Sakura Quest, by many standards, is not an impressive show. It does a number of things poorly, from establishing characters and their motives to focusing on them individually in any effective way. These girls fall flat, not entirely because of their personality, but also by the way their personality was presented. Girls with backgrounds that lack uniqueness or interesting dichotomies between them, they all just get along without any entertaining complications and work on improving a town that no one, not even the townsfolk, really cares about. Before I get too into the weeds, the core cast of this show lacks what the elder side characters already have—a sense of belonging, strong character traits, compelling chemistries and dichotomies—and it all shines through by episode 16. Continue reading →

Sakura Quest was easily my most anticipated show of this spring season due to it being done by P.A. Works and looking like the wonderful amalgamation of Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako, by seemingly taking the countryside, city-girl-out-of-her-element setting and premise and mixing it with an adult work life perspective. In essence, that’s exactly what it turned out to be, and for the most part I’m fine with that. I’m able to enjoy the show week after week for what it is, but I wonder if that’s only because I’m invested in the premise. Because I think I already have an idea for what Sakura Quest is going for, the obvious flaws don’t affect me as much. That isn’t to say I’m ignoring them though, as I wouldn’t be writing this post if that were the case. Continue reading →