There are two main reasons why I love Sakurasou as much as I do: (1) the characters are all extremely likeable and engaging, and (2) the general message of the show is excellent. I’ll address each of these points in turn.
Sakurasou centers on the residents of Sakura Dormitory, a high school dorm that over time has become home to the school’s “problem students”: a cadre of misfits and weirdos who, for one reason or another, were unable to integrate into the school’s normal dorms and were consequently shuttled off-campus by agitated administrators. These residents include Sorata, the main lead and aspiring video game designer who gets punted into Sakura Dormitory after violating the school’s “no cats” policy; Mashiro, the female lead who is equal parts space cadet and idiot savant; Nanami, Sorata’s uptight classmate who (surprise, surprise) harbors an intense crush on him; Misaki, the self-proclaimed “alien” of the group focused on a career in animation (“her future is so bright, she can’t even see it!”); Jin, an incorrigible lothario who may or may not have feelings for Misaki; and Ryunosuke, a reclusive computer programmer who I honestly thought was a girl until halfway through the series. There are several prominent side characters as well, most notably Chihiro, an art teacher and Sakura Dormitory’s “advisor” who, when she’s not giving Sorata a hard time, spends most of her waking hours on the prowl for a husband.
The reason for this rather lengthy breakdown is that I adore Sakurasou’s cast to death; they are all such wonderful, entertaining characters, and the relationships they develop with each other over the course of the series feel incredibly organic. You want to see these characters succeed, which makes it that much more painful when things don’t turn out as they hoped. This ties in with the show’s central theme of dealing with disappointment, and its powerful message of never giving up despite all the curveballs life will throw at you. While there will always be someone more talented than you, hard work and resolve also matter, and sometimes the “talented” among us are actually those with the strongest work ethic (as in the case of Mashiro and Misaki, though they both seem to have copious amounts of natural ability as well). The countless struggles these characters go through to achieve their professional (and personal) dreams is what transforms Sakurasou from a mere slice-of-life comedy with undertones of romance into something more timeless and profound.
One side note: after perusing several Reddit boards, many Sakurasou fans have been quick to award Nanami with “best girl” status. Personally, she’s a touch too much of a tsundere for my tastes. I also like Mashiro more, since I found her combination of helplessness and earnestness to be absolutely hilarious (though god help us if she ever follows through with “Plan C”). However, Nanami definitely grew on me; she mellows out as the series progresses, and some of the experiences she goes through—especially toward the end, where her dream of becoming a voice actress seems to be crumbling before her eyes—were not only heartbreaking but genuinely painful to watch. She is the ideal counterpart for Sorata, someone who isn’t particularly talented but nevertheless knows what she wants to do and is constantly giving her all in pursuit of her dream.
Also, I should mention that Sakurasou has the best “pool episode” in any anime I’ve watched so far (I believe it is episode 8). While it has some beautiful animation and nice music, the reason I like it so much is that it actually ties in to the main plot of the series. In other words, going to the pool isn’t merely a pretext to show off the female characters in their swimsuits. Not to say I don’t appreciate mindless fanservice now and then, but I’d be hard-pressed to come up with another anime that integrates its fanservice into the plot so effectively, with the end result neither distracting from the story nor objectifying the female cast. Indeed, it was this episode that made me fall in love with the show, where I began to realize I was watching something special.
Some other things I like about Sakurasou: the pacing and story structure is among the best I’ve seen for a 24-episode series. The first four episodes serve as a prologue of sorts, establishing the dynamic between Sorata and Mashiro over the course of several months. Thankfully, these dramatic timeskips stop around episode 5, the episode Nanami decides to move into Sakura Dormitory (this is the moment I feel the show actually “begins”). J.C.Staff did a good job with the character designs and art direction, and I enjoyed both OPs and EDs (the second ED is particularly catchy, though the first ED has creative visuals). Also, episode 23—a.k.a. the “graduation” episode—features one of the most moving speeches I’ve heard in an anime, made even more poignant by the fact that the entire series had been building up to this moment. (In many ways, it’s similar to the conclusion of episode 23 of Shirobako, another scene that made me cry literal buckets.)
Finally, while many fans criticize the show’s ending, I thought it was great. While it left me wanting more, it also managed to capture a “life-goes-on” feeling that I found deeply satisfying (and perfectly in line with the show’s emphasis of life as a journey with no clear destination). Overall, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is an uplifting series with a top-tier cast, and I strongly recommend viewers to give the show a chance.
