Sakura Taisen Variable Action Koubu Ichiro Ogami Ver Review

Imperial Floral Assault Group has come forth!

 Ever since i get into contact with Sakura Taisen series, i have been eyeing for Megahouse version of Ichiro Ogami's Koubu as it is the best available merchandise that belonged to the badass captain of Teikoku Kagekidan. As of now i am still procrastinating on the third game which i should write an article of it once i get Erica's ending finished.

 In terms of package, Megahouse offer modest amount of accessory for the Variable Action which come with extra pair of sword hands and decent standing base.

 Megahouse did really well on Ogami's Koubu sculpt which are really detailed especially with the cockpit which made me impressed. In terms of articulation, it is decent enough for this type of toys but the arm parts are rather fragile especially the Shoulder and the sword hand which should be handed with extra care.

 In the Sakura Taisen universe, Imperial Japan was invaded by demonic creature called Kouma which sparked event called Kouma War. Regular Military was ineffective against these demons but Japan had an elite task force which are able to deal with these demons using their spiritual power. In the end Japan won the war with the demon but with a great cost and from the war they are developing new weapons against these demons should they arise again. This weapon is called Koubu or literally Light Armament. At the first glance Koubus does resemble to Maschinen Krieger mecha but from the first time i looked at it, Koubu seems like a steampunk version of Votoms Scopedog to me.

These Koubus are developed by Kanzaki industry based on the research of the former member from the elite task force that fought the demons. As powerful as these Koubus are, they are needed to be piloted by a person who possessed large amount of spiritual power which are few and mostly happen to be females. Imperial Japan gathered these maidens and formed a Elite Task Force called Teikoku Kagekidan or Imperial Flower Assault Group. They are tasked with dealing with the Koumas threat armed with equipped Koubus and state-of-art support from Imperial Japan and this elite task force is lead by a male ensign from Imperial Navy Ichiro Ogami, who will soon make the maidens from Flower Squad fall for him.

I fight to protect peace and people's happiness!

 In the beginning of the series Ichiro Ogami was an elite graduate from Imperial Japan Navy School who is chosen to lead Teikoku Kagekidan. As he is one of the few male candidate who possess strong enough spiritual power to pilot a Koubu which is even rarer than females. Ogami never expected that he have to lead all-female task force while working as ticket clipper at theater as his cover. Nevertheless Ogami performed his duty magnificently earning his female subordinates respect and affection while saving Japan from multiple demonic threats. Two years after serving as Hanagumi's captain, due to his experience, Ogami was sent to Paris to help them forming their anti-demon elite task force and at the same time attracting some more love interests. Soon after his return from Paris, Ogami will have to save Japan from another great threat again and at the end of the conflict he will settle down with one of his love interest, ending his storyline in Sakura Taisen series.

 Ichiro Ogami's reason to fight was never anything complicated but he is definitely determined to protect people from the Demons with everything that he has. Not too mention Ogami knows how to treat the girls like a gentleman which is why both Paris and Teikoku Kagekidan cant help but fall for him. Personally he is one of my favorite character due to being simply a badass guy which is a rarity for harem protagonist and for those reasons he was in the top five character list that i wrote a while ago.

The megahouse version of Ogami's koubu is based on the PS2 Remake where Hanagumi's Koubus are more personalized. Ogami's Koubu is equipped with Twin Electrified Blade as well as horn to signify his position as the squad leader. Despite its clunky design, Koubus are quite agile and in Sakura Taisen 3, Ogami performed a lot of acrobatic movement with his Koubu F. Ichiro Ogami fights the kouma with his family twin-sword fighting style "Rokko Mekyaku". While not as Powerful as Sakura's Family Swordstyle, Ogami is formidable presence in the battlefield. His role in the battlefield is to determine the tactics for Hanagumi during the heat of battle. For some reason Ogami is also capable of protecting one of his Squad for limited numbers no matter how far he is from the said squad member. If one of the Squad member had enough affection with Ogami, he will also able to pull some powerful AoE attacks which come with wacky animations sometimes.

                                                                        Erica:*stares intensely at Sakura's Koubu*                                                                      Sakura:*stares intensely at Erica's Koubu F2*

Ogami: Sakura? Erica? why are you guys staring at each other with such killing intents?

Sakura: Ogami-san is mine!

Erica:No! Ogami-san will stay in Paris forever and marry me!

While i don't really like Nendoroids as i think they are just bunch of overpriced dolls that is even unable to stand. I liked Sakura Taisen to an extent that i bothered to get both of the available Sakura Taisen Nendoroid that comes with Mini Koubus as well and they worked well to complement the Ichiro Ogami's Koubus. Ogami is too popular among his female squad members to an extent they will fight over him especially Sakura and Erica and that certain scene in Sakura Taisen 3 is certainly memorable.

 Sakura Taisen was a really big series in Japan at one time but it was such a shame that the series of this caliber doesn't have enough merchandise to match its fame. If you are a fan of the series, Megahouse Variable Action Koubus are worthy to collect especially Ogami's, as the sculpt quality is superb. Now i just need to wait for Ogami's Nendoroid so that i can put him on this Kobu's Cockpit and possibly more love triangle shenanigans. With the 20th anniversary of the series, i expect we will see more of Sakura Taisen merchandise.