Earlier today, Sega took to Twitter to announce that their eleventh Sakura Wars (2019) streaming event will be held on January 29, at 20:00 JST (1/29/2020 at 6:00AM EST / 3:00AM PST). The 90-minute event will focus on the upcoming anime adaptation, Shin Sakura Taisen: the Animation.
Yohei Azakami, who plays lead character Seijuro Kamiyama in the game, Sakura Wars (2019) producer Tetsu Katano, and Assistant MC Mami Yamashita will return to host the presentation.
Shin Sakura Taisen: The Animation will air in Spring 2020.
The Sakura Wars (2019) video game launched in Japan on December 12, 2019. The title, which is available on Sony’s PlayStation 4 console, sold through 166,771 as of January 13, according to Famitsu.
The game will be released worldwide in Spring 2020, and has been rated by the Australian Government’s Department of Communication and the Arts.
The core voice cast includes:
- Seijūrō Kamiyama : Yōhei Azakami
- Sakura Amamiya: Ayane Sakura
- Hatsuho Shinonome: Maaya Uchida
- Azami Mochizuki: Hibiku Yamamura
- Anastasia Palma: Ayaka Fukuhara
- Claris: Saori Hayami
- Sumire Kanzaki: Michie Tomizawa
- Reiji Shiba: Tomikazu Sugita
- Kaoru Rindou: Yui Ishikawa
- Komachi Ooba: Ryoko Shiraishi
- Yang Shaolong: Yuuichirou Umehara
- Yui Huang: Sumire Uesaka
- Arthur: Nobunaga Shimazaki
- Lancelot: Manami Numakura
- “Yasha”: Chisa Yokoyama
- Elise: Nana Mizuki
- Margarethe: Rie Kugimiya
Bleach creator Tite Kubo provided the original character designs, while Jiro Ishii (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Under the Dog) was in charge of the story structure. Series composer Kohei Tanaka (Sakura Wars franchise, One Piece, Mobile Fighter G Gundam) returned to score the game’s soundtrack.
Other staff members include:
- Script: Takaaki Suzuki (Girls und Panzer, Strike Witches)
- Setting and Scenario Summary: Takanobu Terada
- Development Director: Tetsuya Ootsubo
- Producer: Tetsu Kitano
- Character Visual Setting: Masashi Kudou
- Main Mechanical Designer: Mika Akitaka
- Executive Producer: Haruki Satomi
- Original Concept: Ohji Hiroi
Sakura Wars (2019) is set twelve years after the events of Sakura Wars 5: So Long, My Love. In this new entry, the Combat Revues, which previously protected nations from evil while working incognito, are well known to all.
Indeed, the Great Combat Reveue World War is more of a global sporting event, in which the Combat Revues from across the globe gather in Japan’s Imperial Capital to compete in a tournament. These disparate groups then compete to determine which country’s kouma-crushing corps reigns supreme. By the time Sakura Wars (2019) begins, two such events have already taken place, and the nations are gathering in the Imperial capital for the third. What should be a peaceful event, though, suddenly takes a turn for the serious.
Sega’s email communication describes the story as:
The stage is set in a romanticized version of 1940s Imperial Tokyo. 10 years ago, a cataclysm resulted in the devastating loss of the Imperial Combat Revue of Tokyo, the capital’s global defense force operating out of the Imperial Theater. The theater has since fallen on hard times and risks closure. As captain of the new Tokyo revue, it’s up to you to mend the hearts of your troops and restore the Imperial Theater back to its former glory!
Sakura Wars (2019) was first revealed on April 14, 2018 at Sega Fes, and was originally tentatively slated to launch prior to March 31, 2019. On April 19, 2019, Sega Holdings President and CEO Haruki Satomi confirmed that the project will be “more than a game.”
The Sakura Wars franchise is an original project by Sega CS2 R&D (later Overworks) and Red Entertainment. Ohji Hiroi (Moeyo Ken, Far East of Eden), Satoru Akahori (Saber Marionette J, Martian Successor Nadesico), and Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, You’re Under Arrest!) are listed as the original creators of the franchise.
The first title appeared on the Sega Saturn in 1996. The initial entry, while released only in Japan at the time, was estimated to have a 200,000 lifetime sales goal. The title sold 205,270 units in its opening week, which was roughly 57% of the launch shipment. At the time, the title was seen as having the largest debut for a Sega title to date. It would go on to move 359,485 copies throughout the Saturn’s lifespan.
Since then, the title has gone on to spawn:
- Six main-line titles
- Fifteen spin-off games
- An anime TV series by Madhouse
- Five anime OVA series
- Seven manga and light novel adaptations
- Sixteen high-profile live stage shows
The fifth mainline title in the series, Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love was released in North America by NIS America. The title is available on Sony’s PlayStation 2, as well as Nintendo Wii console.
Sources: Twitter (Sakura_Taisen)
Update 1/24/2020, 12:36AM EST: Fixed time zone conversion.
