, I came across the manga series at a downtown library. It follows a similar storyline to the anime with the battle between Aoi Satan and his wakiji vs. the Flower Division, but harkens back to the style of the video game by having Ogami as the central protagonist (aw, hell yes!) and bringing back the romance (Iris calls Ogami her boyfriend, Sakura has obvious hots for him, and everyone else flirts with him from time to time). The strategies were much better portrayed in the manga, and there was also a greater focus on the theater troupe aspect of the division, which was lacking somewhat in the anime. But what I loved most were the spots of humor, such as when Sakura goes into jealous mode, Sumire and Kanna butt heads, and Ogami decides upon his special attack name. As always, I think the manga left a stronger impression on me then the anime, but both get the job done in the end.

Everything is better with a good manga version.

Overall, I recommend Sakura Wars. The characters are interesting, and the premise is unique and well done. It's not the animated series isn't exactly the most exciting thing you'll come across, and I definitely wasn't at the edge of my seat like I was for shows such as Tiger & Bunny and Black Butler. I also missed the romance element from the games in the anime, although I suppose in situations where the player is in charge of who the lucky girl is, it isn't really fair to make a canon pairing and fuel ship wars (I have a feeling Sakura would have been the canon option, but then again, I haven't played the game). The main result of both the anime and manga on me was that I really, really wanted to play the original video game. I was left with so many questions! If Ogami is the protagonist of the Sakura Wars game featuring the Parisian Combat Revue as well, does he form a harem with the Paris team, too, even if he had a romance option in the first game? Does Sumire ever stop berating Sakura? What do the Flower Division special attacks look like? Would Ogami date me if I were an in-game character?

Alas, I may never know unless I expand my Japanese out of the realm of polite niceties or find an English translation patch and find the time to play the game (I think there's a Let's Play out there, so I'll have to look into it). But even if these things never happen, I am happy with my experiences with the So Long, My Love Wii game and the Sakura Wars animated series and manga. And next time you see a play by a theater troupe, be warned: they are probably mecha warriors defending the city on the side from Aoi Satans and resurrecting minions!

Thanks to anyone who has read my blog so far as I get my start :) Next up will be a look at the moe-economics of Spice & Wolf!

New York: Sunny with a chance of Mechas

As someone who has fallen in love with almost every JRPG I've ever touched, I'm always looking out for new titles to expand my obsession. Unfortunately I'm limited to only three different platforms- Gameboy Advance, PC, and Wii- and it seems that many of the things I want, such as the Tales of games and the newest additions to the Fire Emblem series, are coming out exclusively on DS or the Playstation systems. That aside, this year I came across a Wii game that I hadn't tackled yet called Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. The cover looked promising, and the description on the back which detailed a young Japanese samurai joining a capital defense division of woman-warriors manning mechas and masquerading as a New York theater troupe during an early 1900s steam-powered era seemed both entertaining and fascinating. I was eager to see how the Japanese creators interpreted American life and transitioned the Japanese male hero into the female-run New York Combat Revue.

What would a young samurai do surrounded by hot women in an AU New York? Play to find out!

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the Sakura Wars line. Although the harem and dating sim elements (the main character, Shinjiro Taiga, can date any of the females in the revue, and each one of them thinks he's the bee's knees after their initial period of dislike) were probably not geared toward female players like me, I loved the strategy needed to pull off the mecha battles, as well as the development each of the leading females had to undergo in order to operate as part of the team. Finding a way to navigate the constant conversations also clues the player into how to really understand what is important to a person and how to deal with their personal times of trouble, although the old adage of 'you can't please everyone' is strictly held. If Shinjiro tries to impress cool and logical Subaru Kujo, he may end up offending bright and dynamic Rosita Aries, but the game offers plenty of opportunities to redeem friendships that might be flagging based on dialogue choices.

The man of the hour: Shinjiro Taiga. Boys wanna be him, girls wanna do him.

The six Star Division fighters were all enjoyable characters, in spite of their often flawed judgment. Shinjiro, the protagonist (voiced by the notorious Johnny Yong Bosch), occasionally lacks self-confidence and is a bit of a doof around women depending on how you play him, but all in all he is your typical little engine that could of a warrior. Despite having the entire combat revue dislike him at first, he proves himself to everyone and ends up reaching out to each one of his companions in order to give them the means to make themselves better and stronger. The most enforced love interest option is Gemini Sunrise, a spicy Texan cowgirl trained under a Japanese swordsmaster (and no, I am not making that up) who has a secret double life that even she is unaware of. I liked her well enough as a character, but I didn't fall for the fact that she was supposed to be the number one romance pick. Even as a straight girl, if I have to choose from a harem of ladies, I'm at least going to aim for someone who is kind of my type!

"But Shiny, the game wants you to date me!"

Next up of the female cast is the aforementioned Subaru Kujo, although the word 'female' might not be the best way to describe this character. Subaru is rather androgynous, and there is no real way to tell if (s)he is a feminine man or a masculine woman. (S)he uses feminine pronouns to describe herself, and the fact that she has the mark indicating that she belongs in the female-run Star Division makes her most likely a woman, but she makes it perfectly clear that gender is not a concept that matters to her, and if Shinjiro is interested in getting together to her, he better not care if she is a man or a woman. Subaru makes a good choice if you enjoy an air of mystery, and if you don't mind defrosting the cynic and putting up with a few verbal barbs.

Man or woman? Subaru is Subaru, no more, no less.

Cheiron Archer is the older woman option, and damn is she hot stuff! Like Subaru, she prefers to wear men's suits, but when she changes her image and lets her hair down, she clearly becomes the option for those who want their girls to have business going on up top. Cheiron is large and in charge, a Harlem-born African American lawyer who is in love with justice to the point where very little else matters to her. Her blind obsession with justice over compassion is her character developing issue, and she is one of the earlier characters in the game to open up to Shinjiro, even after the crazy hard time she gives you in the beginning. All the same, she leaves you wondering. The early 1900s were a time of rampant inequality for both women and blacks, and I'm curious if the creators of the game chose to ignore this for plot purposes, or if they really thought America was a haven for female lawyers, even though women wouldn't have even had the right to vote during this time.

"This is the law of the land! You! Are! Guilty!"

Another interesting diversity option is Rosita Aries, a Mexican bounty hunter who is also the local lolicon. She doesn't dress up in tart clothing or anything, but she can't be much older than elementary school age. Shinjiro doesn't date her, per se (at least I hope not!), but he can develop an older brother type relationship with her, which might have the potential to grow and change when she gets older. Her conflicts center around her dislike of failure and loss of her family, and her little sister-like relationship with Shinjiro and the rest of the Star Division is pretty adorable, as long as her thing with Shin doesn't slide into the romantic realm (until she's older). She also has a pretty amusing obsession with eating; her pet ferret Niccolo is actually kept around in case she has no other food options available!

Cartoon depictions of Mexicans have come a long way, haven't they?

The last option was my personal choice, sickly girl Diana Caprice. When you meet her, she is set to die of an illness, and is cursed with the crappy ability to sense when the people/animals around her are dying and how long they have left. Due to this, she has trouble finding meaning in life, for herself and for others, even though she has a caring and nurturing personality, and serves as the team's primary healer. As a writer and helpless sap, I most likely ended up picking her because she was the one to comfort Shinjiro after an occasion when the entire combat revue told him they pretty much wanted him to go back to Japan and send over his cousin, the more experienced veteran commander from the earlier Sakura Wars games released in Japan. I'm a sucker for couples that help each other believe in themselves, so I probably latched onto that from the very beginning. I ended up being pleased with their (totally cheesy) relationship, although I'm probably going to go for Subaru in my next play through. I like her air of gender ambiguity; it gives you the best of both worlds, to borrow a phrase from Hannah Montana.

I apparently make passes at girls in glasses

All the mecha elements were interesting as well. You weren't just tanking the baddies; like my favorite series, Fire Emblem, you actually had to come up with effective strategies to take down the enemy's vulnerable points. Most of the battles presented a challenge, and I actually had to go back in replay some of them multiple times because I ended up getting my troops obliterated by some of the more difficult bosses. The fighting sections of the game were tough, but not so difficult that I ended up throwing my controller across the room, as I have been sometimes known to do on occasion (Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, I'm thinking of you).

In any case, my enjoyment of the Sakura Wars game for Wii led me to do a little research to discover that there was an anime series based on the original Sakura Wars title, where the combat revue was set in Japan and commanded by Shinjiro's hot young uncle Ogami. The game was never translated for North America, but I was still interested in seeing what it was like, so I picked up the series collection at the Colossalcon convention in my home state, Ohio. I recently finished watching it, and my next post will feature the animated interpretation, which was actually in many ways different from its console counterpart. For now, enjoy the opening video of the game, which features the female cast and Shinjiro, as well as some of the secondary characters including Mr. Sunnyside (he runs the behind the scenes operations of the revue), Cherry and Anri (the young ladies in charge of deploying the mechas before battle), and Ratchet (the former vice commander and an additional romance option for the second playthrough).