Sakura Wars: the Movie is a difficult movie for me to review. On one hand I am a massive fan of the entire franchise (which includes video games, anime, music CDs, live action musicals, and more), so I am somewhat inclined to dismiss any flaws this movie may have just because seeing Shinguji Sakura on an actual movie screen filled me with joy. On the other hand, I must admit that while the animation is - for the most part - very well done, and the music is superb, the story is really somewhat lame and indecipherable for newcomers to the franchise.

The movie starts out with the Teikoku Kagekidan, an all-female theatre troupe, performing a musical number on stage. The camera swings around so you get a decent look at all eight of the group members. Then we see the ladies backstage talking about the show, and it is Leni's birthday, and then some dude shows up in a military uniform, and they make fun of him. Then the ladies enjoy what appears to be a New Years event in Tokyo. Then we see an American businessman (hint: in foreign films, American businessmen always mean bad news), and he is talking about destroying Tokyo, because it's not as good as New York City. Then a new girl shows up at the theatre and says she is joining the group. And she's American! And blonde! (hint: in foreign films, most Americans are blonde, especially the women) Then the ladies have to fight demons in their mecha, which they keep hidden in a massive complex underneath the theatre. That's because not only are they a theatre troupe, they are also an elite fighting force that defends Japan from the forces of darkness. However, while defeating the demons, a new robot shows up and handily dispatches the demonic foe. Who are these new allies, and are they really allies at all?

A film budget provides us with Hanagumi girls that are more shiny than ever.	Enter Lachette, the newcomer.

If the preceding paragraph seemed stilted and not quite coherent, that isn't my fault; that's the way the movie is paced. The bad news about this movie is that it is essentially a big love letter to fans of the franchise. The movie makes no attempt to introduce any of the characters, except for Lachette Altair (the American hottie), because she is a completely new character to the franchise. The bad guys are also new, but they are simply a plot device, as opposed to fully-developed characters. Everyone else you are expected to know already, because, hey, you've played the games, right? What, you didn't know there were games? Yeah, by the time the movie was released in Japan there had been three games in the Sakura Wars series, with a fourth game following the movie. If you have never played the games, and especially if you have no experience with the series through the OVAs or the animated TV series, you will likely be totally lost. Characters come and go with no attempt to introduce them (except the new girl), and you will likely get horribly confused and frustrated if you can't keep up. As a series veteran I could follow everything just fine, but I feel bad for those who can't, because this movie doesn't care about you. This is unfortunate, because the characters from the Sakura Wars franchise are really great. Shinguji Sakura is, in fact, my favorite fictional character of all time. I am very fond of many other characters in this series, too, and when given an entire TV series or video game to be developed, they really shine. When given an 80-minute movie, however, there are too many characters that need screen time for any new character development to take place.

As mentioned above, the two main bad guys are totally under-developed. There is an American businessman, who is planning to take over Japan through nefarious means, and he is assisted by a shadowy character that looks like Larva from Vampire Princess Miyu. We learn nothing about these fellows through the course of the film, except that they have some occult powers that they use for evil. That's it. I didn't actually care about either character very much, but the writer could have at least made an attempt to explain their motivations. Alas, no such attempt was made. The plot is also very generic, and the whole thing doesn't feel very well thought-out. The movie seems to have been made to cash in on the franchise's popularity in Japan, not because the writer had a great idea for a story.

Before I leave the plot behind, I should note that the final battle is hilarious, because it is set-up EXACTLY like a boss fight from a video game. If you didn't know by that point that this entire franchise started as a video game, the battle with the giant demon-mecha at the end of the film will surely tip you off.

But enough about the uninspired plot and poor storytelling. Anime fans have probably dealt with all that before. Happily, I can say that the movie does very well in the visual department. The animation is excellent, as one would expect from a theatrical film, and the colors are appropriate for the environments. The film also makes extensive use of CG animation, mostly when dealing with the mecha combat. The ladies' mechs look really great. They are also cel-shaded, which caught me off guard the first time I saw it. I believe that the use of cel-shading was an excellent choice, however, as it made for a smooth transition from the traditional animation sequences. Sometimes films that use both traditional and CG animation can't effectively blend the two styles. Sakura Wars doesn't have those problems. The first fight against the demons does look somewhat stiff, but the CG animation gets smoother as the movie progresses, and the final battle scene looks great.

Not only is the animation great, but so is the music. Tanaka Kohei handles the composing, and the music is fantastic, with many songs being variations on songs from the video games the movie is based on. The music is fully-orchestrated and is great to listen to, with a good range of styles and sounds present throughout the film. The musical stage productions (when the ladies are performing in their theatre) are also well done, with the music appropriately showcasing the dramatic mood the play is trying to present. Overall, the movie sounds great.

Unfortunately, the excellent visuals and music do not make up for the generic plot and lack of character development. If you are a Sakura Wars veteran, then you are the intended audience for this film and will likely get at least a moderate amount of enjoyment from it, if not a lot more. If you are unfamiliar with the Sakura Wars world, however, there is a good chance you will not enjoy the film, as you simply won't understand what is going on or why you should care.

Distributor: Pioneer Animation
Creator: Production I.G.
Released: 2001

Plot: C
Character Design: A
Animation Quality: A-
Music: A+
Overall: B-