Sakura Trick
Sakura Trick is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by. It was serialized in Houbunsha's manga magazine from March 2011 to August 2017, with its chapters collected in eight volumes. The series follows Haruka Takayama and Yū Sonoda, two girls who decide to make their relationship special by kissing each other in secret.
A 12-episode anime television series adaptation directed by Kenichi Ishikura and produced by Studio Deen aired between January and March 2014. For the adaptation, Ishikura focused on portraying the kissing scenes with particular detail, as well as keeping tight pacing in line with the original four-panel manga.
Critics generally praised the anime adaptation's characters and production value. The show's representation of lesbian relationships, visual portrayal of its characters, and overall story received more mixed reviews.
Synopsis
Haruka Takayama and Yū Sonoda were inseparable during middle school, but upon entering high school, they end up being seated on opposite sides of the classroom. Having to spend less time together, the two decide to make their relationship special by kissing each other in secret. As they become closer, they have to hide their intimacy from their friends while also working through their feelings for one another.Characters
; Haruka Takayama; Yū Sonoda
; Kotone Noda
; Shizuku Minami
; Kaede Ikeno
; Yuzu Iizuka
; Mitsuki Sonoda
; Sumi Otokawa
; Rina Sakai
Production
Anime
Adaptation
Kenichi Ishikura, the director of the anime adaptation, joined the project after being approached by Studio Deen producer Nobumitsu Urasaki. Ishikura felt that the manga's level of intimacy with its kissing scenes was unique for its time, and believed that omitting them would diminish the meaning of the work. Tachi, the manga's author, requested that at least one such scene be shown per episode.Development
After closely studying the original series, Ishikura decided to write the screenplay along with directing it. His scripts included extensive stage directions, which he noted was typical when adapting four-panel manga. He instructed episode writers to maintain tight pacing in order to prevent declines in visual quality caused by extended runtimes. Ishikura stated that four-panel manga expresses stories succinctly, and that the anime's tempo needed to reflect this.Ishikura described the original series as containing deep emotional themes, which he attributed to its female author. To convey these themes, he avoided overly harsh emotional portrayals and instead emphasized underlying kindness in the characters. He considered the series to be oriented towards a more female audience, which led to a focus on exploring romantic feelings rather than depicting a straightforward relationship.
Ishikura stated that the characters were one of the most important aspects of the anime, with the changes in their relationships driving the plot forward. He aimed to depict all the characters in endearing ways to appeal to their fans from the original manga.
Animation
According to Ishikura, kissing scenes posed a particular challenge for the anime. The studio devoted significant resources into animating the scenes, such as by including more detailed movements and a higher number of frames than regular scenes. Despite their frequent occurrence, he ensured that no frames were reused, citing the scenes' importance to the story.Ishikura had previously worked at the animation studio SHAFT, and many of his stylistic techniques, such as those involving background art, use of color, and scene layouts, came from his time there; in particular, his direction of Hidamari Sketch, another four-panel manga adaptation, influenced his approach to pacing and animation in Sakura Trick. In contrast to Hidamari Sketch, he sought to portray the series' characters in a gentler and softer manner, with the girls being much closer together.
The anime made use of chibi characters, a visual element not present in the manga. The original manga often included facial expressions inside speech balloons as reaction beats, so Ishikura used chibi expressions to achieve the same effect. In general, Ishikura chose to use symbols and other shorthand in the anime's visuals to avoid overly slow animation.
Voice acting
During auditions, Ishikura evaluated both the actors' performances and how well they portrayed character pairings. He also asked the actors to perform kissing scenes to ensure realistic portrayals. He cast Haruka Tomatsu as Haruka Takayama because of his opinion of her wide emotional range.Soundtrack
Much of the imagery used in the opening and ending theme songs was derived from the songs' lyrics. For example, the opening theme, whose initial lyrics roughly translate to "kiss kiss kiss", begins with a kissing scene. In addition, the vocals transition from individual character duets to all six singing together, which Ishikura depicted through a group dance sequence.Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by, Sakura Trick was serialized in Houbunsha's manga magazine from March 17, 2011, to August 16, 2017. Houbunsha collected its chapters in eight volumes, released from August 27, 2012, to September 27, 2017.Anime
A 12 episode anime television series adaptation was announced in the August issue of the Manga Time Kirara Miracle! magazine. The series, produced by Studio Deen and directed by Kenichi Ishikura with character designs by Kyūta Sakai, aired on TBS between January 9 and March 27, 2014, and was simulcast by Crunchyroll in North America.The opening theme is "Won Chu KissMe!" by Haruka Tomatsu, Yuka Iguchi, Yuka Aisaka, Hiromi Igarashi, Mai Fuchigami, and Megumi Toda, whilst the ending theme is "Kiss Love" by Tomatsu and Iguchi. The ending theme for episode eight is "Sakura Sweet Kiss" by Saki Fujita, Momo Asakura, and Yurika Endō. The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. MVM Films have licensed the series in the UK.
Other media
Characters from the series appear alongside other Manga Time Kirara characters in the 2017 mobile RPG, Kirara Fantasia.Reception
Critical reception
The series' characters were praised by several reviewers. Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku acclaimed the "flawed" main characters as being "very human", with particular praise for their development through the narrative. He also commended the show's straightforward depiction of Haruka and Yu navigating their relationship, which he felt avoided the common cliche of having a series end right as a relationship began. Similarly, Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post spoke positively of the "great character arc" that "focuse on the relationship itself" in relation to the show's themes of interpersonal connection and dependence.Critics differed on opinions regarding the series' visual portrayal of the characters. Anime UK News praised the "very well executed" scenes, which were compared favorably to ecchi anime for being a "lot less exploitative". In contrast, Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews felt that the anime's visuals were "exploitative" at times, and that the show was "very much" driven by fan service. Erica Friedman of Yuricon wrote that the manga had "much less pervasive" fan service and gave the characters a 7/10 rating for being "two and a half dimensional".
The series' representation of lesbian relationships received mixed-to-positive reviews. Ross argued that while there was a "certain earnest sweetness" to the relationships, the show lacked a "serious treatment" of LGBT themes. On the other hand, Beveridge commended the anime as a "positive" and "accessible" show that stood out for having lesbian lead characters, a rare occurrence at the time of release. Similarly, Eisenbeis praised the show's approach to social issues in Japan, opining that the story showed that social acceptance of same-sex relationships was possible.
The plot and story were divisive among critics. Many critics felt that the story lacked depth, with Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network describing it as "fluff" and Carl Kimlinger of the same site opining that it had a "general distaste for substance". Friedman, reviewing the debut manga volume, declared that the story value was "none", though she improved her assessment for the second volume. Eisenbeis was more enthused, opining that the anime's plot stood out from other slice-of-life shows by having episodes connect into a "greater narrative", which he felt preserved an "overriding continuity" while allowing "fun standalone stories". Anime UK News argued that despite the show's appearance, it was an "must-see" for yuri fans for the quality of the story's romantic comedy elements.
The anime's production value was generally well-received. Anime UK News called it a "good-looking" series for its use of colors and textures and compared it favorably to the director's previous work, Hidamari Sketch. Eisenbeis concurred, praising the "clever direction" of the visuals, such as the use of symbols to represent characters during transitional scenes. He concluded that the show "succeeded in what it was trying to do in every way" and named it as his favorite anime of the Winter 2014 season. Beveridge was enthused with the "great character designs" and "very enjoyable pacing", and in a retrospective review ten years after release, he remarked that it " up pretty well".