Romantic comedy or shortly known as rom-com has currently become a very widely popular sub-genre in the anime world. A wholesome romance with a good comedy deserves to be a recipe for a chef’s kiss. Perfection. Well, that perfection is hard to achieve. Something just remains missing. something vital. But every once in a while we get to witness some shows that may not be perfect but very close to it. ‘The Pet Girl of Sakurasou’ was that show for me. A perfect blend of sweetness and cracking laughter.
Sakurasou in English means Sakura Dorm. As you can already guess it’s about a dormitory and its residents. Sakurasou is not just a normal dorm though. It’s a destination for problem children of the school. So not many people get to stay there. Out of all the inhabitants, Kanda Sorata, our main male protagonist, seems to be the only ‘normal’ kid. This hard-working, kind, and gentle soul was given the task of taking care of a transfer girl. An easy job. After all, just how much trouble can a grown-up high school girl cause you? Yeah, wrong. Shiina Mashiro, our girl, is a girl who can’t even dress up by herself for the love of her life. This is one of the reasons that makes Sakurasou …..well, Sakurasou. If you have seen any number of romance animes then you know what’s going to happen next. So yeah, Sorata becomes Mashiro’s guardian, and those two along with other dorm members - Nanami, Ryunosuke, Misaki, Jin find themselves in a number of situations and work their way out of them, making us burst out in the process.
So, why should you watch ‘Sakurasou’ of all anime? For a number of reasons actually. The delivery of the story was magnificent. The comedies were epic. And what made those comedies epic were the characters.
Yes, the dynamic of the characters is the best selling point of this show. The characters were written so brilliantly that it made the whole series worth everything.
First of all, Shiina Mashiro. She is a goddess. Need me to say anything more? Seriously, I can’t even put Mashiro into words. She’s just awesome. Her mostly expressionless face, childish acts, and way of speech are cures for depression. I mean, just look at her ‘Plan C’ thing. You can’t help but roll at that.
Next up, our gentle soul Kanda Sorata. A nice kid who gets upset whenever he sees anyone in his dorm doing something stupid. Sorata and Shiina’s chemistry is entertaining as hell on one side but heartwarming on the other. It’s as if those two were made for each other.
Then Akasaka Ryunosuke. A shut-in game developer who almost never leaves his room for school but whenever he does he eats an apple in the class and codes. Badass.
A romance anime without a love triangle is rare. You can probably count their number with your hands. This wasn’t an exception either. Aoyama Nanami was that third vertex. But ‘Sakurasou’ doesn’t let the love triangle take the driving seat so our Nanami isn’t just a pain-in-the-butt annoying jealous girl either. She is the type who understands and helps our main character in whatever way possible.
Kamiigusa Misaki is the quirky, loud and way-too-energetic senior in the dorm. Completely in contrast to Mashiro's personality, she totally lightens the mood with her intensity. Her idiocy brings laughter, sure, but she is a member of Sakurasou after all. So our other members often get a handful dealing with her.
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This anime is very funny. One of the best of its kind. But it does have its fair share of touching moments. The members of Sakurasou are like family members and Sakurasou is their home. The last arc of the series directly pointed out that there are much more sentiments attached to this than we initially thought. The Graduation episode at the end hit really hard. I mean, you would never expect Misaki of all people to give a speech that will bring everyone to the verge of tears. Imagine the amount of emotion that can back such a moment up. And Misaki was graduating herself from Sakurasou on top of that. It makes an already fantastic story even better. Who said rom-com can’t make you tear up?Enough about the story and characters. Animation, music of this anime is great as well. Given the story and settings, I’d say the animators did a really good job with the art.
Sound wasn't bad either. Even though I don’t quite remember the OSTs, I certainly remember the openings and endings. They were really well made, both visually and the lyrics. Again, Aketagawa Jin rocks.
So ….. ‘Sakurasou’ passes in those departments with flying colors as well.
Now there is one more aspect I’d like to add aside from the usual ones. The Voice Acting. Boy oh boy. The Voice Acting was absolutely BRILLIANT. Kayano Ai (Mashiro), Matsuoka Yoshitsugu (Sorata) Takamori Natsumi (Misaki) all just nailed it. Hands down.
Lastly, I really really enjoyed this beautiful show. And I don’t have any complaints about it either. If you are a fan of comedy, simple story, young love, brilliant characters, heartfelt moments then by all means, go ahead and watch it already. Highly recommended and who knows, you may have just found a new "best anime" for yourself.