Sakura Taisen, Volume 5

This is a book for my daughter, and she enjoys reading this series. Even my son enjoys reading this series.

(This review will serve to cover the whole series to date; I've also seen Volumes 6 and 7 in the original Japanese _tankouban_.) "Sakura Taisen" ("Sakura Wars") is based on the long-running, highly popular video-and-computer game series of the same name, a blend of strategy, mecha and the popular game genre known in Japan as "dating sims", which, quite unfortunately, is just not officially available in the U.S. On the other hand, the animes based on the games are. So far, there've been at least three OVA's, a feature movie, and a TV series (which I've reviewed elsewhere; look for "Sakura Wars TV"). If you're familiar with the anime, especially the TV series (which I strongly recommend), you should be able to get into this manga without too much trouble. The basic concept of "Sakura Taisen" is an alternate history where steam is the main method of propulsion (and in fact, is apparently the main method of powering _everything_); in this timeline, Japan suffered a devastating invasion by demonic forces during the time of the Great War and the Imperial Army, in the person of General Ikki Yoneda, hero of the Demon Wars, has organized a force of steam-driven mecha to fight any recurrence. The catch is that the only people who can successfully pilot these mecha are adolescent or pre-adolescent girls exhibiting a high degree of psychic ability (what, here as elsewhere, is called "reiryoku"). As the manga series opens, Ensign Ichiro Ogami, a brand-new graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Edajima, has just received orders to proceed to Tokyo for assignment. He's not sure exactly what to expect, but what he gets won't match _anything_ he was remotely expecting... I've found the manga quite satisfying so far. The emphasis here is on action and comedy (the TV series was much more serious in tone); while the original game has as one of its objects the development of a romance between Ogami and one of the Imperial Floral Combat Troupe, there's not much sign of anything like that happening thus far (but then, the English translation is only up to volume 5 with the next one scheduled to come out in November). The characters are very much like they are in the animes, though people coming in from the TV series are likely to be a bit confused by the way Iris is depicted; whereas in the TV series she was shown as being seriously withdrawn, nearly autistic in fact, at the outset, here in the manga she's a bright, cheerful little girl who doesn't really show any sign of the turmoil in her psyche until the events of this very volume. The extras are neat, though the presence of characters who appear only in Japan-only game releases will be confusing to people who haven't followed the series closely.

We're at volume 5 of the series, and despite our favorite mad scientist being on the cover...this whole volume focuses on Iris. Iris asks Ogami out on a "date" (moe fans rejoice??) and sees a movie that reflects her lonely, scarring childhood. She gets upset, blows up the theater with her awesome power and runs away crying the rest of the volume until the end. Can the Flower Troupe cheer her up? Will the kind Kohran get Iris to love her Koubu? I guess we'll find out in #6, because this volume is short but, sweet. Short but sweet... Yes, that's how I would sum it up. And I would tell that to everyone...but once again I feel that because America has been denied the Sakura Taisen games that newcomers to this fandom will be left with the impression short and bitter to the wallet. The volume is packed full of extras that make Sakura Taisen nerds like me laugh very hard. But newcomers won't understand them. (Heck, even the Sakura Taisen 3 and 5 cast are in there, but no one knows about those games except Sakura Taisen fans...thanks Sega America. Really.) Also I still don't like the untranslated sound effects. It takes away a lot. If you're a Sakura Taisen (Wars) fan, definitely check out this volume if not for the funny/cute/entertaining extras. Even if you can't stand Iris and all the creepy moe fanboys that come with her (like me) this is a nice, short volume. Even though I didn't enjoy all the Iris emo, I still liked how the troupe tries to help her out in various ways. Also the extras are real nice. Yuriko's letter was short and she put herself down as usual... Arrgh Yuriko-sama...! You're great! ;_;