When Seven Samurai Just Weren’t Enough-Animeigo’s “Eleven Samurai”

 Halloween may be over, but the ‘claret continues to flow’. It’s another dose of in-your-face, bloody group vengeance in Animeigo’s release of “Eleven Samurai” (“Ju-ichinin No Samurai”, Toei 1966) the final film in Kudo Eiichi’s “Samurai Trilogy”. The first two films in the trilogy, the original “13 Assassins” and “The Great Killing”, both featured meticulous plans to ambush the numerically superior enemy. They’re often compared to Kurosawa Akira’s “Seven Samurai” for this reason. “Eleven Samurai” also includes this aspect, but this is after all Japanese film-there’s no guarantee that the third time will be the charm. With an army of samurai retainers forming the opposition rather than the Kurosawa film’s ragtag band of bandits, seven samurai would not be enough. Bring on the Eleven Samurai!

The film wastes no time getting the plot rolling. The time is 1839 and Nariatsu, brother of the Shogun and Lord of Tatebayashi (who is shown in Animeigo’s historical notes to likely be modeled on Matsudaira Nariyoshi, who died under vague circumstances in 1839), is out hunting for sport. Angry over the day’s poor catch and his poor performance with the bow when shooting at a deer, the Lord charges after the fleeing animal and despite warnings from his vassals continues his pursuit across the han boundary into the neighboring fief of Oshi. When an elderly woodcutter climbs onto the side of the road and attempts to help his wife clamber up, Nariatsu’s horse is spooked and stops the pursuit. An enraged Nariatsu instead chases down the peasant and strikes him down to the horror of his vassals. In one of those incredible coincidences that only happens in film, the Lord of Oshi, Abe Bungo-No-Kami Masayori, just happens to be riding nearby and chastises the petulant Nariatsu for entering his fief without permission and setting a poor example by striking down the peasant. You know something bad is going to happen when Nariatsu nervously fingers an arrow on his bow…and sure enough, even though Masayori states he will overlook the infraction because of Nariatsu’s high status, the arrow finds flight and buries itself in Masayori’s eye. Nariatsu retreats back to his own fief, leaving the dead Masayori’s vassals to seek legal redress for the cowardly act. 

However, it’s GOOD being Shogun-or even his brother. Not only does the Bakufu ignore Oshi fief’s request that Nariatsu be punished, but Chief Minister Mizuno Echizen concocts a twisted version of the incident that has Masayori invading Nariatsu’s fief and being killed by a ‘stray arrow’. As punishment for this imagined crime, the Oshi fief is confiscated. Oshi Minister Tatewaki manages to put off the confiscation of the fief for a month by telling Echizen that he needs the time to bring the vassals under control, implying that otherwise there will be ‘rash acts’ of violence against the Bakufu. 

Instead, Tatewaki plans to use his month to have Nariatsu killed, an act which would likely lead to a reversal of Echizen’s decree. You see, much like the earlier two films, the Bakufu would cover up the assassination in order to not appear impotent-and that would necessitate not taking the Oshi lands. Tatewaki enlists his childhood friend, Sengoku Hayato, to put together a team and plan the assassination. Hayato figures he’ll need about 10 good men to pull it off. He takes a unique stance on finding them-he has clan officials notified that no harm must come to Lord Nariatsu and that anyone who does otherwise should be ordered to commit seppuku. When this inevitably happens, Hayato confronts the group and when they proceed to attempt to carry out their sentence, becomes convinced of their courage and recruits them to his cause. The addition of the ‘hotheads’-leader Mitamura, Hoshina, Aragane, Kuga, Adachi, Junnosuke, and Lady Nui (who was fulfilling her dead brother’s promise to join the group)-swells his ranks to eight. Needing money to carry out their plan, they recruit a clan accountant, Ichihashi Yajiro. The nine set out separately for Edo to catch up with Lord Nariatsu. As if he hasn’t already established himself as a Grade A scumbag, he’s traveling to Edo without permission to demand that the confiscated Oshi fief be added to his own! 

Upon arriving in Edo, Nariatsu continues to add to his resume by ducking out of his mansion and visiting the red light district in Yoshiwara, stumbling around in a drunken stupor with half the area courtesans and geisha in tow. Hayato’s group decides to take this opportunity to strike at Nariatsu while he’s undefended. They lay in wait for him at the stairs of the Geisha house he’s staying at. However, when Nariatsu proves to be too drunk to climb the stairs and tumbles down them (earning the title of “Brick McBurly of his Day”), giving him just enough time to be saved by the arrival of his Chamberlain Akiyoshi Gyobu. Gyobu is not convinced by the stories out of Oshi that Hayato’s group was sentenced to seppuku or exiled for stealing clan funds. Despite a constant stream of abuse from Nariatsu (who at one point in the film tells Gyobu he’d rather take the risks than bother with listening to him), Gyobu continues to do his best to protect his Lord-because, y’know, that’s just part of the whole filmatic Bushido thang. 

Gyobu’s not the only one struggling with the contradictions of Bushido. Hayato’s group takes refuge in an old dwelling where the hothead faction clashes with Hayato over how things are being handled. They accuse him of being standoffish, happy to set up shop with Lady Nui and not taking the opportunities presented them. Things seemingly get worse when it’s revealed that a scruffy ronin, Ido Daijyurou, has overheard their conversation and deduces what their objective is, but he proves sent from the gods when a group of Nariatsu’s samurai suddenly attack. With his help, the Oshi ronin make their escape. 

After returning home, Hayato is confronted by his brother in law, Kyonosuke-and Hayato’s wife Orei. The two can’t believe that Hayato suddenly disappeared and set up shop with another woman. Kyonosuke declares Hayato a disgrace and sets off to kill Lord Nariatsu on his own. However, the Tatebayashi samurai have expected an assault and capture him easily, torturing him before Lord Nariatsu kills him. Hayato has attempted to prevent his assault, knowing it will likely bring about the immediate confiscation of Oshi Han. He fails and returns crestfallen to Orei, who has heard the entire story of what’s going on from Lady Nui. Her faith in her husband restored, they have a touching interlude that ends in unexpected tragedy. Daijyurou reappears and is finally accepted into the group, giving them ten. 

Lord Nariatsu, having gotten a promise that he will be awarded Oshi fief, prepares to return to Tatebayashi. Hayato’s group decides to make their stand in an Imperial forest east of Edo along the steep hillsides flanking the narrow road through. They set up an elaborate ambush, planning to separate and trap Nariatsu’s procession by dropping trees into their path. Using Daijyurou’s knowledge of gunpowder weapons, they make bamboo cannons to shell the assemblage before attacking on foot. It seemingly can’t miss!

But back in Edo, Elder Echizen and Gyobu scheme to ensure Nariatsu’s safety. They infer to Chamberlain Tatewaki that the decision to confiscate the fief will be rescinded, and that if anything were to happen to Lord Nariatsu, the original verdict would instead be allowed to stand. Tatewaki sends his aide Todo to the site of the ambush with the news, ordering the assault to be called off. This brings the group to 11, but also presents them with a huge decision to make. Should they ignore the order and continue with their plan to avenge their lord? Or is the fief’s survival paramount? The film cleverly allows them to ‘try’ both, but you’ll have to see for yourself how that little trick is pulled off. 

The film superficially resembles the previous two ‘Samurai Trilogy’ entries, “13 Assassins” and “The Great Killing”, but in spirit is more akin to a Chushingura/47 Ronin film. Here the samurai are working outside the law to gain revenge for the death of their Lord and the subsequent confiscation of their fief (an insult compounded by having it awarded to the man who killed their Lord in a fit of pique). It’s particularly mirrored in the moral dilemma of whether to work towards revenge or the restoration of their clan. 

Much of the cast for “Eleven Samurai” had appeared in the previous two films-two of them, Satomi Koutaro (playing Mitamura Kenshin, leader of the hotheads) and Nishimura Ko (playing ronin Ido Daijyurou) are probably best known for essaying the title role in the “Mito Komon” TV series. Suga Kantaro is the surly Nariatsu, in effect reprising his role from “13 Assassins”. While at times he goes a bit over the top in acting despicably, he certainly succeeds in making his character come across as an entitled, petulant and sadistic rich boy who takes everything for granted and treats even his vassals as disposable objects. This is one guy you really, REALLY want to see get killed. Otomo Ryutaro played the evil lord’s loyal samurai Akiyoshi Gyobu after being the prime baddie in “The Great Killing”-he also appeared in the first example of ‘samurai group assault’ films, “Seventeen Ninja”. Having a cast that was used to working with the director and each other gave the film solid performances even for the smaller parts. 

One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the portrayal of the relationship between Hayato (Natsuyagi Isao) and Orei (Miyazono Junko). It’s very affectionate and much more up-front than similar relationships in most chanbara films and is given a good chunk of time to play out as a subplot in the film. Shots of Hayato’s hands lovingly caressing Orei’s face and his obvious sense of shame when she believes him to have taken up with another woman give a real sense of two people who care deeply for each other. Someone at Toei obviously thought so, as the two went on to appear together in “Samurai Wolf” and “Samurai Wolf II”. Miyazono later starred in “Quick Draw Okatsu”, one of the best ‘swordswoman’ films to come out of Japan (not to mention costarring the awesome Oshida Reiko as a ninja babe). Natsuyagi is still active in Japanese film, recently appearing in the Azuchi Castle/Nobunaga jidaigeki opus “Castle Under Fiery Skies”. 

Director Kudo seems have to found the perfect balance in his third effort at a ‘group assault’ film. “13 Assassins” was cold and calculating, precise and surgical in its planning and counter-planning. “The Great Killing” was an exercise in chaos, from the opening that drew in a character totally unrelated to the plot to the closing assault that didn’t look at first to have succeeded. “Eleven Samurai” blends these disparate approaches and adds the Hayato/Orei relationship, an aspect that was somewhat missing in the first two films (especially 13 Assassins). There are some excellent shots and composition in the film, particularly in the massive, almost expressionistic Imperial forest that the ambush is to take place in. Light and shadow is used to great effect and there are nice flourishes, such as letting a billowing wave of fog effect a virtual wipe of the screen. Kudo is also smart enough to give his leads a bit of screen time to flesh out their characters, not just the Hayato/Orei/Nui angle but Hayato’s position as an outsider among the ‘hotheads’, Gyobu’s travails as Nariatsu’s Chamberlain, and Daijyourou’s scathing indictments of the samurai lifestyle. 

The music is composed by Ifukube Akira. While it’s striking, powerful, and does a good job underscoring the events onscreen, it sounds far too much like his memorable score for the classic “Godzilla”. While we’re no music expert, many passages sounded as if they were note for note and simply recycled. This has the unfortunate side effect of being a distraction for anyone who’s seen “Godzilla” a few times. 

Extras are light this time around-trailers for the three films in Kudo’s ‘Samurai Trilogy’, a handful of historical notes, short bios of some of the cast and crew, and a small image gallery (only five images). Toei must not have had much archival material on the film since not only is there a lack of stills on the disc but the trailer is one that Animeigo put together themselves. Otherwise, the disc is what we’ve all come to expect from Animeigo-a top rate translation with cultural notes onscreen, the best possible transfer, and solid sound. 

In the less innocent and more skeptical world of the 1960’s, it wouldn’t be Seven Samurai that would get the job done. It called for Eleven...Eleven Samurai who fought themselves and their clan leadership as much as they did the enemy. But when everything was said and done, they pulled together to attack their common enemy, concluding the Samurai Trilogy with an appropriately brutal and bloody finale. It combines the best of the classic jidaigeki of the 50’s with the increasingly violent large scale chanbara films of the 60’s.You can pick up Eleven Samurai at a discount on the Animeigo website or on Amazon. Speaking of brutal and bloody, while you’re there check out the “Lone Wolf & Cub” Blu-ray set-all six films in one nice package! We’ll be reviewing that in a couple of weeks. 

All Eleven Samurai Photos Courtesy and Copyright 1967 Toei Studios

Mito Komon’s Coming To Town: Holiday Gifts For Japanese History Buffs

That jolly old soul with the white beard and hair recently paid a visit to the Samurai Archives, and along with him came several new Japanese wargames and RPG’s. No, it wasn’t Santa, or even our father-in-law, but rather Mito Komon-the Edo period hero who proved that the Tokugawa really were the good guys. The wizened Tokugawa scion brought along Sanada Yukimura, Shimizu No Jirochou, and Oda Nobunaga to join in the fun along with a bunch of frantically retreating Ming and Korean troops. With New Years and Christmas rapidly approaching, it’s time to start dropping hints to your friends and significant others about some of the items on your personal wish list-and we’re assuming since you’re here, some of them are probably Japanese history related. We’ll have book reviews of some interesting releases in the weeks to come but for now, let’s take a look at some historical simulations, card games, and board games dealing with pre-modern Japanese history-the perfect gift for those looking to replay the past. Everything reviewed here is Japanese language only except for ‘The Imjin War’.

The best of this round of offerings is likely Game Journal #36: Sanada Gunki: Kessen! Osaka No Jin (真田軍記：決戦！大坂の陣, Sanada War Chronicles: Decisive Battle! Siege Of Osaka). This is an update of Tenka Fubu’s 1992 release Sanada Gunki. It’s a strategic/operational level simulation of the Osaka campaigns of 1614-1615. The game has enough specialized rules to make it unique and interesting but not so many that it becomes overly complex and bogged down. Played on a well done map of Japan from Owari to west of Osaka, it employs a standard hexagonal movement grid. The counter sheet and orders of battle are excellent, sorting the different forces (Tokugawa vassals, Tokugawa allies, Toyotomi retainers, and Toyotomi allies/ronin) by color. The Tokugawa forces outnumber the Toyotomi by roughly two to one, but the Toyotomi are given a shot at surviving by the strength of most of their units. While this was done to balance the game, it works against it from a simulation standpoint. The Toyotomi units did tend to perform better in the battles, but is Sanada Yukimura’s small personal force really twice as strong as the main Tokugawa force under Ieyasu? For that matter, is Akashi Teruzumi’s detached force (which historically performed miserably, getting lost and missing the battle) one and a half times more effective than Ieyasu’s? The Toyotomi army also has the advantage of being able to hole up in Osaka castle when things go bad, an extremely hard nut to crack for the Tokugawa (and something they almost have to take to win). There are plenty of other castles and objectives to take for both armies. It’s well balanced and games played between two players of similar skill will go down to the final turns.

There are scenarios for the Winter campaign of 1614 and the summer campaign of 1615. There are also three ‘what-if’ scenarios. What if Sanada Masayuki had lived to take command of the Toyotomi forces? If Fukushima Masanori had deserted the Tokugawa and thrown his support back to the Toyotomi? And finally, what if it had been Ukita Hideie who had returned from exile to take command in 1614? Sanada Gunki is an excellent old school wargame that might be Game Journal’s strongest offering to date. The magazine has several articles on the Osaka campaigns, including an historical overview, designer’s notes, a phase by phase illustration of how the action unfolded in real life using the game components, and even a manga strip with gameplay tips. Comparisons of various Sengoku related wargames, reviews of other new releases, and articles on non-samurai related wargaming round out this excellent package.

Japanese History War Game Quarterly #7 features Nagashino: Shitaragahara Kassen (長篠：設楽原合戦, Nagashino: Battle Of Shitaragahara), the famous 1575 battle where the allied forces of the Oda and Tokugawa effectively ended the threat of the Takeda. Strangely enough, this tactical level game features area movement on a map that encompasses not just the main battlefield but also the area around the besieged Nagashino castle. A hex based map would have been far better for this level of game, but it’s not totally unexpected since JHWGQ hasn’t produced a hex game yet. The map itself is quite an ugly and abstract piece of work. As with most games that appear in this publication, there are cards to introduce random elements into the battle (like the weather changing, rendering the Oda guns useless). The counter mix is by far the best part of this offering-the oversized counters are broken down into generals for both sides and the Oda/Tokugawa forces have two for each commander-one used for equipping them with guns and one without. Yes, as if being outnumbered historically by almost three to one isn’t bad enough for the Takeda, they don’t know until battle is joined which of the Oda forces have guns-and for that matter what commander is where, since units are hidden until engaged (but all of the Takeda forces are clearly identified from the get-go). There’s great cover artwork featuring Takeda Katsuyori and a glowering Oda Nobunaga, and you’d swear it was Darth Vader being depicted on Oda’s in-game counter. As a bonus, there’s a code exposed when the game components are removed from the bubble that allows you to download a Vassal module for Nagashino from JHWGQ’s website. At any rate, it’s a fast play and has a high fun factor.

There have been several changes made in the format of JHWGQ with this issue. Some are minor-the magazine is now printed ‘Western style’, opening and being read from the ‘front’ (with the game components now in a bubble on the right side of the opened magazine rather than the left). Some are medium-the rules for the issue’s game are now printed separately instead of being part of the magazine, somewhat hurting the cohesiveness of the product as a whole. Some are major-there’s now only 16 pages to the magazine, just about half of what JHWGQ #1 had. A bit of this is due to not including the rules, but other content (such as reviews of DVD’s that tie in with the issue’s subject matter) have been eliminated. What’s there is fine-an overview of Oda Nobunaga’s army and various battles it took part in, an historical article on the Battle of Nagashino, set-up instructions and an introduction to wargaming, and an examination of the campaign using the game map and components to illustrate how the battle played out in real life. JHWGQ has been losing steam the past few issues with content being scaled back and using less polished components-probably cost cutting measures that bode ill for the future. Hopefully they’ll be back on track in issue 8, with a game depicting the action of the Bakumatsu.

Sengoku Daimyo Card Game: Kunitori! (戦国大名カードげーム：くにとり!, Steal The Nation!) combines the best of both possible worlds: a Sengoku period province grabbing game and hot anime chicks. Yes, all your favorite daimyo from the warring states are rendered as women in this game by some of Japan’s best known manga artists. Whether it’s the cutesy-pie flat chested Hideyoshi or brassy lingerie-wearing Oda Nobunaga strutting around with her big boobs spilling out, these famous historical figures take on a whole new dimension. This 270 card non-collectible set (meaning you get the whole thing at once-none of this ‘false collectible’ rare card and booster sets crap) from Arclight not only has novelty appeal but is a solid gaming experience as well. Like most card games, it’s easy to pick up and play but will take some time to master all its subtleties. Up to six players can compete and games can be finished in 30-60 minutes. Enlist the help of foreign traders, boost your economy, mash enemy daimyo, and check out Nobunaga’s rack. Go ahead-you know you want to.

‘The Imjin War’ is a condensed 16 page booklet produced for use with the Killer Katanas 2 (tsk, tsk-a plural Japanese word) miniatures game system. It contains information and rules for putting together miniature Ming Chinese and Korean armies and pitting them in battle against Japanese forces during the Bunroku/Keicho campaigns (Hideyoshi’s Invasions of Korea in the 1590’s). There’s a nice level of detail here, giving the mainland Asian forces plenty of armament and artillery options. Ming armies are rated differently for northern and southern troops and Korean forces are divided into regular army, Righteous Army, and armed monks. Sorry, no provisions for naval warfare, so Admiral Yi cultists will have to wait for another day. While the KK system is probably the most accurate and detailed English language rules system portraying tactical samurai warfare, this particular rules set tends to result in fairly balanced battles, coming up with rather ahistorical results. This is easily rectified by dropping the morale factors for Chinese troops (always) and (depending on the battle and type of forces) Korean troops by one. Then you’ll be seeing battles that play out accurately. For further fine tuning, try raising/lowering the morale of Japanese troops according to their supply status in a particular battle. Author Brian Bradford has been selling these booklets on eBay, but interested gamers might want to wait until early November when his full scaled ‘Hideyoshi’s Korean Invasion’ sourcebook comes out. The sourcebook will contain the rules found in ‘The Imjin War’ plus scenarios of notable battles and lots of background information such as illustrations of Ming banners and flags. Unfortunately, it appears that Kenneth Swope has had some input into the finished product, so it might be skewed in favor of a powered up Ming army-but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed by lowering a factor here or there.

For those not familiar with the KK2 system, it’s well worth checking out even if you’re not a gamer. Brian’s base set and supplements give some of the better information to be found about most of the major Sengoku daimyo and their campaigns in English (although a lot of it is taken from Rekishi Gunzou mooks and the notoriously unreliable Japanese General Staff written histories of the 1890’s, so be forewarned). You can contact Brian on the Yahoo ‘Asian War’ group for more information.

Our wife Ayame recently visited from Japan and gifted us with some older games we hadn’t known about. The following two games have been out for a couple of years, but are worth a look for their depictions of subject matter not usually covered in samurai era sims.

While Command Journal Japan #75 touts two WWII German vs Russian games as the main attractions, what we’re interested in is Toukai Yuukyou Den: Jirochou Sangoku Shi (東海遊侠伝：次郎長三国志, Eastern Gangster Legend: Jirochou’s Three Provinces Record). This is a game simulating the Edo area Yakuza turf wars of the late Edo/early Meiji periods. It’s based on the well known Japanese novel Jirouchou Sangoku Shi that details the adventures of historical Yakuza boss Shimizu No Jirochou (AKA Yamamoto Chougorou). Jirochou was a tremendously popular ‘chivalrous man’ along with being a master swordsman, gang mediator, philanthropist and a type of ‘Robin Hood’ figure in Japanese lore-he’s been the subject of dozens of films and novels. As indicated by Jirochou’s name, the object is to control Yakuza activity in the areas between Edo and Kyoto. There are several factions in the game (including Shogunal inspectors sent to control them) and the counters represent individual figures from history (and sometimes fictional ones). There are oyabuns, sub-bosses, enforcers, soldiers, and the occasional ronin bodyguard. The rules system covers a lot of options and has interesting ‘chrome’ rules, giving the gameplay that seedy Yakuza feel. The map features area movement with the different famous major roads of Japan (such as the Tokaido) playing a large part in strategy. Overall, the gameplay is quite like that seen in War Game In Japanese History’s #1 ‘Shinsengumi’ game (reviewed earlier in this thread). For fans of Zatoichi and Yakuza films, this game will have a lot of appeal and is an interesting break from the conventional battle games that usually appear in Command Journal. The reverse side of the map has a cool 'woodblock' look to it with illustrations and doubles as a fourth game-Meiji Zankyouden Sugoroku (明治残俠伝雙六, Meiji Yakuza Tales Sugoroku). Sugoroku is a simple Japanese dice game, in this case playing off the 'Showa Zankyouden' film series. It features the Yakuza as well (zankyouden means 'remaining chivalry' and is often used to describe the Yakuza). The main magazine also contains articles that give mini biographies for each of the figures in the counter mix and one that gives a history of the Yakuza in the Kanto area in the 1800’s. You also get the two other WWII games and loads of reviews, gameplay tips, and (non-samurai related) historical articles, making this issue a great value.



‘RPGamer’ is a Japanese magazine that touches every facet of Role Playing Games, from Call of Cthulhu to Star Wars to D & D-horror, SF, fantasy, and more. Issue #12 focuses on historical roleplaying, featuring Shibaiyuugi: Mito Komon (芝居遊戯：水戸黄門, Drama Game: Mito Komon). Mito Komon is the historical Tokugawa Mitsukuni, a member of the Tokugawa Mito branch family and an historian who began to put together the massive ‘Dai Nihonshi’ (‘Great History Of Japan’) that took around 200 years for the Mito branch to complete. Mitsukuni was said to have wandered the length and breadth of Edo period Japan incognito in his research efforts. Folk legend had it that using the guise of retired wealthy merchant Mito Komon he righted wrongs, broke up criminal gangs, and punished corrupt officials along the way. The Mito Komon legends have been the source for dozens of Edo period and modern novels along with a long running TV series and several movies. The game allows you to recreate these adventures of the elderly Mito and his two energetic young aids (and whatever other playable characters you might care to roll up), presumably pausing at the penultimate moment to dramatically flash an inro with the Tokugawa crest emblazoned on it just to show those punks who it is they’re REALLY dealing with. There’s a detailed 24 page rulebook/sourcebook with small scale maps for all sorts of Japanese environments-farming village, fishing village, small town, way station, daimyo mansion, etc. There are game markers to represent the forces of good and evil and a very nice three panel gamemasters screen. The latter has a map of Edo period Japan on one side with all of the provinces, major towns, and road networks displayed. The reverse side has all the tables needed to play this entertaining and colorful RPG. For anyone putting together Japanese themed RPG’s or even aspiring authors, it’s a great resource. The magazine has a huge variety of articles and reviews, including one that examines the different releases over the years in the ‘Japanese Historical RPG’ genre. Even better, it covers both English language (Sengoku, Gurps Japan, Land Of The Rising Sun, Ninja, and lots more) and Japanese releases-surprisingly, there seems to be more of these in English (although the Japanese releases appear to have lots more color, flavor, and chanbara feel to them).

Other highlights include reviews of ‘Edo period’ DVD’s to add flavor to any campaign, several manga strips (our favorite being a long one that pits ‘Mito Komon Vs Mobile Great Buddha’), ads for every RPG game ever released here or abroad, and overdeveloped gals in sailor suits with blazing automatics. Japanese publications almost always figure out a way to work hot chicks into the mix, and I for one appreciate their heartfelt efforts to gain my entertainment yen.