Recently, yet another chapter has been added to Sega’s already monumental Sakura Taisen franchise, and this is a chapter that most fans of the series have been waiting years for. The official Sakura Taisen manga has finally made its way to book stores not only in Japan, but also here in the United States as well. Since its inception as a video game in 1996 on Sega’s Saturn home console system, the series has seen anime OVAs produced, as well as a television series, a hit full-length feature film, stage productions around Japan, toys, shirts, cds, and just about anything else you can think of, yet for some reason, there was never a manga series. What seemed like the most obvious extension of the franchise has taken 10 full years to come to fruition, and it has been a long wait for fans of the series. The reasons behind the span of time it has taken to produce a manga version of Sakura Taisen are discussed with series creator Ohji Hiroi in the bonus section of the first book. Basically what it boils down to is what you might expect, problems amongst egos and personalities that surround the ownership of the franchise. Hiroi was actually the last person approached in the process of bringing Sakura Taisen to the printing press, and with good reason. First a new artist was found, Ikku Masa, and his work was shown to the original artist for the games, Kosuke Fujishima. After Fujishima approved of the artist’s renditions of his original concepts, the idea was announced to series copyright holder Sega. After Sega’s subsequent approval, Hiroi was finally approached to do the story for the manga. After convincing Hiroi that Fujishima and Sega had both already approved of the project, the stage was finally set to bring Sakura Taisen into the homes of readers and fans everywhere. After many years of dojinshi (fan-made comics) reinterpretations of Sakura Taisen, the series creator has finally given us the real story of the Teikoku Kagekidan!

General Overview -

In the first book of the series we are introduced to the main character, Ichiro Ogami, as he is immersed in a field training operation with his fellow companions in the Navy. After some background information on Ichiro’s training in the Navy we are carried away, along with Ichiro, to his new assignment at the Grand Imperial Theatre in the capital city of Tokyo. It is here that Hiroi introduces us to a few of the other main characters in the series, Sakura Shinguji, Iris Chateaubriand, Sumire Kanzaki, Maria Tachibana, Ikki Yoneda, and the girls of the Kazegumi. Here at the theatre we discover that Ichiro’s new naval assignment is that of being a ticket taker at the Grand Imperial Theatre under the command of General Yoneda, or so we think!

In the second book Ichiro is assigned menial tasks around the theatre, and is generally humiliated for our entertainment. The manga has allowed Hiroi to not only flesh out the characters and story he created over a decade ago, but also to show how truly comic the situations in the Sakura Taisen series can be. The second book also gives us insight as to what goes on at the Grand Imperial Theatre in the way of the Hanagumi’s performances for the public. Almost the entire city comes out for the performances of “The Twilight of Princess Tsubaki” which the Hanagumi theatrical troupe is putting on at the theatre, and even Ichiro is floored by how moving the plays are. During this book we also are given insight to the fact that General Yoneda is not who he says he is, and that the Grand Imperial Theatre and the Hanagumi are not what they seem to be either. Apparently, things will be changing for young Ensign Ichiro Ogami quite soon.

In book three we are finally permitted our first action since the initial pages of book one. Ichiro is in the city with the prop director from the theatre, when the city is attacked by a demon. While earlier panels of the book hinted at Sakura’s swordsmanship, and the other girl’s particular talents were briefly discussed, we now begin to unravel the mystery of Ichiro’s assignment here in the Imperial Capital. Although Ichiro tries to stop the demon, he is no match for the beast by himself; as he is cornered against a wall, three steam- powered robots (Koubu) show up to assist him in vanquishing the demon. The robots wield weapons oddly similar to those of the girls in the Hanagumi. After much comedy in the opening books, the larger plot is finally becoming revealed. At the end of book three we are briefly introduced to two other members of the Hanagumi, Ri Kohran and Kanna Kirishima.

Art –

The art in the manga version of Sakura Taisen is remarkably similar to the original art found in the games. This accurate reproduction really helps old fans of the series to easily slide right into this new reiteration of the story that they already know so well. Ikku Masa’s style is similar to Kosuke Fujishima’s, but not so much that it seems like a carbon copy of the original concept. The vast amounts of emotion displayed in the character’s expressions is stunning, and all of the characters and settings are faithful recreations of the artwork found in the games and, to a lesser extent, the animes. Even the page layouts are well conceived, seamlessly integrating the panels in ways that highlight the appropriate action when it needs to be. Splash pages are not pervasive, only appearing when the drama or action calls for them, maintaining a committed pace throughout the story. Any fan of classically styled Japanese cartooning will surely enjoy the artwork provided by Masa here in the Sakura Taisen manga.

Overall –

As one would expect, Hiroi has fully taken advantage of the format he has been given, and managed to flush out the Sakura Taisen story even further in this new-to-the-series medium. The characters are well developed, the humor is timely, the story is thought out and executed nicely, and the whole package reads seamlessly. This is yet another great extension of an already formidable franchise, and there is no reason that future volumes of the manga should be any less enjoyable than this first one. Hiroi and Masa are building nicely on what Hiroi established, along with Kosuke Fujishima, over a decade ago. If you are a fan of the Sakura Taisen series, or are looking for a great new manga to pick up, this one comes highly recommended.

Final Score - 10 out of 10