Just after the turn of the century, and with the Demon Wars at an end, the industrial revolution ushers Tokyo into an era bustling with activity. However, the nation's leaders, Mr. Yoneda and Mr. Hanakoji, fear that the wars have not entirely ended. To protect the revitalized capital they decide to develop a special defense program by rounding up young women with special "spirit" power and equipping them with the Kanzaki Industries' newly developed spirit armor - the Oobu. Somehow the Oobu connects with the girls' innate spirit, thereby creating a power that manifests each girl's individual strengths and talents. As the girls initially assemble to form the "Flower Division" defense team, their personalities clash. But the girls know that regardless of their extraordinary gifts, they must learn to work together in order to meet the responsibility of defending the city against demons.

The Flower Division officially becomes the Imperial Floral Assault Unit, replete with new Headquarters and a new training schedule designed to mold its members into the best and finest of soldiers. What better way to train these women than to make them learn to dance and act in local theatrical productions? So the unit starts a strict regiment of sword craft and pirouettes.

Meanwhile Sakura, originally thought of by her family as too inexperienced to join the Floral Assault Unit, devotes her waking hours to the mastery of the Northern Longblade sword style to prove her readiness. Sakura finally overcomes inner demons and skillfully performs the Northern Longblade Cherry Blossom Attack, thereby getting leave from her family to finally enroll in the Floral Assault Unit. Not surprisingly, the secret to this mastery applies to the lessons learned throughout the episode by the other girls: good and evil do not make up strength; it is the guidance of strength that will create good or evil results.

Swarms of mechanized monsters and demons signal Tokyo's descent into a war zone, mounting pressure on the Floral Assault Unit to live up to their hype. Sakura arrives in the capital and joins the team, but she continuously makes mistakes in both the test operation of the Oobu and her everyday theater chores.

The enemy leaves little time for team preparation, however, and quickly attacks the city. In response, the girls, unable to reach past their differences, break formation and storm towards enemy lines without cohesion. Sakura, afraid of yet another failure, remains on the outskirts of the battle. But realizing the eminent defeat of the Floral Assault Unit, the insecure warrior leaps into action and learns, in the process, to embrace her inner strength. Sakura's newfound self-esteem galvanizes the girls into working together and gives them the extra push needed to successfully defeat the enemy.

After the battle, the girls in the Floral Assault Unit recognize the necessity of working together to protect the city from demons. The government brings in a new male commander to harmonize their special talents instead of leaving them to cowboy around in battle. The first victory remains a superficial success, and the young warriors realize that only teamwork will truly defeat the enemy.

All members of the Floral Unit have now united (Kanna has returned from avenging her father's death and Korahn has finished inventing weaponry). So, Ohgami, their new male commander, decides to produce and direct the Floral Unit in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to bring cohesion to the unit and spread hope to the people of Tokyo.

Unfortunately, demons choose to attack the city on opening night. Ohgami believes that the show must go on, so, without notifying his unit, the committed director selflessly goes to fight them alone. The Unit finds out and bands together under Ohgami's leadership to defeat the enemy.

Apparently paralleling what writer Hiroyuki Kawasaki feels to be the main theme of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Ohgami and the girls of the Floral Assault Unit discover that following dreams will naturally engage support from others. The Floral Assault Unit follows their dreams by facing and defeating the enemy in time to continue their performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The people of Tokyo show their support for the Unit by waiting around to see the late performance. The message in this episode reveals that following a dream involves displaying truth of character, and that such honesty will demand the respect and support of others.

The overall message in "Sakura Wars" clearly promotes unifying separate spheres to create a powerful whole. The most notable method writer Hiroyuki Kawasaki employs to actualize this theme involves intertwining battle scenes with lighthearted episodes of the girls engaging in theatrical endeavors, leaving the distinctly contrived feeling that this anime attempts to appeal to two different types of audiences at once. As a result, a hokey quality sure to amuse on the grounds of blatant irrationality emerges.

Picture average, everyday citizens residing in Tokyo during the 1920s, just trying to make their way through life - buying food for mealtimes, marveling at the new inventions birthed from the industrial revolution and, hopefully, avoiding any demons that may scurry through town. Though the Demon Wars have apparently ended, threats of a new assault hang in the air. Now, in this state of fearful uncertainty, such citizens would gladly accept any form of defense the government mobilized. But developing an assault unit bearing the nome de guerre "The Imperial Floral Assault Unit," and having that unit's members simultaneously working as high profile actresses, might give cautiously skeptical citizens doubts about their government's effectiveness.

However, Kawasaki's "average citizens" rise above petty thoughts about the defense team, ignoring the fact that adding the word "Floral" to the unit's title insinuates a certain lack of force. These noble citizens similarly do not take as an affront that their safety lies in the hands of girls who train not by practicing battle techniques, but by performing on stage. For viewers to become engaged in the story, they must accept, like the Tokyo citizens, that the girls from the Floral Assault Unit know their stuff, not unlike the industrious crime fighters in "Charlie's Angels."

Writers often depict closeness between group members by having them work together toward a common goal, often unrelated to the crux of the story. But the unintentionally comedic combination of the two story arcs (the travails of performing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and battling demons) does not allow for the believable development or integration of either. And, as an ironic result, "Sakura Wars" does not achieve its own unified whole.

But ultimately the protagonists' lack of credibility doesn't matter, since the morale of these estimable citizens of Tokyo in the 1920s continues to remain high, thanks to the valiant efforts of the Imperial Floral Assault Unit both on stage and in battle. Bravo! Good job? Well, it's not excruciating, and the animation is pretty.