Open Letter to Takaki and Marvelous

First off, let me open up with that I love this series. I used to think that this series was ridiculous, just pure fan service and such. As I started to play it on the suggestion of my girlfriend of all people, I found myself enjoying the characters, enjoying the setting, the story, the music. Just everything in this game seemed to click for me. I became a fan very quickly and I have been enjoying the series, even defending it against those that were like me before this series, but ever since Estival Versus, this series is just catering to Yumi and her squad. Homura's route was the canon route before you all decided to change it after lackluster sales for Senran Kagura 2, which is my favorite game in the entire series. Don't get me wrong, I do love the Gessen squad but it's starting to become overbearing with the caterring to Yumi only. I love the complex characters, their motives, their end goals but everything is getting dumb downed in order to make Yumi the best one. Asuka and her squad are suppose to be the main characters, not Yumi and her squad. How could you do this to such great characters? It really hurt to see some of my favorites, Homura in particular being my top favorite, being thrown aside in order to make room for Yumi and her squad.
If I'm completely honest, I do love the fanservice and such, but I prefer the story. The story and the characterization is what drew me into the series, not the fanservice. The music only added to fuel my passion for the game because it stands out as unique yet familiar style to me. I would love the series to go back into the stories, and to flesh out these characters even more. Stop throwing everything under the bus to just cater to Yumi and fanservice. I love this series, and I want to see it grow more and more, but I don't want to see it growing in this way with Yumi turning into the new face to just get sales.

Moreso changed, but your post works just fine~

Where do I even begin ...

Variety over using the same girls over and over for the card game. Like Yumi got mentioned, some of the girls are massively overused. Might boost the sales, but with a rooster of nearly 90 ladies now, it's getting boring to see the same ones in mostly each new set of cards. Some barely even have cards. Give every girl some love, also for merchandise. Like tapestries, some already got two or three where enough don't even have one available. Every of the girls have their fans~

Speaking of the card game, I'm sure a lot of people would love to see it here without relying on weird translations on phones or guides to even understand what they're doing on the Japanese version. It'd make it easier to understand and to enjoy the game since I think there's also a story going on in it? If so, don't censor it. It should be clear by now that this isn't a game for children, and decreasing the fanservice is pretty much going against the basics of SK. Not sure if that's possible, but games like Valkyrie Drive showed us that uncensored versions are possible. The audience should be adults majorly, so we're old enough to deal with the fanservice and don't want to get a "cutified" version. That pretty much goes for every game in the franchise. If the audience would be focused on people which are younger than 16 or 18, the games and SK in general would look different.

I might be in the minority for this, but seeing stockings and garter belts on the majority of cards is boring, and to people like me, not really sexy. Lingerie is fine, but variety comes into play for me again. There's more what's sexy than just stockings/pantyhose and garter belts. Also, don't use the same characters for same kind of cloth sets when something might get repeated like wedding dresses and so on. We don't need X times Homura in a wedding dress for an example. Again, we have nearly 90 girls where the majority can be picked that every girl might end up in having certain clothes on.

I bought the Vita for niche games like the SK series (we know how much people negatively brag about SK and anything what includes fanservice in the western world) and other games, so don't forget about that little thing. Seeing that the new game is only for PS4 (for now) is a slap into my face. I guess Steam will have it at some point, but because there're newer consoles now shouldn't result into forgetting where everything started. The Vita might be "dead" for a lot of people, but there're still enough who're valuing it over other handhelds or consoles.

More interaction with the western world can't hurt. Like the character poll was going on, the poll of the western world would show different results, giving them ideas about our tastes here and so on. Our opinion counted for a few things in the past, but more can't hurt.

For the games, story parts and eventually character development would be very fine. Many people might think that SK is all about life and hometown, but I like my favorites for their stories and personalities, and would love to see and hear more of that. Maybe not using the same expressions in different games again since that gets boring when you already know how the girls react before the battles and so on.

Keep new ladies unique. Saying this because I don't want to see a copy of an existing character already. One is enough, and should fill the gap for some people who're into that character. Mentioning this because Ayame is pretty much a Katsuragi clone to me besides the different personality. Don't really need this.

If copyright issues might hinder us to get some stuff like the Ikkitousen ladies, I think we'd be fine that they're available for like a month or so until they're gone. Doesn't have to be permanent when a certain time window would allow us to get them. Should lower the costs, and make it easier to not keep anything away from the western audience.


I think that's all what I have in mind for now. If something shouldn't get mentioned by someone else what comes into mind, I might add something at a later point.

One other thing I just remembered:

In Burst, something I really liked was the non story sidequests. All you'd get story wise was a little text box ("delinquents have been harassing people around the shopping mall, stop them"), and then a short generic mission. It might have been a little bland, but I really liked it, it made the series feel more real. It reminded me that the characters were professional Shinobi, and they did take on missions outside of their interpersonal dramas and the Yoma fighting.
I'd like it if that happened again in the new games. It could provide some interesting worldbuilding too - what sort of missions does Hanzo take as opposed to Gessen? What missions are available to the Crimson Squad? Stuff like that.
It shouldn't be anything too complex - just a little text box and a generic combat mission.

EDIT: Also please no more PS4 exclusive games. Personally I'd like more 3DS games, especially now that the n3DS will fix a lot of the framerate issues from Burst and SK2, but more Vita games is good too. I bought a Vita specifically for Senran, but I'm not buying a PS4 for it.

I love the game but prefer in game graphics rather then some of the 2d art being made. I really enjoy the Designs of the characters. the look of the upcoming game bothers me since they are all in white. and That kind of Kills what I like about it.

I don't care much for fan service. But love Kat. Some times I think they force in the fan service. There is a Joke with Asuka and Smuggling mr peanut under her shirt. (Did an edit of the image to show that fav.me/d9vvcok) I wish the women where more Varied in the bust area. many of the cards form New wave I liked till I saw how much the huge bust just broke the flow of the drawing.

What got me into this was hearing Gaijin Goombah talk about it. since then I was draw in be the story and sat threw the Awkward parts of Hanzo or Kat getting her hands on a victim. the story is what I want to see more of and I don't want the boobs to get in the way of that. I like solid Game play and fun designs just some times the bust makes those amazing designs take a back seat to fan service.

I just wish they would take a set back from Fan service and refocus on story and add fan service only when it does not hurt the flow.

To be fair Senran Kagura at least does not stop the story for fan service unlike a few anime and shows I know of.

I guess what I want to see is more different body types among the girls.

Also Statues or figures I can get that don't make me feel like a perv....

First of all, I wanna say sorry in advance if I make any English mistake.
That said, here I go.

Regarding Yumi spam I don't really care that much unless it means you paying less attention to the other girls. You've made great characters, please treat them with the same amount of love.

Storywise I have to say that I really liked SK2 kind of story and atmosphere. Something like that would be gladly received.

Yomas are AMAZING. The contrast between the girls' artstyle and the yomas' one is pure gold. You should consider bringing them back. They're in my opinion the perfect bosses for this series.

Now this is a bit personal but I would really like to have cross-region online multiplayer (for the Versus series) I know this is kinda hard due to guest characters and licenses but heck, it's not difficult. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth did it with a simple update. I'm an importer for this series since I prefer japanese versions of the games and all my collection is Japanese. I don't have enough money to get the european versions too and it's really sad that even having tecnically the same game I can't play with my local friends.

Here's a complaint about Dekamori/bon appetit, 22 songs with only 6 of them with vocals were too little. Like, extremely litte for a rhythm game.

And finally a suggestion. You should consider a 2D/2.5 Fighter for the series or maybe even a crossover one with Valkyrie Drive and Uppers. That would be nuts.

Well. I can be a bit wordy even with only a few things to say, so please bear with me.

Greetings to Takaki-sensei, Nan-sensei, and everyone related at Marvelous.

I still remember my first exposure to Senran Kagura--way back in 2012, about. It was a picture of a lovely blonde girl with bluish green eyes, drawn by Ariko Youichi. (For the curious, this picture.) I didn't know where this beauty came from--there was no ID on her source, her name wasn't tagged either, but there she was--and her picture was saved.

Fast forward to when Burst was announced for the US, and Operation Rainfall--among others--were campaigning to get it Stateside. As you can imagine, I joined those efforts wholeheartedly. At that time, I'd forgotten about the gorgeous blonde with ribbon-stitched garments, and Yagyuu caught my eye (best twintails anywhere, I defy anyone to name a girl with a lovelier pair). During this time, I learned about the characters, and--to my surprise--"reunited", in a manner of speaking, with that beautiful blonde maiden. My heart was captured anew, and the silken-gloved hands of that beauty--I'd finally identified her as the greatsword-wielding Yomi--were the ones in which it was held captive.

The game, eventually, made it Stateside--much to my delight and that of so many others. The pseudo-Puritan ideological atmosphere of the West had already become entrenched and strong by that point, so it was truly a crapshoot; everyone had to make sure that people knew SK had much more to it than life and hometown on some lovely girls, and it was done. And rightly so; SK was a game that featured a cast with such deep backstories--some of which would be able to propel games of their own, I'm willing to wager. At the very least, all of them had very strong foundations for rich character development. All of the main cast were adorable in some way, to someone, and--in spite of that--all were flawed. SK2 showed this very well: for some of the heroines, the potential for character growth was clear, but not so much for others; the story of Kagura made it clear as day regarding those others.

To put it simply, SK proved that you can have unrestrained fanservice together with captivating characters and a deep story. You can have the cake and eat it too (puns intended).

Fast forward, again, to Estival Versus. I didn't have a Vita, so I never had a chance to play Shinovi Versus, but I was still hyped; more Yomi, of course, and the rest of the cast--not to mention a chance to understand the other schools (spoilers of SV got me hating them, especially Hebijo). At first, I was absolutely captivated by the game, but certain characters got FAR more spotlight time than the rest--the Mikagura sisters, along with Ryoki and her sisters got most of it, but...you could say EV is their story, so you can't really be upset about it. I expected a bit more in the Shinobi Girl's Heart missions (which I've yet to finish--only have a few left), but I was disappointed.

Those missions were humorous, which is good, but--like in the main story--plenty of the girls had their personalities reduced to nothing more than comedic devices.(That is to say, a prominent part of their personality being massively played up to the oblivion of all others for the sake of comedy. I am saving Yomi's missions for last, but I'm dreading what I might find, as--given her background--she's got a lot of room for character growth, too; she could end up a Marxist caricature as some already accuse her of being, if left undeveloped.) Instead of learning more about the girls, we're just getting gag routines, and nothing more. As has been said, Katsuragi doesn't have much on her mind but sexual harassment, when she's got two big issues in her life--and both are on the run. Yagyuu continues to get a raw deal from Hibari, who still (apparently) has no idea what she means to Yagyuu, or even that Yagyuu has feelings for her--except when Hibari's angry, according to EV.

Yumi is another story. SK media are already (at least relatively) saturated with her presence. She isn't a bad character, but she's nowhere near being worthy of the attention she's getting--that is to say, far more attention than the rest. It almost seems as if she's being pushed in an effort to make those who don't care as much for her change their minds--an effort which, if marketers don't know, will likely fail as long as people have their favorites. Eliminating those favorites would also create resentment--which already exists, because Yumi, in a way, is supplanting favorites and suppressing the presence of others (of all characters, the should-be face of Senran Kagura takes a backseat to her). This is important, as (if I recall correctly) the 3DS and Sony platform storylines will merge, going forward.

I do have to criticize the wardrobe feature--and the mechanics thereof--of EV. They would be so much better if clothing could be selected by major body part, rather than near-strictly as entire, noncustomizable outfits. Furthermore--and I'm sure it's because the theme of Estival Versus is summer--there are so many outfits that are skimpy (bikinis and lingerie), with not very much variety of other, unrelated kinds (granted, they're on an island, but there is at least one locale that's full of snow and ice). Such things have their place, but they can get boring VERY fast.

My thoughts aren't coming through clearly anymore, so I'll wrap up here. What I'm getting at is that SK was a series that employed everything it had at its disposal very well: comedy, drama, fanservice, and gameplay--all in a fine balance. What it wasn't was a game that simply pandered to easy/popular tastes (e.g., fanservice and Yumi). Don't get me wrong--I love fanservice (particularly life--life all day, every day), but there's more to the game than that. It's got to stay the great series we fought for back in 2012--the game that said that it's not just okay, but great to have fanservice in abundance along with an engaging game and story.