When talking about a romantic comedy, one would normally think that it would be mostly comedy, fun and games with a little dash of love sandwiched in between the laughs and the gags. That is also what I expected when I started watching this anime.
But nope, of course Sakurasou doesn't do that. Instead, it hits you with so much angst and sadness that its sometimes hard to breathe at times. Problem after problem after problem, so much that they don't give time for one to even catch their breath and relax.
However, the characters are good. Well fleshed out, as expected when an anime has TWENTY FOUR episodes for a single season. We have the really relatable protagonist Sorata Kanda, the clueless prodigy Mashiro Shiina, the rejected girl Aoyama Nanami, quintessential hacker genius Akasaka Ryuunosuke, jealous Yotsubaesque friend Rita Ainsworth, insecure playboy casanova Jin Mitaka, yellow haired Quintessential Quintuplet Yotsuba Misaki Kamiigusa, drunk busty teacher Chihiro Sengoku, the cast of characters is filled with interesting people that all undergo character development as the show continues. And mind you, I did not list all of the characters here. Nuh-uh.
The plot is supposed to be about Kanda's growing relationship with Shiina, but along the way a lot more stuff is added in than one would like, really revving up the pace of the episodes and making it feel fast even though there's twice the amount of episodes. In fact, almost everyone at Sakurasou (which is a outcast dorm at a prodigious school) ends up in a relationship one way or another.
And with that said, we must talk about the elephant in the room.
Both Mashiro Shiina and Aoyama Nanami like Kanda, so this show contains an interesting little love triangle as well.
Only instead of a scalene triangle, the writers were really intent on giving Aoyama as much of a chance as possible, giving her even more screen time with Kanda than Shiina, the main female protagonist herself, in order to further that goal. And it worked; I switched from a diehard Shiina fan to being able to respect a possible Aoyama victory. That is how much they fleshed out Aoyama and actually made her look and feel like someone Kanda can be with, which is one of the bright sides to this anime given that in most love triangles, one of the two girls simply gets little to no character development at all and is, as a result, not chosen. Of course, after giving Aoyama the chance to show herself, they reject her at the very end, which was sad because I actually started to root for Aoyama at the very end.
Music is great. Only thing I notice is the ending music changes sometimes, with one being more upbeat and one...strangely sounding foreboding and mysterious, which shouldn't be for a romantic comedy.
I will say that there is comedy, though, and I will not say what it is, only that it made me chuckle at times, so it was a fun experience. Only problem was that the amount of funny moments seemed to decrease as the season went on, so there.
TL:DR: The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is quite the anime. Those who like lots of angst, beautiful characters, beautiful art, and quality (not quantity) comedy, this anime is perfect for you. For those who came for the laugh and gags, please watch something else, for you will be more than a little dissapointed by the lack of comedty here for what they call a romantic "comedy".
Rating: 9.6/10 (Interestingly enough, 24 episodes wasn't boring, so that also shows how good it is)
