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.
