Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Reni Milchstrasse

 7th Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here and we are almost at the end of this great journey! I tend to reserve the best things for the last and so does for this particular Mechatalk series. The 7th Mechatalk will feature no other than the second and the last Teikoku Kagekidan member, Reni Milstrasse the Wunderkind aka Wonderchild from Germany that graced upon Sakura Taisen series. Being one of the newer Heroine, Reni do get special treatment just like Orihime but her route quite stands out because you get to Ogami in his coolest moments during her route.

 Reni Milchstrasse is a young prodigy loaned to Teikoku Kagekidan by Germany as the former is the leading organisation when it comes to fielding Elite Squads of Individuals with Spiritual Power. Given her 20th Century German upbringing, Reni is an effective combat asset with no-nonsense attitude whatsoever. In Combat, Reni uses Lance as her weapon of choice which she used effectively with her Eisenkrad Mecha before she eventually got her own Koubu.

However Reni's machine-like combat proficiency comes at a cost as she lacks the ability to handle her emotion naturally which will be eventually taken advantage by the Black Demon Society in her storyline.

 Due to being the experimental subject to be a super soldier that possess exceptional Spiritual Power, Reni emotional capability is sacrificed that makes her appear to be devoid of it. This will pose back a problem when she face an issue that cannot be solved logically. This particular issue begin to manifest when Reni rehearse for her stage play main role debut known as the "Blue Bird" in a particular scene that requires her to express an emotion that she suppresed for long. This turn of event caused Reni to suffer a mental block which is soon exploited by the Double Agent of Black Demon Society and at the same time one of their liutenant, Suiko to make Reni join the enemy side to fight against Teikoku Kagekidan.

 I forgot exactly the reason that caused Reni to be hypnotised but I think it was something along the line that she doesn't deserve to be loved. In the attempt to make Reni regain her mind, Ogami acts really cool exclaiming that Reni always have a place to return in Teikoku Kagekidan and held Flower Laurel made by Iris that signifies she always has somebody that cared about her. Once Ogami successfully rescue Reni in a manly well, Teikoku Kagekidan saved the day yet again as Suiko met her end in this encounter and Reni regain her emotional capability which are shown at the success from the Blue Bird stage play.

 Among the Teikoku Kagekidan Heroines, Reni's Miracle Bell sequence always felt the most special one perhaps because Reni's moment had a good portrayal of a girl transition into a maiden. In her outing route, since she has no particular family member to meet with, Ogami take her to sightsee local places ending up in a particular park. During this moment, Reni thanks Ogami for being a good captain that helps her to regain her emotion and very grateful able to meet him in her life.

Interestingly, throughout early in the game Reni was mistaken as a boy by Ogami and Teikoku Kagekidan due to her tomboyish demeanor and reclusive personality. Only during the summer trip that Teikoku Kagekidan find out Reni's true gender which Ogami could find early depending on the player's choice. Overall Reni's selling point comes from her exotic foreigner Gaijin waifu along with being one of the closest to a blank slate which player could shape their ideal waifu. Not to mention Reni's theme song "Ikarus no Hoshi" is pretty much one of the best overall Character theme whether it is Sakura Taisen 2 or the whole series. With Reni's route done, the last ST2 Mechatalk will obviously be Shinguji Sakura and there is a reason why I reserved her for the last.