Richard E. Rae (76174.1410@COMPUSERVE.COM)
Fri, 16 Apr 1999 17:31:50 -0500
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express Macintosh Edition - 4.5 (0410) Message-ID: <199904162235.SAA00942@hil-img-10.compuserve.com> Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 17:31:50 -0500 From: "Richard E. Rae" <76174.1410@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: OAVs
>
> Has anybody picked-up a copy of the subtitled version of ADV's Sakura
> War's? I was wondering if anybody else experienced audio problems with the
> tape, or if I am an isolated case. I loved the show, Iris is so KAWAII!
> (although diabetics should limit their exposure. heh ^_^). As you may
> surmise, this is the first time I've actully seen the anime. I am one of
> the unlucky few, that does not have the games or videos. :( My only
> exposeure to Sakura Taisen, comes directly from this ML, and the net.
> Which is why I was doing back flips of joy, when I found a copy of Sakura
> Wars on the shelf of my local anime store. ^_^ Imagine my chagrin, when I
> found all the drop outs in the Hi-Fi tracks and the static in the Mono
> tracks. Undaunted, I watched it anyway, and enjoyed it immensely.
> Fortunatly, the anime store is ordering me another copy, hopefully it will
> be problem free. ^_^ Sorry if this became a rant, I was so excited to be
> able to finally watch Sakura Wars, I got a little wordy. heh heh
>
> Ja Ne Minna-san!
>
> Chris
Chris,
It's great that you're finally getting to see parts of Sakura Taisen, but
you need to know- as will many others new to it- that this OAV series is NOT
the game story. The game came first, then the OAVs; the other videos before
the OAV series were "video bromides" with the cutscenes, interviews, and
additional vocal performances of a few scenes that were originally silent.
In any case, the first 3 episodes of the OAV are "back story"- i.e., a
prequel to the game- and provide details of the founding of the Teikoku
Kagekidan, recruitment of its members, and a number of events preceding
Oogami joining the group as Kaicho. They are full of nods and winks to
established fans who already knew some of the basics of these stories from
game dialogue, so you may find yourself confused by certain references. For
example, in the game, you (and Oogami) are unaware of Iris's powers at all
until she unleashes them in episode 4 in a surprising fashion. In the OAV,
they pop'em right out, since fans already knew about them. Iris's famous
phrase "Iris waruikanaimo" ("Iris did nothing bad.") was a nod <g>. And
you'll see the enemy- the Kuronosukai- referred to only in very short cameos
in later episodes (except for Wakiji battles), so the significance of
Tenkai, Kuroki Satan, etc. will probably not mean much to you or other
first-timers.
But the fourth OAV episode drops right in the middle of the game story (in
Midsummer) and is essentially a "missing episode". I found it is the most
satisfying as well as being the most accessible for someone who's not played
the game.
So good luck and enjoy as best you can!
--Richard