Senran Kagura

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高木 謙一郎 (Kenichiro Taka): "胸は命、尻は故郷" ("Tits are life, ass is hometown.") —The series creator tells it like it is

Senran Kagura: Shojō-tachi no Shin'ei (Senran Kagura: Portrait of Girls, localized as Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows) is a Nintendo 3DS side-scrolling brawler by Marvelous Interactive, and the first in a growing franchise.

Ninjas secretly exist even in this age, and there are those who employ them for nefarious purposes. To counter this, the government founded the Hanzō Academy in order to train female shinobi, or kunoichi.

Of course, most of the attention on the game comes from what it's really about: The gameplay trailer should fill you in on what it is. It's mild, but don't watch it at work. Another, longer trailer is also available focusing on gameplay and showing more of the antagonists. The NSFW disclaimer still applies.

Over time, the gameplay have developed into a 3D brawler not unlike Dynasty Warriors while also incorporating Mood Whiplash and a growing amount of Fan Service. Manga adaptations and an anime have also been released. Senran Kagura Burst, a remake/sequel, was released on the American Nintendo eShop in November 2013. Its subsequent sequels by Marvelous Interactive have also been released in Europe and North America. Senran Kagura: Estival Versus was released for the PlayStation 4 and Play Station Vita in 2015.

If you thought this focus on fanservice meant there was an Excuse Plot you'd be wrong. In addition to being sexy, the 10 girls are all three dimensional girls with developed personalities that the plot forces to challenge their past tragedies, inmaturities, and preconceived narrow inaccurate world views.

Tropes used in Senran Kagura include:

• Aesop Amnesia: Averted, character development persists across games, with one exception: Mirai and Ryōbi have learned multiple times to appreciate their lack of breasts, but are straight back to normal the next game. This is played Played for Laughs.
• Animal Jingoism: The emblem of Hanzō Academy is a frog; Hebijo's emblem is... well, a snake.
• Animation Bump: The opening, Headed by A-1 Pictures but outsouced to Toon City (mostly known for Western Animation than it is Anime).
• Black and White Morality: Subverting this is one of the main parts of the plot first game. "Good Shinobi" and "Evil Shinobi" are not actually indicative of morality. Also the title of 2's opening/credit's theme: 光と闇の彼方 ("Beyond Good and Evil").
• Cast Full of Gay: Some of the girls are more open about it than others, but they all lust after another girl at some point.
• Dead Little Sister: Yagyū, which she imprints on Hibari.
• Dual-Wielding: Asuka uses two Kōdachi.
  • Homura hexuple weilds Katana! Like Wolverine Claws, no less!!
• Eyepatch of Power: Yagyū. Averted with Mirai: she's wears it to look cool.
• Fan Service: Let's get counting!
  • Clothing Damage
  • Erotic Eating, according to the trailer.
  • Jiggle Physics
  • Joshikousei
    • Which is followed by, of course, Sailor Fuku.
  • Panty Shot
• Five-Bad Band: Girls of Hebijo.
• Five-Man Band: The five main girls, of course. They even resemble a Super Sentai team structure in a sense.
• Genki Girl: Hibari.
• Hidden Depths: Everyone!
• Keigo: Ikaruga speaks in a very formal tone and style.
• Let's Get Dangerous: Katsuragi is normally just an obnoxious lesbian pervert, but when something important for her advancement or her (friends) lives come she can be deathly serious.
• Modesty Shorts: Officially the girls wear "swimsuits" under their clothes in the 3DS installments and not underwear. The appearance of some "swimsuits" and some reactions (Mirai hesitantly insists whatever you equip her with is a swimsuit) leaves some doubt to this is true.
• Mood Whiplash: The plots in these games tend to be this, as they can alternate between serious and cutesy on a dime.
• Phantom Zone: Shinobi Barriers.
• The Power of Friendship:
• Refuge in Audacity: In addition to the games themselves, the developers have invoked this phrase, which has become an impromptu motto for the series:

"Tits are life. Ass is hometown."

• Serial Escalation: Subsequent entries seem to be outdoing each other on just how much Fan Service can be crammed into a single game.
• Spear Counterpart: As an April Fool's joke, we had Senran Kagura: Boys Edition. Though hilariously enough, later entries began introducing male characters into the mix.
• Stock Shout-Outs: The Hanzō Academy is named after the famous Samurai.
• Tomboy: Katsuragi seems like one. She goes around without buttoning her shirt or wearing anything underneath.
• Troperiffic: The game is seemingly intended to be a massive collection of Fan Service and Fetish Fuel tropes. A Cliché Storm is one thing, but a storm this big is... kinda hard to frown at.
• Virtual Paper Doll: There are multiple costumes for characters. Clothing Damage will inevitably follow.
  • Bread in mouth
  • Meganekko
  • Sailor Fuku
  • Swimsuits. LOADS of them.
• Visual Novel: The games have segments of it, probably as the story-telling interface.
• Weapon of Choice
  • Asuka: Two Kōdachi; short Japanese swords.
  • Ikaruga: Nodachi; basically a really long two-handed Katana. And she uses it with only one hand.
  • Katsuragi: A set of greaves.
  • Yagyū: Her Japanese umbrella.
  • Hibari: Ninja magic in the form of a cute lunar bunny.
  • Homura: Hexuple-weilding Katana.
  • Yomi: A really huge cleaver/knife.
  • Hikage: Her beloved dagger.
  • Mirai: A western umbrella, as opposed to Yagyū's Japanese one.
  • Haruka: Chemicals.