Aug 6, 2015
So, I recently watched this anime. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised! I breezed through all 24 episodes in just two days, and it isn't too often an anime keeps me so hooked I have to marathon it nowadays, especially a school anime.
Why is Sakurasou so god damn brilliant? Well, for starters, let's discuss the story. It starts with a kid named Sorata Kanda getting kicked out of his school's regular dormitories for keeping a stray cat. He is presented with the options of either getting rid of the cat, or moving to
...
Sakurasou - the school's dorm for problem children. Because Sorata cares so much for his cat, he chooses the option of moving to Sakurasou, a place of which he plans to escape from. One day, a girl named Mashiro Shiina moves to Sakurasou all the way from England, and it turns out she is completely dependent on other people.
I must say, out of all the school anime I have watched so far, Sakurasou probably has the most unique plot - it's completely different from the many basic romance anime that don't feature much besides kids going to school and falling in love. The story is very well constructed and I feel the producers handled all six of the main characters perfectly. I would have liked to see a bit more of Ryuunosuke as he isn't even properly introduced until episode 9. That said, he is a shut-in so there is an obvious, acceptable reason for his lack of appearances.
The show contains some hilarious moments, some extremely sad moments and some truly great scenes.
Now onto the next point - the (absolutely brilliant) art style! At first, I thought the art seemed pretty standard for modern anime, but as I continued watching, I realised just how beautiful it actually is... The art, the animation, Shiina's paintings, it's all great! In fact, I'd go as far as to call it some of the best art I've ever seen in anime. I especially love the eyes as I can really see the emotion in them.
Oh, where do I begin to talk about the characters!? I loved them all so much! They are all incredibly well written and if it weren't for them, I seriously doubt I would have enjoyed Sakurasou so much. Sorata and Jin are both pretty ordinary guys. Well, sure, Jin was a bit too obsessed with women, having four different girlfriends at the same time, but let's face it - an obsession with girls isn't too abnormal for man, is it?
Ryuunosuke is a slightly awkward shut-in, programmer and a genius of sorts. He is a very interesting character who tends to communicate via email or text message. Despite creating Maid-chan, a female AI, he strongly dislikes women.
Shiina is very cute. Her inability to care for herself leads to its fair share of problems, but it is easy to tell her heart is in the right place.
Misaki is completely crazy, to the point where she is commonly referred to as an 'alien'. She loves creating anime, and she also loves Jin.
Aoyama works ridiculously hard, largely due to the fact her father did not want her to follow her dream of becoming a voice actor. She obviously cares very deeply for Sakurasou and it's residents and is frequently offering to help out with chores.
Now, unfortunately, I didn't find the sound in Sakurasou to be quite as good as other factors. While there isn't anything particularly wrong (in fact, it's all pretty good!) with the music, sound effects or openings, it doesn't contain anything I'd really want to listen to again. It's good enough, but I feel it lacks uniqueness. Overall, the sound isn't bad; it's just not particularly excellent.
As for enjoyment, I feel it's a thoroughly enjoyable show for anyone who enjoys comedy or school anime, or just cute stuff in general. There are lots of emotional moments, and finishing it made me sad because I didn't want it to end. As I stated earlier, I finished the entire show incredibly quickly. Each episode left me wondering what was going to happen next. It sure has been a while since I watched an anime as enjoyable as Sakurasou.
Overall, I feel this anime deserves nothing less than a rating of 9/10. A very enjoyable watch!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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