Sakura taisen: Katsudou shashin (2001)

Join Sakura's troupe of musical mechsuit divas for a supernatural showdown. As a fresh face joins the team, others begin to vanish. When demons terrorize Tokyo, the metal maidens must pull their act together and drop the curtain on evil.

Director:

Mitsuru Hongo

Writers:

Ohji Hiroi (creator) (as Ôji Hiroi), Wendee Lee (adr script)

Stars:

Chisa Yokoyama, Michie Tomizawa, Urara Takano

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chisa Yokoyama	...	Sakura Shinguji (voice)
Michie Tomizawa	...	Sumire Kanazaki (voice)
Urara Takano	...	Maria Tachibana (voice)
Kumiko Nishihara	...	Iris Chateaubriand (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Ri Kohran (voice)
Mayumi Tanaka	...	Kanna Kirishima (voice)
Ai Orikasa	...	Ayame Fujieda (voice)
Masaru Ikeda	...	Ikki Yoneda (voice)
Akio Suyama	...	Ichirô Ohgami (voice)
Keiji Fujiwara	...	Haruyoshi Tanuma (voice)
Daisuke Gôri	...	Yokihiko Ota (voice)
Kyôko Hikami	...	Tsubaki Takamura (voice)
Kazue Ikura	...	Leni Milchstraße (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	Yoritsune Hanakoji (voice)
Takehito Koyasu	...	Yuichi Kayama (voice)

Storyline

Following in the aftermath of a terrible Demon-Human war, turn of the century Japan is preparing a new fighting force in case the demons decide to return. A squadron of giant robots are built to be controlled by the spirit of the pilot, but it is discovered that the only people with sufficient spirit are young women. After recruiting a team of youths from around the world, the Japanese government decides to keep them a secret by disguising them as a theater troupe, thus requiring them to spend as much time memorizing Shakespeare as they do on military training.

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Plot Keywords:

alternate history | year 1926 | imperial japan | wuxia fiction | steampunk | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for images of violence

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Omatsuri Dance
(Festival Dance)
Lyrics by Ouji Hiroi
Music by Kôhei Tanaka
Arrangement by Masami Kishimura
Performed by Chisa Yokoyama

User Reviews

A must-see for Sakura Wars fans

Sakura Wars is generally an action/adventure type of anime, with more of a light-hearted tone than a serious one. The DVD contains all four episodes of the first Sakura Wars OVA series. Episodes 1-3 take place before the time of the Sega Saturn game, and deal with the recruiting of the Imperial Floral Assault Group (a team of girls who do battle in steam-powered mecha to protect Japan from demons) and their early days together. Episode 4 seems to take place sometime during the Saturn game, after Captain Oogami Ichirou's arrival.

It's been said that the Sakura Wars anime isn't very approachable to those not already familiar with its setting and characters. This may be true, but if you played and liked the Saturn game, you will enjoy every minute of the OVAs. The dubbing is fairly good, although some characters (Maria Tachibana, Iris Chateaubriand, and Ri Kouran) speak with accents which may not be too pleasant on the ears. However, I prefer watching with subtitles (on the DVD, the subtitles can be turned on or off).

In short, if you liked the Saturn game, you must see this series of videos. If you haven't played the game, you might not find Sakura Wars to be very fulfilling... or you might be inspired to track down the video games. :)

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 December 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Sakura Taisen: Katsudou Shashin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Animate Film, Bandai Visual Company, Chara-Ani

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 85 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1