1. What is your name and which server is your citadel in?
Murasaki (紫), Houki no Kuni
2. When did you start serving as a saniwa? Please display your battle records.
14th of July, 2017. Currently at level 108, woo-hoo!
3. Which starter sword did you pick? What is he doing now?
Kashuu Kiyomitsu. He hit 99 a while ago and has been in semi-retirement and/or long expeditions. Awaiting his kiwame, which will come… anytime… now….
4. Who is the first among your swords to reach the maximum level? What do you think of him?
Horikawa. I love him! He was also the first sword I sent for kiwame training. I’m always very appreciative when fandom depicts Kunihiro brothers interacting with each other happily. I also adore his partnership with Kane-san and his camaraderie with the rest of the Shinsengumi.
5. Who do you have in each of your squads, and how do you use them? If you haven’t unlocked all four teams yet, briefly describe how you plan to organize them.
Team 1 – swords I want to grind, primarily a full kiwame team with a maxed out ootachi. Currently it’s Gokotai, Honebami, Namazuo, Horikawa, Izuminokami and Tarou. Before that I was grinding 6-2 for Akashi, so I had a full tantou team.
Team 2 – Long expedition team, led by Iwatooshi with interchangeable swords.
Team 3 – Long expedition team, led by either Otegine or Tonbokiri with interchangeable swords.
Team 4 – Long expedition team and PVP team. Mikazuki, Ichigo, and all the ootachis.
6. Without considering the performance of the swords, which type of sword do you prefer?
The tantous. They are like my children. I love them all.
7. Next, we come to the usual questions. List the swords that you like and your thoughts on them.
Love all the tantous. Yes, that includes Mouri, even though he never came home.
Yamanbagiri is my favourite starter sword, and I would dearly love for him to gain some confidence when his kiwame rolls around.
I also adore Micchan and how he’s the glue that binds the Dategumi together. Best domestic husbando.
Honebami and Namazuo also make the top ten of my favourite swords! Post-kiwame Honebami is so sweet and Namazuo needs more love (also, drool over high ponytail).
Mikazuki, startlingly enough, was my first tachi and why I started playing Touken Ranbu. For that, he’ll always have a special place in my heart. I also love Tsurumaru because he’s such a prankster. (Such a regal crane until he opens his mouth. Then he’s an adorable manchild).
8. Are there any pairings that you like? If there, please list them. (No limit on type.)
I ship everyone/everyone, romantic or otherwise! My particular favourites that I always go back to are MikaTsuru, IchiTsuru and KaneHori. Recently pixiv has converted me to Ookanehira/Uguisumaru and Oodenta/Maeda, so… oops?
9. Is your citadel an employee-friendly citadel or a black-hearted citadel that works your swords to the bone?
Something in between? My expeditions are run back to back, but I change my team composition often to rotate the swords. I also take breaks in between sorties due to IRL responsibilities unless it’s an event (Kotegiri truly screwed me over). I’ve never broken a sword, everyone gets repaired immediately, and everyone I sent out is armed to the teeth with gold troops and horses, but I’ve scrapped many extras.
10. Have you ever done anything weird to your swords?
What constitutes weird though?
11. Have you ever broken a sword? What happened, and who did you break?
I’d die before breaking a sword. Nothing is worth that.
12. Who loses troops the most in your citadel? And who is the most skilled at making troops?
Higekiri, unfortunately. My fault, for sending him to grind with an all kiwame team when he was still level 30-ish. So many gold troops lost sweat.
Gokotai has always given me a minimum of three gold troops, so I’d say him and Yagen, probably.
13. Another common question: have you ever done something with all of your might in order to get a particular sword? Please describe what you did and the results.
Forever grinding 6-2 to get Akashi, to the point where I maxed out five tantous. Now all the tantous above 60 get sent there to train, and to maybe drag the lazy asshole home someday.
14. Are you superstitious? (www)
Not really. The swords come home when they want to, so I can’t really do anything about that.
15. What made you join the TKRB fandom in the beginning? How about now?
Like many people, I was seduced by Mikazuki Munechika. Face of the game, my favourite jiji. I’ve dragged a few friends over the same way; it’s always nice to have a community to chat with.
16. What do you think of the current maps? (For example: which map is good for training/grinding, which maps do you get lost in the most, which map do you want to burn?)
I use map 5-4 a lot to train the kiwame swords, primarily because it gives the most EXP without risking much damage, and 6-2 is my to-go for grinding tantous. Haven’t cleared all of map 7 yet, but I will say this: FUCK 7-1.
17. Are there any game systems or improvements that you hope DMM will implement?
Please give us grown up versions of the tantous someday so I can stop feeling guilty about wanting to have Yagen as my husbando.
18. If DMM cooperates on an event with another game/anime/etc., what would you like to see?
Touken Ranbu x Shokugeki no Soma because for the lulz. Also, I love food. I want a full length, 24-episode anime arc dedicated to the saniwa winning over their swords with the power of delicious food.
19. Have you spent money playing TKRB? If so, how much? If not, do you plan to?
I’ve spent money to unlock more sword and troop slots. I’ll probably spend a little more in the future on an extra repair room and more space for new swords.
20. Is there any merchandise that you would like to buy or see?
TKRB-themed clothes! I would love a long winter coat similar to Tsurumaru’s cloak, or a dress with Mikazuki’s theme.
21. Have you done any fanwork (fanfiction, fanart, etc.)? If so, what?
Nada. IRL doesn’t give me enough time, though I would love to write a 100k novel about my love for TKRB.
22. What do you think you are like as a saniwa?
I’d say I’m fairly easygoing! Like the Hanamaru saniwa, I try to spoil my swords as much as possible. I’m overly attached to the adorable little ones (would love to pat them and give them sweets), but I also like to tease some of the older swords - Hizamaru is adorable to poke at, as is Yamanbagiri. This saniwa would also like it if everyone get along; looking at you, Kara-chan.
23. If the government asked you to choose a sword to kill yourself with in terms of emergency, who would you pick?
First of all, no. Second off, really? Sigh. If really pressed, maybe Ookurikara, since he’s fairly indifferent?
24. The government has asked you to write a report: how would you describe the situation in your citadel?
Everything is going as well as possible. A little more internal control needed, perhaps.
25. What do you think of the Retrograding Army?
They need more characterization.
26. Lastly, please say something about TKRB from the bottom of your heart!
My thanks to DMM for creating such a wonderful world for us saniwas to cry over! I’ve really gain an appreciation for the depth of research that went into making TKRB, and I love how IRL people are taking advantage of that so we can all know a little more about how these swords came to be.