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Sakura Wars Shōjo Manga's Character Lineup Revealed

Hakusensha's Hana to Yume shōjo magazine website added character images for the Sakura Taisen: Kanadegumi (Sakura Wars: Performing Division) two-part shōjo manga on Friday. The 86-page first part of the manga is launching in this year's 24th issue of Hana to Yume on Saturday. The second half of the story will appear in the magazine on December 5.

Sakura Taisen: Kanadegumi follows a girl named Neko Miyabi and her interactions with five attractive young men. The story takes place in Tokyo and centers on an imperial opera company named Kanadegumi.

Chie Shimada is drawing the new manga based on the concepts of "Team Kanade." The last Hana to Yume issue had an interview with Shimada and a preview silhouette of the characters.The new Sakura Wars: Kanadegumi project was revealed in a suprise announcement at the "Sakura Wars: Budōkan Live 2" event on October 7.

Since its debut 15 years ago, Sakura Wars has been a dating simulation/tactical role-playing game franchise aimed primarily at male gamers. The previous entries in the franchise followed the alternate-history adventures of several all-female mechanized task forces — that also perform musicals to maintain their top secret cover.

NIS America, a subsidiary of the game company Nippon Ichi Software, adapted the Sakura Taisen V ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~ game as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, the first Sakura Wars game to be released in North America. There have also been many anime and manga adaptations over the years, including the return of Ikku Masa's Sakura Wars the Manga Part II in last month's inaugural issue of Kodansha' Monthly Shonen Magazine +.

[Via My Game News Flash]
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web

Image © Sega, RED, Hakusensha