Samurai Warriors: Legend of the Sanada

"Samurai Warriors: Legend of the Sanada" (Sengoku Musou SP: Sanada no Shou) is an animated special created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the "Samurai Warriors" series and marks the first animated production of the franchise. Serving as a prequel to the "Samurai Warriors" series, this special reuses music and voice actors from "Samurai Warriors 4." Produced by TYO Animations, the screenplay was written by Yuka Yamada, and animated character designs were done by Aki Tsunaki. It first aired on TV Tokyo on March 21, 2014. The story focuses on the Sanada brothers during their youth and their efforts to protect the Sanada clan. Amidst the warring states period, Yukimura Sanada decides to go to the Uesugi clan as a political hostage, aiming to secure an alliance that would protect their family from rear attacks. Meanwhile, his older brother, Nobuyuki Sanada, has to handle unreasonable demands from the Tokugawa clan while safeguarding their territory. The narrative roughly portrays the events leading up to the first Siege of Ueda Castle, including the brothers' sense of responsibility for their family and their internal struggles when facing different choices. The audience also sees the friendship between the young Sanada brothers and their different choices for the future of the family.