Monday, February 13, 2012

Manga Review: Sakura Taisen, Volume 1 and 2 by Hiroi Ouji, Ikku Masa

Manga Monday was turned into a meme by the awesome Alison Can Read!

*I warn you now there may be spoilers…It’s hard with manga.

Sakura Taisen Volume 1

Title: Sakura Taisen, Volume 1
Author: Hiroi Ouji, Ikku Masa
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: TokyoPop
Release Date: July 12, 2005
ISBN-10: 1598164848
ISBN-13: 978-1598164848
ASIN: 1595329420
Source: Library

Tokyo, 1921. After the horrific Demon War, Japan is a peaceful and prosperous place...with the occasional monstrous robot crashing around town. Not to worry--there's always a lovely young girl waiting to cut down these robots, samurai-style! Enter Ensign Ogami, a recent Naval Academy graduate. He finds himself in Tokyo, assigned to the Imperial Theater as a ticket collector. Fairly clueless, Ogami is about to be swept away into a roiling world of robots, demons and beautiful girls in uniform!The highly anticipated manga release of the super-popular anime and game franchise is finally here! (Goodreads)

Review

When I picked up this manga I didn’t know anything about it. I now know that Sakura Taisen was huge as a game and anime series before it was a manga.

Ensign Ogami has ticked off his commanding officer and now he has a new position, Ogami is a ticket collector for the Imperial Theater. He thinks of this as a huge demotion and doesn’t understand why he is there. I would have felt bad for Ogami if it were not obvious that there were so much more going on at the Theater than the norm. Ogami discovers the all girl cast of the theater are all trained in the art of combat in one form or another and some are a little more than normal girls.

In the last chapter of volume one Ogami discovers that monsters have returned to the capitol since the last war and he wants to help. I do feel bad for Ogami here--he feels trapped in this ticket taking job and he is a soldier. I liked that there are hints of steampunk in this manga and all the foreshadowing is fun, not annoying. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

 

Sakura Taisen, Volume 2

Title: Sakura Taisen, Volume 2
Author: Hiroi Ouji, Ikku Masa
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: TokyoPop;
Release Date: December 13, 2005
ISBN-10: 1595329439
ISBN-13: 978-1595329431
Source: Library

Ensign Ogami has only just begun his first assignment, and he's already considering handing in his resignation! Punching tickets at the theater doesn't seem to be furthering his goal of defending Tokyo from demonic invaders. However, the employees of the Imperial Theater are more than what they appear to be on the outside--and Manager Yoneda is no exception. When the girls suit up for their first major battle against the demon steam suits, they will find their enemies are quite a bit tougher than initially anticipated! (Goodreads)

Review

I really enjoyed this volume. I felt like I got to know the characters a little more. Right from the start I found out why all that foreshadowing in volume 1 is there: because the Imperial Theater is just a cover and Ogami has been hand picked to be the captain of the super-secret all-girl troop. Yes, it is explained why they are all girls and why he is the only male among them. Seeing Ogami in a battle along side his new squad was very cool especially in his new *uniform*.

An evil villain pops on scene in this volume which I love. I’m sure it will be a reoccurring role. I enjoy the detailed artwork in this series. Also in the back of the volume there is information about steam-powered robots and the era of war Sakura Taisen is set in. I always like it when I’m given some of the research information about a book I’m reading, it helps me to have a better understanding.

Happy Reading,
 Signature      


Recommended For
Teen and up

2 comments:

  1. The timing is interesting here. There weren't many samurai in the 1920s I wouldn't think. Does this incorporate many historical elements?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes and no, I will also say I am not a history buff, so there is no way of me knowing what they just put in. But it is very interesting.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for the comment love!