Senran Kagura (?????) is a video game series produced by Marvelous. The franchise revolves around groups of female ninjas, and has received manga and anime adaptations. The anime has been licensed by Funimation Entertainment in North America.
By August 2017, worldwide sales for the games in the series had surpassed over 1.65 million copies.
Video Senran Kagura
Video games
Senran Kagura: Sh?jo-tachi no Shinei and Senran Kagura Burst
The first game in the series, Senran Kagura: Sh?jo-tachi no Shin'ei (????? -??????-, Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows), is a side scrolling game with playable ninja characters that was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on September 22, 2011. The sequel, Senran Kagura Burst (????? Burst), consisted of the original game and an extra story line. It was released in Japan for Nintendo 3DS on August 30, 2012 and was later released digitally on the Nintendo eShop on January 10, 2013.
Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus
Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Sh?jo-tachi no Sh?mei (????? SHINOVI VERSUS -??????-) is the sequel to Senran Kagura Burst. It featured an expanded playable character roster, as well as an online multiplayer mode. The game was released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita on February 28, 2013, in North America on October 14, 2014, and in Europe on October 15, 2014.
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is a 3D side-scrolling action game made for the 3DS, and was developed by the same team which created Senran Kagura Burst. Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson was released in Japan on August 7, 2014, for Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in North America, Europe, and Australia via digital and limited physical copies in August through September 2015.
Gameplay
New gameplay is included in the form of pair battles, which allows a second character, to which the player can give commands, to fight alongside the player's character.
The playable characters in the game are customizable. Outfits, accessory size and position, and hair color can be changed to the player's liking. Augmented reality functionality was also included in the game. The playable characters could be posed against a real-life background in a variety of poses.
Development
The sequel improved on the original, by enhancing breast physics and clothing destruction, introducing the first playable male character, and allowing for pair battles. Daidouji and Rin, two characters that had originally appeared in Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus as downloadable content, were part of the regular playable character roster in the game.
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson was part of a cross-promotion deal with Umaibo ("delicious stick" in Japanese), a Japanese brand of corn puff snacks, in which the game's playable characters appeared on the brand's product packaging.
The limited edition, named the "Nyuu Nyuu DX Pack", included the following extras: a special collectors box; five-figurines of the Homura Crimson Squad, characters in the game; a Drama CD; a soundtrack CD; and limited edition original packaging.
European version
The European version of the game was launched on 27 August 2015. Limited editions include the 'Happy Boobs' edition with two audio CDs, poster and certificate, and the 'Shinobi Edition' which comes with an 'oppai' mouse pad with 3D breasts, and decorative wall scroll.
Marvelous Europe sold physical versions and limited editions of the game exclusively via its own webstore and Amazon Marketplace store, bypassing traditional retail channels.
Senran Kagura: New Wave
Senran Kagura: New Wave is a card battling game available on Android and iOS devices in Japan. The game's popularity resulted in a crossover promotion with DrawGirls, a Korean picture discovery mobile game in which the player draws a cursor across the screen to reveal pieces of a picture.
Senran Kagura Bon Appétit!
Senran Kagura Bon Appétit! is a rhythm cooking game available for the PlayStation Vita, in which the goal is to win a cooking competition. The game was released on the PlayStation Store on November 11, 2014 for North America, and on November 12, 2014 for Europe.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus was released on March 26, 2015 in Japan. The game was released in North America on March 15, 2016 and Europe on March 18, 2016.
Estival Versus has two special editions, one for the PlayStation 4, and one for the PlayStation Vita. The editions are called the Nyuu Nyuu DX Pack Premium, and contained: a copy of the game; a special collectors box; a product code for Senran Kagura: Estival Versus--Eve Full of Swimsuits, a 30-minute original video animation (OVA) featuring 20 of the game's characters; a Drama CD; a soundtrack CD; and mini figurines. The only difference between the two editions are which set of figurines they contain, and what tracks are on each Drama CD. The Vita special edition contains figurines of characters from the Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy, while the PlayStation 4 edition contains figurines from the Gessen Girls' Private School. The first-print run of the collectors editions also contained a bonus 2-CD set of the game's soundtrack, and a visual book.
The game sold 44,548 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita in addition to 30,247 physical copies on the PlayStation 4 within the first week of release in Japan.
The game features DLC guest characters, the first of whom was the Dead or Alive/Ninja Gaiden series' Ayane. Included in this wave of DLC was Ayane's kimono along with the trademark blue kunoichi costume of Kasumi in a mash-up collab with Marvelous. In return, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round featured a costume set where the females are dressed as Senran Kagura characters and were even breakable on PlayStation 4/Xbox One versions of the game. Ayane in this set is dressed as Yagy?. Besides Ayane, three characters from Ikki Tousen, Hakufu Sonsaku, Uncho Kan'u and Housen Ryofu also appeared as the last three guest characters. Due to temporary licensing issues, the Ikki Tousen characters would temporarily not appear in Western versions until the PC port, which was released on March 17, 2017.
Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash
Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash is a water gun third-person shooter for the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows. It features over 30 girls who play on teams. Peach Beach Splash was released in Japan on March 16, 2017. The game released in North America on September 26, 2017 and in Europe on September 22, 2017 for the PlayStation 4, and later worldwide on March 7, 2018 for the PC.
As part of full collaboration with Tecmo Koei's Team Ninja on releasing the DLC costumes in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round and Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, and adds Ayane as a DLC character in Estival Versus, the Dead or Alive characters' Marie Rose and Honoka are announced, along with Ayane who appeared as a DLC character in Estival Versus to be DLC characters in this game. As part of collaboration with Nitroplus since the console version of Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel, Super Sonico is added as one of the DLC characters. Three Ikki Tousen characters who appeared as DLC in Estival Versus return as DLC again, in addition of the fourth Ikki Tousen DLC character Shimei Ryoumou.
Senran Kagura Reflexions
A game for the Nintendo Switch, Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura was released in Japan on November 23, 2017. The game takes advantage of the Joy-Con's "HD Rumble" feature, allowing players to receive feedback from jiggle physics. It will be published by Xseed Games on the Europe and North American eShop sometime in mid-2018, under the title of Senran Kagura Reflexions.
Maps Senran Kagura
Characters
Hanz? Academy
The main characters of the first game and the anime. Hanz? Academy (??????, Kokuritsu Hanz? Gakuin) was originally created by the Japanese Government in order to counter other ninjas hired by corporations and politicians to further their ambitions. Also known as the "Light Faction", in which only the good are accepted; this means that only individuals with a clean record, i.e. have not killed anyone, can enroll.
- Asuka (??)
- Voiced by: Hitomi Harada (Japanese); Felecia Angelle (English)
- The main character. She is a second year who barely passed the promotion exam, and now wants to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and become a great ninja. She's an upbeat person, though she is naive at times. She has a fear of frogs, which is (unfortunately) also her family's summon animal. Her weapons of choice are the Ninjat? passed down from her grandfather, and the element her attacks most use is Earth-based.
- Ikaruga (??)
- Voiced by: Asami Imai (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English)
- A third year. she is mature and supportive and takes her duty as a ninja very seriously. However, she sometimes loses her composure and acts more naturally. She is an adopted daughter of a wealthy ninja family, chosen to be the next head of her family over her stepbrother, who is a failure as a ninja. Her summoning animal is the Chinese Phoenix. Her weapon of choice is Hien, a nodachi passed down to her by her adopted Father (Voiced by: Jin Yamanoi (Japanese); Brian Mathis (English)), and the element her attacks use most often is Fire.
- Katsuragi (??)
- Voiced by: Y? Kobayashi (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)
- A third year. She is the perverted member of the group who loves to fondle other characters' breasts but seems especially fond of Asuka's. Her summoning animal is the dragon, and her weapon of choice is a pair of gold-plated greaves, through which she channels the power of Wind. She is fighting to prove herself the strongest and to re-establish the honor of her family, which was lost when they failed a mission and had to choose between suicide or running away without their daughter. In Shinovi Versus, it is revealed that her parents were assigned to assassinate Kurokage but were unable to bring themselves to do so, and chose to abandon Katsuragi and live a life on the run.
- Yagy? (??)
- Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)
- A first year. She is a ninja prodigy and cares very much for Hibari, whom she supports the most and vows to protect at all costs. She wears an eye patch over her right eye and carries an umbrella (with various weapons hidden within) at all times. Her summoning animal is the giant squid, and correspondingly her attacks typically incorporate Water or Ice elements. She used to have a little sister, who died in a car accident years ago, and whom Hibari especially resembles, thus the reason why she is initially attracted to her. In Shinovi Versus, Yagy? tells Shiki she wears her eyepatch for no other reason than to honor the memory of her late sister, but in gameplay videos of Estival Versus, Yagy?'s desperation attack reveals what appears to be either energy tendrils or an actual Lovecraftian monster beneath the eyepatch.
- Hibari (??)
- Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi (Japanese); Megan Shipman (English)
- A first year of the group. She is very childish and clumsy and loves cute and sweet things. She is also really close to Yagy?, whom she says she loves, though the type of affection is unclear. Her summoning animal is a large pink rabbit, and her elemental affinity is typically Lightning. Though initially shown as the only character without a tragic or bloodstained backstory, she reveals in Shinovi Versus that she did not want to be a shinobi at all but was guilted into it when her family's bloodline ability, Kagan, manifested as the pink flowers we see in her eyes. Thus she appears to always be a step behind her classmates and other characters.
- Kiriya (??)
- Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese); Philip Weber (English)
- The girls' ninja teacher. He has a habit of appearing in a puff of smoke. He trained Rin when she was a member of the Light Faction.
- Daid?ji (???)
- Voiced by: Yu Asakawa (Japanese); Martha Harms (English)
- A ninja who was two years junior to Rin. She vowed not to graduate until she defeated her former senpai. She is always followed by a black cat, and her summoning animal is the Tiger. Despite her appearance in battle always wearing a male's school uniform and sporting black hair, she's a natural blonde and dresses conservatively.
- Hanz? (??)
- Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (Japanese); Bill Brooks (English)
- Asuka's grandfather and founder of the academy. He was once a great ninja, since retired, and now owns a sushi restaurant. He always gives Asuka oversized sushi rolls for lunch, which she and the other girls enjoy. At times he sounds a bit like a pervert, as his face becomes red just by mentioning to himself that there is nothing better than watching a cute girl eating sushi rolls.
Homura Crimson Squad
The main rivals of Skirting Shadows and main characters of Crimson Girls. As of Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus, they have broken off from Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy and formed their own unit, the Homura Crimson Squad (????, Homura Guren-tai).
- Homura (?)
- Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
- A second year, the leader of Homura Gurentai, and the main character in Senran Kagura Burst. She fights with three katanas in each hand, brandished like Wolverine's claws, and would appear to use Fire elements in her attacks. It is revealed in episode nine that she was supposed to enroll in Hanz? Academy, but she killed someone, and Hanz? Academy only accepts those with clean records. The person she killed is in turn revealed to be an evil ninja who attacked her when she was still a middle-school student. Despite doing it in self-defense, she was banished from her family for it anyway.
- Yomi (?)
- Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Trina Nishimura (English)
- Yomi is a calm and somewhat slow girl, who also has a darker side. She's also obsessed with bean sprouts and puts them in almost everything she cooks. Her obsession stems from her youth, as she and her parents lived in the slums filled with poverty and hunger. Her parents died from malnutrition, and she considers bean sprouts to be good food for the poor to live on. She fights with a huge claymore and wrist-mounted crossbows.
- Hikage (??)
- Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi (Japanese); Kara Edwards (English)
- A mysterious, snake-like girl who tries not to show any emotion. In the anime, it is told that she was raised to be a killing machine, while in game it's revealed she grew up on the streets and was adopted by a female gang leader named Hinata, who was killed in a fight some time afterward. She fights using various knives stored in her gauntlets. She has two tattoos, one on her left breast and one on her left hip, which represents where her mentor was stabbed and killed.
- Mirai (??)
- Voiced by: Saori Got? (Japanese); Lara Woodhull (English)
- A first year, and the smallest girl of the group, she carries an umbrella like Yagy? and has an eyepatch over her other eye. She fights using various firearms hidden in her dress and umbrella. She used to be bullied in her old school and came to the dark faction so she could fight against bullies.
- Haruka (??)
- Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese); Teri Rogers (English)
- The scientist of the group, she has a fascination with creating puppets and mixing potions that toy with people's inhibitions. She fights by using a floating robot wearing her lab coat, in which all manner of weapons are hidden, as well as a vast repertoire of exploding chemical vials. She is mentally twisted due her past, when her mother used to use Haruka as her dress-up doll.
- Rin
- Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese); Lydia Mackay (English)
- The girls' ninja teacher of Homura Gurentai during Senran Kagura Burst. She was formerly called Suzune and was a student of Hanz? Academy until she faked her own death due to a failed mission. In Shinovi Versus, it was revealed that her first mission was to clear out a den of Youma, but they proved too powerful and wiped out her entire team, leaving her as the sole survivor where she was found by a group of evil shinobi and nursed back to health. Her goal when young was to become a "super ninja."
Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy
The Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy (???????, Hiritsu Hebi Joshi Gakuen, lit. Hidden Serpent Girls' Academy), also known as the "Dark Faction", is the rival school to Hanz? Academy. Here everybody is accepted, hence the quote, "The darkness accepts all."
- Miyabi (??)
- Voiced by: Hiromi Hirata
- A third year of the group. Her weapon of choice is the Seven-Pronged Demon Blade, and her elemental affinity is Darkness or Black Fire. Her mother was brutally killed by a youma (a monster that only ninjas can defeat) in front of her when she was a child. She dislikes when people confuse her for a handsome man.
- Murasaki (?)
- Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi
- Imu's sister. She never attends school, making her the first truant in Hebijo Academy. She has the largest breasts in the series so far, and her weapon of choice is a large Shuriken.
- Imu (??)
- Voiced by: Chiwa Sait?
- A third year of the group, Miyabi's childhood friend, and Murasaki's older sister. Her weapon of choice is a Staff, and her elemental affinity is Lightning. She used to obsess over Miyabi to the point that Murasaki developed a complex and became a shut-in.
- Ry?bi (??)
- Voiced by: Y?ko Hikasa
- Transfer Student from Shijuku Gessen Jogakkan. Her weapon of choice is the sniper rifle. Ryobi is a serious sadist that is motivated to hurt people, especially Ryona.
- Ry?na (??)
- Voiced by: MAKO
- Transfer Student from Shijuku Gessen Jogakkan, and Ryobi's twin sister. She wields a unique pair of handguns in combat. She's incredibly masochist, to the point of upsetting even Ryobi.
Gessen Girls' Academy
- Yumi (??)
- Voiced by: Yumi Hara
- A third-year student of the group. Her parents are killed after encountering a ninja, and raised by Hanz?'s rival afterwards. Her weapons are a pair of fans and her summoning animal is the snow spider. Her name means "snowy spring" in Japanese, which may have subconsciously contributed to her cool personality and fighting style.
- Murakumo (?)
- Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto
- A third-year student. Murakumo is a shy girl that always wears her own special, demonic mask during combat. When her mask inevitably does come off, she has a very shy and introverted personality, getting so nervous that she stammers and stutters, on nearly every syllable. She'll use anything she can get her hands on (even a garbage bag) to hide her face from the world in these situations. Her preferred weaponry is a large cleaver and a snake-styled spear, and her summoning animal is a pack of wolves.
- Yozakura (??)
- Voiced by: Kaori Ishihara
- A second-year student. Though she's typically serious and humorless, she's quick to fly into rage when things go awry, at which point her hometown accent comes out with a vengeance. She disapproves of twisted or warped things, and also dislikes things that get hot. Yozakura is the oldest of 12 brother and sisters, and her mother died in a battle as shinobi when she was 8 years old and her father died a year later as shinobi, too. After his death, Yozakura was separated from her relatives. Her weapon is a pair of piston-powered gloves that enlarge during combat, maximizing the damage dealt.
- Shiki (??)
- Voiced by: Ayano Yamamoto
- A first-year student and the youngest in the series. She speaks with a high-spirited valley girl accent and has a lot of friends outside of her shinobi team. Despite her appearance, she's someone her classmates can always count on during training. She is seen mostly with her phone. Like Yumi, her parents were killed, but unlike in her case, Shiki's parents died in the line of duty as shinobi. Her preferred weapon is a two-headed scythe, and she can summon a bat swarm during combat.
- Minori (???)
- Voiced by: Hiromi Igarashi
- A first-year student, she is very childish despite her age and loves to play around, being a simple-minded child. Yozakura diligently tries to discipline/teach her manners. She uses a frying pan and bucket as her weapons.
Other characters
- D?gen
- Voiced by: J?r?ta Kosugi (Japanese); Phil Parsons (English)
- A primary antagonist who originally appeared as an unnamed investor of Hebijo Academy. In Burst he was named and drove Hanzo and Hebijo into conflict in order to summon a huge Youma: Orochi. Afterwards he was seemingly killed by Homura; however in Deep Crimson he returned and summoned countless Youma to terrorize Kyoto later, even becoming a Youma himself. The reason he did this was to cause Kagura to fully awaken so he could steal her power, but he was later annihilated by Kagura along with True Orochi.
- Naraku (??)
- Voiced by: Yuuko Kaida
- A descendant of the Goshin Clan. She was chosen to be the priestess and protector of the Reincarnation Sphere until Kagura emerges, after which she becomes the guardian of Kagura and her only protector from Youma. Her only wish is to see Kagura fully awaken. She fights with flails attached to her feet; she has the power to change their size.
- Kagura (???, ??)
- Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka
- A unique and eternal being who reincarnates every 100 years to eradicate Youma. Records of her date back 900 years. She changes form and gains power from eating Red Orbs left behind from defeated Youma until she fully awakens. In her fully Awakened form as True Kagura, she has the ability to instantly smite any Y?ma. She has total mastery of spatial manipulation and can even flip the world upside down. Once awakened she can defeat only a certain number of Youma before going dormant again within the Reincarnation Sphere. She views Naraku as her only true friend.
- Murasame (??)
- Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (video game), Hiroki Yasumoto (anime) (Japanese); Scott Freeman (English)
- Ikaruga's adoptive older brother. He is a failure as a ninja and so was passed over to be the future head of the family. He once tried to steal Hien but proved to be outclassed by Ikaruga. However, he is a brilliant businessman, a quality he did not know that his father also recognised, and ends up running the family's business empire.
- Ry?ki (??)
- Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
- The deceased sister of Ry?bi and Ry?na. During the Estival Versus, she was revived by Sayuri and her company during the special Kagura Festival. When the halo on her head is touched, it turns red, and a ruder, more violent, delinquent-like personality appears and stays until touched to change back.
- Renka (??)
- Voiced by: Minami Tsuda
- Eldest daughter of the Mikagura sisters. She and her sisters helped revive Ryoki, Ryobi and Ryona's older sister. She has the spirit of a true Tokyoite and dislikes effeminate and cutesy things. Her weapon is a Reitei.
- Hanabi (??)
- Voiced by: Sora Tokui
- The middle child among the Mikagura sisters, Hanabi acts and speaks just how she thinks. She uses a gigantic hammer.
- Kafuru (???)
- Voiced by: Shiori Izawa
- The youngest of the Mikagura sisters. With her ability to use water to her advantage, Kafuru can annihilate foes in a wide area. She can even summon her dolphin in some of her ninja arts.
- Sayuri
- Voiced by: Reiko Suzuki (as Sayuri) and Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (as Jasmine)
- Asuka's 81-year-old grandmother and Hanzo's wife. Her Shinobi Transformation allows her to take a younger form in which she is called Jasmine. She fights using a pipe, and her summoning animal is the elephant.
Other media
Manga
There are currently five manga series based on the franchise. The main adaptation, written by Kenichir? Takaki and illustrated by Amami Takatsume, began serialization in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Alive magazine from August 27, 2011. Seven Seas Entertainment will begin releasing the series in North America in November 2013 as Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows. Senran Kagura: Guren no Uroboros, illustrated by Manabu Aoi, began serialization in Ichijinsha's Comic Rex magazine from September 27, 2011. Senran Kagura Spark! was published in Enterbrain's Famitsu Comic Clear between August 19, 2011 and February 17, 2012, followed by Senran Kagura: Senshi Bank? no Haruka and Senran Enji Kyony?-gumi, both published between September 7, 2012 and February 1, 2013.
Anime
An anime television adaptation produced by Animation Studio Artland aired in Japan between January 6, 2013 and March 24, 2013. The series is directed by Takashi Watanabe with scripts by Takao Yoshioka and character designs by Takashi Torii. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation Entertainment, who streamed the series as it aired and was released on home video in Summer 2014. A second season has been announced.
Theme songs
- Opening theme
- "Break Your World" by Sayaka Sasaki
- Ending themes
- "Fighting Dreamer" by Hitomi Harada, Asami Imai, Y? Kobayashi, Kaori Mizuhashi and Yuka Iguchi (eps 1-3, 8)
- "Yamiyo wa Otome wo Hana ni Suru" (??????????, The Flowers of the Girls of the Night) by Eri Kitamura, Ai Kayano, Ry?ko Shiraishi, Saori Got? and Megumi Toyoguchi (eps 4-6, 9)
- "Shiss?ron" (???, Theory Sprint) by Hitomi Harada (ep 7, 10-12)
References
External links
- Senran Kagura official website (in Japanese)
- Burst official website
- Burst official mini site
- Shinovi Versus official mini site
- Bon Appétit! official mini site
- Senran Kagura 2 official PAL website
- Senran Kagura 2 official site (in Japanese)
- Burst official website (in Japanese)
- Shinovi Versus official website (in Japanese)
- Estival Versus official website (in Japanese)
- Peach Beach Splash official site (in Japanese)
- Kagura New Wave official website (in Japanese)
- Anime official website (in Japanese)
- Senran Kagura (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments