News roundup: Weekly Famitsu magazine formally announced Benmaru and Bontenmaru for Sanada Yukimura-den

Today's Weekly Famitsu reveals more about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den

We had the preview yesterday, which mentioned a few details kindly translated by BlackKite, and now the full edition of Weekly Famitsu is out with all of the details. I'm having a lot of fun trying to translate it all from my mobile phone screen after an all-nighter so please excuse any weird mistakes.

The release date for Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den has been brought forward to 25th August 2016 in Japan (it was previously confirmed for September). It will cost ¥6,990 (¥7,549 with tax), or ¥6,472 (¥6,990 with tax) for the download version, and its CERO age rating is B (12+). Presumably the pricing is the same on PS3 and PS4 since both versions are still listed. The game's cover artwork has also been confirmed.

The are also special limited edition bonuses!

Fans who order the game through e-Capcom (Japan-only) can get special figurines of Benmaru and Bontenmaru with their purchase, along with a special 'Yukimura-kun Ver.' costume for Benmaru in the game. Yukimura-kun is the rounded mascot character we sometimes see at official events.

There will also be another limited quantity bonus in the form of a special outfit for Yukimura; the 'White Cross Ver.' is a white jinbaori like the one Masamune wears in the game. The outfit will be accompanied by a novel titled Genpuku: Sanada Yukimura ('Coming Of Age: Sanada Yukimura') which will be 32-pages in length.

There's a very important footnote which reveals that they plan to make Benmaru's Yukimura-kun costume available as paid DLC in the future, and that other game stores may well have bonuses too. More details about the novel will be available on the game's official website in a few hours.

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The two new playable characters revealed in the article are the younger versions of Yukimura and Masamune; Benmaru and Bontenmaru, as previously leaked. They have different move sets to the older versions of the characters and are intended to provide a fresh experience.

Benmaru 弁丸
Seiyuu: Hoshi Souichirou
Weapon: A single training spear
Playable: Yes
Benmaru is described as having a direct personality and a great deal of respect for his father and older brother.

He has a form of Yukimura's new 'Heavenly Wings' mode where he darts around lunging at enemies consecutively if the player times the buttonpresses correctly, and there are also previews of two of his regular attacks (not R2 specials).

Rokusou Tobi 六そう跳び ('Six Linked Leaps'): Benmaru flips and delivers an energetic dash attack. It can be used to launch lined-up enemies facing Benmaru all at once, or chained with other moves.

Kurenaigeri 紅蹴り ('Crimson Kick'): Benmaru starts with a surge of chained thrusts then follows up with a powerful kick. By bashing the normal attack button, the number of thrusts is increased.

Update: For some reason, the move called Kurenaigeri 紅蹴り ('Crimson Kick') in Weekly Famitsu and on the game's official website is labelled Tomotsuki 灯突き ('Torch Thrust') in some website press releases like this one on the official Capcom news page. I'm guessing this is an error but I have absolutely no idea which is correct.

A preview is also shown of his Basara move. Benmaru powefully readies his spear and unleashes a furious blazing fire. He then signals the heavens with a great swing of his spear, creating a huge explosion.

(Raindrops' note: They're only previewing two moves and a Basara for these characters, do they have fewer specials than the adults?)

Bontenmaru 梵天丸
Seiyuu: Nakai Kazuya
Weapon: One wooden sword
Playable: Yes

Even at this age Bontenmaru is conscious of his position as Oushuu's ruler, having been constantly disciplined by his retainer Katakura Kojuurou. He starts to recognise Benmaru as his 'rival' after the two of them meet as children.

When the button is held down, Bontenmaru enters Bousou ('Rampage') mode and becomes stronger and faster than usual. You need to keep playing aggressively to maintain this mode. Bontenmaru can turn his regular blows into 'tyrant' attacks by holding the button down right after they're performed. This will let you follow up with further attacks and as you chain them, a blue aura will appear which indicates 'Rampage' mode and lets you hammer your opponent with combos.

Gekirin 逆鱗 ('Wrath Of The Emperor'): A chained attack with a slide to juggle the enemy followed by a kick. As it instantly closes the distance between Bontenmaru and the enemy, it makes a useful opening attack.

Ranbi 乱尾 ('Rebellious Tail'): Attacking the enemy countless times with the wooden sword, Bontenmaru finishes by sending them flying with a rowdy kick. It doesn't work on nearby enemies and they won't be hit by the move, but when it connects the destructive force is exceptional.

His Basara move is previewed too. Bontenmaru gathers his power and unleashes a sweeping chain of attacks, causing a great amount of damage to all of the surrounding enemies.

(Raindrops' note: Hey, he looks like a Musou character. The article apologises for the lack of clear information about grown-up Masamune's move set; presumably that's coming in a future update.)

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There are a few updates on the story, too. The main story will unfold across ten chapters, which will cover Yukimura's childhood, his time as a young man and then finally, the Osaka Summer Siege.

The two men have a fateful encounter with one another during their childhoods. After Tenmokuzan, the Sanada clan find themselves tangling with various other warriors, and thus some additional stages are confirmed.

The two youngsters have their destined meeting in Oushuu. Masayuki takes Benmaru to Oushuu for special training which has been passed down through the Sanada clan for generations. They're surrounded by enemies when suddenly, Bontenmaru barges in.

Stage: Benmaru and Bontenmaru compete on the battlefield!?

• Many regular soldiers appear on this stage.
• The pair are competing to prove their strength, and rushing deeper into the battlefield.
• The player controls both characters alternately to reach the objective.

(Raindrops' note: This scenario is very similar to an event in the Bontenmaru-hen manga and I now strongly suspect Kojuurou is in the game as a result. I wasn't convinced until now, but he was also mentioned by name in Bontenmaru's character summary. There's a comment that the two youngsters make a vow together, which I'm betting is that they'll each be the one to kill the other and that will explain why Yukimura doesn't die as history describes but instead rises like a phoenix and goes on to duel his destined rival for the game's glorious climax as usual.)

The wicked hands of the Houjou clan pursue the Sanada clan. The 'Demon King' Oda Nobunaga wasn't the only one who coveted the land of Ueda. Houjou Ujiyasu suppressed the Sanada clan in an attempt to impress Nobunaga and secure the continuation of his own clan. After Tenmokuzan, the Sanada clan are in the process of returning to Ueda Castle when they're surrounded by the Houjou forces. Masayuki calmly thinks of a 'certain plan', but can the Sanada family pull it off and escape their predicament?

Stage: Gather the Houjou clan flags bathed in the mist.

• It's a misty, mountainous stage.
• Masayuki directs his two sons to gather up enemy flags.
• It would seem that there are six flags to collect.
• But there are also fake flags!
• You control all three characters: Yukimura, Masayuki and Nobuyuki.
• Fuuma Kotarou appears as an enemy in this stage, and he's got a flag. He's described as 'tough'.
• Houjou Ujimasa appears too, of course.

(Raindrops' note: Kotarou appears to be using shadow doubles of himself in the promotional screenshot to torture the Sasuke fans further.)

Tokugawa Ieyasu invades Ueda Castle! Judging that the Sanada clan's power is flagging in all of the turmoil, Tokugawa Ieyasu takes his retainer Honda Tadakatsu and clamours for Masayuki and Nobuyuki to surrender Ueda Castle. Meanwhile, Yukimura senses that the castle is in danger and bears witness to a 'certain scene' as he rushes to assist. Can Masayuki and Nobuyuki protect Ueda Castle from Ieyasu's forces? Will Yukimura arrive in time to back them up?

Stage: Spur your horse on and make haste to your father and brother!

• It's a stage where you control Yukimura and have to rush towards Ueda Castle.
• Enemies will try to obstruct you.
• You can pick up 'acceleration carrots' to boost your horse's speed.

System: Break through a challenging situation with 'Sanada Blood'!

• Masayuki and Nobuyuki are defending the castle.
• The player can freely switch between the two of them using a character swapping feature called 'Sanada Blood'.
• There's a white L2 mark in one of the screenshots of Masayuki which switches the player so they're controlling Nobuyuki instead (and vice versa).
• There's some kind of red-yellow gauge on the right of the screen during the Ueda Castle defense segments but it's too small to work out what's going on yet.

The Sanada Blood indicator is easy to spot as it's highlighted with a splatter of blood.

The other important new gameplay feature is powering up your characters with a new Bushin ('Braveheart') system mid-battle, which is designed to encourage you to play aggressively and rack up a lot of kills. As you play and gather Bushin, the gauge in the bottom left corner of the screen fills. Each time the gauge fills completely your Bushin Renma ('Braveheart Refinement') level will increase and strengthen your character, increasing their damage dealt, reducing their damage taken and allowing them to use additional skills.

In the example shown in the magazine, the numbered list overlapping with Yukimura's portrait in the bottom left displays the upgrades he can unlock with Bushin. The third, fourth and sixth levels all unleash skills, so by the time he's raised his Bushin Renma level from one to six he'll have activated a total of three skills.

The skills shown in the screenshots are named Desertion Proficiency, Desertion Heal and Desertion Invincibility, so I think we can assume these are upgrades which let Yukimura gain bonus effects when he performs a 'desertion' dodge. You can see the skills light up in the list when you have raised your level high enough to activate them.

To accumulate Bushin, look for enemies with a blue health bar and single them out. By defeating these enemies you'll gradually increase your gauge. In addition, you can find 'Telepathy Spheres' strewn across the stage. If you pick these up and press L1 and R1 together, you'll activate Bushin Denshin mode ('Braveheart Telepathy'). For a limited time, all enemies will give Bushin.

(Raindrops' note: I picked 'Braveheart' for this name because it literally means 'martial heart', but phonetically the word can also mean a warrior or brave. So it seemed appropriate. Feel free to disagree with my linguistic whimsy!)

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General observations:

• The kill counter is tracking monsen coins, not kills.
• There's a mission pop-up panel in the top right, indicating that the stages have missions which change as you play.
• Yukimura has a move called Fuurinkazan under his Basara gauge, where L2 moves are displayed in Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi. Is this the name of one of his unlockable moves? It's showing up even when his Braveheart gauge is at level one.
• New move names can also be seen in that location for Masayuki and Nobuyuki except the pictures are too small to read them.
• A lot of people are acting like Bontenmaru and Benmaru are the final playable characters, but while I know they said there won't be many they haven't ever actually confirmed that we're done with character announcements already. Or did I miss something?

--

The website's update a few hours after I translated the information above clarified some things, like the order of the chapters we know about so far:

• Budding Azure-Crimson Souls
• Takeda Annihilation: Battle of Tenmokuzan
• Birth of the Rokumonsen (Six Coins)
• The First Ueda Conflict: Tokugawa Invasion

We can safely assume that the Osaka Summer Siege is in the list too but the site only lists these four chapters at the moment. They're numbered 1-4 so I'm going to go ahead and assume they're the first four chapters of the game.

The system page on the website clarifies that each character has normal moves, unique skills and a Basara move - so nothing out of the ordinary for the Sengoku Basara series.

There are also some new Basara move descriptions:

• Yukimura: Yukimura soars up into the sky, twirling and clad in flames like a phoenix. He releases a series of relentless thrusts, etching his six coins on the ground, then finally drifts back down to land and incinerates everything with scorching pillars of fire. (The blazing spears are supposed to resemble a phoenix's wings.)
• Masayuki: Masayuki summons a statue of the Sanada clan's former lord Takeda Shingen. While Masayuki narrates a tale of Shingen's lifelong accomplishments, the statue uses its unusually destructive blazing fists to smash everything in sight to smithereens.
• Nobuyuki: Living up to his title as the 'Lion of Shinano', Nobuyuki lets out a ferocious roar which shakes the ground, his hair disheveled. After that, he lunges, spinning his spear in a figure eight shape and dynamically ploughing through anything it touches.

Still nothing on grown-up Masamune's move list.

Reminder: The first Sanada Yukimura-den live stream is today!

I mentioned this last Friday but we're now just a few hours away from tonight's hour-long Nico Nico broadcast about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den. The stream can be watched here and it starts at 20:00 Japan time.

Exclusive merchandise is revealed for visitors to next Saturday's fan club event

A generous range of new merchandise items have been previewed on the official website for the upcoming Basara Club Fan Meeting 2016 Spring events on Saturday 28th May 2016.

Visitors can choose from two different t-shirts for ¥2,000 each:

A tote bag for ¥1,200:

Four different reversible uchiwa fans for ¥300 each:

Nineteen different supporter badges for ¥900 each:

Twelve different BIC ballpoint pens for ¥500 each:

Or there are randomly-packed trading badges which come in packs of two, with each pack costing ¥500:

Those badges are amazing - there are so many characters to choose from! The rest of the merchandise favours the characters whose actors are appearing at the events but the badges include everyone; it's a pity they're event-only.

The second teaser trailer from Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen

To commemorate the tickets going on sale, the play's organisers released a new trailer showing Keiji, Magoichi and Kojuurou posing in costume for a photo shoot.


Glimpses of Kenshin, Rikyuu and Motochika's crewmates can be found on Twitter too, so I'm guessing we'll see them in a trailer in the near future!

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Update 22nd May: I have updated this post with a few extra details from the subsequent website update to keep everything in one place.

News roundup: Prepare for plenty of updates next week!

Given that KobaP suggested that the next batch of Sanada Yukimura-den news was due mid-month and we had nothing this week, I have a strong suspicion that there'll be a massive update in Thursday's Weekly Famitsu release. To give advance warning, I will just have finished a work all-nighter coupled with a long, long journey when the magazine comes out - but I very much intend to translate it as usual. Please forgive any lateness or errors.

The first Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den live stream event has been announced

Another big hint that next week is going to be important is that an hour-long broadcast has been scheduled for Thursday 19th May at 20:00 (Japan time). Described as the first of what will become monthly Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den broadcasts, the stream will feature series producer Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki and the game's producer Nonaka Daizou. Internet personality Shima will be present as a guest - he participated in last year's Nico Nico Relay event to promote Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi. Additional guests have yet to be announced, and the descriptions promise that the show will include the very latest, brand new information along with anecdotes from the development team.

The link to the Nico Nico Live stream is here, and timeshifts can be reserved already.

The cover is revealed for the first of the Sengoku Basara 3 novel reprints

We now have the cover artwork for the new Sengoku Basara 3: Sanada Yukimura & Sarutobi Sasuke No Shou ('Sanada Yukimura & Sarutobi Sasuke Chapter') compilation book which collects Nozaki Masato's Sengoku Basara 3: Sanada Yukimura No Shou ('Sanada Yukimura Chapter') and Sasahara Shio's Sengoku Basara 3: Sarutobi Sasuke No Shou ('Sarutobi Sasuke Chapter') into a single volume.

They've given it a different cover to tempt people like me into buying the same stories again...

And either these are new illustrations, or they're from the Sasuke book which is the one volume I still haven't managed to pick up. Pretty sure they're new though. The artist is Tsutsumi Yoshisada as before.

It looks as though Sengoku Basara 3: Date Masamune & Katakura Kojuurou No Shou will be following in June at ¥1,260 before tax.

Power up your smartphone with Sengoku Basara mobile batteries

Capcom have teamed up with Maxell to create a range of Sengoku Basara branded battery packs for smart phones, emblazoned with various characters from the series and scheduled for release this summer. Each battery pack costs ¥5,000 before tax and there are fifteen different designs - even if Masamune somehow gets to appear on four of them.

Sadly, the batteries are exclusive to the official e-Capcom store which means they can only be shipped to Japanese addresses, so if you do decide to purchase one make sure that your deputy service checks they can handle batteries. Some postal services refuse to carry them.

Ashigaru-kun visits the Sanada Cafe

Heroic mascot Ashigaru-kun stars in an irreverent report about the Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den x Sweets Paradise Sanada Cafe collaboration which is currently running in Shibuya. There will be another report soon with pictures of the desserts!

That controversial Sanada Yukimura-den news from Machi☆Asobi

The Famitsu website posted a report from the Machi☆Asobi event a few days ago which summarised one of the key points which arose during KobaP's talk show about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den. For those who didn't see the flurry of tweets at the time, it's been stated that there will be no female characters in the game. This point apparently came up in response to fans asking about particular characters during a Q&A session rather than as part of the main presentation. KobaP blurted out that female characters wouldn't be appearing in accordance with documented history, then went on to apologetically suggest that fans should look forward to the masculine cast and their impassioned battles.

The news is obviously disappointing, especially as the girls of Sengoku Basara have often drawn the short straw when it comes to marketing and appearances throughout the history of the series despite being well-liked, beautiful and cool. KobaP has gone on record several times in the past to acknowledge the fans of the female characters, so this feels like a gigantic step backwards after seeing the efforts the team made to include the ladies in the stage plays, not to mention finally getting characters like Kasuga and Matsu polished up properly for Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi.

My personal view is that it's hard to judge the tone of what KobaP said from a handful of tweets and a write-up by a journalist, subsequently interpreted by a native English speaker across languages. I've read a huge number of KobaP interviews and heard him talk over the years, and I don't think he meant it anywhere close to as harshly as it can sound with a brusque translation. He's a fan of the female cast himself!

What seems most likely is that they've trimmed the cast list quite aggressively to keep this experimental spin-off relatively cheap and simple, and that's unfortunately meant that many of the established female fighters have been cut to make space for their more-famous male counterparts in order to maximise the series' ability to cross-promote with major regions and events. That doesn't make it suck any less, but it would have been a lot less shocking if the news had been broken gently instead of coming as a bolt from the blue.

I hope we get a more detailed interview soon so that KobaP (or the game's actual producer Nonaka) can explain the character selection process properly. Speculating about possible female characters for Yukimura to run into was fun, while it lasted, and having the chance swept away so abruptly has dampened my excitement a little. Of course, I'll still be buying Sanada Yukimura-den and enjoying it either way.

(Although the article doesn't mention much else - the Gyakuten Saiban 6 coverage rather dominates the discussion - I did like the note that Sanada Nobuyuki's outlandish hairdo evokes the image of a kabuki-style lion. I had missed that idea entirely before now; it's certainly appropriate for the 'Lion of Shinano'!)

News roundup: A new gameplay video, plus Yukimura trains and Mitsunari pizza

There wasn't much to report about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den last week; there were no new magazine articles and the last website update only added sound clips for the playable characters - most significantly meaning we were able to hear Sanada Nobuyuki (Hosoya Yoshimasa) and Sanada Masayuki (Ootsuka Houchuu) speaking for the first time.

Then KobaP dropped a hint that there would be some news at the end of the week, so I deliberately held my news roundup back to see what it was. Rather excitingly, the very first promotions for Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den have been unveiled - and today we finally get to see the new character in action.

The second gameplay video for Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den arrives

This trailer gives us a very welcome taste of the new fighting styles used by Sanada Masayuki and Nobuyuki.


Fans in the Kansai region can soon ride on a Sanada Yukimura-den train

A major collaboration has been announced between Capcom and the Nankai Electric Railway, which operates across regions associated with the Sanada family historically. The Sengoku Basara x Nankai Electric Railway: Summer Siege ~ Sanada Yukari No Chi He Iza Shutsujin~ campaign will run from 27th May to 30th August 2016 (the official webpage is scheduled to launch in a couple of weeks).

As part of the celebration, Tenkuu sightseeing trains on the Kouya Flower Railway will be decorated with Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den artwork and the Ueda Electric Railway 'Sanada Dream Train' will be given a special Sengoku Basara Head Mark plate. The designs of the train wrappings will change on the 1st July and again on the 29th July, so fans who live nearby are encouraged to keep checking their local stations to see which characters go on display.

(Reading between the lines, perhaps this also means we'll get monthly character reveals since the way it's phrased implies the two future designs will have different characters?)

The Tenkuu trains will also offer commemorative photograph opportunities with pictures (probably standees) of the characters in the reserved seating carriage.

And travellers will be able to enter a mobile stamp rally contest using their Tenkuu tickets and QR codes located large standees in select station.

The standees are shown below. They're located in the Namba, Kudoyama, Gokurakubashi/Kouyasan (both stations have the same design) and Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Onsen stations, from left to right.

Prizes include hotel stays, cast autographs, an exclusive wallpaper and the Sanada Yukimura Sengoku Basara Carry Case which was briefly available from e-Capcom last year.

That's not all! The Kudoyama Sanada Museum is handing out exclusive train-themed clear files to the first 10,000 fans who visit and purchase a ticket between 27th May and 30th August 2016.

And there will be commemorative tickets available at Nankai Electric Railway stations, with special designs.

Lastly, seiyuu Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) will accompany series producer KobaP for a talk show as part of a special two-day sightseeing tour on 11th and 12th June 2016. The theme of the tour will naturally be the historical Sanada clan, but I'm sure there's a possibility they'll talk about the new game as well.

An exhibition (and talk show) is announced for Sanada Yukimura-den

The Sanada Juuyuushi Garden Place in Ueda will be hosting a special Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den exhibition from 23rd April through to 25th September 2016. Entry is free, and the attractions announced so far include a presentation board explaining the game, Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den promotional videos and standees of Masamune, Yukimura, Masayuki and Nobuyuki.

Most importantly, there will be a free talk show to discuss the game which will be headed up by KobaP and Hoshi Souichirou. The talk show will take place on Saturday 30th July 2016; hopefully there will be some interesting gossip shared on Twitter by those lucky enough to attend.

Sweets Paradise is to offer a limited Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den tie-in menu

A collaboration has been announced between the Sengoku Basara series and the Sweets Paradise chain of cake buffet restaurants popular with young people (especially girls). Between 28th April and 26th June 2016, visitors to the Sweets Paradise branch in Shibuya's Parco Part3 building will be able to order special Sengoku Basara items from the Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den x Sweets Paradise Sanada Cafe menu to accompany their usual fare of bottomless cakes and pasta.

There will also be themed decorations in the restaurant to make the visit more fun, and special merchandise including these ¥500 randomly-packed tin badges:

And these ¥800 acrylic keychains:

There are eight different badges and keychains (one design is secret). Fans who spend more than ¥1,500 on merchandise will be eligible to win additional Sengoku Basara goodies such as t-shirts.

The main food menu contains five dishes to choose from priced at ¥1,200 each: Sanada YukimuRamen, Date Masamune's white omrice, Setouchi-don, Ishida Mitsunari's quattro formaggio pizza or Rokumonsen takoyaki.

The drink options include mysterious ¥800 beverages named after Masamune, Yukimura, Masayuki and Nobuyuki or a Sengoku Basara bushou caffè latte, which comes decorated with one of nine possible designs.

The ¥1,000 dessert menu features Date Masamune's COOL shaved ice, Maeda Keiji's festival parfait and Tokugawa Ieyasu's bond parfait.

Discounts are available if you order combinations of menu items (for example, a meal with a drink and dessert only costs ¥2,600). If you follow the official Sengoku Basara account on the LINE messaging service, you can show the staff to receive free Haagen-Dasz ice cream during your visit as well.

Customers who order from the tie-in menu will receive bonus items from a selection of sticker and coaster designs which will change three times over the course of the campaign. There are previews of the first batch of the rewards but the next sets are currently unrevealed. First, the stickers:

And here are the coasters:

A report from the store can be found here.

(Hey, it's a Yukimura-den themed event so can we leap to conclusions about which characters they picked for the food items and act disappointed if they don't turn up in the actual game?)

The Capcom Cafe will be launching a Sengoku Basara campaign in the near future

Speaking of food, the Capcom Cafe has announced that its third batch of themed dishes and merchandise will be based on Sengoku Basara.

The cafe is located near Koshigaya Lake Town station in Saitama, and more details about the tie-in should be available soon. In the meantime, there will be a special selection of Capcom Cafe merchandise available at Tokushima's annual Machi☆Asobi pop culture event on 3rd and 4th May 2016, including early access to the Capcom Cafe x Sengoku Basara items below.

A clear file for ¥500 (the picture shows that it's printed to hide the background when you place paper inside):

Large acrylic key holders for ¥1,000 each:

A tote bag for ¥1,500:

A mini towel for ¥500:

Various tin badges for ¥300 each (they're randomly given out as gacha prizes):

That's not all that Capcom has planned for the series at Machi☆Asobi. There will also be a Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den exhibition! They're really promoting the game heavily now the new characters have been revealed at last.

Sengoku Basara teams up with mobile game SENTAMA for a competition

The latest minor gaming crossover event announced for Sengoku Basara is with DeNA's tactical combat smartphone game SENTAMA. Until 9th May 2016, SENTAMA players will be able to encounter six Sengoku Basara characters in the game: Masamune, Yukimura, Mitsunari, Ieyasu, Kojuurou and Sasuke. There will be other bonuses and incentives during the campaign, and you can see the full character artwork on the Dengeki website.

Fans will also be able to celebrate the game's first anniversary with a giveaway of six copies of the PS4 edition of Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi.

What makes the prizes special is that they have been signed by one of the series' popular voice actors: Nakai Kazuya (Masamune), Hoshi Souichirou (Yukimura), Seki Tomokazu (Mitsunari), Ookawa Tooru (Ieyasu), Morikawa Toshiyuki (Kojuurou) or Koyasu Takehito (Sasuke).

In addition, fans who follow the official SENTAMA Twitter account will be eligible to enter a retweet campaign this week to give away exclusive stickers and in-game gold.

The Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN manga officially begins its run

This week marks the release of the first issue of Young Champion magazine to include a chapter of Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN, which means the manga has officially begun! To celebrate, two new promotional images have been unveiled.

The 41-page first chapter is being given star billing in the magazine with a colour splash page and so far the reception from readers seems positive.

An update for the upcoming stage play's official website

July is gradually getting closer and the first teaser video for the Zangeki Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi: Honnouji No Hen play was released last week. The official website was also refreshed; they're using photographs of the actors in costume this time rather than CG artwork from the game series. It's nice.

Even though most of these updates happened a while ago they were in the news again on Friday due to another announcement: additional actors and guests!

The stage play's full cast list is now as follows (newcomers are in bold, while newly-announced cast members are in italics):

Shiono Akihisa (Date Masamune)
Matsumura Ryuunosuke (Sanada Yukimura)
Inoue Masahiro (Katakura Kojuurou)
Shiina Taizou (Sarutobi Sasuke)
Isaka Tatsuya (Maeda Keiji)
Shiramata Atsushi (Chousokabe Motochika)
Taniguchi Masashi (Akechi Mitsuhide)
AKIRA (Uesugi Kenshin)
Mamoru Asana (Saika Magoichi)
Juri (Sen No Rikyuu)
Shiozaki 'IRE' Airu (Gotou Matabee)
Karahashi Mitsuru (Oda Nobunaga)
Saitou Shuusuke (Shima Sakon)
Nakayama Yuuki (Hisahiko)
Yamaguchi Tomoya (Takezou)

Saitou Shuusuke is new to the cast and taking over from Katou Keisuke, who played Sakon in his only other appearance in the series. Nakayama Yuuki and Yamaguchi Tomoya are the two performers from boy band SOLIDEMO who appeared in the same roles as members of Aniki's crew in the previous play. It's good to have them back.

In addition, three of the series' most popular voice actors are now scheduled to appear during the brief bonus talk shows at the end of the play. Hayami Shou (Akechi Mitsuhide/Tenkai) is the special guest on 5th July, Morita Masakazu (Maeda Keiji) will appear on 6th July and Hoshi Souichirou (Sanada Yukimura) will take to the stage on 9th July.

Last but not least, the first proper promotional video includes some nice glimpses of the fun and hard work behind the scenes.

Streaming: Spring 2016 anime first impressions

Even setting aside the matter of whether the individual shows are good or mediocre, this season marks a huge change in the viewing experience for anime fans based in the UK and Ireland. After moaning after them in every first impressions post since I started this blog Funimation have finally sorted themselves out and opened their simulcast offerings up to fans in my country. This has virtually doubled my access to streaming anime overnight and to make things even better the service they offer is actually good, with basic features like schedules, social media notifications and a decent browser video player all up and running on their beta website. When their apps are ready the Funimation Now service will be as good as Crunchyroll and I dearly hope that the day will eventually come where everyone outside Japan has proper access to legal streams.

It's not all happy news though. Viewster's anime streaming enterprise has completely self-destructed, ruining my hope of a multilingual, pan-European service to rival Hulu in the US. Animax UK hasn't managed to license anything at all this season which makes their reason to exist questionable (arguably a good thing; their service is so poor that they couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery). The Anime Network have continued licensing UK exclusives (ok, one show) but aren't doing a very convincing job of justifying their price tag for anyone living outside their core market. Meanwhile Daisuki continue to hang around, and while they have no content I'm interested in for the spring season I hope that their situation doesn't change. There's also a worrying trend brewing with big announcements from Amazon and Netflix which I'll be talking about more later on.

Politics aside, it's ultimately the quality of the anime which matters and I've managed to watch at least one episode of everything I'm likely to have access to by now. So here are my first impressions.

News roundup: The DOKUGAN manga, books and a silly character ranking

The upcoming Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN manga now has a launch date

The Sengoku Basara tenth anniversary website has revealed that Nekoi Yasuyuki's Sengoku Basara: DOKUGAN modern day alternate universe manga now finally has a start date. It's been a long time coming; the manga was first announced last July for a winter release date!

As previously announced, the manga will be serialised in Akita Shoten's Young Champion magazine (released on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month). DOKUGAN will begin its run on 26th April 2016 and it's billed as a heroic story of swords and bikes in the land of Hinomoto. It's the year 0011 in the BASARA calendar, and Oushuu has been forced to yield to rule by Ushuu's Mogami Yoshiaki and his tyranny. Against that backdrop, a one-eyed man with a wild motorbike appears...

Since it's been a while I'll repost the older teaser images again too showing Masamune with his bike too.

I'm very curious to see which other Sengoku Basara characters will be making appearances too.

The Sengoku Basara 3 novels are returning in omnibus form

I was browsing the Mangaoh website yesterday and noticed that a listing had appeared for a new novel titled Sengoku Basara 3: Sanada Yukimura & Sarutobi Sasuke No Shou ('Sanada Yukimura & Sarutobi Sasuke Chapter'). Digging deeper I found that it was also showing up on Amazon Japan, and piecing the details together it seems that it's an omnibus edition of two previous books, Nozaki Masato's Sengoku Basara 3: Sanada Yukimura No Shou ('Sanada Yukimura Chapter') and Sasahara Shio's Sengoku Basara 3: Sarutobi Sasuke No Shou ('Sarutobi Sasuke Chapter'). Amazon's more detailed listing advises that the new book will be 560 pages long and cost ¥994 when it's released on 13th May 2015. The publisher is Kodansha via their Kodansha Bunko label this time (the previous Sengoku Basara 3 stories were published as premium Kodansha BOX editions so this new version will be much more affordable).

Amazon's description boasts that this is the first in four monthly releases, so it sounds as though all eight of the old Kodansha BOX novels will be getting the omnibus treatment this summer. The timing of the Yukimura and Sasuke volume leading the way makes me think they want to hint that Sasuke might be returning for Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den. Am I reading too much into things? (Yes.)

The final standings are published for the 7-Eleven 'character ranking'

The first round of the Print Charamide Sengoku Basara ~Jindori Gassen!~ ('Base-grabbing Battle!') campaign in Japanese 7-Eleven stores is now over, and as promised the website has published the rankings for the characters based on how many pictures each team sold. Please don't take this too seriously as being able to sell individual ¥150 pictures is more a mark of how devoted each character's fans are than a precise measurement of popularity - but still, there are some grains of truth amongst the crazier results. The placement of the Toyotomi army at the top is no big surprise.

7-Eleven kindly broke down the individual rankings within each 'army' so people can see how well their favourite character did.

1st: Conqueror Kings
1. Ishida Mitsunari
2. Shima Sakon
3. Ootani Yoshitsugu
4. Takenaka Hanbee
5. Toyotomi Hideyoshi

2nd: Manly Men
1. Sarutobi Sasuke
2. Sanada Yukimura
3. Takeda Shingen
4. Shimazu Yoshihiro
5. Miyamoto Musashi
6. Honganji Kennyo

3rd: Setouchis
1. Chousokabe Motochika
2. Mouri Motonari
3. Tsuruhime
4. Tenkai
5. Saika Magoichi
6. Kobayakawa Hideaki

4th: Oushuus
1. Date Masamune
2. Katakura Kojuurou
3. Shibata Katsuie
4. Itsuki
5. Mogami Yoshiaki

5th: Demon Lords
1. Azai Nagamasa
2. Akechi Mitsuhide
3. Oichi
4. Oda Nobunaga
5. Nouhime
6. Mori Ranmaru

6th: Regional Lords
1. Amago Haruhisa
2. Anegakouji Yoritsuna
3. Utsunomiya Hirotsuna
4. Nanbu Harumasa
5. Naoe Kanetsugu
6. Satake Yoshishige

7th: Emperors
1. Matsunaga Hisahide
2. Ashikaga Yoshiteru
3. Sen No Rikyuu (Sabisuke)
4. Sen No Rikyuu (Wabisuke)
5. Kyougoku Maria
6. Yamanaka Shikanosuke

8th: Bonds
1. Fuuma Kotarou
2. Tokugawa Ieyasu
3. Honda Tadakatsu
4. Tokugawa Ieyasu (young version)
5. Ii Naotora
6. Houjou Ujimasa

9th: Three 'bee's
1. Gotou Matabee (version 2)
2. Takenaka Hanbee (version 2)
3. Kuroda Kanbee (version 2)

10th: Loves
1. Maeda Keiji
2. Kasuga
3. Matsu
4. Maeda Toshiie
5. Uesugi Kenshin
6. Imagawa Yoshimoto

11th: Kyuushuus
1. Gotou Matabee
2. Kuroda Kanbee
3. Ootomo Sourin
4. Tachibana Muneshige
5. Xavi

12th: Sengoku Gourmet Association
1. Katakura Kojuurou (version 2)
2. Kobayakawa Hideaki (version 2)
3. Matsu (version 2)

13th: Tiger-users
1. Sanada Yukimura (version 2)
2. Utsunomiya Hirotsuna (version 2)
3. Ii Naotora (version 2)

While the Toyotomi army is arranged exactly as their relative popularity appears from where I'm standing, the 'Manly Men' were a surprise; Sasuke did better than Yukimura! Other surprises included Ieyasu coming below Kotarou, eternally-doomed Nagamasa triumphing in the Oda bracket and Masamune's army getting crushed; it had some weaker members but fourth place is still pretty bad for a main character with such a natural advantage. The eternal rivalry between Motonari and Motochika has resulted in Aniki doing better this time, making up for his loss in the old BSR48 survey. None of the girls did all that well which is a shame (and possibly a side effect of the ranking being generated in such an eccentric fashion; the campaign might not have connected so well with male fans). The characters who had more than one picture available may have suffered from their 'votes' being split between both versions.

There are some happy results from this survey; if I'm understanding the rules correctly it means that obscure characters such as Tsuruhime, Nouhime, Ranmaru, Yoshihiro and Itsuki could be appearing on the tiny pieces of merchandise available through a follow-up campaign in July. It's been almost forever since some of them had any merchandise and Gyoubu doesn't usually get much either even though he has a hardcore following in his own right. Congratulations to their fans!

News updates: Some additional Yukimura-den information from today's website updates

This was going to be a quick update but it turned out there was more news to report than I expected after all! Please forgive mistakes as I didn't give myself much time to check this before work.

A few extra details about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den

As anticipated the official Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den website updated this morning with new screenshots and character profile sections. Yukimura's page has two tabs on it now. It seems that the new costume revealed in Weekly Famitsu is being called his Hinokaku ('Scarlet Horns') outfit, while the flashier clothing is the Phoenix version. The site confirms the phonetic reading for his 'Heavenly Wings' mode is Tenha.

They also included details of one additional move for each of the three characters profiled yesterday.

Yukimura: Rekkaen 烈火炎 ('Raging Blaze') - Yukimura lunges forward and delivers a furious combo attack. Bashing the button increases the number of blows. By timing the final button press well, it's possible to initiate Heavenly Wings mode.

Masayuki: Magarigoma 曲独楽 ('Twisting Top') - Masayuki attacks by rotating like a spinning top, kicking his enemies up into the air. By following up with a teleport or by drawing the flying soldiers in, he can also move his enemies around.

Nobuyuki: Tokakuri 兎狩里 ('Rabbit-hunting Village') - A showy attack where Nobuyuki violently kicks with his knee, spins the ladder spear once and strikes. If the player holds the button down Nobuyuki will grab his opponents and take out all of the enemies in front of him at once.

Articles with the new information can also be found on Japanese gaming websites such as 4Gamer, Dengeki Online, Famitsu, Gamer and Inside.

Sengoku Basara finally receives an official LINE account

Capcom have announced that there's now an official Sengoku Basara account fans can follow on the LINE social networking service to receive news and updates. They can also communicate with the account and it will respond based on keywords such as the names of Sengoku Basara characters (so far they seem to react with a quote and a picture - I tried digging for secret information about the new game but there doesn't seem to be any).

In addition, followers will get to see special images; the first one available through the account is this Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den illustration by Sengoku Basara 3 Bloody Angel artist Itou Ryuu. Fans outside Japan can follow the official LINE account too, though all of the messages will be in Japanese for obvious reasons. To view the images, browse to the account through your Friends list and click on their profile; their gallery will be shown in the corner and you can download the new picture there.

More Sengoku Basara masking tape appears on e-Capcom

Two sets of printed masking tape have been revealed on the e-Capcom online store as part of the ongoing CAPCOM x B-SIDE LABEL collaboration. The Azure-Crimson and Sekigahara designs will be released on 23rd June 2016 and each set of two 10m rolls costs ¥800 before tax.

A second chance to own one of those elusive Sengoku Basara wristwatches

Those INDEPENDENT x Sengoku Basara Citizen watches are returning to e-Capcom for another round of preorders. At the time of writing the only two still available seem to be Yukimura and Sakon for ¥23,000 each (before tax) but it might be a good idea to keep checking if you want to try to order one.

Fans in the UK can finally see Sengoku Basara: Judge End legally!

I imagine that this news is of interest to approximately nobody but after waiting patiently for ages UK anime fans finally have access to the Sengoku Basara anime back catalogue via legal streaming. This also rights the wrong of UK-based fans having been completely unable to watch Sengoku Basara: Judge End (or End of Judgement, or JUDGEMENT; there are several official English titles) legally since it was released almost two years ago. If you're in the UK or Ireland, please check the official Funimation streams out as they show there's demand for the series, and send Funimation your feedback! It's important that we support it so that Judge End can get a decent release in the west. I wish they hadn't labelled it as 'season 3' though.

And one more update about the new art book

A tweet from the staff at Dengeki Maoh shows how some of the pictures in the Sengoku Basara Motoki Yoshihara Illustrations art book can be compared with the original versions the artist posted on Twitter. I found it interesting!

News: A summary of Weekly Famitsu's Sengoku Basara Sanada Yukimura-den article

As promised in yesterday's preview, the 21st April 2016 issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine contained a six-page article about the upcoming Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den game. This marks the official unveiling of the two new playable characters, Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Nobuyuki.

Here's a quick recap of what we know so far, for the benefit of those coming in late:

Release date: September 2016
Platforms: PS3 and PS4
Number of players: 1
Playable characters: Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Masayuki, Sanada Nobuyuki, Date Masamune
Genre: Stylish HERO action (Weekly Famitsu just calls it 'action')
Retail price: Unconfirmed
CERO age rating: Unconfirmed
Theme song: T.M.Revolution's Committed RED
Series producer: Kobayashi 'KobaP' Hiroyuki
Series director: Yamamoto 'YamamotoD' Makoto
Producer: Nonaka Daizou
Director: Tanaka Toshihiro

The official website with videos and pictures can be found here and it's likely to update on Thursdays, though videos seem to go up whenever they're ready rather than on a schedule. I explained the name of the game and what's being called the 'Sengoku Basara Retsuden Series' here but in the absence of an official English title I'm using the Japanese name for now.

So, what's new from the magazine article? It's confirmed that the game's story will follow Yukimura's life up until the Osaka Summer Siege, and the theme of this article is Yukimura in his youth and the movesets/stories of the two new characters. The player will take control of the two new characters at certain points in the story. Three R2 special moves have been revealed for each of the characters and I've listed these below their profiles.

Sanada Yukimura 真田幸村
Character image phrase: 天覇絶槍 Ten Ha Zessou ('Spears Reigning Supreme In The Heavens')
Seiyuu: Hoshi Souichirou
Weapon: Dual spears
Playable: Yes
Description: The second son of Masayuki, head of the Shinshuu Ueda Sanada clan. Yukimura possesses a blazing spirit and a powerful desire to support the Sanada family. Having learnt a great deal about surviving in this era of war from his father and older brother, he too encounters a multitude of warriors over the course of his heroic life.

Ippongi 一本気 ('Single-minded): Yukimura links both of his spears together to thrust with all his might. It can be used to sweep away enemies standing in a line. If you chain into it from Heavenly Wings mode, it will turn into a ranged spinning kick.

Funten 噴天 ('Erupting Skies'): With his spears blazing, Yukimura launches the enemy. By holding down the button you can follow up with a kick attack. This move can also be used to initiate Heavenly Wings mode.

Senpuu 閃風 ('Flashing Wind'): An energetic spinning attack which instantly blasts surrounding enemies away. By holding down the button, it's possible to continue attacking using the enemy soldiers as stepping stones.

Notes: This younger version of Yukimura has a different red/white costume to the one we're used to but he's otherwise pretty similar to the passionate guy we're all used to by now. His dual-wielding action is said to have been 'powered up' with this game.

One new feature is that Yukimura can be bathed in a bright red aura called 'Heavenly Wings' mode which the player has to activate by pressing the buttons at the right time after Yukimura's regular and special moves. While Yukimura is in this state he can hurtle around the battlefield performing aerial attacks at very high speeds, flitting from target to target in quick succession.

Sanada Masayuki 真田昌幸
Character image phrase: 奇喜喝采 Kiki Kassai ('Weird And Wonderful Ovation)
Seiyuu: Ootsuka Houchuu
Weapon: Short spear
Playable: Yes
Description: Distinguished by his western-style clothing, Masayuki is a senior retainer to the Takeda clan. He's nicknamed 'The Magician' due to his reputation as an extraordinary strategist brimming with resourcefulness. Taking his positions as head of the Sanada clan and a father into account, Masayuki stands on the battlefield in person to demonstrate his way of life for his sons, Nobuyuki and Yukimura.

Itatsuki 板つき ('Taking To The Stage'): An instant movement attack to fool the enemy. Throwing the short spear at his opponent, Masayuki instantaneously warps at the moment it makes contact and follows up with another attack.

Ooirisen 大入り銭 ('Full House Coins'): The short spear comes hurtling out of Masayuki's hat and flies around, forming a sphere shape. It's possible to affect the direction of the spear while you're pressing the button.

Shushugaeshi 種々がえし ('Mixed Reversal'): A special technique where Masayuki tosses his hat up into the air and has it suck the nearby enemies inside. It's possible to control the hat while the button is being held down.

Notes: He introduces himself as the Magician of Sengoku. Although he uses a spear like his son Yukimura, Masayuki's gameplay is completely different, making liberal use of tricky, outlandish attacks. He can close gaps and appear in unexpected places by teleporting, and he utilises a fun, magic-themed fighting style. It isn't mentioned in the text but his spear seems to have a gunbai war fan built into it (similar to the design of Shingen's axe).

Sanada Nobuyuki 真田信之
Character image phrase: 獅士奮刃 Shishi Funjin ('Lion Warrior's Spirited Blade')
Seiyuu: Hosoya Yoshimasa
Weapon: Ladder spear
Playable: Yes
Description: Nobuyuki is the eldest son of the head of the Sanada clan, and Yukimura's older brother. He wields his spear heroically in battle with tremendous courage, and the fear that his presence instills in his enemies has earned him the nickname 'Lion of Shinano'. Seeking the strength to survive in this turbulent era, he stays focus on what's ahead and pushes forwards, driven by his conviction.

Kouga 刻牙 ('Carving Fangs'): Nobuyuki thrusts his spear into the enemies in front of him and forcefully flings them up into the sky. If the button is held down, he'll follow up with another attack where the grabbed enemies will be smashed back down into the ground.

Mitto 蜜登 ('Honey Climb'): A leaping technique using the ladder spear. Nobuyuki stabs the spear into the ground along with an enemy soldier. He then jumps high into the air from the top of the ladder to land with full force.

Juuoushin 獣央芯 ('The Beast Within'): A spinning attack where Nobuyuki twirls his weapon, grabbing enemy soldiers. When the grabbed enemies are released they're flung away spectacularly.

Notes: He introduces himself as Sanada 'Genzaburou' Nobuyuki. The captions describe him as the Sanada clan's foremost 'power fighter', and the article explains that his colossal weapon is called a ladder spear because of its shape. The essence of his fighting style is said to be the way he can toss enemies around and chain powerful attacks to brutally batter his opponents. Holding down the button will allow him to grab the enemy and hit them away with his weapon to turn them into projectiles. Continuing to attack the enemy then flinging them away lets Nobuyuki perform unusual combos.

--

The next two pages are all about scenes from the game's story. They confirm that several other Sengoku Basara characters will appear in the game but there's no indication whether any of them will be playable, so please bear that in mind. Personally, I suspect they'll be unplayable unless there are additional modes we don't know about yet. I also imagine that Katsuyori is going to be in the game as a non-playable character given that his existence is pivotal to the following scenes.

On the subject of other characters, there's a quote from KobaP which says "There's a strong possibility that characters with a connection to Yukimura will appear in the game..." in the article, so make of that what you will.

--

With the destruction of the Takeda at stake, the Sanada clan takes to the battlefield.

At the start of the part of the story featured in the article, the Sanada clan are retainers to the Takeda clan. After the renowned warrior and 'tiger' Takeda Shingen has passed away, leadership of the Takeda clan is passed down to his son Takeda Katsuyori. However, Katsuyori is taken prisoner by Oda Nobunaga. Masayuki, Nobuyuki and Yukimura split up into three groups and rush towards Tenmokuzan to try to rescue their lord. Thus begins the tale of the heroic Sanada clan.

Yukimura is shown participating in the battle in the first few pictures, but the majority of the story scenes focus on his family members.

Masayuki confronts Maeda Toshiie and Shibata Katsuie, both of whom are working side by side in the Oda Army at this point in time. A caption points out that Toshiie's hot-blooded manliness and Katsuie's coolness make them very different but they're working together to stop the Sanada clan from advancing to Tenmokuzan. Masayuki has to fend off their ferocious attacks and try to make it to Takeda Katsuyori.

Below that, Tokugawa Ieyasu is shown clashing with Sanada Nobuyuki as he tries to make it to Tenmokuzan on his own. The quotes reveal that even though they're on opposing sides at the time, Ieyasu is trying to persuade Nobuyuki to come along with him and meet his current master, Nobunaga.

The final set of screenshots show Masayuki facing off against Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide alone, with Nobunaga pointing his gun straight at Masayuki's head. Katsuyori is being held captive in a cavern at Tenmokuzan while Nobunaga is urging Masayuki to abandon his lord and join the Oda forces instead. To save Katsuyori, Masayuki will have to face both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide together.

On the very last page a new stage is officially confirmed: Tenmokuzan. It's a creepy stage suited to the 'Demon King' Oda Nobunaga, with skulls and other macabre imagery looming in the darkness.

--

That's all for now, however it's extremely likely that the official website will update in a few hours with some of the information from the magazine. We sometimes get a few additional pictures that way so I'll be checking it out when I wake up!

News roundup: A first glimpse at new characters Sanada Masayuki and Nobuyuki

Famitsu teases the long-awaited Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den update

It's finally time for the hype to begin! A preview of this Thursday's Weekly Famitsu magazine was posted today to confirm that it will include a six-page feature article about Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura-den with details about Sanada Yukimura's father Masayuki and older brother Nobuyuki. The preview includes a picture of the Sanada family members together, and adds that the game is scheduled for release in September 2016.

I'll post a full update tomorrow once I've had the opportunity to read the final magazine article but in the meantime BlackKite has kindly translated some additional information from the usual leaks here.

Hosoya Yoshimasa, eh? I'm pleased. The designs look crazy but I'll withhold judgement until I see a larger version.

The 7-Eleven 'character ranking' updates with interim results

The current standings for the silly Print Charamide Sengoku Basara ~Jindori Gassen!~ ('Base-grabbing Battle!') campaign running in Japanese 7-Eleven stores have now been published. In a twist nobody could have seen coming (I'm kidding), the popular Toyotomi army has taken an early lead after selling the most printable pictures. Here are the full rankings:

1. Conqueror Kings (Hideyoshi, Hanbee, Mitsunari, Yoshitsugu, Sakon)
2. Setouchis (Motonari, Motochika, Tsuruhime, Magoichi, Hideaki, Tenkai)
3. Oushuus (Masamune, Kojuurou, Katsuie, Yoshiaki, Itsuki)
4. Manly Men (Shingen, Yukimura, Sasuke, Yoshihiro, Musashi, Kennyo)
5. Demon Lords (Nobunaga, Nouhime, Ranmaru, Mitsuhide, Nagamasa, Oichi)
6. Emperors (Yoshiteru, Hisahide, Maria, Shikanosuke, Wabisuke, Sabisuke)
7. Bonds (Ieyasu, Tadakatsu, Naotora, Ujimasa, Kotarou, Ieyasu [young version])
8. Regional Lords (Yoshishige, Hirotsuna, Yoritsuna, Harumasa, Haruhisa, Kanetsugu)
9. Three 'Bee's (Hanbee, Kanbee, Matabee)
10. Kyuushuus (Xavi, Sourin, Muneshige, Kanbee, Matabee)
11. Loves (Kenshin, Kasuga, Keiji, Toshiie, Matsu, Yoshimoto)
12. Sengoku Gourmet Association (Hideaki, Kojuurou, Matsu)
13. Tiger-users (Hirotsuna, Yukimura, Naotora)

The final results will be posted on 12th April 2016 so there's still time for the teams in the lower rankings to turn things around. It's sort of impressive that the Regional Lords are doing well if nothing else though I think having the Three 'Bee's splitting votes for those characters might have given their rivals a boost. Fight on, Kanetsugu.

Capcom are working on more mobile games, including something for Sengoku Basara

Sengoku Basara was mentioned by name when Capcom recently announced that they were planning to release four new mobile games in the next year to expand their reach. The article focuses on the wider Asian market rather than the west, but there's always hope.

The latest Sengoku Basara merchandise updates

The previous set of stamps must have done well as Capcom announced that a new selection would be available from 1st April 2016. There are only three new designs, sadly: Masamune, Yukimura and Shingen. Each stamp is priced at ¥500.

Accompanying the stamps are two new TS inkan seal storage cases priced at ¥450 each. There's a black one with Masamune and Kojuurou on it, and a red one showing the Takeda army.

Last but not least come three new printed tote bags priced at ¥1,580 each, with designs for Masamune, Yukimura and Keiji. They were released on 2nd April 2016.

Incidentally, if you're still desperately trying to track down a copy of that elusive Sengoku Basara Motoki Yoshihara Illustrations art book it will apparently receive a wider release as of this Sunday when the preorder period is over. I recommend checking your favourite import store to see whether they can get hold of some stock once it's become easier to obtain.

Is Shingen being turned into a mascot character?

The Kofu regional tourist office has been teasing what must surely be a new yuru-kyara mascot version of Takeda Shingen in the lead-up to the Shingen Matsuri festival. They're promoting the whole festival using the Sengoku Basara version of Takeda Shingen and from their previews I strongly suspect that the mascot will resemble the Kofu x Capcom design below. Congratulations in advance to Shingen for being the third game character to make this particular jump into the real world!

I know a lot of regions are proud of their local Sengoku-era heroes but Kofu's efforts to increase tourism have been particularly fantastic recently, with the Sengoku Basara version of Shingen plastered all over the city and a local exhibition of the beautiful ink paintings from Sengoku Basara 4. Having been there in the past I can confirm it's a lovely place and well worth a visit if you're a fan.

(Please forgive the inconsistent lapses into my preferred spelling of Koufu over the course of this blog.)

Streaming: Winter 2016 anime final impressions

What a solid season this has been for anime! There have been the usual trials and tribulations of trying to watch everything legally without the opportunity being yanked away by the industry at every turn, but I've still managed to have a lot of fun in between the challenges of my real life duties.

Crunchyroll and Daisuki have been providing the most attractive service this season with most of the big shows covered, though Daisuki is crippled by lengthy delays for its Funimation titles even though there's nowhere else to watch them. Exclusivity sucks. Still, we have Funimation's new UK service starting up soon and things should improve if that's a success. I didn't bother subscribing to The Anime Network in the end because three shows (only one of which I wanted to see) aren't enough to be worth a subscription and their push for exclusivity annoyed me. Viewster has crashed and burned and I don't think that they're going to be offering anything to UK fans for a while if the rumours are to be believed. It's a shame; I really wanted them to work out as a Europe-wide alternative to Hulu. As for Animax UK... well, I keep hoping they'll quietly give up and leave the country if they can't commit to providing a basic level of service. They're an absolute joke.

Here's my ranking at the end of the winter season.

1. Osomatsu-san
2. Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi (Erased)
3. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

It was a tough choice. The quality of my favourites has been insanely high lately, and several of the shows which didn't make the top three would easily have qualified in quieter seasons. I was surprised by how much I ended up looking forward to each new episode of my top choices.

The season in which I become obsessed with this weirdo