Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo

At Suimei High, the Sakura-sou dormitory is infamous for housing the school's most notorious delinquents. Thus, when the relatively tame Sorata Kanda is transferred to the dorm, escaping this insane asylum becomes his foremost goal. Trapped there for the time being, he must learn how to deal with his fellow residents, including bubbly animator Misaki Kamiigusa, charming playboy writer Jin Mitaka, and the ever-reclusive Ryuunosuke Akasaka. Surrounded by weirdness, Sorata frequently finds respite in his interactions with his one "normal" friend, aspiring voice actress Nanami Aoyama.

When Mashiro Shiina—a new foreign exchange student—joins the dormitory, Sorata is instantly enraptured by her beauty. Underneath her otherworldly appearance, Mashiro is an autistic savant, capable of world-renowned brilliance in her art, yet unable to perform simple daily tasks. After Sorata ends up in charge of taking care of Mashiro, the two inevitably grow closer, with Sorata's initial desire to escape the dormitory becoming a forgotten goal.

Despite their eccentricities, every resident is incredible in their own field, leaving Sorata to contend with his own lack of any particular skill. With brilliance all around him, he thus strives to become an equal to their talent. Revolving around the hardships and joys of its colorful cast, Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo is a heartwarming coming-of-age tale of friendship, love, ambition, and heartbreak—through the lens of an ordinary person surrounded by the extraordinary.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shiina, Mashiro Main

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Aoyama, Nanami Main

Nakatsu, Mari Japanese

Kanda, Sorata Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Akasaka, Ryuunosuke Main

Horie, Yui Japanese

Kamiigusa, Misaki Main

Takamori, Natsumi Japanese

Mitaka, Jin Main

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Ainsworth, Rita Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Maid-chan Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Sengoku, Chihiro Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Kanda, Yuuko Supporting

Ogura, Yui Japanese

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Oosawa, Nobuhiro Producer

Ishizuka, Masatoshi Producer

Suzuki, Kaoru Producer

Reviews

Jul 5, 2024

qinya

Recommended

It's so much more than just a romance.

As a university student who constantly strives to work harder and struggles with many feelings depicted in this show, I was incredibly moved. A lot of reviews have criticized the romance and characters, which I understand. I agree that the romance isn't fully developed, and some characters can be stereotypical and irritating. If these components were all that Sakurasou comprised of, then I wouldn't recommend it either.

With that said, there's so much more to Sakurasou that makes it unique and--in my opinion--pull the heartstrings more than any other show I've watched. Beyond the core themes of friendship and ... love, this show confronts failure and unfairness in such a raw, genuine way. Each of the characters faces some form of failure that most people can relate to. Repeated rejections over and over again, not only in love, but also in career contexts. Imposter syndrome. Broken confidence. Feelings of jealousy, inferiority, hopelessness, heartbreak, and anger that people with natural talent seem to always have it easier than others. Disgust with ourselves that we feel these negative emotions and lash out toward people we care about. Frustration that these people are rewarded when, for others, hard work does NOT pay off, and chasing your dreams relentlessly does NOT always lead to success.

In many shows, plot armor makes the story predictable. You know the main characters will succeed after just one or two failures, but they feel a bit removed from real life because, in reality, we don't know if there's going to be a good ending. We don't know if taking risks to do what we're passionate about will pay off, and we don't know if our hard work will amount to anything, at all. Sakurasou does an amazing job of portraying the gray area. Small wins, gradual progress, but also failures in between that seem to only push you three steps back. Fear and hopelessness, but also acceptance and resilience because, no matter how much of a waste your hard work might seem, you have to keep going.

It's never certain that things will get better, but all you can do is get back up and keep working toward your goals. But of course, don't forget to stop and smell the sakura--because no matter what happens, when you feel lost, the people you cherish will help you find your way back home.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Mar 9, 2024

Autoparts_22

Mixed Feelings

The way I would describe Pet Girl of Sakurasou would be a show that flew high, but got too close to the sun and fell off. Its aspirations are what led to the show from being a really good romcom to an outcome that left a lot more to be desired.

The main issue is that as a person who wanted to watch a romance anime, it seemed I was lied to. This was not a romance anime, this was a below average drama.

The thing about it was for the first half of the show, it was very good and showed a promising direction with all ... of its characters. The soundtrack was good, the storyline and plot was solid, and the characters and their interactions with each other were very well written which gave me a reason to support them. However, around episode 18, the show as a whole started to take a different turn.

The MC Sorata Kanda is supposed to be the "normal" kid when he is condemned to move into a hall of chaotic students. However, he is the very standard clueless character with not a lot to show for. They try to demonstrate his growth and development as a person but he gets over that halfway through and doesn't do much after that. Mashiro Shiina, the art prodigy transfer student with a love for drawing manga is the opposite of Sorata. I believe she was not utilized enough in the show and was one of the solid characters. Her social ineptitude makes her rely heavily on others but she slowly becomes more aware socially and emotionally. Ryuunoskue Akasaka a shut in computer genius who is one unique character. He is not very prevalent in the beginning and comes off as bit harsh and rude, but he goes through the most change of anyone else in the end. Nanami Aoyama is a character I loved but grew to hate at the same time. She's a person that anyone would look up to. She's an aspiring voice actor, a hard worker and since the beginning of the show, has a crush on Sorata. I hate the way the show dealt with her. If I said any more it would be spoilers but her reasons for why she did what she did throughout the show made no sense to me. There's a whole side romance between childhood friends Misaki Kamiigusa and Jin Mitaka which was 10 times better than the main romance. Jin was the average helpful but distant friend to Sorata while Misaki was the classic comedic relief character. The comedy in the show was good at first but quickly disappeared.

The whole "romance" aspect of this show seems like the rug was pulled out from under us. The first half of the show focused on Sorata and Mashiro and their relationship. It looked like it was being built into a good romance which the second half would develop further into a heartwarming story. After that, it would be completely abandoned until the last 2 episodes. This made the end and its "peak" a lot less satisfying. The last episodes felt like it turned into a shitty Hallmark show where the ending was very predictable, somehow all their problems conveniently disappeared, and that the secret to solve everything was through the "power of friendship". I felt like I had been lied to which made me very disappointed.

In the end, I know that for many this would still be a solid show to watch. In my opinion, it was a genuinely great show until the last 6 episodes. However, as good as it was before, sometimes it takes a really bad ending to ruin a good story and its characters.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Feb 21, 2023

Tetraquads

Not Recommended

Funny

In today's day and age, where there are more shows than ever being created, produced and released, I don't understand how this one, a categorically terrible anime, is beloved by many.

I would like to point out, I understand the themes of the narrative and how failure, hardwork and perseverance aren't enough to get you through life and get you what you want and that's a fine idea. But this show does nothing to counteract the constant failures and disappointments with anything satisfying, rewarding, entertaining or enjoyable. A majority of the characters are unlikeable. The extreme melodramatic nature of every single action, reaction, situation and relationship ... is unbearable and trite.

The worst offense this show commits is labeling itself as romantic comedy as the romance is bleak and the comedy is absent.

What's crazier still is that this show is from the same creator as Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai which is markedly better in every single facet possible. I'm not saying that show is outstanding, but it is of good quality overall and you would be much better spending your time with that than this lackluster, painfully morose and farcical show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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