Sakura Ganbaru!

by Masahiko Nakahira

High school girl Sakura just can not avoid landing in battles with other street fighters Through the fighting challenges she has faced, see how Sakura established herself as one of the most valuable players in the Street Fighter universe Beautifully illustrated by popular manga artist Masahiko Kanzaki, this series also features the introduction of the popular Street Fighter Alpha characters Karin, Sakura's archrival

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1897376529
• ISBN13: 9781897376522
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Udon Entertainment
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 16 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 11

Customer Reviews

Simple Fun

This was a great purchase and I've only read less than half. It gives a great inside look to the reader's favorite Street Fighter character with humor, great artwork, and storyline. From what I've read it does not correlate with the Street Fighter Legends: Sakura, also a great read, but with a little imagination you can merger them together. An example not to spoil plots, was that Sakura began training with Dan after the Street Fighter Legends comic, and this book begins there, but she learns techniques that she used in that series. It also introduces Karin, which she was already introduced to in Legends. But not a big deal. It reads in the direction from right to left, which really isn't hard to adjust to. It is in black and white which is the only thing wrong with it. Other than that, if you're a fan, get this and the following book. Once you read the first you'll want the next!

Specifically for SF fans

This book in its original publishing in Japan many years ago after Streetfighter Zero 2 was the origin of the character Karin Kanzuki who went on to appear in Streetfighter Zero 3. I start with this tidbit to give an indication of how popular and well received this particular illustrated story was in Japan. Now Udon, the studio most (in)famous for its support of all things Streetfighter in the west, has licensed this book for English consumption. Realise I'm a highly biased fan of the Streetfight series already. This book, while good enough to stand on its own, is intended for those already into SF. For SF fans, you get a full backstory in this series for Sakura's foray into the ugly and lonely world of street fighting and martial arts in general. The artwork is well composed and attractive as shounen stuff should be. The translation is a bit herky-jerky as some of the interpretation was not as sharp as I would have liked. There is at least one major page-printing error in most copies I've seen, including my own. These quality control problems for a company that should have good publishing experience already are somewhat troubling, but nothing is 'missing' from the experience of the story because of it. The story explains how Sakura, having seen Ryu fight for herself, suddenly is inspired by and idolises him and seeks to learn more about him through street fighting. After having no luck on her own, her path crosses with Dan Hibiki, another street fighter who uses martial arts similar to Ryu. While Dan's skils don't even compare to Sakura's raw natural talent, Dan does have one major thing to contribute to her growth; fighting experience. While he teaches her almost nothing about fighting, he teaches her the basics of actually being a fighter to set her in the direction of Ryu's path. Her first challenge in this path is when she crosses Karin Kanzuki, an extremely arrogant and selfsatisfied personality with a strong desire for victory in all things, including martial arts. The two schoolgirls fight, each testing their resolve while questioning it at the same time. The author of this series obviously views the life of the martial artist as a bit of a romantic self exploration, a view I highly enjoy reading as each featured character clearly shows forethought in his writing. This first book has good action, and good in-series features to keep the SF fan happy and carries the reader thru Sakura's exploits in Japan before she breaks out to see the world.

A great read for fans

This title had fun artwork that reflects the childish nature of Sakura and the farcical nature of the whole book. It was a lot of fun to read and a great all around title for Street Fighter fans.

A fun Sakura story for Street Fighter Alpha fans

This is just a brief review of the manga. I am a big Street Fighter fan, as well as being into anime and manga. I had very little hopes for this book, but I picked it up to support a local comic/gaming shop -- plus, I do like Sakura. I had plans on it just being an additional part of my collection. I was pleasantly surprised to find an enjoyable, humorous romp through the Street Fighter Alpha (SFA) world that stayed surprisingly true to the whole Street Fighter mythos. The art style is very reminiscent of the heavy line art of the SFA games ... so, if you liked that artwork, you'll like it here. The best part of this particular book is that it's a great entry for someone who isn't really familiar with Street Fighter -- if you just wanted to read a fun manga about a high school girl with an odd fascination with street fighting, a wacky "mentor," and an insane rival, you'll enjoy this. For Street Fighter fans, you'll get to see Ken Masters, Sakura's rival Karin, and Dan Hibiki in this first volume (with definitely hints of Ryu all about). If you're a huge SFA fan, it's a no-brainer, 5-star purchase. If you're a casual manga fan looking for a fun high school book, it's definitely an above-average read, but I'd mark it at 3 stars.