Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Mighty Morphin' (Steam) Powered Rangers

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 18, 2013

Sakura Wars is one of those vast multimedia franchises that has so many different offerings in so many different formats that it can be a bit daunting to dive head first into any given enterprise—especially since there are vast amounts of scalding steam involved. Sega lovers may have fond memories of the early Sakura Wars games, which included everything from RPG built around pretty traditional battle elements to a perhaps slightly more unlikely dating sim series which in some ways resembled a light novel series. The overwhelming success of the game series (which quickly morphed to include not just other platforms but a variety of tangential storylines) of course led to television tie ins, including two sets of OVAs and then in 2000 an actual anime series. While light novels and manga also started to populate the ever growing franchise, a theatrical film followed the television series in 2001. While the film, much like some of the OVAs and the television series, can be placed chronologically into the long running game series, the good news is that newcomers who wouldn’t know a Sakura Taisen 2 from a Sakura Taisen 25 (just wait—it’s coming) shouldn’t have too much of a hard time figuring out what’s going on, though certain character interactions may be slightly confusing at times. On the other hand, those very character interactions, as well as some of the back story, neither of which are ever really dealt with very well in this film, provide much of the interest for longstanding Sakura Wars fans, which ultimately begs the question, was this film made only for those who already know at least the general outlines of the players and plot? Which in turns begs a second, related question: what new elements does Sakura Wars: The Movie have to offer those longstanding fans? And the answer to that is, frankly, not all that much. Lovers of this franchise won't have any major qualms with this outing, but my hunch is neophytes, while perhaps not overly confused, are also not going to be overly engaged, either.

Sakura Wars is a kind of early so-called “steampunk” enterprise that posits an alternate Japan of the 1920s where all sorts of supposedly modern day technology is available, albeit run by steam. (In one of the kind of funny little historical inaccuracies in the film, this evidently also includes “talkie” motion pictures, though I’ll leave it to the scientists out there to explain how steam might have helped to provide a soundtrack to a film at least a few years before the Vitaphone, the first really widespread sound process, revolutionized movies.) A troupe of female performers who present revues in a gilded Tokyo theater are also secretly part of a fighting force improbably named the Imperial Assault Force Flower Division which travel through high tech portals (which may remind some of the poles leading to the Batcave from the old campy Batman series) where they’re magically outfitted to then pilot steam powered mecha that are used to battle demons that have appeared at various locations. Part of the Sakura Wars “universe” is built on the premise that there are similar Assault Forces in other global capitals, and that the onslaught of demons is not necessarily limited to Japan.

We first meet the gaggle of girls who are at the center of Sakura Wars, including of course Sakura herself, as they put on a Vegas style Christmast Eve revue show at a tony Tokyo theater in the mid-1920s. This glitzy production includes an unfortunately extremely lame song, which doesn’t get the film off to an overly boisterous start. Backstage antics then ensue, where we’re give capsule introductions to various supporting characters, including newcomer Lachette Altair. One of the odd things about all of this is that those who aren’t aware that ultimately Sakura Wars will become a more or less standard mecha outing may think instead this is more of a slice of life entry dealing with girls who perform together. In fact, it’s a rather abrupt transition when the film suddenly introduces a sinister villain and the girls all “suit up” to destroy some marauding demons. While there really aren't any red herrings offered up in this pretty by the numbers story, it takes the Flower Division a little while to figure out what's really going on before they can actually go after the actual bad guys.

Even those without a clue about the Sakura Wars franchise are going to see virtually every plot point telegraphed from a country mile away in this resolutely predictable outing, but the film still retains a certain charm. There’s something almost romantically engaging about this “false” history in a redolent time where a bunch of cool gadgets are powered by steam technology. Sakura Wars: The Movie also benefits from some lush visuals, including some nice (if fairly primitive looking by today’s standards) CGI blended into the proceedings. The deeply detailed illustration-like backgrounds offer quite a bit to look at as a frankly pedestrian plot trundles by—powered by steam, of course.

Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sakura Wars: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While this is an incredibly colorful outing, with gorgeous greens, purples, reds and yellows, the overall look here is quite surprisingly soft, even with regard to the CGI elements, which may hint at an older master having been used. Some of this softness stems from an intentionally silky animation style, but at times even line detail has a fuzzy look (though there's never any indication of stair stepping or similar problems). The CGI elements are fairly textureless most of the time, and the 3D modeling will strike those used to newer, shinier examples as approaching an "old school" look, but there are some effects which crop up regularly in this film, including the ubiquitous sprays of steam.

Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sakura Wars: The Movie features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes in English and Japanese. These mixes are not in fact identical, with the Japanese mix having a noticeably more present midrange and low range. Some may find the Japanese track preferable anyway as some of the English voice cast have fairly grating voices and line readings, plus there's the odd situation in at least one scene where two characters aren't supposed to understand English, which in the English dub lapses into near Monty Python territory since they are of course speaking English (though when they don't understand, they devolve into "Engrish"). Fidelity is excellent and there's some nice surround activity in the battle scenes. The whoosh of steam provides a nice recurrent foley effect as well. Both tracks have ample LFE, though again the Japanese track sounds a bit more present than the English.

Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews with the Creators (1080i; 22:47) stem from October 2012 and include Oji Hiroi, the father of all things Sakura Wars. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Original Trailer (480i; 1:02)


• Japanese Commercials (480i; 1:38)


• Promotional Videos (480i; 6:28)


• U.S. Trailer (1080p; 1:02)

Sakura Wars The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sakura Wars: The Movie has some beautiful animation, but otherwise it's a pretty middling entry in the long running franchise. This is one of those odd entries in a mega-successful multimedia enterprise where the question why keeps raising its head for different reasons. For those who don't know anything about Sakura Wars, why are they going to care what's going on here? And similarly for those who bought every game on every platform and then avidly watched the OVAs and series, why will they want to see this film, which doesn't advance the general storyline at all or give any fascinating new tidbits about any of the major characters? If lush visuals are enough for you and you're a fan of Sakura Wars, this will probably have enough—if just barely—to merit watching.