Book review: Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 1

The Sengoku Basara Visual & Sound Book collection is a set of large anthologies which come with audio CDs. Every book in the series contains a jumble of articles in the same vein as a dedicated magazine; the gimmick is that CD contains an audio performance of some of the content.

The book I'm reviewing today is the first of three based on the Sengoku Basara 2 game.

A third of the book is devoted to 'Gravure of Heroes', a series of character profiles for Date Masamune, Katakura Kojuurou, Takenaka Hanbee, Mouri Motonari and Akechi Mitsuhide. A large number of popular Sengoku Basara artists contribute full-page colour illustrations to accompany the profiles, namely Haibara Yak, Fujisaka Kimihiko, Shishizaru, Kugawara Kadzuki, Shimotsuki Kairi, Sugiura Yoshio, Enomoto, Yamamoto Kana, Kazama Raita, Rei, Hitaki, Nanase Aya, Sasakura Kou, Tobashi Kotomi, Yumeji Kiriko and Hirooka Masaki. The paintings of Kojuurou vary wildly in theme (he wasn't yet playable at the time or in possession of his own story mode to expand on his character) but there's a good mixture of styles. I like that the profiles also include nice big pictures of the characters' alternate costumes.

The next part of the book is devoted to seiyuu interviews. The actors featured are Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura), Koyasu Takehito (Sarutobi Sasuke), Paku Romi (Uesugi Kenshin), Genda Tesshou (Takeda Shingen) and Kuwatani Natsuko (Kasuga). There's even half a page for often-overlooked Sengoku Basara narrator Watanabe Hideo! Not coincidentally, these particular seiyuu also provide the voice work for the special CD inside the book.

Speaking of the CD, that comes into play next for Haibara Yak's manga 'Hibana, Chitte Gouka Tonare'. I believe the manga is a direct reproduction of one originally printed in this book, which is a little cheap of the producers. Fans of the Takeda and Uesugi factions should be fully satisfied by the quality of this short story: it's about Yukimura inviting himself along on one of Sasuke's stealth missions and coming face to face with the 'god of war' Kenshin in combat. Haibara is in her element drawing both cool men and sexy women. I particularly loved the disgruntled faces Sasuke pulls in between the action scenes. Capcom should get her back to produce some more work for the series...

The manga is fully voiced on the CD. Weirdly, the order of the final two scenes is reversed for the audio performance, making it confusing when you're following along with the story in real time. Presumably it was done to heighten the suspense. To help the drama on the CD stand alone, appropriate narration and reaction sounds are added to the script at moments where the manga had no dialogue.

After the manga several pages are dedicated to the new game that was in development at the time, Sengoku Basara 2 Eiyuu Gaiden (Heroes). As part of this there is a two-page spread about the Basara Matsuri 2007 ~Haru No Jin~ event with a few tiny photographs. Fan contributions including artwork, letters and gags complete the book. Regular artist Nishizawa Sabroh provides two yonkoma comic strips along with the usual fan page title illustration this time around.

Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 1 was published on 15th May 2007 by Media Works and it's still available for purchase from all good Japanese bookstores such as Yesasia and Amazon at the original price of ¥1,800.

Part 15: Yanagita Rikao's Sengoku Basara Science Laboratory

As with my posts covering the earlier parts, this is an extremely rough English translation of part of the blog series Yanagita Rikao's Sengoku Basara Science Laboratory (Yanagita Rikao Sengoku Basara Kagaku Kenkyuujo). Please click the link below to see the original article, which is accompanied by illustrations and promotional videos.

Part 15: A comprehensive analysis of monster-grade strength!! Oda Nobunaga

'Heaven Conqueror Demon King' Oda Nobunaga. Simply writing the name is enough to make every inch of the body tremble in fear. He's probably as much as two metres tall, with a long sword in his right hand, a shotgun in the left, and clad in armour with protrusions which thrust to the heavens like an assassin's blades. Proclaiming himself to be the Dairokuten Maou ('Demon King of the Sixth Heaven'), he issues the words "Bow down to me!". It's as though his presence nullifies any other. And if he enters the battlefield, he displays such strength that it's as though there is nobody else around. Ah, why did the heavens send a warlord like this to walk the earth?

Book review: Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 3

The Sengoku Basara Visual & Sound Book collection is a set of large anthologies which come with audio CDs. Every book in the series contains a jumble of articles in the same vein as a dedicated magazine; the gimmick is that CD contains an audio performance of some of the content.

The book I'm reviewing today is the third and final volume which was based on Sengoku Basara 2 (the game, rather than the anime adaptation). There is no continuity between the books so fans can buy them in any order if they don't want to collect the set.

Volume three starts off with 'Gravure of Heroes' as usual, but the creators presumably realised that they'd blazed through most of the popular characters already in the first two collections. This time the illustrations cover a wider variety of characters with a number of stunning group portraits. The artists who contribute paintings are Shimotsuki Kairi, Yumeji Kiriko, Kugawara Kadzuki, Nagasawa Shin, Kazuaki, Wolfina, Kyuugou, Kazama Raita, Tobashi Kotomi, Shishizaru, Hitaki and Haibara Yak. The artists outdid themselves this time; the range of characters chosen was excellent and all of the pictures are on another level compared to the earlier books, even in the absence of a few of my favourite artists. The female characters are well represented too.

Next comes a short manga by Shimotsuki Kairi. Better known now for her own hit Sengoku-era manga Brave 10, Shimotsuki has worked on a number of BL series in the past as well as Capcom's three-volume Sengoku Basara: Ranse Ranbu manga back in 2006 (available from Amazon Japan: 1, 2, 3). The manga included in the Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 3 is an original story based on Sengoku Basara 2 called Chuushin No Kyouji ('The dignity of a loyal subject'). With a title like that, it's only natural that the simple, self-contained story revolves around the Dragon's right eye, Katakura Kojuurou.

The Chuushin No Kyouji manga is the main feature of the book and it's what the CD ties into. Seiyuu Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune), Morikawa Toshiyuki (Katakura Kojuurou), Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) and Koyasu Takehito (Sarutobi Sasuke) all appear, as does series narrator Watanabe Hideo (or someone who sounds very much like him - the role is not credited). While he isn't voiced, Fuuma Kotarou also has some scenes in the manga.

Since a lot of the manga is visual in nature, the audio script is longer with extra narration and dialogue so that it can stand alone and still make sense. It occurred to me when reading that these CDs would probably be quite interesting for students of Japanese who can follow along with the book. They'd need to look out for the idiosyncratic speech patterns of the characters; still, a little challenge surely makes learning all the more fun!

Short interviews with the four seiyuu follow the manga along with information about Sengoku Basara 2 Eiyuu Gaiden (Heroes), which had been released a couple of months previously, and the upcoming Sengoku Basara X (Cross). Two pages are dedicated to a very brief summary of the Basara Matsuri 2007 ~Fuyu No Jin~ fan event, then a collection of fan art and letters wraps things up. Official artist Nishizawa Sabroh provides official illustrations to complement the fan contributions.

Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 3 was published on 15th January 2008 by Media Works and it's still available for purchase from all good Japanese bookstores such as Yesasia and Amazon at the original price of ¥1,800.

Nico Nico Douga: Cuteness, comedy and male beauty

A super-cute video with 'mochi' style Hideyoshi and Hanbee dancing alongside the popular 'mame' style Mitsunari! The song is Worlds End Dancehall by wowaka and the MMD video comes from user Mofu. I love watching their little feet move. The Toyotomi forces definitely need a proper reunion in the next game.

News: Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage website goes live

The Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage website finally launched today after an exciting countdown which started with the New Year. Each day of the countdown had featured a CG illustration of a different Sengoku Basara character (Masamune, Yukimura, Ieyasu, Mitsunari, Kojuurou, Sasuke and Hisahide).

As previously reported, the Utage stage play will run between April and May this year at four venues. We now have exact dates, so here they are.

Fukuoka's Canal City Theatre: 26th-28th April 2013 (four performances)
Nagoya's Chuunichi Theatre: 2nd-4th May 2013 (five performances)
Tokyo's Nippon Seinenkan Great Hall: 10th-19th May 2013 (fourteen performances)
Osaka's Morinomiya Piloti Hall: 23rd-26th May 2013 (six performances)

All advance tickets cost ¥7,200 and go on sale from next week.

It was casting news that fans were hoping for most, especially as Hisahide has never appeared in the stage plays to date. Capcom didn't disappoint us and a live Ustream presentation was arranged to launch the site at midnight (Japanese time). Thanks to being at work I missed the presentation so I've had to rely on the brand new website and some tweets from KobaP for my report. Here is the list of actors who will be taking to the stage to perform Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage a few months from now - bold/italics means they're a brand new cast member.

Matsuda Kenji (Matsunaga Hisahide)
Kubota Yuuki (Date Masamune)
Hosogai Kei (Sanada Yukimura)
Hirose Yuusuke (Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Nakamura Seijirou (Ishida Mitsunari)

Yoshida Tomokazu (Katakura Kojuurou)

Murata Youjirou (Sarutobi Sasuke)
Kawamura Yukie (Tsuruhime)
Yashiro Minase (Saika Magoichi)

Nakamura Kazuto (Takeda Shingen)

AKIRA (Uesugi Kenshin)
Imai Yasuhiko (Mogami Yoshiaki)
Takahashi Hikaru (Fuuma Kotarou)
Tsukamoto Takuya (Imagawa Yoshimoto)
Sakurada Kousei (Azai Nagamasa)
Taniguchi Masashi (Tenkai)
Kubodera Akira (Oda Nobunaga)
Tamaki Nami (Oichi)

The biggest surprise by far is Yoshimoto! I'm amazed to see the scale of the list, including Kubodera returning to portray Oda for the first time in ages and stage debuts for a lot of older characters. Tamaki Nami joining the crew is particularly impressive since I know her from her pop music career. It's a shame Kingo, Sourin and Muneshige don't seem to have made the cut, but everyone else who starred in the Utage game is present. Surely the story is going to be pretty heavy this time around, though...

Pictures of the cast are now up on the official website. Hopefully those of us who can't go to watch the stage play live will be able to see some pictures of the actors in their costumes nearer the time.

The official recording of the cast announcement, featuring Butai Sengoku Basara mastermind Nishida Daisuke with actors Kubota Yuuki and Hosogai Kei, can be watched on Ustream here. Within a few hours of broadcast the video had been viewed more than 8,000 times. It sounds as though this is going to be yet another successful Sengoku Basara stage play!

DVD review: Basara Matsuri 2011 ~Natsu No Jin~

Some time ago I purchased and watched the DVD compilation of footage from Basara Matsuri 2011 ~Natsu No Jin~. Since I wasn't running this blog at the time, I've gone back to create a belated review to summarise what happened at the event so that I can reference it easily in future. The other reason for this sudden bout of Basara-related archaeology is that I'm trying to judge when we can expect an announcement of the next game, if one is coming at all!

Basara Matsuri 2011 ~Natsu No Jin~ was held on 17th July 2011 at Tokyo Mielparque Hall in Hamamatsuchou. There were two performances that day, one in the afternoon and the other in the evening. There was also a separate event held the night before called Basara Matsuri 2011 ~Natsu No Jin~ Zenyasai ('Festival Eve').

The DVD version of Basara Matsuri 2011 was released on 23rd December the same year on a single dual-layer disc, retailing at ¥5,040. It included a colour booklet with some pictures from the event and brief profiles of the guests. There's also a slip of paper inside apologising for a misspelling of Nakamura's name (corrections like this are a surprisingly common occurrence).

It was an exciting time to be following the series: Sengoku Basara 3 had just been rereleased on Wii and PS3 on their respective priced down classics labels, and the movie Sengoku Basara -The Last Party- was receiving good reviews from its cinema run. Two radio shows were on the air on a regular basis. 2011 also marked the revival of the Butai Sengoku Basara stage play project with Butai Sengoku Basara 3 bursting onto the scene. It had been announced back in June and was going to debut in October; fans were naturally curious about which actors would be playing the new leads.

In addition to all of this, the second PSP spin-off game called Sengoku Basara Chronicle Heroes was to be released the week after the event.

The fans had purchased their tickets expecting Chronicle Heroes to be the main focus of this Basara Matsuri. However, on the 5th July - two days before the scheduled publication date - a scan from Famitsu revealed that a brand new game was on the horizon: Sengoku Basara 3 Utage. This news was far more exciting than the announcement of Chronicle Heroes had been; Utage was to be a proper PS3/Wii game rather than a handheld spin-off title.

Consequently, the scheduled Basara Matsuri event would be the perfect opportunity for Capcom to tease more details ahead of Utage's distant November release date. Without further ado, here's a description of how things went.

Book review: Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 2

The Sengoku Basara Visual & Sound Book collection is a set of large anthologies which come with audio CDs. Every book in the series contains a jumble of articles in the same vein as a dedicated magazine; the gimmick is that CD contains an audio performance of some of the content.

The book I'm reviewing today is the second based on Sengoku Basara 2. There were three in total for that game, one for Sengoku Basara 3 and a similar but separate volume called the Sengoku Basara Dengeki Visual & Sound Book. I'm starting with Sengoku Basara 2 Vol. 2 for no reason other than that it's the one I received most recently. Each volume stands alone.

Volume two starts off with 'Gravure of Heroes', a series of character profiles for Chousokabe Motochika, Sanada Yukimura, Sarutobi Sasuke, Maeda Keiji, Azai Nagamasa and Oichi. These are accompanied by gorgeous full-page colour illustrations by a number of regular Sengoku Basara series fan artists: Haibara Yak, Yumeji Kiriko, Shishizaru, Wolfina, Shimotsuki Kairi, Nagasawa Shin, Yoshizumi Kazuyuki, Kazuaki, Hirooka Masaki, Tsunako, Sasakura Kou, Kugawara Kadzuki, Yamamoto Kana, Tobashi Kotomi, Hitaki, Enomoto and Kazama Raita all feature. Several of these artists have gone on to win wider recognition for their talent in the years since the book was produced, making these SenBasa illustrations even more exciting. There's an interesting variety to the art styles on display (especially for the pictures of Oichi) and I don't think I'd ever seen Nagamasa drawn by Sasakura before. The quality is superb.

The next part of the book is a short story based on Sengoku Basara 2: Cool & The Gang, the very first Sengoku Basara novel written by Asou Ryou. The novel (sold separately) was illustrated by Tsuchibayashi Makoto while the 'special edition' arc in this book comes with a generous number of pictures by Tobashi Kotomi instead. Cool & The Gang involves Masamune teaming up with Motochika. As both characters are not only extremely popular but also in possession of similar character traits, the storyline was well received.

This is where the CD comes in, allowing you to immerse yourself in the story with the dulcet tones of the familiar Sengoku Basara seiyuu. The actors featured on the CD in this volume are Nakai Kazuya (Date Masamune), Ishino Ryuuzou (Chousokabe Motochika), Morita Masakazu (Maeda Keiji), Okiayu Ryoutarou (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) and Ishida Akira (Takenaka Hanbee). The dialogue is loaded with cocky lines to allow Masamune and Motochika an opportunity to play off one another beautifully.

The next part of the book is a set of short interviews with the seiyuu who featured on the audio CD. One thing which could have made the bundle feel more worthwhile would have been some out of character discussion by the seiyuu about either the story they performed or to expand on these too-brief interviews. There was plenty of space on the CD.

Following the seiyuu segment comes detailed previews for the upcoming games Sengoku Basara 2 Eiyuu Gaiden (Heroes) and Sengoku Basara X (Cross). Fan contributions such as artwork, letters, jokes and comics fill the remaining pages.

Sengoku Basara 2 Visual & Sound Book Vol. 2 was published on 10th October 2007 by ASCII Media Works and it still seems to be in print (my book is from the third printing in 2009). It can be purchased from all good Japanese bookstores at its original price of ¥1,800, including Yesasia and Amazon. There shouldn't be any customs fees importing it to the UK, so anyone curious should give the series a try.

I'll post the details of the other Visual & Sound Books I possess whenever I have the time to slot them into my schedule!

Manga review: Sakuran

"In Sakuran, Moyoco Anno lifts the veil on life in the Edo period pleasure quarter, Yoshiwara. The story follows Kiyoha, sold into a brothel as a child and forced to work as a maid and her rise to prominence as one of the top-ranking courtesans in Yoshiwara. The allure of the “flower and willow world“ as it was called by artists in the day is underscored by the very real tragedy, heartbreak and difficult lives led by those seemingly glamourous courtesans. Will Kiyoha’s fox-like wiles give her a chance to break free of her gilded cage? Or will her fighting spirit ruin her chances of ever escaping the brothel?"

I've been a fan of Anno Moyoco's quirky, sensual manga ever since Tokyopop and Viz experimented with English versions of her longer works Happy Mania and Flowers and Bees. In the absence of any more English language books, I imported and watched the Sakuran live action movie when it was released on DVD (it's since, incredibly, received a UK DVD release). The movie adaptation had me spellbound - between the perfectly-cast Tsuchiya Anna in the lead role, a memorable soundtrack from Shiina Ringo and luxurious visuals, it was like watching a fully-realised work of art. The storyline is simple and a few anachronistic elements will certainly frustrate some viewers, yet the movie was never trying to be a classic period piece. Instead, it's a surreal look at the everyday lives of women who have been traded like possessions and forced to earn their keep in the walled world of Yoshiwara. Despite a thick veneer of glamour, the story shies away from nothing. The movie left a strong impression on me long after the credits had rolled.

Having assumed that the manga would never be picked up for publication in the US I was delighted to finally be able to add it to my collection last year. Reading the manga after the live action movie is slightly disorientating as the film spends far more time on the lead character's adulthood than the original story. The story completely diverges towards the end, and consequently, the two versions of Sakuran feel very different.

Nonetheless, both are wonderful.

I was ultimately left with the impression that the Sakuran manga, richly steeped in suffocating femininity, has a much stronger message than the movie. The protagonist (she goes by a number of different names over the course of her career) is extremely likeable; a spirited young lady in challenging circumstances through no fault of her own. She's perpetually having to balance her rebellious impulses with the pressures unique to the alien world in which she's been forced to live.

Anno's artwork is nothing short of sumptuous. Her gaudy, expressive art style matches the subject material perfectly. Intricately detailed fabrics, hairstyles and make-up fill every panel. My favourite character, visually, was the oiran Mikumo. Her unreadable face had a stoic beauty to it which made her resemble a woodblock print brought to life.

Sakuran has been blessed with a top-quality English language release from Vertical. It's a little more expensive than a regular book, but it's self-contained and much thicker than normal too. There are some translation notes at the back to help make sense of the exotic terminology used in the pleasure district and the cover is stunning, placing Anno's garishly beautiful illustrations over dazzling coloured foil.

This is easily one of the most striking books in my collection. I would recommend Sakuran to anyone who wants to see traditional Japanese courtesans from a slightly different, less idealised perspective - so long as the 18+ rating doesn't frighten them away.

Nico Nico Douga: Hello, 2013!

I received a lot of new visitors to my pathetic little blog the other day! Thank you for being kind about my dorky fangirling...

There's still very little to report in the way of news, though the Butai Sengoku Basara 3 Utage website launched a countdown at the start of the year which is rapidly heading towards its glorious opening next week. To add a little excitement the character on the front page changes daily; so far we've had Masamune, Yukimura, Ieyasu and Mitsunari. I'm hoping that Kojuurou and Sasuke will come next.

Anyway, here are some of the most indulgent Miku Miku Dance videos I've been watching on Nico Nico Douga to celebrate the New Year recently. It's not quite Kouhaku, especially as all of the best videos lately seem to feature the twin dragons of Oushuu. This is not the most balanced post.

In the first Sengoku Basara's Date Masamune dances to Shoujo Misui on Keiji's Kyoto festival stage courtesy of the user ariNO. There are some pretty effects, but really the reason I'm linking this is simply because I love both the song and Hittou.

Part 14: Yanagita Rikao's Sengoku Basara Science Laboratory

As with my posts covering the earlier parts, this is an extremely rough English translation of part of the blog series Yanagita Rikao's Sengoku Basara Science Laboratory (Yanagita Rikao Sengoku Basara Kagaku Kenkyuujo). Please click the link below to see the original article, which is accompanied by illustrations and promotional videos.

Part 14: A single horseman able to defeat 1,300; what's going on!? Maeda Keiji

Freedom. It's as though the word exists for Maeda Keiji. While he belongs to the Maeda family, he shows no interest in world affairs and lives for love. He cuts a flamboyant figure with a hawk's flight feathers in his hair, a monkey - Yumekichi - on his shoulder and an incredibly long sword on his back. I'd have liked to do the same once, but with his personality and skill he can probably be forgiven for living his life this way. I'll try to assess the strength of the 'Gorgeous Splendour', Maeda Keiji.