Pretty cliché and corny huh? Well let’s get straight to the point: it definitely is. There honestly is nothing too unique about much of the anime. But before you skip the rest of this review and vow to never watch this peculiar-sounding title that resembles tons of other shows in its genre, listen to what I have to say. What could such a genre of anime do that makes it totally stand out from the rest of the crowd? In my opinion, it can’t do too much that is different. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou may not stand out, but it excels at many aspects that are representative of a slice of life/romance show. Most significantly, it is extremely down to earth and relatable, and that is the true embodiment of the slice of life/romance genre.
This will be one of my longer reviews, since it does take some effort to put an “ordinary” show in a good light, so please bear with me.
Story:
The main problem with the show, is what I have stated before: it is very cheesy at times. If you’ve played Pokemon, it’s kind of like listening the talks about the power of love and connection between Pokemon and trainer. A lot of the show focuses on a couple of themes and traditional slice of life stereotypes, that come up over and over again. The first half of the series demonstrates the typical Toradora style like qualities, where the characters are introduced and develop, and in general, is a lighthearted and humorous portion of the show. There is nothing you probably haven’t seen in the first half, and honestly, some portions of show just made me cringe from how hackneyed it was.
The anime really started getting good when it reached, specifically, the Christmas episode, when the interactions in the first half began to turn into more serious drama. The hard work that they put in towards their goals that started in the first half was translated into authentic results, and romance begins to unfold. In the second half, the show becomes very realistic, especially focusing on hardships and how things don’t always turn out the way you expect them to. Although the same themes came up, they took a different approach to portraying it, by instead focusing on keeping it realistic by using a hint of unfortunate events, and it was done admirably.
Characters:
It is not unheard of that some characters do a complete 360 degrees on their original personality after experiencing an extremely traumatic event. While some people might call this good character “development,” when does this happen in real life? When you are getting close to adulthood, certain ideologies, emotions, and attitudes definitely shift, but much more likely, you stay true to yourself at the end of the day.
Characters in The Pet Girl of Sakurasou experience all those changes, encounter hardships, and sometimes can’t help but to release their emotions. While some episodes did very little to advance the character’ personality traits, many of the crucial episodes did a good job of making you feel like you are in their shoes. The only problem I have is that some character's traits don't seem to explained very well, and some characters just have obliviousness that may make you annoyed.
In my opinion, the cast is likeable, but some characters lacked very “outstanding” features. As it is a major character oriented show, understanding the character’s emotions and past experiences is a necessity for finding the show to be relatable. But with the wide variety of characters, I would say it is is difficult to find someone you cannot relate to.
Soundtrack and Art:
The soundtrack consists of mostly lighthearted, upbeat tracks, especially evident in the first half of the show. I did feel a lack of emotional tracks, evidently by how there was this one piano song that played constantly towards the last few episodes. The openings and endings were likeable, especially the second ending, which might be one of my favorite anime endings ever (it was actually the reason I found out about this anime, after hearing it on an anime station). Besides that personal favorite, I found that many tracks tend to be reused in similar situations, and not too much of the OST was memorable.
The art heavily fitted the lighthearted nature of the show, and was quite accurate. Many of the paintings and drawings in the anime, you could tell, had a lot of detail and effort put into them to live up to Mashiro’s prodigy status. In an attempt to unite the art and soundtrack, the show did a lot of overlaying of the dialogue and theme songs, putting some scenes before, during, or after the theme songs. The transitions they had with these were very well done, and added very much needed variety.
Beginning, Ending and Influence:
The start of the anime was really something that probably turned a lot of users away. It instantly started off with fanservice, seemingly superficial humor, and the fact that the main character is stuck with a girl who doesn’t even know how to dress just screams pervertedness. The anime then continues to gives off vibes of sexual tension for quite a few episodes that makes it seem like a harem, fanservice-based anime that immediately gives off a feeling of shallowness. Not to mention the title sounds kind of…suggestive. During some parts of the anime, even towards the ending, it feels like it is trying too hard to make you care, when all it needs to do is just simply tell the story.
However, the anime more than redeems itself with its very down to earth nature and superb character development. Although it was never very addicting to me, the superb pacing and execution made every episode satisfying to complete. The ending of the anime is a very appropriate closing, leaving you to your own imagination and preference to what happens next, and can be emotional when you are very attached to the characters.
The hard work ethic and courage that the characters embody are very applicable to reality, and thus, can definitely inspire others. No matter how corny that last sentence sounds, it doesn’t have to be if it is executed and portrayed properly, and that aspect is what The Pet Girl of Sakurasou excelled at.
