Sakura Taisen: Teigeki Kayou Zenshuu (Imperial Attack Songs Complete Collection)

SAKURA TAISEN: TEIGEKI KAYOU ZENSHUU (IMPERIAL ATTACK SONGS COMPLETE COLLECTION)

— by Mark L. Johnson

1. Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan 3:02

[Manifest! Imperial Floral Assault Group!]

Yokoyama Chisa/Sakura

2. Sakura 4:43

Yokoyama Chisa/Sakura

3. ETUDE 3:43

Nishihara Kumiko/Iris

4. Nayamashi MAMBO [Seductive Mambo] 4:01

Tomizawa Michie/Sumire

5. ONLY MAN 5:42

Takano Urara/Maria

6. Toukyou Teki Kyuujitsu [A Tokyo Holiday] 4:00

Fuchizaki Yuriko/Kohran

7. Shakunetsu Bugi [Hot Boogie] 4:07

Tanaka Mayumi/Kanna

8. Yoru no SAMBA [Samba of the Night] 4:11

Orikasa Ai/Ayame

9. Ai wa DAIYA [Love is a Diamond] 4:03

Tomizawa Michie/Sumire and Tanaka Mayumi/Kanna

10. Ai Yueni [Because of Love] 5:51

Yokoyama Chisa/Sakura and Takano Urara/Maria

11. Hanasaku Otome [Blooming Maidens] 5:06

Yokoyama Chisa/Sakura and Cast

Anime vocal collections tend to often be a mixed bag of musical styles and quality. However, the same veteran seiyuu (voice actors) that led the SAKURA TAISEN (Sakura Wars) Saturn game to become a chart-topping seller also seem to do a great job on the song front.
Yokoyama Chisa (Sakura) leads the group, with Tomizawa Michie (Sumire), Takano Urara (Maria), Fuchizaki Yuriko (Kohran), Tanaka Mayumi (Kanna), and Nishihara Kumiko (Iris). Even the supporting cast joins in with subcommander played by Orikasa Ai (Ayame).
Most of the songs on this CD are new, based upon the various character background music themes and sung by the character's voice actress. Here is a quick overview of the tracks:
- "Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan" (Manifest! Imperial Floral Assault Group!) is the full version of the opening song from the game led by Yokoyama Chisa. This is a fast moving song with a patriotic feel and is also strangely addictive.
- "Sakura," sung by Sakura, is a slow and sweet song about cherry blossoms.
- "ETUDE," by little Iris, is a French-style slow song in which Iris tries to show her mature side and sing about love.
- "Nayamashi Mambo" (Seductive Mambo) is sung by Sumire and adds vocals to her background theme from the game. As the title suggests, this is a fast moving mambo beat sung, well, suggestively.
- "Only Man" is a very slow, jazzy lounge-style song by Maria. A piano, snare, and bass assist in this very dramatic song.
- "Tokyo Teki Kyuujitsu" (A Tokyo Holiday) by Kohran is a very Chinese-style influenced song, complete with the minor key background accompaniment. Kohran goes on and on about how incredible Tokyo is.
- "Shakunetsu Bugi" (Hot Boogie) by Kanna is a fusion of traditional Japanese festival music and 50's boogie, which makes for a very strange combination. Fun and hoppy.
- "Yoru no Samba" (Evening Samba), sung by Ayame, is a sad but sexy song to a slow moving samba beat.
- "Ai wa Daiya" (Love is a Diamond) is a humorous song that quickly escalates into a fast "modern" 50's beat with Sumire and Kanna's characters expressing their desires for diamonds.
- "Ai Yueni" (Due to Love) is a slow, passionate song sung by Sakura and Maria.
- "Hanasaku Otome" (Blooming Maidens), the full-sized ending theme for the game closes the disc. Sakura leads, and all the other characters join in as the song progresses to give a theatrical farewell.
The accompanying music is high quality, with a combination of live instruments and synthesizers. And the actors, in general, do a good job in keeping with the characters' styles while still singing well. Iris's love song is perhaps the weakest of the collection although one could argue that Kumiko's performance was intentionally played to keep in character.
The SAKURA TAISEN SONG COLLECTION is one of the best anime-style song collections I have heard in a while. It could have been longer as it is only eleven tracks, but the full versions of the intro and ending songs alone add great value for any SAKURA TAISEN fan, and the rest of the tracks are a good mix of fast and slow songs by experienced voice actresses. For both SAKURA veterans and novices looking for a good mix consisting entirely vocals, this CD is definitely worth looking up.