Thursday, January 19, 2017

The struggle is real. You know what else is real? LOVE: Sakura Trick

We feel for you. Really. Now get back to work.
RIGHT after the end of a hiatus and you know what happens? EVERYTHING. Everything happens. It's fine. I won't cry. Among a myriad of other struggles, one rose above all else. I am met with the crisis of reviewing not one, but two of my favorite anime of all time! So then, what is the issue? Well......






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No.
You know, with Valentines day right on the horizon, what better thing to talk about than love? Two girls, to be specific. ~CONTENT WARNING:~ this anime is about two girls! Kissing specifically. Ah forbidden fruit... For me, all fruit is forbidden. Huh? No I am not allergic. I just prefer spaghetti. I guess it is also about friendship, but let's not pretend that is why you're watching it. Also flower petals or something.



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Sakura Trick

Episodes: 12

 Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

 Tags: Slice of Life, Comedy,
Romance, School, Seinen, Shoujo Ai









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 This is the part where normally we discuss the plot, but...well..alright lets give this a go. This anime centers around Takayama Haruka and Sonoda Yuu; two girls who met in junior high and quickly became best friends. When they both move on to high school, (A high school that will close down after the girls finish school there, if you care.) Yuu quickly makes more friends, making Haruka jealous. When she goes to Yuu with this, Yuu suggests they do something to strengthen their bond. Something no other two girls would ever do. Haruka suggests.................................................................


Whaaaaaaaaaaat.



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Just in it for the review? Click here!







Anyways, lets get right into this and talk about the girls huh?



Wonder what she is thinking about...
Takayama, Haruka (Protagonist)
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 Haruka is a very sweet girl though deeply affected by the curse of jealousy. She is a very decent cook, and is always happy when she sees other female couples. She is very in love with Yuu and is proud to show it, having no sense of censorship regarding the matter. She is also quite smart and is happy to provide assistant whenever it is needed [for a price]. For all of her talents, she seems to be quite terrible at art.




"I don't."
Sonoda Yuu (Cotagonist)
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A little more on the childish side, with a height to match, Yuu is nonetheless a very cute (sometimes so much it hurts) character. She really, really loves matcha (green tea powder) flavored things. Though she is not the smartest girl, she is very sweet and friendly and is always able to make friends much more quickly than Haruka. Perhaps a little more Tsundere  than her counterpart, Yuu is very shy about her relationship with Haruka and sometimes seems a little annoyed at her lack of restraint and constant desire to kiss. Throughout she does warm up, however.


There may be other girls...other romances...but I don't kiss and tell.
"Is he talking about us?" Nahhhh...



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Plot - 3/10

Alright, lets be real for a minute here. This is an anime about kissing. The theme is kissing. The intro is kissing. The plot is kissing. There is a little bit of character development but I mean.. the story just...it's not there; But then, That isn't why you are watching this and you know it.

Sound/Music - 8/10

Right out the gate you will be treated to some bwipp noises, a dog barking in the background...and a very pretty song played on the piano to set the mood. It seems kind of strange really, but I feel like the sounds and music accompanying this anime mesh really well in a sort of....you know what you're getting sort of way. I mean the intro is literally called "Won(*chu*) Kissme", c'mon (chu is the Japanese "sound" for kissing). I freaking love that intro, its catchy guys, seriously. Don't bother trying to find it on Youtube though because it's all nightcore covers. Nobody wants that.

Bonus points for the intro song being sung by the cast. I love when they do that.

Voices (Dubbed) - ~ No dub, likely ever.

 Voices (Subbed) - 6.5/10

So so. The voices chosen per character do seem right, but this isn't the sort of anime where they are really given any opportunity to shine in any spectacular way. How can you talk when you're busy making out, you know?

Art - 6/10

This is another anime that is really stylistic with its art. Though it is rather pretty a lot of the time, with a lot of very bright colors to again set the mood, and characters represented by fruit and flowers. "...What?" Shhhhh....fruit and flowers. The characters are quite cute and well drawn as well, however I don't suspect people would describe the art as anything other than "decent".

Awful lot of kissing pictures...


Characters - 5/10

I find each and every character likable in their own way, however there isn't any remarkable amount of character development, and not a lot changes other than a sort of acceptance that falls over a few of the characters. There are definitely tender moments, but it isn't anything terribly special.


Overall - 5.7/10

Soup, this is a rather low score, don't you think? Well...no. Let me get this out of this way. I like this anime; no, I love this anime, it is one of my absolute favorites, but that does not make it good. So why do I like it? Well, because it is REALLY...FREAKING...CUTE. Not a lot really happens throughout the story, its just moment after moment of just soul exploding cuteness, and for some people, that is what they want. People like me. I came here for the kissing, the romance, and the cute. That is what I got, along with a few decent laughs, but did we really expect anything more? Despite the score, I recommend you give this a watch if your soul can take it.



Wait. This is where you chose not to put a kissing picture? "BUT LOOK HOW CUTE"

Kissing scenes 10/10

We came here for the shoujo-ai. We got it ladies and gentlemen. We got it.









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The anime:
Sakura Trick (adblock off for this site folks, they are touchy about that crap)





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Oh no. Please.
Thanks to the various souls this anime has crushed under its tiny little loafers.






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