Creators: Ohji Hiroi, Ikku Masa, Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Yuko Fukami
Publisher: TokyoPop
Age Rating: Teen
Genres: Action, Romance
RRP: $9.99
Sakura Taisen v1
Reviewed by Jason Brice

Sakura Taisen is beautifully crazy, delightfully anachronistic, and totally new to me. A popular property in anime and gaming, Sakura Taisen (also known as Sakura Wars) opens with a rollicking action scene, continues as a fish-out-of-water comedy, builds a romantic sub-plot, before returning to frenzied action in a tense fight-scene finale.

Set in an alternate-reality Tokyo of 1921, the plot revolves around a recently graduate Navy cadet, Ichiro Ogami, who is unexpectedly assigned to duties as a ticket collector and odd-job man at the Grand Imperial Theater. More than slightly annoyed, Ogami suspects his assignment is a covert intelligence mission, but as the plot evolves the reader finds out that the posting is nothing so mundane as a spying mission. The troupe of actors, all women, have powers and abilities belie their day jobs. Which is just as well because the world they live in is often interupted by invasions by foul demons and strange steam-powered humanoid tanks.

Writer and creator Ouji Hiroi throws the reader in the deep end, but the breezy pace and likeable, well-realized characters keeps the plot afloat. As the story progresses one becomes accustomed to the radical and sudden changes in genre, and even to look forward to the next curveball. It is amusing to see Ogami flounder and become frustrated, but it seems in the next volume he will come to an understanding of his new colleagues and their special skills. The troupe's prima-donna star, Sumire Kanzaki, will have to work hard to redeem herself from bitchy and self-centered behavior, but this seems inevitable, too. Nevertheless, I am certain there will be enough twists and turns to keep me rapt for another 192 pages at least!

Artist Ikku Masa is a real find. His work on Sakura Taisen seems effortless, as he negotiates the frenetic pace and varied subject material with aplomb. Richly detailed when required, Masa knows just the right moment to pull back and let the characters shine with emotion and nuance. My only criticism comes by way of character design; it would be helpful is there was a more explicit way to differentiate between sweet Sakura and snappy Sumire's hair-styles. But hair aside, the dialogue does more than enough to help the reader tell the characters apart.

Adding the existing popularity of the property to the adroit execution of writing and art by two skilled manga-ka in Sakura Taisen, I am sure this will be a successful series. I'll be back next time for certain!

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6 October 2009
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