Sega will hold the Sakura Wars 25th Anniversary orchestra concert in Tokyo, Japan, on July 28, 2021. This concert will also celebrate 41 years in the musical career of the series composer Kohei Tanaka. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra will play various songs from the series, handpicked by Kohei Tanaka himself. The composer will also be present on stage to play the piano. Noriko Hidaka, the voice actress of Sakura Wars 3‘s Erica Fontaine, will host the show. The main cast of the Sakura Wars stage play will also appear as guests.
The concert will be held physically at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo. The ticket prices range from 6,800 yen (~$62) to 13,800 yen (~$126). The highest ticket tier comes with a bonus set of merchandise, such as a clear file and a replica of Kohei Tanaka’s score for the “Gekitei” theme song.
This orchestra concert is not the only event made for celebrating the 25th anniversary of Sakura Wars. Art exhibits showcasing paintings by the series’ character designer Hidenori Matsubara will also be held in multiple cities in Japan. While the exhibits were originally scheduled between April and May 2021, the coronavirus state of emergency postponed some of them to June and July 2021.
The Sakura Wars series officially began in 1996 when Sega released the first game on the Saturn. The title is well-known for letting the player build relationships with the heroines while preparing for both musical theater performances and mech battles against hostile demons.
After five numbered mainline titles, the series’ latest console game—originally titled Shin Sakura Taisen (New Sakura Wars)—is immediately available on the PlayStation 4. Sega also localized the game in the West with the title Sakura Wars.
Sega also worked with DelightWorks to launch a mobile spinoff titled Sakura Revolution in Japan. However, the company decided to shut down operations for the mobile game on June 30, 2021.
