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Sakura Taisen Appreciation Half-Week: "The most expensive cola I've ever ordered."
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aster_dw, for the title of this post.)
FIRST! Because writing this series of posts has put me in the mood, this weekend I marathoned the fifth Sakura Taisen OAV series just for the heck of it. Then I did some poking around online, and, I am happy to report, the entire series is now available fansubbed, for those of you who want it. (The last time I checked it hadn't been completely fansubbed, but now... It has been!) The translation isn't the greatest, but it works. So, since this is the ONLY Sakura Taisen anime that is still unlicensed for distribution outside of Japan, y'all can check it out for free if you know where to look (*cough*).
And you all - or at least any of you that I've managed to get at least remotely interested in Sakura Taisen - should TOTALLY WATCH THIS OAV. Because it's one of the best introductions to the franchise that there is, and because it is awesome. First of all, because it's a completely self-contained story, and requires little to no knowledge of the game canon to watch. Second, it perfectly captures the COMPLETE AND UTTER INSANITY of Sakura Taisen in a way that no other animated version has yet managed to do. I mean, it's got everything, up to and including a carp-shaped spaceship. Yes, really. Plus, at one point in the series, some dude rips his own heart out - now there's the gore that previous Sakura Taisen anime shyed away from! Oh yeah, and at one point, a character actually shouts "Raise the quantum shields!" even though this anime is supposed to be set in frickin' 1928. Finally, I think it is worth mentioning that Our Hero Shinjiro spends prety much the ENTIRE series in drag, and not only that, is perpetually three seconds away from a makeout session with the manly villain of the series. Let me just say this now: This OAV is the gayest Sakura Taisen OAV ever. Heck, in the final episode, Rica even point-blank asks Shinjiro if he's going to marry the manly manly villain. That's kind of awesome.
But, anyway. The point of this entry is the Sakura Cafe. Yes, that's right. There's a cafe in Tokyo. Andaster_dw and I visited it.
Okay, so, remember that 2003-era merchandise guide that was included in the last two pages of the "New Treasure Island" program book scans from the previous post?
Yeah. If you look closely at the pictures of the Sakura Cafe above, you can spot most of those items, including the $4000 life-size Sakura figure. And you can also spot the actual costumes used in "The Village of the Sea God," videos from which were also posted in the previous post.
One of the coolest things about the Sakura Cafe are the character-themed drinks. For about $8 a pop, you can order a special character-themed drink that comes with a collectible coaster featuring that character. There are two coaster designs available for each character. Here are the drink lists (and yes these are readable if you click on the thumbnails to get the full version):
When we visited, I ordered the Sagitta drink (coffee and chocolate) andaster_dw ordered the Maria drink (grape and cola). I was tempted by the thought of getting a Lobelia coaster, but that would have required ordering the Lobelia drink (lime), and in the end, a mocha coffee just sounded tastier. So now I am the proud owner of an adorable Sagitta coaster. Hooray for me!
One of the neatest things that I received at the cafe, though, was this shopping bag. I believe that they gave it to me because I bought a bunch of New York cast-themed goodies. Anyway, check out this flawless and yet hilarious English:
Sadly, the Sakura Cafe will apparently be closing forever on March 30th. I'm glad that I got to go, even though it was literally the most dorktastic thing that I've ever done in my entire life. Andaster_dw, I am really, really glad that you suggested that we go, or else I never would have had the courage to bring it up myself.
Anyway, we're almost at the end. Only one post left!
aster_dw, for the title of this post.)FIRST! Because writing this series of posts has put me in the mood, this weekend I marathoned the fifth Sakura Taisen OAV series just for the heck of it. Then I did some poking around online, and, I am happy to report, the entire series is now available fansubbed, for those of you who want it. (The last time I checked it hadn't been completely fansubbed, but now... It has been!) The translation isn't the greatest, but it works. So, since this is the ONLY Sakura Taisen anime that is still unlicensed for distribution outside of Japan, y'all can check it out for free if you know where to look (*cough*).
And you all - or at least any of you that I've managed to get at least remotely interested in Sakura Taisen - should TOTALLY WATCH THIS OAV. Because it's one of the best introductions to the franchise that there is, and because it is awesome. First of all, because it's a completely self-contained story, and requires little to no knowledge of the game canon to watch. Second, it perfectly captures the COMPLETE AND UTTER INSANITY of Sakura Taisen in a way that no other animated version has yet managed to do. I mean, it's got everything, up to and including a carp-shaped spaceship. Yes, really. Plus, at one point in the series, some dude rips his own heart out - now there's the gore that previous Sakura Taisen anime shyed away from! Oh yeah, and at one point, a character actually shouts "Raise the quantum shields!" even though this anime is supposed to be set in frickin' 1928. Finally, I think it is worth mentioning that Our Hero Shinjiro spends prety much the ENTIRE series in drag, and not only that, is perpetually three seconds away from a makeout session with the manly villain of the series. Let me just say this now: This OAV is the gayest Sakura Taisen OAV ever. Heck, in the final episode, Rica even point-blank asks Shinjiro if he's going to marry the manly manly villain. That's kind of awesome.
But, anyway. The point of this entry is the Sakura Cafe. Yes, that's right. There's a cafe in Tokyo. And
aster_dw and I visited it.  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
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Okay, so, remember that 2003-era merchandise guide that was included in the last two pages of the "New Treasure Island" program book scans from the previous post?
 |  |
Yeah. If you look closely at the pictures of the Sakura Cafe above, you can spot most of those items, including the $4000 life-size Sakura figure. And you can also spot the actual costumes used in "The Village of the Sea God," videos from which were also posted in the previous post.
One of the coolest things about the Sakura Cafe are the character-themed drinks. For about $8 a pop, you can order a special character-themed drink that comes with a collectible coaster featuring that character. There are two coaster designs available for each character. Here are the drink lists (and yes these are readable if you click on the thumbnails to get the full version):
 |  |  |  |
When we visited, I ordered the Sagitta drink (coffee and chocolate) and
aster_dw ordered the Maria drink (grape and cola). I was tempted by the thought of getting a Lobelia coaster, but that would have required ordering the Lobelia drink (lime), and in the end, a mocha coffee just sounded tastier. So now I am the proud owner of an adorable Sagitta coaster. Hooray for me!One of the neatest things that I received at the cafe, though, was this shopping bag. I believe that they gave it to me because I bought a bunch of New York cast-themed goodies. Anyway, check out this flawless and yet hilarious English:
 |  |  |  |
Sadly, the Sakura Cafe will apparently be closing forever on March 30th. I'm glad that I got to go, even though it was literally the most dorktastic thing that I've ever done in my entire life. And
aster_dw, I am really, really glad that you suggested that we go, or else I never would have had the courage to bring it up myself.Anyway, we're almost at the end. Only one post left!
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