Sakura Wars

In the Taisho era of Japan in the early 20th century, more than fifty years have passed since the civilization and enlightenment following the Meiji Restoration. As Western culture and traditional Japanese culture merged, the capital city of Tokyo gradually became a bustling metropolis where modern buildings stood side by side, steam railways and subways crisscrossed, and carriages, rickshaws, and steam cars flowed ceaselessly. However, it was also a magical city where non-realistic entities such as monsters and curses existed. To combat powerful demonic creatures called "Kouma" that emerged from underground, the Army established a special unit composed of psychics among its officers: the Anti-Kouma Unit. Its members were the four inheritors of the "Two Swords and Two Blades": Kazuma Yoneda, who wielded the "Divine Blade Metsukyo"; Shinnosuke Yamazaki, who wielded the "Light Blade Mushin"; Ayame Fujieda, who wielded the "Holy Sword Shirahane Tori"; and Kazuma Higurashi, who wielded the "Spirit Sword Arataka." The four fought demons with only their flesh-and-blood bodies and divine swords, an event known historically as the "Kouma War." In the fierce battle, the desperate Anti-Kouma Unit was forced to use its last resort: utilizing the "Majin-ki" (Demon God Vessels) to activate the "Blood of Purification." The Majin-ki are three sacred relics passed down from ancient Japan—the sword, the jewel, and the mirror—which can serve as amplifiers of magical power. Kazuma Higurashi, inheritor of the Higurashi family's "Blood of Purification," sealed the Kouma using the Majin-ki at the cost of his own life, while Shinnosuke Yamazaki disappeared during this battle... In the eleventh year of Taisho, the evil organization "Black Nest Society," led by the sorcerer monk Tenkai, began to stir. Tenkai, who despised modern civilization, sought to restore the Tokugawa shogunate's rule. He led his Four Heavenly Kings—Aoi Sadan, Miroku, Shura, and Rasetsu—and manipulated demon mechs generated through ancient curses, known as "Magic Control Mechs," to carry out destructive activities in the capital. To counter this new threat and protect the capital and its people, with strong support from Count Hanamichi, a new government-directly affiliated Anti-Kouma organization, the Imperial Combat Revue (abbreviated as "Teiki") Flower Division, was established. Under the leadership of Kazuma Yoneda and Ayame Fujieda, the Flower Division gathered six girls with high spiritual powers: Sakura Higurashi, daughter of Kazuma Higurashi and inheritor of the Spirit Sword Arataka; Sumire Kanzaki, granddaughter of Tadatoshi, head of the Kanzaki zaibatsu, and master of the Kanzaki Furinryu long-sword style; Maria Tachibana, a warrior of the Russian Revolution once known as the "Fire-Eater Bird"; Alice MacLaine, a ten-year-old French noblewoman isolated from the world due to her supernatural spiritual powers since childhood; Honglan Li, a Chinese girl proficient in mechanics who lost her family in the chaos of the Xinhai Revolution; and Kanami Kirishima, the orthodox successor of the Kirishima style of empty-hand combat, standing nearly two meters tall. Meanwhile, based on designs left by Shinnosuke Yamazaki, the spirit-powered armor for anti-Kouma operations, the "Koubu," was completed by the Kanzaki Heavy Industries. Based at the Grand Imperial Theater in Ginza, the Flower Division disguised itself as an opera troupe to avoid suspicion, but when demons appeared, they transformed into warriors guarding the capital, piloting Koubu to fight enemies. In the spring of the twelfth year of Taisho, struggling with insufficient combat power and coordination, the Flower Division received a new captain: Naval Lieutenant Ichiro Ohkami. Thus, the story begins...