Reiji Shiba

Reiji Shiba (司馬 令士 Shiba Reiji) is the new chief technician of the Imperial Combat Revue's hangar bay during the events of New Sakura Wars and New Sakura Wars the Animation.

Appearance
Reiji has the appearance of a handsome Japanese man in his early twenties. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Reiji is always seen wearing a vermillion technician outfit with a white shirt underneath. He has a black belt which generally holds a set of keys and a rag. He also has brown boots.

Personality
Reiji is seen as having a friendly rivalry with his friend Seijuro which leads to to the two of them sometimes having speaking to each other with sarcastic words. Despite that, they really care for each other. Just like Seijuro, Reiji is interested in women and works at a place surrounded by beautiful girls. He has shown to really care for his friends even in the most extreme situations. This was shown when he was shot by Anastasia who attempted to betray the Flower Division but shown no grudge against her and instead tried to heal her when she was attacked by Yasha.

Reiji could also display a serious side of himself especially when it's about his work. He takes pride in his creations, especially the Mugen, and is ready to offer advice when his comrades are in need of. When Seijuro went on a mission in Russia, Reiji remained as the sole male member at the Theater which made him feel responsible to watch over everyone in his friend's absence.

Reiji was shown to offer comic relief during New Sakura Wars the Animation which mainly involved being caught naked by the girls of the Flower Division or facing the wrath of Sumire.

Background
Reiji is the Imperial Revue's new mechanic and a rival colleague of Seijuro Kamiyama during their days in the Navy Academy where he graduated in engineering. As such, he is responsible for maintaining the Revue's prop equipment and Spiricle weaponry.

Episode 2 : Identity Unknown! A Mysterious Foe Appears
Reiji stayed up all night working in the Garage which made him really tired. As a result, Reiji decided to take a bath in the morning as he thought nobody will come there so early. Unfortunately, Sakura came to show Klara the bath as part of her  grand theatrical tour . Sakura opens the bath door at the same time Reiji was going to leave the bathroom which made both teenagers come face to face. Embarrassed, both Sakura and Reiji scream before Sakura hits the young man with some bath buckets as Klara watches. After Reiji dresses up, Sakura introduces the engineer to Klara before asking Reiji with a pouting face what does he have to say in his defense for what just happened. Reiji says he needed a bath after pulling an all-nighter. His answer confuses Sakura who asks him if working really meant losing a whole night of sleep. The young man takes the two girls to the Garage where Sakura sees a Type-3 Kobu, which Reiji calls the Type-3 Kobu Custom. Reiji says that he worked his magic inside the mecha and asks the young swordswoman if it was worth losing one night's sleep. Sakura says that she doesn't know but calls the machine beautiful while Klara watches the Kobu in admiration.

Episode 3 : Tokyo Trembles! The New Moscow Combat Revue!
The Flower Division has been mobilized to fight against a giant demon that was making its' way to the Imperial Theater. During the battle, Reiji contacts Hatsuho saying that her machine is fine more or less but that she has to switch to backup power mode.

Later, after the battle ended, Reiji appears on the bridge to carry Hatsuho's Mugen away for reparations as the Flower Division watches.

Episode 5 : The Goofball Detective Combo! Find Klara's Secret!
Reiji overhears Azami and Clarissa forming an alliance to spy on their comrade Klara who Azami suspects of being a saboteur that could bring destruction to the Imperial Combat Revue. He confronts the girls saying that he wants be part of the case. The three then observe Klara and the others as they hang out in the Dining Room. Reiji says that he cannot allow the Theater to be in danger while Seijuro is absent. He also says that he 's better at being a leader then Seijuro with Clarissa saying that she forgot that Seijuro and Reiji knew each other from a long time. Azami then tells her comrades to stop talking or they'll get spotted as Clarissa asks Reiji to tell her more about Seijuro later. Reiji then offers to give the girls some items that could help them in their case like memos that melt in water, ink that disappears after drying and the classic disguise but both girls reject the items (with Azami saying that she already has the classic disguise). Azami goes back to spying before being caught by Hatsuho who grabs her by the back of her clothes.

Later on, Reiji was taking a bath when Clarissa and Azami, who were both following Klara all day, came into the bathouse in search of their friend. When both girls found out that Reiji was in the bath, they ran outside but Reiji heard something. The young man left the bath naked to inspect and opened the door to find Clarissa, Azami and Klara who just got there. Both Clarissa and Azami blush after realizing Reiji is nude and closed their eyes while covering Klara's eyes (who did not understand the situation). Seeing that the three girls saw him naked, Reiji screams in shock.

Later at night, Klara is being ambushed by a demon in an alley making Azami fight the beast as Clarissa protects Klara. However, fighting the demon in an enclosed alley proved to be a challenge as Azami and Clarissa struggle to protect Klara. Reiji appears with an invention of his, the Type-26 Special Spiricle Striker, to fight back against the beast. However, to his surprise, the demon easily destroys the robot with a swipe of its claws. Clarissa manages to destroy the demon afterwards thanks to a magical attack enhanced by Klara's power.

After the battle, Reiji goes to observe Klara, Azami, Clarissa, Sakura and Hatsuho hang on a hill to watch the beautiful city lights. The young man smiles to see the girls have fun. Then, Sumire appears behind Reiji with a frustrated look while asking the young technician why he wasn't working on the Mugen and why he left the Hangar without authorization. Shocked at Sumire's appearance, Reiji was unable to give an answer and could only scream in fear.

After returning to the Theater, Reiji was ordered to work overtime in the Hangar with a paper on his back. With a sigh, Reiji is upset that he has to cough alone, work alone and be alone.

Episode 7 : Stealth Mission! Tail the Date!
When Seijuro, Sakura and Klara go out to hang out together in the city, Reiji organizes a plan to ruin the date by having the other members of the Flower Division follow them and spy on them. Noticing that the girls are disappointed, Reiji says that the Imperial Combat Revue takes the situation seriously. Moon Division members Itsuki and Hiromi join the Flower Division in the mission. Komachi mocks Reiji for overreacting to a date and that his plan is dumb even though the young man and the others are serious.

During the mission, Reiji communicates with the girls through watch-like communication devices by telling them where to follow's trio. Even though Komachi mocks Reiji's insistance at a silly mission, the young man continues to lead the mission.

When the Flower Division members discover that Klara was with Seijuro and Sakura, they realize that they weren't really on a date and that they were just taking Klara out. The Flower Division girls, along with Itsuki and Hiromi, drop their communication watches and leave the scene when Hatsuho asking the girls if they're ready for some fun.

Upset that the girls are no longer taking part in the plan, Reiji desperately tries to take matters into his own hands even though Komachi tells him he should consider giving up. Reiji refuses saying that the Imperial Combat Revue's good name is at stake. While he suggests sending a mech he recently invented, a female voice behind Reiji asks him what he's doing. The young man saying that he's trying to ruin Seijuro and Sakura's date. However, Reiji learns with shock that the voice belongs to Sumire. The former actress looks coldly at him, flabbergasted at the idea that her Control Room and resources are used to ruin a date. Realizing that he's in trouble, Reiji could only stand still and scream in panic.

Episode 8 : Nonstop Chaos! The Combat Revue Challenge!
Reiji and Komachi serve as the commentators for the competition between the Imperial Combat Revue and the Moscow Combat Revue.

Both Reiji and Komachi observe the first round, which is a dance battle, and praise Hatsuho's traditional Japanese dancing which they call dazzling. When Leyla follows up with a ballet, Reiji notes that she's performing the Black Swan ballet, a dance that is traditionally danced with two people but that Leyla is able to do it by herself.

For the second round, which is a  bread-eating obstacle scavenger hunt , Reiji and Komachi watch as Azami shows up for the event. However, to the surprise of everyone, Kaminski does not show up as he declares that the Moscow Combat Revue to be too refined to particpate in something so uncouth. Reiji then announces that because Kaminski forfets from the second round, the Flower Division wins by default.

During the third round, a blackout caused by Kaminski engulfs the stadium in darkness. Reiji tries to fix everything but notes how all connections have been severed. As Reiji is panicking, he decides to use a robot-like invention of his to restore power to the stadium.

Episode 9 : Unbelievable! The Truth About Klara!
After the Moscow Combat Revue's attack on the Imperial Combat Revue, Reiji has returned to the Imperial Theater's garage where he orders the workers to move fast as they don't know where the enemy might make a move next.

After the Sevastopol resurfaces, Hatsuho asks Reiji is their Mugen are ready to move.

Episode 10 : The Destruction of Tokyo? The Rage of Tunguska!
After the last battle against Leyla, the Flower Division return to the Imperial Theater with their Mugen seriously damaged. In the Hangar, Reiji describes the current situation as a mess which makes a frustrated Hatsuho tells him not to remind them of that. Anastasia asks Reiji how long it will take him to fix everything with the young man saying it could take him maybe 12 hours to get everything in a working condition. Clarissa and Hatsuho fear that another attack could happen in that time and ask Reiji about putting them to work as a way to resolve the situation faster but Reiji says that this one is on him and that the girls should just rest. Sakura, who has now healed her severe injuries, approaches the group and asks Reiji how bad her Mugen is. Unfortunately for the young swordswoman, the brown-haired young man tells her that her Mugen is unsalvagable.

Reiji, Sumire, Kaoru, Hakushuu and the Flower Division assemble in the Control Room to watch Valery Kaminski's live broadcast where he uses a crystal-like weapon known as the Rage of Tunguska to destroy a mountain in a matter of seconds. After demonstrating his powers, Kaminski gives all of the world governments an ultimatum : disband and recognize him as their supreme ruler or be destroyed. Afterwards, Reiji and the Flower Division listen to Seijuro who contacts the Flower Division with a message to talk about their next move which involves the Flower Division infiltrating the Sevastopol with Sakura using a Type-3 Kobu.

In the Hangar, with Sumire and Kaoru watching, Reiji then helps the Flower Division assemble in their repaired Mugen as they prepare to infiltrate the Sevastopol. When Kaoru says that they haven't considered how the Flower Division will infiltrate the airborne Sevastopol, Reiji reveals that he has built a launching mecanism that will send a Spiricle Striker to its target in an instant : the Great Bow, a giant crossbow-like machine that shoots big bullet-like capsules holding the Flower Division members. After the Flower Division boards their capsules, Hakushuu, now dressed as White Cape, approaches Sumire and tells her that she will follow the Flower Division as she promised Seijuro that she will watch over the girls. Reiji then brings Hakushuu inside one of the capsules and says that he cannot promise a safe journey as they were not built to hold one person. With everybody ready, Reiji launches the Flower Division and Hakushuu all the way to the Sevastopol.

Reiji, Sumire and Kaoru assemble in the Control Room to watch the Flower Division and Hakushuu confront a group of Kaminski's mechanical dolls who have transformed into golem-like creatures. Reiji contacts Sakura to warn her that the Type-3 Kobu is reaching its limits. Sakura tries to fight more but as the Kobu's status worsens, Reiji tells her to get out as it will get too dangerous for her. As Reiji and the Flower Division try to persuade Sakura of leaving, the young swordswoman refuses as she cannot leave Klara. Her courageous declarations remind Sumire of her missing comrade Sakura Shinguji which prompts the Commander to ask Sakura if she's ready to go all the way to save Klara. Reiji and Kaoru, who understand Sumire's words, try to convince Sumire that using the prototype Obu could drain Sakura's entire spirit energy and possibly kill her but Sumire manages to convince Reiji to send the prototype Obu to the Sevastopol.

After Sakura boards the newly arrived prototype Obu, Reiji tells Sakura that the Obu requires an enormous amount of spiritual energy and that she should remain vigilant. Reiji leaves after telling Sakura to give hell to the demons with the young swordswoman easily destroying every beast.

Episode 12 : The Grand Finale! Hope for Tomorrow!
Following Valery Kaminski's defeat, Reiji is working in the Hangar while ordering the engineers to keep working.

Powers & Abilities
Master Technician : Reiji is shown to be a skilled inventor as he's the one in charge of the reparation for the Flower Division Mugen and the stage.

Master Inventor : Reiji is shown to be a skilled inventor as he could create many things from essential equipment like the Mugen and seemingly useless silly objects.

Etymology

 * The name Reiji means "ordinance, order, command, dictation" (令) (rei) and "samurai, warrior" (士) (ji).
 * Reiji's surname Shiba means "officer, boss" (司) (shi) and "horse" (馬) (ma/ba).