Movie
Description
Brent Furlong serves as the primary antagonist of the Sakura Wars: The Movie. He is the president of the Douglas-Stewart Company, an American corporation that arrives in Tokyo with ambitions of showcasing its technological superiority. Not much is known about his life before these events, but it is established that he previously had connections to the New York underworld, with a past as a mafia member. Furlong is an American man with red hair and blue eyes, typically dressed in a dark green business suit with a white shirt and red tie, projecting a polished corporate image that belies his ruthless intentions.
In terms of personality, Furlong is defined by a deep-seated arrogance and a lack of empathy for anyone he considers beneath him. He holds immense pride in his American identity, specifically his connection to New York City, and constantly belittles Tokyo, viewing it as weak in comparison to the grandeur of his home city. This sense of superiority fuels his motivations. He seeks to replace the Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division, the official demon-fighting defense force of Tokyo, with his own creations called Japhkiels. These are presented as unmanned combat machines but are actually machine-like demons created through sorcery by his henchman, Patrick Hamilton. Furlong's ultimate goal is to prove his company's power, humiliate the local defense force, and likely secure a position of influence for himself and his nation in Tokyo.
Throughout the story, Furlong plays the role of a calculating corporate villain who prefers to manipulate events from behind the scenes before taking direct action. His scheme involves a multi-layered attack on the Flower Division. He uses staged demon attacks to allow his Japhkiels to defeat the monsters easily, gaining positive publicity while publicly embarrassing the Flower Division. Collaborating with a corrupt Imperial Army Officer named Haruyoshi Tanuma, Furlong orchestrates a coup, seizing the Imperial Theater, capturing the division's commander, and placing the Flower Division on indefinite standby while their allies are put under house arrest. His tactics are particularly cruel, as he demonstrates no qualms about using individuals as tools; he orders Hamilton to brainwash one of the Flower Division members, Orihime Soletta, turning her into a puppet soldier forced to fight against her own comrades.
Furlong's key relationships are largely utilitarian. He employs Patrick Hamilton, a sorcerer, whose dark magical abilities are essential for creating the demonic Japhkiels and for brainwashing Orihime. He finds an ally in Officer Haruyoshi Tanuma, whose position within the Imperial Army allows Furlong to legally bind the Flower Division's hands. While Furlong sees himself as superior to those around him, he has a direct adversarial relationship with the members of the Flower Division, particularly Sakura Shinguji, who he confronts directly in the climax.
In terms of development, Furlong remains a villain driven by pride and ambition, but his role escalates as his plan begins to fail. When the Flower Division fights back and regains control of the theater, Furlong's calculated composure shatters. He escapes and takes a more direct, monstrous role in the conflict. His notable abilities are not innate physical powers but rather his strategic cunning and his control over dangerous technology. In the final battle, he demonstrates his most fearsome ability: piloting a Japhkiel and merging it with the surviving units to transform into a giant, powerful demonic entity. In this merged form, he is able to overpower the entire Flower Division and destroy the combat mech of their newest member, Ratchet Altair. Ultimately, his overwhelming pride and destructive power are not enough to secure victory, as his defeat comes at the hands of the reunited Flower Division.
In terms of personality, Furlong is defined by a deep-seated arrogance and a lack of empathy for anyone he considers beneath him. He holds immense pride in his American identity, specifically his connection to New York City, and constantly belittles Tokyo, viewing it as weak in comparison to the grandeur of his home city. This sense of superiority fuels his motivations. He seeks to replace the Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division, the official demon-fighting defense force of Tokyo, with his own creations called Japhkiels. These are presented as unmanned combat machines but are actually machine-like demons created through sorcery by his henchman, Patrick Hamilton. Furlong's ultimate goal is to prove his company's power, humiliate the local defense force, and likely secure a position of influence for himself and his nation in Tokyo.
Throughout the story, Furlong plays the role of a calculating corporate villain who prefers to manipulate events from behind the scenes before taking direct action. His scheme involves a multi-layered attack on the Flower Division. He uses staged demon attacks to allow his Japhkiels to defeat the monsters easily, gaining positive publicity while publicly embarrassing the Flower Division. Collaborating with a corrupt Imperial Army Officer named Haruyoshi Tanuma, Furlong orchestrates a coup, seizing the Imperial Theater, capturing the division's commander, and placing the Flower Division on indefinite standby while their allies are put under house arrest. His tactics are particularly cruel, as he demonstrates no qualms about using individuals as tools; he orders Hamilton to brainwash one of the Flower Division members, Orihime Soletta, turning her into a puppet soldier forced to fight against her own comrades.
Furlong's key relationships are largely utilitarian. He employs Patrick Hamilton, a sorcerer, whose dark magical abilities are essential for creating the demonic Japhkiels and for brainwashing Orihime. He finds an ally in Officer Haruyoshi Tanuma, whose position within the Imperial Army allows Furlong to legally bind the Flower Division's hands. While Furlong sees himself as superior to those around him, he has a direct adversarial relationship with the members of the Flower Division, particularly Sakura Shinguji, who he confronts directly in the climax.
In terms of development, Furlong remains a villain driven by pride and ambition, but his role escalates as his plan begins to fail. When the Flower Division fights back and regains control of the theater, Furlong's calculated composure shatters. He escapes and takes a more direct, monstrous role in the conflict. His notable abilities are not innate physical powers but rather his strategic cunning and his control over dangerous technology. In the final battle, he demonstrates his most fearsome ability: piloting a Japhkiel and merging it with the surviving units to transform into a giant, powerful demonic entity. In this merged form, he is able to overpower the entire Flower Division and destroy the combat mech of their newest member, Ratchet Altair. Ultimately, his overwhelming pride and destructive power are not enough to secure victory, as his defeat comes at the hands of the reunited Flower Division.