Results of the unofficial international Sengoku Basara fan survey (part 1)

The results are now in! After three weeks the unofficial international Sengoku Basara fan survey managed to gather 302 unique responses, mainly due to the kindness of fans spreading the word on their local discussion forums. While this is a very small sample set compared to the Japanese polls, the responses were all very detailed and full of enthusiasm. Thank you, everyone!

The survey is now closed and I've spent the last few evenings tidying up the results to find out a little more about the international Sengoku Basara community. I've changed all of the spelling to match my preferred romanisation system, but please be assured that every vote was counted irrespective of spelling or language.

Every wonderful comment was read carefully. One person asked whether I could title this post with Masamune's rowdy catchphrase; I'd rather keep the post title consistent to make it easier to find, so I'll compromise like this.

Are you ready, guys?!

The following post is long. I also have a confession - I'm still sorting out the list of favourite scenes from the series, so that will have to follow in a future post.

I'll start with the question people are probably most worried about.

Favourite Sengoku Basara character

This question was completely open; participants could choose absolutely anyone they liked. I'm going to look at the data in a few different ways, but first of all, here's the traditional ranking of every voter's first choice. In other words, if this had been an official poll, this is how the results would look.

Rank	Name	Votes
1st	Date Masamune	48
2nd	Ishida Mitsunari	45
3rd	Sanada Yukimura	24
4th	Katakura Kojuurou	15
5th	Chousokabe Motochika	14
5th	Maeda Keiji	14
7th	Mouri Motonari	12
7th	Takenaka Hanbee	12
7th	Tokugawa Ieyasu	12
10th	Matsunaga Hisahide	9
11th	Fuuma Kotarou	7
11th	Sarutobi Sasuke	7
13th	Azai Nagamasa	6
13th	Oichi	6
13th	Ootani Yoshitsugu	6
16th	Akechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)	5
16th	Kasuga	5
16th	Uesugi Kenshin	5
19th	Gotou Matabee	4
19th	Oda Nobunaga	4
19th	Saika Magoichi	4
19th	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	4
23rd	Imagawa Yoshimoto	3
23rd	Kuroda Kanbee	3
23rd	Matsu	3
23rd	Ootomo Sourin	3
23rd	Tsuruhime	3
28th	Nouhime	2
28th	Shibata Katsuie	2
28th	Shimazu Yoshihiro	2
28th	Xavi	2
32nd	Houjou Ujimasa	1
32nd	Ii Naotora	1
32nd	Itsuki	1
32nd	Kobayakawa Hideaki	1
32nd	Maeda Toshiie	1
32nd	Mogami Yoshiaki	1
32nd	Mori Ranmaru	1
32nd	Shima Sakon	1
32nd	Tachibana Muneshige	1
32nd	Takeda Shingen	1
32nd	Utsunomiya Hirotsuna	1

Miscellaneous statistics:

• The playable characters who weren't voted as a favourite were Honda Tadakatsu (3), Honganji Kennyo (34), Miyamoto Musashi (4) and Yamanaka Shikanosuke (2). The number in parentheses is each character's highest position when the rest of the votes were tallied.
• The unplayable characters who failed to make the cut included Ashikaga Yoshiteru (2), Kyougoku Maria (3), Nanbu Harumasa (4) and Naoe Kanetsugu (41). Amago Haruhisa, Anegakouji Yoritsuna and Satake Yoshishige received no individual votes at all.
• The most individual votes anyone submitted was 41. Consequently the average number of favourite characters listed was 7 (however, the median was 4).
• 29 people didn't list a second favourite at all.
• Shima Sakon had the biggest jump in rank once the second place votes were compared, going from 32nd place above to 9th in the list of everyone's second choices.

Notes on the methodology used:

• I counted Akechi Mitsuhide and Tenkai together as though they are one person; nobody picked 'Tenkai' as their favourite character. 10 of the people who included him in their lists of other favourite characters called him Tenkai, but it wouldn't have made sense to separate them and push him farther down the ranking - especially as 2 people specifically noted that they wanted their votes to go towards Mitsuhide rather than Tenkai. It was easiest to combine them.
• One person mentioned Takechiyo (young Ieyasu). I've included this in Ieyasu's vote count.
• One person specifically mentioned that they preferred the Sengoku Basara 2 version of Oichi with her naginata. I've included this in Oichi's vote count.
• One person voted for Sunday Mouri but with instructions to use a different ranking if I combined him with Mouri Motonari, so I did.
• One person picked Motonari instead of Mitsunari as their first choice, but noted that they were actually joint first. It doesn't affect the results, fortunately.
• Another said they liked the core of the Toyotomi army equally and so the order of their votes didn't matter. The second ranking is for you!
• 24 people commented they liked all of the characters in the series. I guess this means quite a few of us love the entire cast...

The second question on the survey asked people to name their other favourite Sengoku Basara characters, in order. If we assume people only listed characters they love - and that all of that love is equal - here's how the unweighted ranking would look.

Rank	Name	Votes
1st	Ishida Mitsunari	153
2nd	Date Masamune	148
3rd	Sanada Yukimura	109
4th	Katakura Kojuurou	104
5th	Chousokabe Motochika	101
6th	Sarutobi Sasuke	95
7th	Tokugawa Ieyasu	84
8th	Oichi	76
9th	Maeda Keiji	72
10th	Mouri Motonari	68
10th	Saika Magoichi	68
12th	Takenaka Hanbee	63
13th	Kasuga	56
14th	Matsunaga Hisahide	48
14th	Shima Sakon	48
16th	Azai Nagamasa	45
16th	Uesugi Kenshin	45
16th	Kuroda Kanbee	45
19th	Shibata Katsuie	44
20th	Fuuma Kotarou	42
21st	Oda Nobunaga	39
21st	Nouhime	39
23rd	Ootani Yoshitsugu	37
23rd	Akechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)	37
25th	Matsu	36
26th	Tsuruhime	34
27th	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	30
27th	Tachibana Muneshige	30
29th	Ii Naotora	29
29th	Takeda Shingen	29
31st	Gotou Matabee	26
32nd	Itsuki	21
33rd	Maeda Toshiie	20
34th	Ootomo Sourin	19
35th	Mori Ranmaru	18
36th	Shimazu Yoshihiro	15
37th	Houjou Ujimasa	14
37th	Mogami Yoshiaki	14
39th	Kobayakawa Hideaki	13
39th	Ashikaga Yoshiteru	13
41st	Honda Tadakatsu	12
41st	Kyougoku Maria	12
43rd	Xavi	10
43rd	Yamanaka Shikanosuke	10
45th	Imagawa Yoshimoto	6
45th	Miyamoto Musashi	6
47th	Utsunomiya Hirotsuna	2
47th	Honganji Kennyo	2
47th	Yumekichi	2
50th	Nanbu Harumasa	1
50th	Naoe Kanetsugu	1
50th	Nene	1

However, giving every character the same number of points irrespective of their ranking isn't really fair considering that I asked people to rank their lists, so let's try it with a points system. Given the voting patterns I decided to try 5 points for ranking first in someone's list, 3 points for second, 2 for third and 1 point for any other position.

Rank	Name	Points
1st	Ishida Mitsunari	426
2nd	Date Masamune	420
3rd	Sanada Yukimura	267
4th	Katakura Kojuurou	219
5th	Chousokabe Motochika	194
6th	Sarutobi Sasuke	161
7th	Tokugawa Ieyasu	153
8th	Maeda Keiji	148
9th	Mouri Motonari	146
10th	Takenaka Hanbee	136
11th	Oichi	131
12th	Saika Magoichi	107
13th	Kasuga	95
13th	Matsunaga Hisahide	95
15th	Uesugi Kenshin	89
16th	Azai Nagamasa	85
17th	Fuuma Kotarou	81
18th	Shima Sakon	77
19th	Akechi Mitsuhide (Tenkai)	75
20th	Kuroda Kanbee	74
20th	Ootani Yoshitsugu	74
22nd	Oda Nobunaga	66
23rd	Shibata Katsuie	63
24th	Nouhime	60
25th	Matsu	56
26th	Tsuruhime	54
26th	Gotou Matabee	54
28th	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	53
29th	Tachibana Muneshige	41
29th	Ii Naotora	41
31st	Takeda Shingen	39
32nd	Itsuki	36
32nd	Ootomo Sourin	36
34th	Maeda Toshiie	28
35th	Mori Ranmaru	23
35th	Shimazu Yoshihiro	23
35th	Ashikaga Yoshiteru	23
38th	Mogami Yoshiaki	22
39th	Xavi	21
40th	Kobayakawa Hideaki	19
41st	Houjou Ujimasa	18
41st	Imagawa Yoshimoto	18
43rd	Honda Tadakatsu	13
43rd	Kyougoku Maria	13
43rd	Yamanaka Shikanosuke	13
46th	Miyamoto Musashi	6
46th	Utsunomiya Hirotsuna	6
48th	Honganji Kennyo	2
48th	Yumekichi	2
50th	Nanbu Harumasa	1
50th	Naoe Kanetsugu	1
50th	Nene	1

Although I'm partial to Masamune, I think that this way is fairer. Not everyone will agree.

--

The survey didn't ask people to provide reasons for their choice, but some people wrote detailed explanations anyway. Here's a selection to show the variety.

"I like Tsuruhime because she's a lot of fun and she was really cool in the new game! I like that she's turning into a stronger character. Her Basara is beautiful and I like her element. I like too many other characters to talk about them all."

"KASUGA IS THE BEST, THAT'S ALL"

"Kojuurou is the most ideal man that ever semi-historically lived!"

"Masamune was the first character who got my interest and I've loved him ever since. He's fun to play as and just is a cool character in general! :)"

"Hopefully Musashi gets the Ieyasu treatment and matures with a viable moveset."

"I'm sorry I'm so sorry I cannot explain why I like Yoshimoto so much I am garbage."

"When Ranmaru gets reintroduced to the games, I'm killing Tsuruhime non-stop for replacing the best archer ever created in a beat 'em up."

"Keiji's my favourite since he manages to be so upbeat and yet so deep at the same time. He has a positive outlook on life and is always willing to see the best in people, but he has a desire to become strong like Hideyoshi does - only he wants to grow strong while protecting everything and sacrificing nothing. You just can't hate him!"

"Mitsuhide/Tenkai is my favourite old character because of his design (I particularly like his fabulous Tenkai clothes), weapons, gameplay, supernaturalness, voice actor. He's terrible but I can't take him seriously (a good thing)."

"Naotora is hilarious in traditional Takeda style with a fresh twist on the concept that made her surpass even golden age Yukimura. Motonari is an eternal asshole, and I love his predictable betrayals every time. Finally, Shikanosuke is just a really great comedic character, encapsulating the best parts of Xavist humor and just general oddball antics between the two of his routes."

"Date Masamune: The epitome of "Stylish Hero Action." Engrish, flashy six-swords style, cool and battle-crazy, what more could you want?

Chousokabe Motochika: Anchor-tossing (Gekirei) is devastating and surfing on an anchor (Dokyu) is just tops! His stages always have that unique feel to it (maybe it's all the karakuri bosses - I really liked the Ni-Oh statues).

Miyamoto Musashi: The legendary master of two-swords style deserves a spot in a game relating to the Sengoku era. Kid needs to grow up though - rock-tossing and flailing around doesn't do Nitenichi-ryu justice (although his damage output is ridiculous).

Azai Nagamasa: The glorious tokusatsu-style that he utilizes is too good! The super-powered versions of his attack with background writing was the best gimmick to give a character of his style! Absolute Justice ftw!

Ashikaga Yoshiteru: The Emperor needs to be playable! I really hated the fact that Capcom showed him in the debut trailer for SB4 and dangled the words "teki bushou" next to his name. Ashikaga really does have a regal presence in the game (I especially love the mix of traditional samurai o-yoroi and European regal flair in his design), and when he's not a complete bastard like the two characters below in this list (he's kind of likeable, when I'm not fighting him). I personally liked Ashikaga more than the new poster boys Sakon and Katsuie. As such, I expect the Emperor to be the main character for the next instalment!

Matsunaga Hisahide: The perfect villain, he's just one magnificent bastard that steals the show in my opinion! Just loved how his entire story in SB3 Utage was just killing off all the poster boys (Nobunaga included since he's the poster boy for Devil Kings). His explosion-styled moveset is absolutely killer, and I especially love defeating a character with his murder-choke Super Art 1 (Chiritsugomori).

Oda Nobunaga: The Demon King is just too good, although I would love to see the return of his cape Basara-waza from past games - the demon summon explosion isn't glorious or crazy enough. Regardless, his seiyuu Wakamoto Norio is enough to place him in my favorites.""

"Kuroda Kanbee: One of my favorites strictly for his personality and his move set. I hate to sound like a fangirl, but Kanbee is adorable. Gotou Matabee: Like Kanbee, I love his attitude, his story and his move set. I thought it was refreshing to bring in a new psychopath whose attacks matched his shattered psyche."

"Next favourite is Nagamasa, because his moveset is so...uh...flashy and Sentai. Very much Sentai! What I don't like about him is how he gets shot in every game (or anime) he is in! Whyyy?! (Well, it's not really his fault, so...)"

Favourite Sengoku Basara 4 newcomer

A simple question for which everyone had to pick just one answer.

Rank	Name	Votes
1st	Shima Sakon	90
2nd	Gotou Matabee	53
3rd	Shibata Katsuie	45
4th	Ii Naotora	40
5th	Ashikaga Yoshiteru	35
6th	Kyougoku Maria	18
7th	Yamanaka Shikanosuke	11
8th	I don't like any of the Sengoku Basara 4 newcomers	10

Matabee actually placed much higher than Sakon in the ranking of favourites, but as soon as the older characters were removed from the running Sakon gained a lot of ground. In addition, Yoshiteru seems to have fared relatively poorly with international fans when compared to the recent Weekly Famitsu voting. Perhaps his popularity will increase once he's made playable in a future game?

Which former NPC(s) should be developed into a full playable character one day?

This question allowed voters to pick as many answers as they wanted.

Rank	Name	Votes
1st	Amago Haruhisa	109
2nd	Naoe Kanetsugu	97
3rd	None, I want them to stay unplayable	70
4th	Utsunomiya Hirotsuna	64
5th	Nanbu Harumasa	52
6th	Anegakouji Yoritsuna	28
7th	Satake Yoshishige	19

Amago Haruhisa dominated this list despite doing so badly in the overall ranking at the start. One person explained that they picked 'None' because they felt the characters aren't that interesting as they are. If they were made playable and given proper stories, their feelings might change. Several people said they wanted all of the NPCs to become full characters one day, whereas others chose their favourites but noted that they didn't have very strong opinions either way.

I also included the option to suggest additional NPCs in case I'd missed anyone important. Three people chose the Miyoshi Sanninshuu (Miyoshi Death Squad) while Oyassan (Shikanosuke's deer) and the Gohonyari each received single nominations.

Which older playable characters should return to the roster next?

In the instructions, I suggested that people only vote for the characters they most wanted to return so that we could see the gaps in popularity most clearly.

Rank	Character	Votes
1st	Kasuga	172
2nd	Uesugi Kenshin	152
3rd	Nouhime	143
4th	Matsu	129
5th	Takeda Shingen	114
6th	Maeda Toshiie	102
7th	Mori Ranmaru	92
8th	Itsuki	90
9th	Miyamoto Musashi	67
10th	Houjou Ujimasa	63
11th	Xavi (Zabii)	60
12th	Imagawa Yoshimoto	21
13th	Honganji Kennyo	17
	I picked my favourites but I really want everyone to return	101
	I want them to spend their time making new characters, not bringing back old ones	19

Since so many people said they wanted everyone to return, here's how the results would have looked if they'd voted for every character instead of their very favourites.

Rank	Character	Votes
1st	Kasuga	210
2nd	Uesugi Kenshin	195
3rd	Nouhime	188
4th	Matsu	183
5th	Takeda Shingen	178
6th	Maeda Toshiie	169
7th	Itsuki	153
8th	Mori Ranmaru	152
9th	Miyamoto Musashi	142
10th	Houjou Ujimasa	134
11th	Xavi (Zabii)	133
12th	Imagawa Yoshimoto	115
13th	Honganji Kennyo	109

The order is almost exactly the same, but the gaps between each character have started to shrink. It's clear that most of the missing characters would be welcomed back if they returned to the roster.

• 29 people voted for all of the female characters in the list. Six of them only voted for the females and didn't want the other characters to come back.
• Four fans couldn't hold back and voted for every single character in the list, even though there was an option to select their favourites too.
• Over 80% of Takeda Shingen fans also wanted Kenshin back, but just 64% of Kasuga fans want Kenshin too.
• The most loyal were the fans of the Maeda couple: 92% of Toshiie's supporters want Matsu back at his side.

There weren't many additional comments on this question, though I certainly see where these two fans are coming from:

"If they were playable in the last game and there are no major changes to the game engine they should be playable in the next game."

"I think they should bring some of the old Sengoku Basara characters back and make new ones at the same time."

It's heartening to see that so many people want everyone back. Hopefully Capcom can keep everyone happy and keep moving forwards without forgetting the old favourites people want to see again.

Which historical figure(s) would you most like to see appearing in the series in future?

I asked people to nominate some newcomers, whether or not they had appeared as NPC bodyguards in the past. Some people skipped the question - it's a tough one to answer if you don't know many Sengoku-era heroes - while others unleashed their imagination with detailed lists (including some guests from foreign countries and different periods in history). A few underdeveloped existing characters and a certain pop star snuck in as well.

I'll treat every single nomination equally since so much thought went into the responses. Where someone nominated a group (e.g. the Sanada Ten Braves) I've counted the vote for the group as a whole and also for the individual members who received nominations from other people.

Name	Votes
Hattori Hanzou	59
Tachibana Ginchiyo	51
Sanada Nobuyuki	31
Date Shigezane	19
Sasaki Kojirou	19
Inahime (Komatsuhime)	16
Saitou Dousan	16
Hosokawa Garasha (Gracia)	13
Ii Naomasa	12
Megohime	10
Ayahime (Aya-Gozen)	9
Katou Kiyomasa	9
Toudou Takatora	8
Yoshihime	8
Kaihime	7
Kirigakure Saizou	7
Nene (as a full character)	7
Uesugi Kagekatsu	7
Ishikawa Goemon	6
Izumo No Okuni	6
Akihime	5
Fukushima Masanori	5
Yagyuu Munenori	5
Chacha (Yodo)	4
Luís Fróis	4
Miyamoto Musashi (as a full character)	4
Sanada Masayuki	4
Ukita Hideie	4
Yagyuu Juubee	4
Asakura Yoshikage	3
Date Terumune	3
Honda Masanobu	3
Miyoshi Nagayoshi (Choukei)	3
Nanahime (Nana)	3
Oniniwa Tsunamoto	3
Saigou No Tsubone (Lady Saigo)	3
Yagyuu Munetoshi	3
Yamamoto Kansuke	3
Ankokuji Ekei	2
Ashikaga Yoshiaki	2
Chousokabe Nobuchika	2
Hosokawa Tadaoki	2
Iisaka No Tsubone (Neko-Gozen)	2
Ishida Masazumi	2
Kakei Juuzou	2
Katou Danzou	2
Keiginni (Ryuuzouji faction)	2
Kuroda Nagamasa	2
Mochizuki Chiyome	2
Nyoshunni (Honganji faction)	2
Ryuuzouji Takanobu	2
Saika Magoichi II (the previous leader)	2
Shimazu Toyohisa	2
Shimazu Yoshihisa	2
Takeda Katsuyori	2
The Sanada Ten Braves	2
Toyotomi Hidetsugu	2
Toyotomi Hideyori	2
A member of the Oouchi clan	1
A member of the Oyama clan	1
Akechi Hidemitsu	1
Alessandro Valignano	1
Amago Tsunehisa	1
Amakusa Shirou	1
Azai Hisamasa	1
Baba Nobufusa	1
Ban Danemon	1
Furuta Shigenari	1
Gamou Ujisato	1
Gou (Oeyo)	1
Gouhime (Maeda faction)	1
Hino Tomiko	1
Honjou Shigenaga	1
Hosokawa Fujitaka	1
Houjou Ujiyasu	1
Irohahime	1
Isono Kazumasa	1
Kakizaki Kageie	1
Kasuga No Tsubone	1
Keijuin (Ashikaga faction)	1
King Ferdinand II of Aragon	1
Kyougoku Tatsuko	1
Minamoto No Yoshitsune	1
Miyoshi Sanninshuu (as full characters)	1
Mori Nagayoshi	1
Nishikawa Takanori (T.M. Revolution)	1
Nishio Nizaemon	1
Niwa Nagahide	1
Oda Hidenobu	1
Oda Nobutada	1
Ohatsu	1
Queen Elizabeth I	1
Queen Isabella I of Castile	1
Saika Magoichi I (the original leader)	1
Saitou Toshimitsu	1
Sakai Tadatsugu	1
Sassa Narimasa	1
Satake Yoshishige (as a full character)	1
Sen No Rikyuu	1
Shimazu Iehisa	1
Shimozuma Rairen	1
Shimozuma Rairyuu	1
Takenaka Shigekado	1
Takuan Souhou	1
The Shinsengumi	1
Tokugawa Hidetada	1
Torii Mototada	1
Uesugi Kagetora	1
Utsunomiya Hirotsuna (as a full character)	1
Wokou pirates	1
Yamagata Masakage	1
Yasuke	1
Yuuki Hideyasu	1

Some people added reasons for their choices!

"Toyotomi Hidetsugu. Though Toyotomi is already the biggest crew, I just want to see him. The interaction between him and his uncle/Kingo/Mitsunari should be very fun."

"Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Hilarity ensues in Xavi's flashbacks. Isabella would be a 15th century Lady Gaga..."

"Ryuuzouji Takanobu, but only as a bear. A clan-leading bear."

"Since Miyamoto Musashi has been in a game, I think Sasaki Kojirou, his greatest rival, should get a playable spot as well. The fact that no one is even sure if he really existed can make for some interesting plot points."

"Saitou Toshimitsu. Psychotic retainer, maybe even more psycho than Mitsuhide?"

"Hattori Hanzou. Cyber ninja."

"Oda Nobutada. Demon Prince."

"Shimozuma Rairyuu could have lots of tea skills."

"I would really like to see Akihime or Megohime (the wives of Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune respectively) as characters although none of them fought historically (but neither did Nouhime, did she?) Otherwise I think Tachibana Ginchiyo might be a great character considering she had a title! And perhaps even Nene."

"Hattori Hanzou: Ieyasu and his 'power of bonds' need some new friends...Plus, a new ninja character is definitely welcome. To differentiate from Koei's version, he probably wouldn't use a kusari-gama as a weapon, although a chained weapon could work since there's barely any in this series.

Yagyuu Munenori: Another Tokugawa add. However, with two characters already using Iai-style movesets and other sword-styles pretty much occupied by existing characters, this may be an impossibility. Maybe Munenori could have some interaction with Musashi if he gets added in again...

Akechi Hidemitsu: I liked Samanosuke from Onimusha, but if he ever gets chosen as a playable character in Basara, I'd expect him to be completely different. In past Honnoji stages, it would be Mitsuhide vs Nobunaga, Nohime, and Ranmaru, which seems a bit one-sided. Mitsuhide needs a buddy, and Kobayakawa doesn't count (he's with Tenkai...). Hidemitsu should be somebody that's not a complete psycho like his uncle, but a dark background would work. Hopefully not as dull as Katsuie though.

Toudou Takatora: The man with seven masters. This in itself should provide a nice background story for him. I would see him like a mercenary-like character, kind of like Kotaro's role in SB2 Heroes. He's known for castle design, so maybe his weapons could be a selection of building tools? Or even a power tool? (we already have dual chainsaws)."

"Tachibana Ginchiyo. It would be fun to see the interaction between Muneshige and Ginchiyo."

"Hattori Hanzou and Tachibana Ginchiyo. It would be great if Ieyasu had someone who was probably the most dangerous ninja in that period as one of the men at his command. As for Ginchiyo, we need to see the woman who Muneshige is so scared of!"

There were also some more general suggestions which I'll list separately:

• Several people wanted to see the cast's children take the stage, whether alongside the regulars or in a future setting.
• One person wanted to see 'older, weirder' females to match the old, weird male characters.
• Another suggested a proper female Xavist, lamenting that Maria was a missed opportunity.
• A few of you want to see more famous historical figures in the Tokugawa forces - it was suggested four times on its own. Some of the popular nominations would certainly satisfy this request.
• Other voters just wanted to see all of the smaller factions getting more love, with additional warriors joining the more neglected armies.
• Three people said they didn't want any more characters adding to the series. It's true that there are still some old favourites who are sorely missed...

While their portrayals in other series certainly seemed to affect the popularity of some individual historical figures, a lot of people thought about how they'd relate to the existing cast and story and looked at more obscure warriors for inspiration. I was impressed by the number of suggestions!

Favourite move in the series

This section took a while to sort out since I had to figure out some of the moves from amusing descriptions, but I think I managed to identify them all successfully! I don't know all of the official English move names, so I've done my best based on the information people wrote.

Name	English name or description	Character	Votes
WAR DANCE	Six Claws	Date Masamune	18
Zanshu	Decapitation	Ishida Mitsunari	14
JUMPING JACK BREAKER	(Anime-only special move)	Date Masamune	8
Kyoukou	Reverence	Ishida Mitsunari	8
Mugetsu Gokusatsu	Moonless Slaughter mode	Katakura Kojuurou	8
Gurenkyaku	Blaze Kick	Sanada Yukimura	7
HELL DRAGON	Dragon's Eye	Date Masamune	7
Zankai	Regret	Ishida Mitsunari	7
Dokyuu	Surfs Up	Chousokabe Motochika	6
PHANTOM DIVE	(Hold square attack)	Date Masamune	5
Ukkutsu	Depression	Ishida Mitsunari	5
Kudakehi No Yume	Painful Dream	Oichi	4
Sekuna Hokoboshi	Comet Races	Ootani Yoshitsugu	4
Anagura Otoshi	Criminal Smasher	Kuroda Kanbee	3
Rekka/Dairekka	Flare Storm	Sanada Yukimura	3
Taishin Banjaku	Hard Head	Tokugawa Ieyasu	3
TESTAMENT	Zero Point	Date Masamune	3
Zanmetsu	Execution	Ishida Mitsunari	3
Chousouzetsu Fukkatsu Fushichou Nari	(His second R2 skill)	Mogami Yoshiaki	2
DEATH FANG	Dragon Slash	Date Masamune	2
Gekirei	Clap Of Thunder	Chousokabe Motochika	2
Gora	(Hold square attack)	Chousokabe Motochika	2
Jigenryuu: Dangan	Lightning Sword	Shimazu Yoshihiro	2
Kaguya	(His third R2 skill)	Katakura Kojuurou	2
Kizuna Ichigan	Allegiance	Tokugawa Ieyasu	2
Koga Genten	Fang Fist	Tokugawa Ieyasu	2
Koi No Kakehiki	Diplomacy Of Love	Maeda Keiji	2
MAGNUM STEP	Revolver Blitz	Date Masamune	2
Mitsugi: Murehotaru	(Her R2 skill)	Kasuga	2
Narukami	(His first R2 skill)	Katakura Kojuurou	2
Shinsoku	(His R2 skill)	Uesugi Kenshin	2
Suikakusuru Rokuma	Slumbering Demon	Oda Nobunaga	2
Tenchi Sousou	(His L1 + triangle skill)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	2
Aoi No Kiwami	Tokugawa Might	Tokugawa Ieyasu	1
Arashi	(His L1 + triangle skill)	Shima Sakon	1
Chimi Naraku	(His third R2 skill)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	1
Chiritsugomori	(His first R2 skill)	Matsunaga Hisahide	1
Chou/Han	(His R1 skill)	Shima Sakon	1
Douse Kono Yo Ha Ittenchiroku	(His third R2 skill)	Shima Sakon	1
Enbu Gouraku	(Hold square attack)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	1
Gouka	(His triangle skill)	Matsunaga Hisahide	1
Goukoku	Lamentation	Ishida Mitsunari	1
Guru Guru Kingo	(His R1 skill)	Kobayakawa Hideaki	1
Haja Shouten	(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	1
Hametsu No Shoudo	Scorched Earth	Oda Nobunaga	1
Hibashiri	Flint Sprint	Sanada Yukimura	1
Hibikemu No Uta	Lifeless Song	Oichi	1
Ifuu Banjou	(His R1 skill)	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	1
Ii-ryuu Konshin: Kuchinashi	(Her third R2 skill)	Ii Naotora	1
Ikare, Goroumaru!	(Her R2 skill)	Matsu	1
JET-X	X-Strike	Date Masamune	1
Jigenryuu: Raijin	(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)	Shimazu Yoshihiro	1
Kaenguruma	(A pre-Sengoku Basara 4 move)	Sanada Yukimura	1
Kagemoguri No Jutsu	(His triangle skill)	Sarutobi Sasuke	1
Kageoi No Jutsu	(His direction + triangle skill)	Sarutobi Sasuke	1
Kinjite: Baku	Trap	Mouri Motonari	1
Koen	Tiger Cannon	Sanada Yukimura	1
Yumegokochi	(His first R2 skill; the old version)	Maeda Keiji	1
Konshin Ichigeki	(Hold square attack)	Tokugawa Ieyasu	1
Mitsugi: Byakuya	(Her hold square)	Kasuga	1
Mitsugi: Mikagami	(Her L1 + triangle skill)	Kasuga	1
Mitsugi: Yamikeshi	(Her R1 skill)	Kasuga	1
Mugon: Sokusatsu	(His first R2 skill)	Azai Nagamasa	1
Muryoku No Soutai	(His R1 skill)	Shibata Katsuie	1
Nanairo Harebutai	(Dancing at the enemy with the fan)	Imagawa Yoshimoto	1
Nekketsu Daifunka	Fired Up	Sanada Yukimura	1
Nozokene No Umi	Ocean Wisps	Oichi	1
Odore Shikabane No Ude	Dancing Dead	Oichi	1
Oo, Todoke Kono Yorokobi	(His second R2 skill)	Ootomo Sourin	1
Orochi No Kou	(Her gatling gun move)	Nouhime	1
Rendan Sankouchou	Machine Gun	Saika Magoichi	1
Saa, Saitan No Toki	(His triangle skill)	Ootomo Sourin	1
Seigi: Sanshou	(His third R2 skill)	Azai Nagamasa	1
Sen	Shuriken	Fuuma Kotarou	1
Shiden	(His bouncing arrow attack)	Mori Ranmaru	1
Shouheki Shinku	(His cape attack)	Oda Nobunaga	1
Tendouzuki	Providence Punch	Tokugawa Ieyasu	1
Tobi	Rigging Swinging	Chousokabe Motochika	1
Tsui	Izuna	Fuuma Kotarou	1
Tsui No Te: Shou	Ray	Mouri Motonari	1
Tsukameko No Tsuki	Hollow Moon	Oichi	1
Utsusemi No Jutsu	(His second R2 skill)	Sarutobi Sasuke	1
Wazawai Tenjite	Rolling Attack	Kuroda Kanbee	1
Yaku Ha Michizure	Bad Bomb	Kuroda Kanbee	1
Zannen Munen Koukaisaki Ni Tatsu No Kei	(His first R2 skill)	Gotou Matabee	1
Zetsubou No Chouten	(His second R2 skill)	Shibata Katsuie	1

Some people tried to be cheeky and suggested more than one move. I only counted the first, but here are some bonus tidbits:

• Two people voted for the game's taunts, rather than moves in the traditional sense. Another fan specifically voted for Kojuurou's taunt during Mugetsu Gokusatsu mode.
• Three people couldn't decide, and wanted to vote for Mitsunari's entire moveset.
• Matabee, Muneshige and Magoichi also received votes for their entire movesets. Mitsuhide had one for any move involving hitting people with scythes.
• Two people voted for the new Giga Basara attacks.
• Tsuruhime, Yukimura, Nobunaga and Mitsunari each received individual votes for their Basara techniques.
• I excluded them on a technicality (and to reduce the size of the list), but Kenshin's Shin-Iki/God Region, Kotarou's double-jump and Mitsunari's Setsuna mechanics also received individual votes.
• All of the moves which ranked in the last poll in Sengoku Basara Magazine were nominated here as well.
• Less than half of the voters chose a move which belonged to their favourite character.

As a bonus, here's a summary of which characters' moves were most popular when they were all combined.

Rank	Character	Votes
1st	Date Masamune	46
2nd	Ishida Mitsunari	38
3rd	Sanada Yukimura	14
4th	Katakura Kojuurou	12
5th	Chousokabe Motochika	11
6th	Tokugawa Ieyasu	10
7th	Oichi	8
8th	Toyotomi Hideyoshi	6
9th	Kasuga	5
9th	Kuroda Kanbee	5
11th	Oda Nobunaga	4
11th	Ootani Yoshitsugu	4
13th	Maeda Keiji	3
13th	Sarutobi Sasuke	3
13th	Shima Sakon	3
13th	Shimazu Yoshihiro	3
17th	Azai Nagamasa	2
17th	Fuuma Kotarou	2
17th	Matsunaga Hisahide	2
17th	Mogami Yoshiaki	2
17th	Mouri Motonari	2
17th	Ootomo Sourin	2
17th	Shibata Katsuie	2
17th	Uesugi Kenshin	2
25th	Gotou Matabee	1
25th	Ii Naotora	1
25th	Imagawa Yoshimoto	1
25th	Kobayakawa Hideaki	1
25th	Matsu	1
25th	Mori Ranmaru	1
25th	Nouhime	1
25th	Saika Magoichi	1

I was certain that Mitsunari would triumph from the number of times I saw his moves coming up when I was tidying the list...

Favourite song in the series

A difficult question for a series with so many fantastic theme songs and BGM tracks.

Rank	Song	Votes
1st	Naked arms	18
1st	UTAGE	18
3rd	JAP	11
4th	Nemure Hi No Hana (Sleep, Scarlet Flower)	10
4th	Shibata Katsuie's theme	10
6th	Tokugawa Ieyasu's theme	8
7th	BLAZE ~Crimson Lotus~	6
7th	Date Masamune's theme	6
7th	FLAGS	6
10th	Azai Nagamasa's theme	5
10th	Ishida Mitsunari's theme	5
10th	Kizuna (Bonds)	5
13th	Gotou Matabee's theme	4
13th	Matsunaga Hisahide's theme	4
13th	Naked arms -English ver.-	4
13th	SWORD SUMMIT	4
13th	Takenaka Hanbee's theme	4
13th	The party must go on	4
13th	Tsuruhime's theme	4
20th	Battle of Sekigahara: Intrusion	3
20th	BLAZE [ZERO-TWO Ver.]	3
20th	Count ZERO	3
20th	Gyakkou	3
20th	Oosaka: Fuyu No Jin (Winter Campaign Of Osaka)	3
20th	Oosaka: Natsu No Jin (Summer Campaign Of Osaka)	3
20th	Runners high	3
20th	Shima Sakon's theme	3
20th	Tenka Touitsu (Unification Of The Land)	3
29th	Ashikaga Yoshiteru's theme	2
29th	Brave	2
29th	Choubi No Yuu (The Last Hero)	2
29th	crosswise	2
29th	der Traum deines Lebens	2
29th	Fuuma Kotarou's theme	2
29th	Ii Naotora's theme	2
29th	Kakitsubata No Yukigesshou (Snow Blanketing The Rabbitear Iris)	2
29th	Kanegasaki Suimusen (Kanegasaki Dream Battle)	2
29th	Kasuga's theme	2
29th	Kyougoku Maria's theme	2
29th	Sarutobi Sasuke's theme	2
29th	Ten Yori Furu Ma (Oichi's theme)	2
29th	Tentei	2
29th	The Abyss	2
29th	Uesugi Kenshin's theme	2
45th	Battle of Itsukushima	1
45th	Battle of Sekigahara: Eastern Sun	1
45th	BLADE CHORD	1
45th	Break & Peace	1
45th	Chousokabe Motochika's theme	1
45th	Dairokuten Maou	1
45th	Dairokuten Maou Fukkatsu (The Sixth Demon King Revives)	1
45th	Dead Heat	1
45th	DIVE into YOURSELF	1
45th	Gekishin (Megathrust)	1
45th	Heaven's Door	1
45th	Houjou Ujimasa's theme	1
45th	Imagawa Yoshimoto's theme	1
45th	Kaga: Maeda Kabuki-Matsuri - Dance	1
45th	Kaga: Maeda Kabuki-Matsuri - War	1
45th	Kobayakawa Hideaki's theme	1
45th	Kochou No Yume	1
45th	Koutekishu (Worthy Opponent)	1
45th	Kyou No Miyako, Makaritooru ('The Way Out')	1
45th	Maeda Keiji's theme	1
45th	Maoh <Final Ver.>	1
45th	Migime No Chikai (Oath Of The Right Eye)	1
45th	Migime No Ketsui (Determination Of The Right Eye)	1
45th	Mirai Wo Toshite (Bet The Future)	1
45th	Ootani Yoshitsugu's theme	1
45th	Oushuu Souryuusen (Dragon Race At Oushuu)	1
45th	Outtake II-04	1
45th	Rakurui	1
45th	Remains Of Ounin	1
45th	Sanada Yukimura's theme	1
45th	Sengoku BASARA ver.4	1
45th	Sengoku Dream Chance!	1
45th	Souku: Juurinsen (Azure-Crimson Suppressing Battle)	1
45th	Sousha Rengeki (Nouhime/Ranmaru's theme)	1
45th	Takeda Otoko Doujou	1
45th	Tango: Sengenji	1
45th	Tenha Zessou	1
45th	Tenka Touitsu (piano version)	1
45th	The Dawn	1
45th	ThunderBolt	1
45th	Toyotomi Hideyoshi's theme	1
45th	Unmei No Senban (Lathe Of Fate)	1
45th	WE aRE	1
45th	Wild War Dance	1
45th	Yamanaka Shikanosuke's theme	1
45th	Yamazaki Tsuitousen (Yamazaki Punitive Battle)	1
45th	Yuujou Fukkatsu (Friendship Revives)	1
45th	ZipangU	1

I've only ranked the first answers as I assumed people wanted to see this results post sooner rather than later; several people refused to pick just one song with five saying they liked all of the music, three wanting to vote for every T.M.Revolution theme song in the series and one person wanting to vote for all of the opening songs.

How did you first get interested in the Sengoku Basara series?

Another mandatory question because I thought this might be quite eye-opening. For simplicity I've combined all of the recommendations into 'Through a friend', which wasn't an option on the original survey. So if you said that a friend or partner introduced you to the series, that's where your vote went.

Rank	Reason	Votes
1st	I watched the anime adaptation	95
2nd	I played Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes	77
3rd	I played Devil Kings	41
4th	I was interested since the very first game	22
5th	I played one of the later Japanese games	20
6th	Other	18
7th	Doujinshi, fan art, cosplay or other fan works	15
8th	Through a friend	9
9th	I read an official manga adaptation or novel	3
10th	I heard about the Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays	2

The 'Other' option ranks quite highly this time. Several people said they had an interest in samurai or Sengoku-era history and that ended up attracting them to the series - one person was specifically curious about depictions of Tokugawa Ieyasu (how interesting!). I've combined trailers with the figures for their respective games, but several voters mentioned that watching a trailer was a turning point for them.

Completely unique answers included getting into the series through a seiyuu connection (Nakai Kazuya), a music connection (anime composer Sawano Hiroyuki), getting interested after a parody scene in Gintama, watching Miku Miku Dance videos, watching a Game Grumps demonstration video and joining a Sengoku Basara cosplay group through a friend. Two people were attracted by Date Masamune's design, one was fascinated by Oichi's dark powers/gameplay and two more became curious after seeing the character designs in general.

Other games had an effect as well...

"I thought it was a Samurai Warriors rip-off, LOL!"

"I got interested in the series because a friend told me about 'this awesome game where you play as Japanese warlords'. I looked for info on the net and found Sengoku Basara. I was intrigued by the stylish character designs and to this day, the excellent character design is one of the reasons I like this series so much. Funnily enough, it turned out that my friend was actually talking about Sengoku Musou and not Basara!"

"Pokemon Conquest...wrong company, but yeah."

A few bonus comments:

"Backpacking in Japan... then museums and souvenir shops just did their jobs..."

"I read the game information from a video game magazine and the Koei Warriors site."

"I saw the intro to Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes and after I stopped laughing, I knew I had to find out more about the series."

The official translated games really had a big impact, as did the anime series. It's sad that the recent games haven't had any kind of localisation.

• One person said they played Devil Kings first and chose that for the answer, but because the localisation was so poor it wasn't until the anime came out that they became a fan.
• Another person said the same thing; it took Sengoku Basara 3 to get them interested after Devil Kings turned them off.
• Another person said they were familiar with Devil Kings from their older brother but picked a later game as that's when they personally got into it. The siblings still both share a love for the series.
• 95% of the voters who started out with the anime picked one of the characters from the anime adaptation as their favourite. 51% of the Devil Kings fans and 68% of those who started with the first Sengoku Basara chose someone from the original roster.

Which aspects of the Sengoku Basara universe interest you most?

Participants could pick as many of the options as they wanted for this question.

Interest	Votes
Games	275
Anime	216
Music	146
Fan art	142
Merchandise	112
Manga based on the original series (includes anthologies)	110
Manga spin-offs (e.g. Gakuen Basara)	109
Cosplay	85
Doujinshi or doujin games	83
Fan fiction	74
Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays	46
Live action television series	36
Audio dramas	31
Events	30
Novels	29
Radio shows	23
Takarazuka musical	17

And the usual bonus statistics...

• Voters had an average of five interests each (the median was four).
• Five people skipped the question entirely.
• Ten people selected every interest in the list.
• The 47 fans who only listed one interest chose the Butai Sengoku Basara stage plays (1), cosplay (1), the anime series (7) and the game series (38).

Not many people chose 'Other', but those who did said they liked the super-deformed anime shorts (rather than the anime series itself), the historical content and the various promotional campaigns the series runs.

Which country are you from?

An optional question, but one which interested me as I already know from my blog's visitor stats that this community extends right across the globe. Since the survey was written in English it's natural that many of the participants were English-speakers, so there's always going to be a bias in the results. I wish I had the connections and language skills to write a truly international survey.

Country	Votes
USA	97
Russia	22
UK	21
Canada	17
Germany	15
Finland	10
Australia	8
Indonesia	8
Malaysia	8
Spain	7
France	5
Italy	5
Ukraine	5
Poland	4
Mexico	3
Saudi Arabia	3
Thailand	3
Argentina	2
Brazil	2
Costa Rica	2
Kuwait	2
Philippines	2
Portugal	2
Serbia	2
Singapore	2
Sweden	2
Bulgaria	1
Chile	1
Hong Kong	1
Iceland	1
Kazakhstan	1
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	1
Paraguay	1
Puerto Rico	1
United Arab Emirates	1
Unknown	33

The most surprising part of this was that there wasn't a single vote from Japanese fans (unless there are some in the Unknown category) since I know several visit my blog. I wasn't planning on excluding Japanese votes since many of us still vote in Japanese polls from overseas and there are a number of foreign fans living over there.

How old are you?

This was just a simple question to satisfy my curiosity about the breakdown of the community outside Japan. Though it was optional as some people aren't comfortable sharing personal information online, most people answered anyway.

Range	Votes	Percentage
12-20 years old	115	38.08%
21-30 years old	154	50.99%
31-40 years old	16	5.30%
41 or older	1	0.33%
Unknown	16	5.30%

With this being an older series approaching its tenth anniversary - and being relatively difficult to get into overseas - it's probably not surprising that a number of us are on the older side (there was an option for even younger people too which nobody picked).

I hope that I'll still love Sengoku Basara when I join that solitary fan in the highest bracket. It's getting closer every day...

Other comments

Wow, there were some very long messages left in this part of the form!

Most of the information was intended to elaborate on the previous answers, so I've already incorporated it in the explanations above. Here are some other thoughts which people contributed.

• 23 people said that Sengoku Basara was their very favourite game series. Many more said that they were huge fans.
• Several people were worried about the level of their addiction (I can relate to that...).
• Three people suggested that there should be an official otome game/dating sim to cater for the female fanbase.
• Three others want to see more attention given to the women of the Sengoku Basara series.
• Two people wanted Capcom to try commissioning another fighting game, perhaps with a different developer such as 8ing or as an enhancement to the in-game duel modes.
• I didn't mention the dub or voice actors anywhere in the survey, but four people specifically praised the English dub in their comments.
• Three people confessed to never having played the original games, even though they hope to soon.
• 24 people said they were disappointed that so little of the series is available in English or in their home country.
• Most of them said they had imported Sengoku Basara products anyway, in spite of the language barrier.
• Three people said they were skipping Sengoku Basara 4 and waiting for an expansion...then someone else said they were waiting for an expansion because they'd loved Sengoku Basara 4 so much!
• Hopes for the expansion include more storylines for the supporting characters, longer story modes and the return of some of the classic Sengoku Basara 2 costumes, whether as part of the game or as DLC.
• One fan said that artist Tsuchibayashi Makoto needs to return as the series' character designer.
• Someone suggested that Capcom should commission scaled PVC models for the characters (they nominated Magoichi).
• Various people confessed to having strong biases for Hisahide, Keiji, Masamune, Yukimura and Masamune/Yukimura.
• Several people can't stand Katsuie and Hideaki. Aww, I like them both...
• Magoichi's effect on Keiji's characterisation upset some of his fans.
• Two people don't like Tsuruhime because she makes Kotarou seem less cool.
• Several of the Sengoku Basara 3 storylines really polarised opinions, it seems! The changes to the established character dynamics from Sengoku Basara 2 weren't always well received.
• Some people dislike Ieyasu and Mitsunari as lead characters, but other people said they like the two of them and want to see more stories about their doomed relationship.
• Hisahide and Mitsuhide were both separately accused of being good villains. They cause so much misery that people love to hate them.
• Four of you think that the distinctive characters are the biggest charm of the series. I agree!
• Countless people accused me of cruelty for making them rank their favourite characters, songs or moves.
• Three people are really looking forward to the new Sengoku Basara: Judge End anime!
• One respondent wanted to give any other Scandinavian fans taking the survey a high five.
• Number of moving comments which brought a tear to this blogger's eye: 5
• Funniest comment: "THIS POLL WAS HARDER THAN MY LAW EXAMS".
• Number of people who confessed to being Xavists: 3
• Number of people who used the 'Other comments' box as an excuse to shout one of their favourite character's battle cries: 12

There were also some general comments about the survey itself; four people were interested to find out how other non-Japanese fans would vote. One person rightly noted that the 'favourite' rankings don't indicate a character's true popularity since some are underrated, some don't appear in the most well-known series and often people can have more than one favourite.

--

I hope this post was interesting. If you didn't manage to participate in the survey you can still share your thoughts with other fans in the comments (or elsewhere). Since I'm going to post a follow-up about the scenes people liked, if there are any weird statistics you'd like to know from the data I have, please let me know and I'll do my best.

Thank you for reading!