Ranked #9738

Sakura Taisen (Manga)

I've read a few volumes of this series. I find that with all the Sakura Wars series it relies heavily on the characters. Most of the story is about how the characters develop. The setting is very unique. It takes place in the 1910s or 20s with a lot of steam powered machines including the mechs which is totally different style from gundams. Overall the story is interesting, well written and unique.

The drawing I would say basic not detailed to the point and doesn't lack in detail. Very clean and light drawings.

The characters is the strong point in this series and also with all the other Sakura Wars series. The character designer, Kosuke Fujishima, is the god of female designs. He wrote Ah My Goddess and designed the characters for both the Sakura Wars series and some of the Tales of series including Tales of Symphonia. In this series the main heroine is very well designed however all the other heroine's designs really lacked in creativity. I didn't mind this too much though because the development with them is very well written. Although Fujishima is the god of female character designs his male character design are always too plain and in this series it is no exception. Other then the design and the development the characterization of all characters, male or female, is very strong.

Although it is very unique in the plot and setting. I still find this a lot like reading just another herm series.

Overall its not a bad series. Its very likable. I was hooked at some points. read more

First of all, I've only read the first volume of Sakura Taisen. Please PM/comment on my profile if I'm missing anything.

Story: The story is somehow different and somehow the same compared to other manga. It's about a male, Ensign Ichiro Ogami, who was in the navy in Japan. However, he recently got demoted to be a ticket taker in the Grand Imperial Theater. Slight zing to it, right? 9/10.

Art: I think this is one of Sakura Taisen's strong points, the great work of the illustrator. I haven't watched the anime yet nor played the game nor heard of Sakura Wars, except for one song that sounded epic, but had no idea it was an anime/manga. I believe the art is awesome and epic. 10/10. Nice.

Character: The characters started out was very nice, especially women with swords kind of thing. There were tidbits of character development, realizing their own power, Ichiro getting demoted on the day of graduation. 4/10.

Enjoyment: Enjoying this manga wasn't tough. It was random giggles for me, and admiring the illustrator's art. Some funny scenes got me smiling, some scenes were unexpected. 8/10

Overall: 5/10

Recommended for: People who like women with swords, any sci-fi fan, enjoys comedy.

Not recommended for: People looking for a true calm and relaxing manga. read more