Rail Wars!

The main cast. Clockwise from the bottom: Takayama, Koumi, Iwaizumi, and Sakurai.

In a World where the Japanese passenger railway system was never privatized, Naoto Takayama is accepted to the Japanese National Railways on-the-job training ("OJT") program. He hopes this is the first step toward him becoming a train operator... but he's assigned to security squad K-4.[1]. Hilarity Ensues, as does Fan Service and Drama.

Based on a light novel series by Takumi Toyoda,[2] Rail Wars! is a twelve-episode anime series that was aired in 2014.

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Non-Spoiler Tropes used in Rail Wars! include:
  • Artifact Title: The light novels are about armed conflict between the Japanese National Railways and terrorists who want to see the system privatized. The anime ignores that after episode 5.
  • Action Girl: Sakurai is the daughter of a police officer, who taught her how to shoot and how to defuse bombs.
  • Beach Episode: Episode 4, complete with the girls being assigned Fan Service swimsuits by Iida so that they can serve as distractions while their male teammates carry out a security sweep.
  • Big Breasts, Big Deal: Of the women in squad K-4, Sakurai is smallest and is still able to fill a bikini top; Iida has a noticeably-large chest (and seems indifferent to it), and Koumi has very-large ones (which occasionally leads to embarrassment on her part). Averted with Sasshou, who does not make any comments about her smaller-but-still-noticeable bust size.
  • Chekhov's Gun: One appears in episode 2, during lunch. It's used to solve a Wire Dilemma.
  • Clothing Damage: More that a few examples, but Episode 6 is egregious - Koumi starts the episode wearing a pretty school uniform, and ends it wearing only shoes, socks, and panties because everything else has been torn away, not all at once.
  • Cowboy Cop: Sakurai. Downplayed, but she's in a setting where any sign of nonconformity is a big deal.
  • A Day in the Limelight:
    • Iida finally gets one in Episode 12.
    • Averted for Iwaizumi, who remains a supporting character throughout the series... but he's a male and this series is heavy on the Fan Service, so it's expected.
  • Fan Service: Panty Shots abound, and it appears that Koumi has never heard of a sports bra. See also "Big Breasts, Big Deal", "Clothing Damage", "Funbag Airbag", and "Suggestive Collision".
  • Funbag Airbag: Played for Laughs in one episode, where Sakurai stops one of Takayama's model trains with her breast. Played Straight in other episodes, usually but not always Takayama/Koumi or Takayama/Sakurai.
  • Girl in a Box: After she was taken hostage in one episode, we see Koumi unconscious in a half-open suitcase.
  • Idol Singer: Noa, who first appears in Episode 4 and becomes a recurring guest-star for the remainder of the series.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Koumi. The other females take turns providing their share of Fan Service, but Koumi provides more than any two others.
  • Rail Enthusiast:
    • Takayama applied for the OJT program in order to become a train operator. He has a permanent track for model railroad trains in his room at home, complete with a full basic operator's setup.
    • Sasshou can identify trains by their sound. Her friend Kaori (in Episode 3) is even better at this.
    • Prince Bernina (from Episodes 10-11) invites Takayama to be on a First-Name Basis because they're both rail enthusiasts.
    • Out-of-universe, the entire series is Fan Service for Rail Enthusiasts.
  • Requisite Royal Regalia: In Episodes 10 and 11, Prince Bernina has a fancy outfit, complete with epaulets that look like they came out of Revolutionary Girl Utena. The clothing becomes important to the plot in Episode 11.
  • The Show Must Go On: In episode 4, when Takayama is stabbed while apprehending a person who was trying to attack Noa on-stage, they worked it into the show so as to not alarm the audience.
  • Suggestive Collision: Episode 9 has Takayama getting the Marshmallow Hell version while operating a train car.
  • Surprisingly Good English: Koumi, while answering a customer's question about the Shinkansen.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sakurai and Koumi, respectively. On separate occasions, Sakurai tries dressing in a more feminine manner and Koumi tries dressing the way Sakurai usually does; neither attempt goes well (Sakurai ends up needing to do an Action Dress Rip on a brand-new dress; Koumi ends up kidnapped).
  • Unwanted Harem: Iida, Koumi, Sakurai, Sasshou, and Noa are all interested in Takayama. Takayama is interested in trains.
Spoiler Tropes used in Rail Wars! include:


  1. ↑ This might be a Stealth Pun; "K-yon" is pronounced remarkably similarly to "keion", a term which is (logically enough) explained in K-On!.
  2. ↑ spanning 17 volumes from two publishers as of December 2019
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