Rail Wars!


Rail Wars! is a Japanese light novel series written by Takumi Toyoda with illustrations by Vania 600. 13 volumes have been published by Sohgeisha under their Sohgeisha Clear Bunko imprint; the series moved to Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha starting with the 14th volume; the 20th and last volume of the original series was published in December 2020.
A side story book with an added character was first published on November 8, 2021. There is a new series with a different main character and a new illustrator, first printed in March 2021. The second new volume came out on January 20, 2022.
A manga adaptation titled Rail Wars! Nihon Kokuyū Tetsudō Kōantai The Revolver was serialized in Mag Garden's Blade Online from 2012 to 2015. An anime television series adaptation aired between July and September 2014.

Plot

The series takes place in an alternate version of Japan where the nationalized railway system was never privatized. Naoto Takayama is an ordinary high school student who aspires to a comfortable life working on the Japanese National Railways. He ends up working as a security force trainee, where he unwillingly has to deal with his strange colleagues as well as RJ, a group of extremists who are fighting to privatize the railway.

Characters

;Naoto Takayama
;Aoi Sakurai
;Haruka Kōmi
;Shō Iwaizumi
;Nana Iida
;Mari Sasshō
;Hitomi Gonō
;Noa Kashima

Media

Light novels

Rail Wars! began as a light novel series written by Takumi Toyoda, with illustrations by Vania 600. The first novel was published by Sohgeisha on January 16, 2012, under their Sohgeisha Clear Bunko imprint, and the last volume 20 of the original series was released on December 14, 2020.

New Light novels

Another series, titled Rail Wars! A, introducing the main character of Daisuke Sakai was published in March 2021. The illustrator for this series is Daito. The second volume came out on January 20, 2022.

Light novel - side story

A side story book called Exp Keishi ☆ Tropical Front! was published in early November 2021 and introduced the character of Yasushi Yasukuni. It takes place at the same time as the main series and is located on the Sagami Bay coast of Izu at Atami. The second side story was published in July 2022 and has to do with an AI discovered on a laptop in the Tokyo station lost and found.

Manga

A manga adaptation, titled Rail Wars! Nihon Kokuyū Tetsudō Kōantai The Revolver and illustrated by Keiji Asakawa, began serialization in Mag Garden's Blade Online magazine on 2012.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation animated by Passione aired on TBS from July 3, 2014, to September 19, 2014. The opening theme is titled "Mukai Kaze ni Utarenagara" and is sung by Minori Chihara. The ending theme is titled OVERDRIVER and is sung by ZAQ. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
No.TitleOriginal airdate

Video game

An adventure game developed by 5pb. for the PlayStation Vita was announced that was originally due for a November 27, 2014 release, until it was delayed.
On January 28, 2016, 5pb. and Mages. Inc. announced that the PlayStation Vita game was cancelled due to the game's development falling behind schedule and other "various circumstances".

Reception

Jacob Chapman from Anime News Network heavily panned Rail Wars! for being "pure fantasy and not even exciting fantasy" with its alternate version of the Japanese National Railway system, "fanatical infatuation" with Japanese train history and embarrassing fanservice innovation, calling it "a show fueled by uninteresting trivia, buffeted by desperate attempts at sex appeal and action-movie excitement on a shoe-string budget." By the series' end, he concluded that: "If you're a train and fanservice aficionado and have missed the ride so far, you might as well check it out now before it's completely forgotten by the world."