Friday 26 April 2013

News roundup: Sengoku Basara Magazine comes out tomorrow

This has been a strange week. It's been far from quiet in the Sengoku Basara fandom yet there's very little to report. I'm going to summarise the current situation anyway, so that I can look back on how excited I was for Sengoku Basara 4 and laugh at myself one day.

The most exciting thing that's due to happen will take place in just a few hours, because Sengoku Basara Magazine is going to be released in Japan tomorrow! Amazon Japan has reopened preorders so people who don't want to buy from HMV Japan have another option. The magazine will include the Sengoku Basara 4 interview with KobaP and YamamotoD, so we can expect leaks to start appearing any time now as fans read their copies.  In the meantime, I'm making do with tantalising pictures like these two.

(Edit: Dengeki has since posted a preview which cunningly shows nothing of major importance.)

Also released this week were the two new CDs, Sengoku Basara Tougun BEST and Sengoku Basara Seigun BEST. While my copies are still in transit to the UK I've been desperately looking for samples in music shops with little success. It's surprising how few people have been talking about the Sengoku Basara 4 tracks which will be previewed on these CDs; I haven't heard much about them at all other than a few words of praise from Japanese fans. Perhaps more people will receive their copies at the weekend..?

This hasn't been formally announced, but a fourth set of Sengoku Basara Bushou T-shirts has quietly appeared on e-Capcom for release on the 30th May 2013. Each costs ¥2,415 and they're available in Japanese M and L sizing. It looks as though there's a choice of two colours for each of the characters featured: Date Masamune, Sanada Yukimura, Katakura Kojuurou, Ishida Mitsunari, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Chousokabe Motochika, Mouri Motonari and Maeda Keiji.

Sengoku Basara 4 teasing and clothing aren't the only Sengoku Basara events this week: the new Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage stage play is about to debut in Fukuoka today. A few dates which fell on weekdays still had seats available when I checked the website (the last few days are all sold out). Hopefully the reports from the opening night will be positive and we'll get to see what Yoshiaki, Kotarou and Yoshimoto look like in costume soon.

To draw attention to the start of the stage play's run, Capcom announced a special 'after talk' event where fans who attend the performances at Nagoya on 2nd May 2013 will be treated to some brief extra content. Kubota Yuuki (Date Masamune), Hosogai Kei (Sanada Yukimura) and Butai Sengoku Basara director/organiser Nishida Daisuke will be present. I checked and there were still some tickets left for the two performances on that day. Not for long!

Meanwhile, all of the tickets for the Takarazuka musical adaptation of the series, Sengoku Basara -Sanada Yukimura Hen-, sold out online shortly after they were made available. It's usually possible to buy a few more tickets on the day if you line up outside the venue, but there are still going to be a lot of disappointed people waiting for the eventual DVD. I wonder how many hardcore Takarazuka Revue fans will be experiencing the world of Sengoku Basara for the first time this June? With the brisk ticket sales I'd like to think that they'll consider adapting more of the series to the musical format in future.

Maybe Inori, the new female character created to add a little extra drama to Yukimura's story in the musical, will be included somewhere in Sengoku Basara 4 as a treat for the fans..?

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