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R1 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:00 |
 More Sakura Wars, and in amongst the character pieces the Black Sanctum Council are getting a little more daring in their efforts to wreak havoc, as Sumire and Sakura are about to discover. Before that, though, there are typhoons, training trips, and birthdays to deal with...
10 - The Kanna that Summons a Storm
One sniff at the winds, and Kanna's certain: a typhoon is on the way, and a big one at that. Of course, it's glorious sunshine with no sign of a storm when she announces this, so getting people to believe her is a bit of a trial. The capital's new weather forecasting system backs her up, though - and by their measurments, the storm will be powerful enough to completely lay waste to the city. Just the opportunity for the Black Sanctum Council to get up to no good, perhaps..?
11 - The Flower Division Training Camp
The Flower Division are getting away from Tokyo for a while - but not for a holiday, unless you're Iris. The squad needs a place where they can train in their real koubu, instead of the simulators, without wreaking too much havoc on personal property, so a deserted island (well, deserted apart from the required hot-springs resort) becomes their training base for a week. What nobody seems to have noticed, is that this island is home to a volcano - a volcano whose rumblings leave Sakura and Kohran trapped...
12 - Lonely Birthday
A package arrives from France from Iris' parents - it's her birthday, and when she finally bounces out of bed she's full of the joys of the occasion. Only problem is, the Japanese celebrate birthdays somewhat differently from the French (they're celebrated on New Years instead of your date of birth), and Iris soon becomes disappointed that she apparently won't be having a party to mark the occasion. Once Sakura and the others realise their faux pas, however, preparations for Iris' surprise birthday party soon get into full swing...
13 - Bloom like a Flower! On a Maiden's Pride!
A mysterious tower has appeared in a recently-cleared part of the city, and it's radiating an intense spiritual aura. When the Flower Division are sent in to investigate, they find they can't get inside - every time they make an opening, it "magically" closes over. Eventually, though, an opening appears of its own accord: an invitation, or a trap? When the members of the Division soon begin seeing apparitions - or perhaps visions of their future - it beginning to look like the latter...
Iris fans will love episode 12, which fills in her past, explains why she's the shy & reserved little girl she is, and gives her a reason to be joyful. Sadly, I'm not really an Iris fan, so that episode was up there with teeth-pulling for me. Your mileage may vary.
Another character I'm known to loath is spoilt little rich girl Sumire, but come episode 13 - where she and Sakura are the Flower Division members who do the hard work - she actually surprised me by almost being tolerable, and by even throwing the occasional almost-compliment in Sakura's direction. My big problem with Sumire - through all forms of the Sakura Wars anime - has been that she's so begruding to give any credit to anyone else (because God along knows how wonderful she is herself) that it's impossible to like her. There's just the slightest chink in that facade here, and I was hugely pleased to see it. Will it mark the beginning of Sumire actually becoming likeable? I'm not about to bet on it, but we'll see. It's a start, at least.
The remaining episodes are more of the usual. While the Council feature in episode 10, their scheming is more preparatory than anything open and they keep themselves to themselves, while episode 11's training mission provides the usual opportunities for self-improvement - although the way Sakura and Kohran treat their predicament, you would think they were both faced with imminent death, rather than essentially having ended up lost.
Another so-so disc, then. The final episode here is also the best of the bunch, and hopefully a good indication of where the story is going as we reach the mid-point of the series. Sakura Wars TV hasn't really lived up to its promise as yet, but we're getting there...
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