Sakura Trick

When it comes to Yuri I try to avoid them because of the possible chance that it could cross the line between Ecchi and P**n, and I do not watch anime for that reason.

Sakura Trick was the first Yuri that I went into fully aware of it being a yuri, because of what I had seen around the internet and heard from other people. I was greeted with something that I believe could almost be a kid show in my opinion. Homosexuality is a very touchy subject and not everyone agree's with it in one way or another. But Sakura Trick did something with it ... that made it seem like it could be watched by basically anyone (Without Homophobia,of course). Yes, the show has two girls just starting High school kissing each other... a lot and not with reason you might expect from a yuri anime. The anime itself when watching it seemed to not take it self very seriously and it had a certain ease to it without going overboard. The art style is different, in a good way it goes out of it's way to make sure you know who the main character's are and who's important. The music could be better and not very remember-able in my opinion. Character design is nothing short of typical student character's that are represented with human flaw's and quirks. Overall I truly believe if your looking for something a bit different from the average normal slice of life/school related anime give this one a try because it has a great story with a bit of twist all being around one particular thing.

This is coming from a girl who is much more fascinated with Shoujo-Ai/Yuri more than Shounen-Ai/Yaoi/Bara.

Sakura Trick is a nice surprise at the beginning of 2014, i had mixed feelings about this at first, but it was nice change of things. It was the first Shoujo-Ai anime i have watched since i finished Aoi Hana, and no, it's not implied Shoujo-Ai nor did it just give Shoujo-Ai undertones, it was 100% Shoujo-Ai all the way.

Art - 8: I gave it an 8 because i rarely care about the art, as long as it was watchable i'm fine with it. Visual were okay, though the anime's ... fluidity wasn't that good, not mediocre, mind you.

Sound - 7: To be honest, the OP was cute, it had me singing along some times, but the BGM was very forgettable.

Character- 8
Haruka - "The Air-head Main Character" - she starts off as your typical airhead, big-boobed high school girl, she's pretty possessive. I like how she always keeps Yuu all to herself.
Yuu- "The Main Character's Love Interest" - the "moe" character, and a tsundere, i hate tsunderes but, i was okay with Yuu, there were lots of times that i felt sorry Haruka for putting up with Yuu.
Shizuku - "The Other Moe Character" - just like Yuu she's in a secret relationship with Kotone and they both dislike it... sometimes.
Kotone- "The Ojou-sama Character" - she had this Ojou-sama aura the first time i saw her, and i was right. Like Haruka, she's pretty and has a nice body and is in a secret relationship with Shizuku.
Yuzu - "The Energetic Boke" - energetic, at first i thought she'd hit it up with Kaede, but they're both straight, so no.
Kaede - "The Sadistic Tsukkomi" - ahhh, i was surprised by Kaede's character development, she was a normal girl at the start, but she changed throughout the series. She's probably the only one who had character development.

Others:

Mitsuki - "Ms. Perfect Seitokaichou" - i was actually surprised at this character, who'd knew she'd have a "competition" with her little sister, Yuu.
Sumisumi - to be honest, i don't have a classification for her, she came out pretty late in the series but, she's like Yuzu; "An energetic boke."
Rina - "The Secretary" - hmmm... how should i describe her? Rina's pretty much your ordinary girl, she doesn't have any unique characteristics.

Enjoyment - 8: Whenever they Kiss, i squeal, that's how much i enjoyed it.
But some jokes, fall of the mark, but hey, not all jokes hit, and sometimes the missed jokes are the most funny ones.

Overall- 8: This anime shares the generic Boke-Tsukkomi-Air-head-Ojou-sama/Ms.Perfect-Moe that every Slice of Life/all-girl anime, but what makes it different? It's straight up Shoujo-Ai, no one needs to wear Yuri Goggles to make Yuri couples here.

Sakura Trick aims to instill in the average kissless male otaku a sense of nostalgia for something they never have and never will experience: the innocent passion of sapphic love among high-school children. It succeeds spectacularly.

That this is a genuine love story, not porn, the writing makes clear; no character is obviously written to be the object of voyeuristic sexual desire. Instead this show demands the viewer to empathize directly with the girls and take an active role in their relationship. Despite its almost lecherous depiction of physical intimacy (which is far and away the highlight and major appeal of the show), Sakura Trick ... is tender purely. High-stakes, adult soap drama should be sought elsewhere.

With that said: who on the production team thought the constant, pointless fanservice was a good idea? It seems like they didn't realize what they were working with. Though it wanes in later episodes, the camera often seems to lock between the tropics of boob and crotch, and when it strays it's usually to pan across the character's body from the feet up. Nobody asked for this. A show that desperately wants to break free from the ecchi trappings of its forebears is given no such privilege. Oh well.

Sakura Trick also suffers occasionally from poor production quality; characters go off-model, faces turn out weird and subtly wall-eyed, the animation and style is forgettable. And so on. But generally, with a show like this, one would get burned too often if they expected any better.

Ultimately Sakura Trick is, by way of poor direction, dangling between a rock and a hard place and another more desirable thing to be stuck between: is it ecchi? Is it mindless slice comedy? Or is it a touching, subversive story about forbidden love shared between two flawed but compelling characters? When it is this third thing, Sakura Trick soars. That just doesn't happen enough.

Breh, it's yuri... well... sadly, that is the case for the anime XD. I personally enjoy yuri to a very great extent which was one of the saving graces of this anime. I truly believe this anime was just all about how many kiss scenes and how many yuri love doki doki moments they could have. And honestly, I'm fine with that, it's just that you can never take an anime seriously like that and that's also fine. But just don't expect some amazing story and plot development, just expect a LOT, of beautiful yuri moments. And trust me, you will be so happy ;)

*Sub Anime Review*

--Story--
Sakura Trick is a very light hearted yuri anime about two teen girls-Yu and Haruka- who want to stay friends throughout school, so they decide to kiss, something other girls wouldn't do. And they kiss again, and again.. I really enjoyed the plot, it was pretty different from other Yuri I've seen. One thing that made this anime stand out was that it tackled some actual relationship issues that happen with gay couples, such as not being able to show too much affection in public and people disapproving. Although it represented real-world issues, it was very light hearted and sweet. Definitely recommend for ... a weekend watch.

--Art--
The art was amazing, it perfectly fit the light hearted tone of Sakura Trick. It was beautiful.

--Sound--
The voice actors fit their characters very well. I especially loved Yu's voice, it fit her pouty self. The opening song and ending songs were pretty good, but they did contain a lot of fanservice, which isn't really my thing (..at least not in this anime).

--Character (Protagonist)--
~Takayama Haruka~
Haruka was adorable. Although she gets frustrated easily and is a bit insecure, she tries to treat Yu and her friends well.

~Sonoda Yu~
Yu is bossy, childish, stubborn and pouty, which matched her appearance. Although she is childish, she holds more common sense than Haruka.

--Character (Antagonist)--
==Does not apply to this series==

I really enjoyed this anime, and I'm considering reading the manga. This is definitely up there with my favourite Yuri anime, such as Yuru Yuri.

I'd recommend this to..
-People who like short and pleasant anime
-People new to Yuri
-People who liked Yuru Yuri and Yuyushiki

This is a really good yuri anime.The story i will give 10 because it is kind of predictable still yet kind of cute and interesting in its own way. The art and sound i will give 10 for it. There is no annoying voice actor making super weird sounds or very cringy sound imo. However , enjoyment i will give only 8. This is because the last episode is just so weird and cringy that i cringe so badly that i minus 1 mark from 10 and another point is that they end it without giving me what i want to see , ( a ... yuri pair haven't develop). For character development , there is no much development in it just that the couple gets closer and we were able to witness more kissing scenes which is really great fan service. So i will give 9 for it. There isn't much yuri animes out there that really seems to be interesting and cute as sakura trick. While watching sakura trick , almost every episode i realized i ended up with a "kyaa~~~" fan-girl scream xd This just tells how much i like about this anime xp
if you have doubts ......................................


~~~~ GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW ~~~~~~

Sakura Trick was made specifically for me!!! This is my slop!!! Yuri couples are GOATED!!! IDC!!!! Plus, there is some quality to this series, and no, I don't mean the endless kissing!!!

The romantic relationships between these characters were passable for an Ecchi show, and a lot of anime tend to beat around the bush or have it heavily implied when it comes to said relationships. That can be charming, but it can also get old!!! Sakura Trick gets right to the point and lets the main characters actually love each other!!! I can't say the same for others, like Death Note's Light and L. Such ... a tease!!!

Ok. Lets go. Straight up, no bull. I'm going to be completely honest. I probably rated this stuff higher than it deserves, but so will you.

If you're into this stuff, it's the pinnacle. The number one. Head honcho. Bees knees. Dogs boll*cks.

It's cute girls doing gay stuff, in adorable ways, with funny subplot in-between.

The animation is well done where it matters (eg; only where you'd care for it to be. Background characters are rarely, if ever, drawn in any more than silhouettes with very basic features, and rarely even colourized.) And you know what, that's perfectly fine. You won't even care.

The sounds ... are pretty on point, good opening and closing, frames most scenes nicely.

Characters are... well they are cute gay high school girls doing funny things. Trust me, you really don't need any more info on this subject.

DouchebagChocolat sums it up very well around the 3:43 mark in Super Serious Winter Anime Season First Impressions 2014 on Youtube.

A love confession. A passionate kiss. That's something you usually get as a payoff of a romance story, right? Some kind of lovey-dovey epilogue might follow, but the story is about the road to love and all those intense, romantic scenes are its proper conclusion. That's standard.

Sakura Trick is not that, as clearly shown even by its opening. This series is pretty much all about teenage girls kissing and being awkwardly-romantic with each other. And even more kissing. Lots and lots of kissing. In various, not always justifiable situations. It features three couples, with one being pretty openly at it from the very beginning and ... the other two blooming along the way, but without any deeper drama or doubt on what they are about. It's all very straightforward and fairly silly, just in the way you would expect this kind of purely-comedic show to be.

How about the execution? Well, the show is fairly pretty, often taking some minor shortcuts with animation and environment, but always solid with its main characters and when portraying more significant scenes (ex. kissing is always very detailed and colourful - the team behind Sakura Trick knew its priorities). The voices and op/end music are also fine. My main gripe is actually with the writing, which is serviceable, but never really great. Even this kind of fanservice'y show can be genuinely funny and witty, or even include some bits of believable romance. Here the jokes only ever got me smiling a bit, story didn't really go anywhere and the characters never even came close to Yuru Yuri levels of being memorable. While genuinely fun to watch, the whole experience felt pretty hollow.

So, is it worth your time? Your enjoyment will depend mostly on whether you like yuri and the kind of mild fanservice this show offers - while it has the main couple making out pretty much every episode, it actually rarely goes overboard with nudity or creepy shots you would know from other ecchi anime. I honestly thought that the kissing scenes will grow old pretty fast... But for me, they didn't. There's just this kind of cuteness and gentle sexiness in this brand of yuri fiction that always gets me, no matter how much of it I happen to see. Still, there's really very little substance to this show, even in comparison to many other episodic comedy anime I've seen.

If you're like me, starved for all kinds of yuri content, you should definitely watch it. If not... You won't lose that much by skipping it.

First off, read the most liked review. You'll be missing out if you don't. Onward then to my review.

Who would think to actually encounter a 1/10 show? Think about, how bad does something have to be, to have it rated the lowest you can? After watching this show I can tell without a doubt; this is the bottom of the pit.

You look around in the threatening darkness of this unknown chasm you fell into. Weak sunlight pierces this abyss, you see the frames of motionless bodies laying around you. These rotting corpses you knew from before. You tried forget, sure, but they etched themselves ... in the back of your mind. Unending recycling of tropes, merciless sexualization, deprived of all story and meaning. You know the list of such shows.

To be fair, at one point the majority of the popular anime shows reach into this same old trick hat too. But there's a difference between what you can consider 'borrowing ideas' and between not having a single unique, defining element in your show. If I had to summarise my problem with this show I think I would say:

"The problem with Sakura Trick is that it believes without second guessing that it came up with lesbians"

It is legitimately a 'trick'. It's a trick on you. To make you believe it will attempt to turn this around. It will become a good show eventually. Keep watching. It will change. You want to believe it. It's the family alcoholic in this unending downward spiral. But you already know how that ends. Not the way you wanted it to.

This show is a combination of these tropes that are like caffeine and nicotine. Refreshing in small doses, lethal in large ones. You will inject yourself with a deadly amount of Moe and Yuri tropes by watching this show. You will not survive. It's raw. It's concentrated. It's like you order a coke and they bring you the syrup it was made of instead. You want romance? Here's direct, non-stop, sexually overheated physical relationship between your protagonists and characters.

Sakura Trick is the definition of the 'now, kiss' meme. This is how far you can take sexual innuendo in anime without becoming hentai. But interestingly enough, it's not at the ecchi level either. It's this thing, that's just awkward sufficiently enough so that you keep looking behind your shoulder when you are watching it, even though it's not particularly explicit visually. It's that feeling of guilt that you get watching it. Do I like this? What's wrong with me? Why am I watching this? It leaves you in an existential crisis after an episode.

Sakura Trick is like locking yourself in a cage with two male, underfed Bengal tigers, who had been exposed to female tiger hormones for weeks and then throwing away the keys. It's like shutting off the water main and then lighting your flat on fire while your entire family is sleeping in it.

Sakura Trick is oblivion. Watching this show will shatter your soul. If you respect yourself or merely don't want to damage your mental health, avoid this.

First of all, this show isn't for everyone. You can tell by the spread out scores people gave it. I write this review only having watched 3 episodes, because I don't intent watching any more of it. I wouldn't called the show bad, but I just don't like it.

When I read the synopsis, I expected a (romantic) story. Oh boy was I deceived.

"The story revolves around Haruka and Yuu, two girls who go to a high school that is slated to be shut down in three years. To share something special between them, they share a kiss, and their relationship deepens from that moment onward."

(spoilers ... from episode one are present)
The first sentence is correct, but that's not the part that caught my attention/interest. It's the second sentence that's deceiving. The sentence doesn't connect to the previous except for having the same people in it. But the main offender is that there's no context. It doesn't tell you they share something special because Haruka is possessive and jealous of other girls hanging around her friend. It was to declare their FRIENDSHIP.
Then it says they share a kiss. This isn't wrong, it's actually quite correct. However it doesn't tell you why they kiss. They could have shared a diary, a cat, a bag, a secret (well it turns out this is a secret, but whatever), or any other kind of experience. But they didn't, because a kiss apperently was the best option. And that's quite fine, you know, if you're attracted to your friend and you want to deepen your friendship, I could imagine you would kiss her (I'm not against shoujo-ai so why not?). However this kiss didn't have any romantic significance. It was just a kiss because the FRIENDS couldn't find anything better.
The last part of the second sentence states that their relationship deepens from that moment on. Strange as it may be, it made me assume they were going to bond more due to the kiss. I mean it's in the same sentence right? Well since I only got to episode 3, I can't tell you their relationship didn't deepen. It also doesn't say how much/fast it deepens so they got me there!

Now as for the story after 3 episodes there's pretty much no progress. Which isn't a problem if it's something Like Yuru Yuri, because Yuru Yuri doesn't advertise a story and is supposed to be FUNNY and delivers. In Sakura Trick however their relationship deepens from friends who kissed once, to friends who kiss more frequent. I mean it's probably only been a month or 2 so why move faster right?

Art: OK, huge boobs, why? I don't know. Girls are animated really girly sometimes, I don't know if any girls would actually "run" like that. And atleast Haruka has knock-knee. But I can live with that.

Sound? Can't remember. It wasn't memorable in either a good or bad way.

Characters.... Ok so the characters are unique and there's 6 of them. And that's pretty much how far the good part of this section goes. Since I can't really say too much about the 4 supporting characters except that they weren't horrible that leaves me to the rest. Yuu's sister was also not horrible. By the way they're NOT in an all girls school, there are boys walking around. They just don't actively take a part in this anime in the first 3 episodes. And apperently 4 out of the 6 girls rather kiss females than even talk about boys. Actually the amount of focus a boy gets in Non Non Biyori is even higher (he doesn't get lines, but atleast he get's acknowledgement of being there.
So Yuu and Haruka... Yuu at first reminded me of Hotaru from Non Non Biyori, whom I like. But the thing is Hotaru is 10-11 and has genuine feelings for her "crush". Haruka just wants to kiss. Hotaru is acting more like something her age than Haruka is. Which leaves us a childish or underdeveloped Haruka. Yuu to me feels like the standard male harem MC. Little to no redeeming qualities, bad at studying good at sports.

Then I want to disect this anime a bit. It has:
1 Lesbianism
2 Kissing
3 Hiding the kissing as a secret
4 Comedy
5 Drama (I know I haven't mentioned it thus far, but it's there.)

If you would take 1 away, the series would fall apart. If you take 2 away or reduce the frequency, the series would fall apart. If you would take 4 away the series would still stand (I never really liked the comedy all that much). "We got to jump! Drag me along with you as you jump!" *shorter girl grabs taller girl's breasts instead of her waist*.
The drama I've seen wasn't bad, but it would be nicer if kissing wasn't the answer to everything.

So did I enjoy it? Not really. Is it bad? Well actually I would say yes. Does it mean you'll think it's bad? Not necessarily. If you like to see girls kissing no matter how frequent this is the show for you!

Oh final note: some people say it's a hidden gem. It's controversial, it's showing yuri or shoujo-ai still has a lot of potential. I agree, there's room for more shoujo-ai, more and better especially better.

Sakura Trick: The reason we need more Yuri.


Sakura trick is a fan-service Yuri-light anime that focuses on the developing relationship between two girls, Haruka and Yu. Over the course of the series, the girls make the decision to make their relationship special and apart from that of their new friends by sealing it with a kiss.

This of course, leads to petting, lots of kissing, and some suspicion from Yu's older sister as to the nature of their relationship.

Story.

The good and bad thing about this show is that there is only very light story over-reach. This means each episode has the girls dealing with ... an outside factor in a lesbian relationship without any lesbian role-models. The downside is that some episodes feel really flat, and very one-shot in theme and design.

While the Yuri feels only slightly exist, and the story makes you feel generally happy for the two girls, there are parts of the anime that fall short, because no other relationships are really explored very thoroughly.

The story basically sums up as: "Girls who are lesbians kiss a lot. Also have Lesbian pals."


Art.

The art is a mixed bag. The character designs are pretty basic. A couple supports break away from the mold, as does Haruka, being taller and less glamorous than is typical, but I've seen about 20 Yu carbon copies in my limited anime experience.

Worse, there are times when the animation gets still frame, and all you do is slide up the sketch of the girls knee -> thigh -> skirt -> boobs, as if this were an anime dating game.

The fan service is non-stop, and was overall a detraction.

Sound.

The sound was fine, the songs okay, the VA was decent, the main problem is too much dialogue devolved into high pitched "anime girl whines", that sounded more like a horde of cats singing than a girl being embarrassed.

Characters.

This is where I was disappointed. Haruka was a good character. She had insecurities, jealousy, and a number of okay points, but the rest of the crew were just flat. You knew about 20 seconds of exposition dialogue about each, and that was it.

Enjoyment.

Okay. So like I said earlier, this is why we need more Yuri. Whether it's a dedicated series, yuri characters, or whatever, the fact that there is so little of it is why Sakura Trick gets gobbled up and seen by Yurifans.

It's a weak offering, but without many competitors, it's used as a "Yuri Classic" example. If ST had stronger characters, real conflict, and a more engaging story that tried to talk about the struggles of young lesbians without models to base their relationships on, it would have been amazing. Instead, we get a fan-service fest that goes out of it's way to lock two young girls in rooms alone as possible so they can suck face and be bashful it.

It's things like ST that keep the genre from being taken seriously. Anyone who decides to dip into the Yuri world and sees this is going to assume all yuri-ai is nothing but moe-fests with whimpering teenagers who are drawn as pedo-bait protagonists with mush for brains.

**semi spoiler**

The worst part was at the end, when it's all said and done, and a scene happens where the characters who have talked about how they are special to each other all series long suddenly come to the epiphany that they have no idea what love is and they'd rather not talk about it, because they are special friends, not girlfriends.

Really?

Overall.

I grudgingly give a 6. There were enough moments to make me smile, but end the end, all I could think was "This.. this could have been so much more."

Pros and Cons

+ Real Yuri. The girls are in a relationship from the start.
+ Good use of color and visual technique, when not in dating sim mode.
+ Cute, if standard, character designs.
+ If you want moe moe moe, this is your show.
+ If you need fan service every 30 seconds, your in luck.

- Real Yuri Action, No Yuri feels. The longer the show goes, the less it feels like two girls in love and the more if feels like bi-curious besties who are young with no sense.

- The fanservice is more intrusive than I like. I don't care about screens full of uniform boobs, it's what the minds and hearts behind those boobs are doing that I desire to experience.

- No real depth to anything. Whats offered on the surface is what you expect everywhere.

- Watches at times like a dating sim. 10 second screen freeze and slides of girls giggling and doing nothing else.

ah yes. sakura trick. thats one i havent thought about in a good couple of years.
little eight year old me found this anime and was absolutely mesmerised. yes, this anime was quite literally my gay awakening.
....then why am i writing a bad review? well when this anime suddenly popped into my mind again i thought to myself "....wait...this anime was...so weird."
of course, i am no longer eight years old. now, being almost a teenager, my mind and opinions has grown and matured with me. and what is my opinion on this show? it's mediocre at best and weird and fetishy and worst.

this show ... holds such a special place in my heart, as mentioned beforehand, but i simply cannot say that this show is good nor do i recommend it to anyone okay, the plot. i havent watched this anime in a good three years so forgive me if i get something wrong but if i remember correctly, our main protagonist haruka gets jealous of her crush, yuu, making other friends and then they kiss so they can make their relationship special or something. now right off the bat, WHAT??? i relate to haruka, i really do, i have major jealousy issues but i dont make a big deal out of it, i just watch it happen, because it is what it is. also, how the hell do you kiss like every day and still be like "oh yeah nah we're just friends though." i mean, you gotta kiss the homies goodnight i guess!! respect. /s.
ummm....nah thats the plot. im not even joking that literally the whole entire plot. nothing happens. you know what the real plot of this show is? haruka and yuu kissing. i kid you not, all their kissing scenes adds up to atleast 25 minutes. the reason people watch this show (presumably men who get no bitches) is to look at two girls--who are CHILDREN--kissing and they probably jerk off to it because they're some greasy freaks. thats wrong on like, two levels. stop sexualising lesbians and stop jerking off to children you sick fucks.

the characters are not much different to the plot. they are as bland as a sheet of paper. hell, i cant even tell you the characters names, let alone their personalities. oh, but if it couldnt get any worse, no. it CAN get worse. you see, theres two side characters who have their romantic subplot of their own, awww....AAAAAAA?!!?!? well apparently not because THEY ARE COUSINS. YEP. COUSINS. im not even gonna comment any further.

the voice acting wasnt bad but jesus christ they put so much effort into the kiss scenes like their rent was due.

overall, it has a special place in my heart but with all due respect this show is icky and if you like it im going to assume you smell bad, have no girlfriend and i would kindly ask you to stand atleast 6 feet away from me <3

The Positive Side: The first thirty seconds of the opening theme tell you precisely what kind of show this is. This is a show about cute girls being hilariously and adorably gay. Boobs will bounce. Tongues will wrestle. Fingers will intertwine. And if you’re the kind of person who likes cute, fluffy Yuri shows, you won’t be disappointed.
There’s a nice balance of romance and comedy that keeps the show from getting too sappy or too wacky and obnoxious. One of my favorite scenes comes in the first episode, where the main characters, Haruka and Yuu kiss for the first ... time. The lighting gets appropriately pastel and sparkly, and both characters start giving sweet internal monologues. They keep kissing, and the monologues keep rolling, both getting more and more aroused until they hold the kiss so long, that they forget to stop and take a breath, and they both pass out. It’s over-the-top and wacky, but in a very sweet, goofy and endearing way that makes it clear that the two really care about each other, and that they’re also very inexperienced. It’s a gag that not only takes the edge off the cheesy sentimentality of the scene, but also neatly captures the nature of Haruka and Yuu’s relationship. Neither of them actually knows what a romantic relationship is supposed to be like, and they hit plenty of stumbling blocks along the way, but the show ends every episode on a nice make-out session that reaffirms their feelings for each other.
While the characters certainly aren’t the deepest I’ve ever encountered, Haruka and Yuu have a nice dynamic. Yuu’s childish whimsy and frequent pettiness have a way playing off Haruka’s possessiveness and overly sentimental nature, frequently driving Haruka to feel jealous or otherwise distraught. At the same time, Yuu has moments of vulnerability and caring that keep the relationship from becoming too one-sided.
A lot of screen-time is devoted to Haruka, Yuu and their friends screwing around and being cute, but there are much appreciated moments of tension. In addition to the general relationship turmoil between Haruka and Yuu, there is also Yuu’s older sister Mitsuki, who frequently serves as the series’ antagonist, insisting on protecting Yuu from Haruka’s advances. While the Hyper-Protective Family Member trope has been done to death in romance, Sakura Trick plays with the cliché by having Mitsuki develop—and furiously deny—feelings for Haruka. Mitsuki gradually morphs from being an authority figure attempting to stand between Haruka and Yuu to a love rival to her own sister, but she remains a source of tension whether she is lurking around spying on Haruka and Yuu, or preparing her confession.
While there’s plenty of fan-service, it never really gets in the way of emotional development, and feels like the natural result of the characters feelings for each other rather than something forced in. Haruka and Yuu make-out a lot, and Yuu comments on Haruka’s big boobs more than once, but that’s what girlfriends do. It only makes sense.
I particularly loved a bit of fan-service delivered in an after-episode bonus. A secondary character is taking a bath, and the camera is making the expected zoom-ins on her body, when abruptly, she looks over her shoulder into the camera, smirks, and says, “Fan-service Scene”. At first this seems like she’s just randomly breaking the forth wall for giggles, but there’s a deeper meaning to her awareness. This isn’t the typical voyeuristic camera-angles that Harem series so often employ. There’s an aspect of consent here that a lot of fan-service misses; the girl knows full well that the audience is checking her out, and she’s perfectly fine with that! So many Ecchi series rely on accidental groping, walking in on distraught girls naked and ogling camera-work, it’s refreshing to see an affirmation of consent accompanying an erotic moment. I wish more shows had this kind of awareness.

The Negative Side: There’s a part of me that’s tempted to give this series a 10 out of 10 purely by virtue of being the first romantic comedy I’ve reviewed that doesn’t have any rape or vengeance fantasies in it. Speaking seriously though, I’m not about to pretend that Sakura Trick is some kind of mind-shattering literary master-piece.
The relationship between Haruka and Yuu is sweet, but it isn’t incredibly deep or complex, a fact the show acknowledges in the final episode. While Mitsuki does wrestle a bit with her feelings for Haruka, this isn’t the kind of Yuri that’s going to show us a lengthy, emotionally-tortured journey from self-loathing to acceptance and happiness… and that’s perfectly okay. Not every Yuri needs to deal with bigotry and homophobia, and not every show ever produced needs to deliver a thoughtful commentary on some massive, societal issue. Sometimes, you just want to watch a show about cute girls making out, and Sakura Trick is that show.

----------
Disclaimer
----------
The following review is completely spoiler-free, and is meant for users who are curious about whether to watch the show or not. While I write reviews with this focus, and the goal of presenting the show with little bias, it is impossible to write a completely unbiased review. Feel free to disagree with any of my opinions, and ultimately decide for yourself how you feel about the show after watching it yourself!

---------
Positives
---------
- Non-Implicit Romance
By far the largest reason I looked up this anime in the first place was because I was tired of romance sub-plots in many of the anime shows I loved. What I ... wanted was a true romance; One that actually showed the trials and tribulations of a legitimate, blossoming coupling. Sakura Trick is exactly that. There's still some difficulties with admitting/telling others about the relationship, but overall it scratches the "please I just want to see cute people get together and be in love" itch that many of us get watching half-complete romance subplots in literally every show we ever watch. Incidentally, I would've written "Explicit" instead of "Non-Implicit", but I don't mean it like thaaaaat c'moon.

- Overt Sexuality
This could also be classified as a negative by some who are uncomfortable with the more intimate displays, but it was refreshing to see actual human signs of affection in the form of kissing (quite intense kissing at times). Anime has this weird double standard when it comes to displaying sexuality in its characters: It's okay to grope people and put their bodies on display, but heaven forbid you show them holding hands or kissing you absolute madman. Sakura Trick goes light on the boob grope and heavy on the petting, which I found to convey a more satisfying connection between the two main characters when viewing the relationship. Additionally, the show barely ever touches on the "we're two girls, therefore it's wrong" trope that squeezes any sense of fun out of any plot line.

- Diversity in Relationships
When you get down to it, Sakura Trick is about young girls falling in love. But dig a bit deeper, and you get to see three separate types of relationships blossoming. It was very nice to see a variety of different relationship standards being shown, instead of one simple relationship focus.

- Bright, Happy Art
A show that centred around young blossoming love should have stylistic choices that match that setting. Sakura Trick absolutely knocks that out of the park with bright pastel colours, fun visuals representing characters, bubbly background cutouts, and many beautiful lighting choices.

---------
Negatives
---------
- Cast Screen Time
The main characters of the show are Haruka and Yuu, for good reason. I have no complaints about their screentime, especially in regards to their relationship. Where a small qualm lies is with how the show distributed the screen time of all the other characters. Yuu's sister got far too much time in the spotlight compared to her friends, and this is especially true with regards to Kotone and Hiromi. The latter's episodes/segments often felt rushed, while the former's dragged on over multiple episodes. Additionally, a number of side characters are introduced quickly at the beginning and forgotten until they are needed later, at which point they're suddenly thrust upon the viewer with short time to get to know them. I would have liked to see a more even distribution of character development, focusing less on Mitsuki and more on other supporting cast members

- Episode Pacing
I am very aware of the reality that much of Sakura Trick's manga was in a 4koma style, and as such leads the anime to have to adapt many small scenes into one episode. I still often got a bit of whiplash from the context switches, and I wish those were handled a bit better. This anime did such a good job reading between the lines and filling in the gaps for the manga. If only they could have gone a little bit farther to better adapt it to the medium they were using.

- Ending
I was left somewhat disappointed with the ending of the show. I cannot say much because I do not wish to spoil much, but there were a few key moments I wish had been a little less... awkward than they ended up being. Ultimately, I was left satisfied, but only partially. I would've like a more definitive, flashy kind of ending.

----------
Conclusion
----------
Sakura Trick is the type of show that fills a void that anyone who enjoys romance is too familiar with. It allows us to finally let our hearts be free and enjoy watching a relationship actually bloom, with satisfying payoffs and many cute lesbian kisses. The characters feel somewhat realistic, but still fun in an anime kind of way. The relationships portrayed feel more authentic, and have more weight to them because they show actual affectionate displays.

It pushes past many romantic tropes, eschewing the all-too-familiar sexuality double standard and delivers genuine, caring affection like I haven't seen in any other anime so far. At the same time, it sidesteps many pitfalls that other romance or lesbian focused shows fall into. And do not make any mistake, it is also quite a funny show too!

If affectionate displays like kissing (and I mean real kissing, not cute pecks) make you uncomfortable, then this isn't the show for you. But if you're open to the idea of real sexuality on display (without dipping into anything too risque, of course) then this show will do everything it can to fill that void in your heart that so many other anime have left. It will reward your patience, and make sure you leave each episode feeling happier than when you left.

------------
Final Rating
------------
While it makes for nice averages and wonderful sorting, when it comes to reviews I personally do not like direct numbering systems. Instead, I am to answer the question: "Would you recommend I watch this show?". So,

If you are a fan of romance, I would definitely recommend giving this anime a try. The first episode should give you a good idea of how the rest of it will progress.

If you are new to/interested in the above genre(s), it might not be the very best series to start with, but I would still recommend you give it a shot. Best results will come if you walk into this anime looking to satisfy an entertainment craving in your heart!

So... this is show is basically cute girls doing cute things and kissing from time to time. However, if those cute things are interesting or fun is another story, in short: THIS SHOW IS BORING. I haven't read the manga, and I doubt I ever will.

Yuri fans have it rough when it comes to anime (thank god there are some good mangas out there), that being said, I can see why some people might like this anime so much. If its your first exposure to this kind of genera, it might work as a gateway drug (like cigarettes).
If you have some time to ... kill while drunk on a Saturday its harmless and mildly entertaining at best, and forgettable at worst; but it's not something I would recommend if you are looking for something more substantial in your cravings for shoujo-ai.

Without further to do, lets check the bulletpoints (spoiler free, as I always do):

-Story: What story? Pretty much nothing happens. The show takes an episodic approach with short stories and sketches that conclude in some cute thing for some cute reason and without consequences. There's nothing wrong with that, if done right, but here its just boring, there are some good ideas here and there but they are few and far between. There is some plot; but its minimal. It doesn't work as a comedy and it doesn't work as a drama, it's toothless and forgettable for the most part.

-Art: Its fair, decent production value for what it is, nothing insulting yet nothing to be amazed at. The production team sure saved a lot of money representing the character interactions with flower symbols bumping into each other rather than with ACTUAL ANIMATION, but well... can't say that I expected more, and it kinda gives the show some personality. In short, cheap, but well optimized for what it is. As far as the character designs and settings, I cant remember anything truly standing out besides the eventual use of manga styled shaders here and there.

-Sound: The voice acting was descent, and the music kinda slipped away at me, absolutely forgettable. Nothing special, nothing insulting. I think you can start seeing the pattern here...

-Character: What characters? I cant remember any of them! You have, emm... lemme think... loli-esk blonde chan witch is kinda childish... her sister; emmmm... protagonist chan, witch is in love with blonde loli chan (for some reason); emmm... their lesbo friends that live together (for some reason)... and those two other girls that just hang there and one of them is named like the main character of Citrus. They are likable enough, but none of them are worth remembering, they are way too safe to deviate from their formulas.

-Enjoyment: Did I just watch this show? Did I enjoy it? I CANT REMEMBER! :D

So... AWARDS TIME!
Not gonna waste any more time with this s**** :P
- POINTLESS:
If you read/watched any yuri/shoujo-ai out there, you already saw this anime. It brings nothing new to the table. Don't watch it, you'll waste your time.

- GATEWAY DRUG:
If you haven't, go ahead and become one of us (?).

- FORGETTABLE:
You'll forget about this as soon as you finished it... unless its your first (no one forgets their first).

And that's pretty much it.

Esa fue mi reviu the sacura trik para el family, y espero que les haya gustado.
Chau.

I wouldn't say that this anime is good by any objective standards, but damn is it enjoyable. This show centers around Haruka and Yu, who are close friends that become "special friends" (they make out with each other). That's the majority of the appeal of the show. If you like watching cute girls make out, this is a perfect anime for you.

Beyond the surface level yuri, a lot of the scenes between the characters can actually be touching and sweet. The way the two main characters explore how they really feel about each other is very similar to what someone would experience in highschool, same ... sex relationship or not. The characters themselves are nothing too special, but their interactions seem mostly genuine and realistic.

The general story just follows the two main characters and their relationship together, but there are many scenes that seem forced for pointless. Visually, the show is nothing special. They attempt boob physics but it comes off more as comical than sensual.

Overall, this show is very enjoyable if you like drama and cute girls kissing. It is nothing special, but can put a smile on your face and pass the time.

[SPOILER FREE]
I'm going to try to take this seriously because I have some serious thoughts about this story I'd like to share at the end.


Sakura Trick is an anime about two best friends just entering high school that kiss to solidify that their friendship is special and worth more than any other friendships they will make in an effort to keep their bond strong.

After watching other anime where a romance subplot was always kind of a backdrop to divert the main story, you could effectively say that this is my first proper yuri romance anime.

I'd like to point out that this is a very wholesome ... anime, there is fan service present. But it is kept to what I consider an absolute minimum and is often handled in cliche-funny or clever ways. As someone who absolutely despises mindless fan service, I really appreciated this approach.

I liked a lot about it but it isn't flawless.



Story: 7
So in an effort to keep this as spoiler-free as possible; I'm not going to give away any plot details and I'm going to talk very generally about the story. It's a cute anime, two best friends decide to kiss and this kiss leads to a spark that causes them to kiss and experiment more all while trying to keep their secret from their friends and family.
This leads to a discussion about love and the different facets of it.
It's incredibly cute and the writing makes the most out of the settings, creating a lot of unique, romantic, and touching moments. Sometimes it can feel a little generic and the dialogue can almost seem too idealized.


Art: 9
This anime is beautiful. There's a fun use of character-based backgrounds, creating reaction images using character features, and chibi visual skits. Nothing feels jarring and the animation has a very natural flow to it. At some points, background characters are just white cutouts.


Sound: 9
The VAs in this series were fine and I don't have any qualms about them. The music choices fit nicely with the scenes they were in and served an important role in setting the mood. There were a lot of moments where the soundtrack really shined.


Character: 6
This is where I feel Sakura Trick suffers from the most. The female leads are very cute and their relationship dynamic works. But one of the leads is very airheaded and the other is more down to earth but easily swayed. This makes for a duo that can at times be annoying with childish antics and arguments. They aren't developed enough individually so most of the supporting characters and their relationships with each other are more fleshed out and more realistic than that of the protagonists. I think this is deliberately done and I'll get to why that is in the Overall portion.


Enjoyment: 9
I had a good time with this series and watching it all the way through was a breeze because of the pacing and how the plot develops. It's very memorable and even though I had minor complaints about some of the character's attitudes in certain situations I believe I'll be rewatching this again in the near future.



Overall: 8




Final Opinion:

Love is a complicated emotion to describe. If you were to ask 100 people what they define as love you'd get a lot of different answers despite the feeling being the same. You can discover love in many ways, whether that's through art, music, work, or another person.

Sometimes love is like a Sakura tree. It grows slowly and sheds its petals in a short amount of time. But it still grows.
Sometimes love is like a semi hitting you at 70mph and you can't describe how it felt, but you damn well know you felt it.

I don't know if I would call Sakura Trick a love story.

The feelings the protagonists feel are compared and contrasted with the relationships others share in the series, and you can see how one couple's relationship has far more meaning and a deeper connection to them than our protagonists' relationship has to them.

It seems very open to interpretation.

I think this story is about two girls that find affection in one another through an unfamiliar act they had never explored before. These girls seek comfort in one another because they're thrust into a new situation without familiarity, so being together means they can find something to anchor them in this new place. This leads to experimentation and feelings that weren't discovered before.

I don't believe that these protagonists are in love and it's clear at the end that they don't have a true understanding of what love is or means to them.
The phrase "I love you" may elicit a positive response but without a proper understanding of what is meant by that, the words hold less weight than they otherwise would.

Overall I find this to be a cute, lighthearted story about teenagers on the path to self-discovery and I enjoyed it.

Sakura Trick isn't just the cutest yuri anime ever made, It's the cutest romantic anime ever made, I've never seen so many cute kisses. Please man, this is about to nekos (Neko is also used to describe the passive one in a yuri, just like "uke" for yaoi) falling in love! there's nothing cuter! Anyways, the art-style is cute, the characters are all cute (most of them are lesbians too for some reason... going to a girls-only school sure does affect you), hell, even the music in it is super lovey-dovey, the opening's name is "Wonchu kiss me?" for fucks sake!. Now if we gotta ... talk about plot... It doesn't make much sence at times and things are kinda rushed, it get's boring at times since it's always the same thing but hey... that's how romantic animes work, right? but the comedy in it really makes you go pass that.
If you don't have diabetes and you love cute romance stuff, even if you don't like yuri that much, you HAVE to check this anime out.

Imagine Koufuku Graffiti, but instead of eating, they kiss.

If you don't know what I mean, then to sum it up: Cute girls do random things where nothing really happens, and the only saving grace is that they kiss each other. A LOT.

Sakura Trick is the yuri anime where the scenes aren't borderline hentai, nor heavily ecchi, yet still manages to be lewd just by kissing. And that's crazy (in a good way).

The story is that of a generic slice-of-life. There's not much to expect from it, but that's not the point. If you're looking for a deep and complex plot, it's not here. The ... whole driving force of the show is the girl-love and emotional growth of the characters. And it did well in that regard.

Aside from the weird faces, the art is pretty solid. Character designs are fine, and backgrounds with actual scenery look beautiful.

Everything was slow at the start (others may find it boring), but as the episodes pass, and as conflicts or hurdles arise, the show gets better and better.

At the end, everything was so good. The last episode was beautiful.

It's sad, really. I wanted to indulge in more yuri, but the next thing I know, it's already finished.

Oh, and they also kissed each other for all the right reasons.