Sakura Trick Online

...Why the heck am I watching a Yuri show?

And why am I loving it?

Sakura Trick is a fantastically humorous and adorable high school lesbian romance that I have no idea why I'm watching it.

Haruka and Yuu are two 1st Year Highschoolers in Japan who are the best of friends, and soon realize that they are *more* than friends. What follows is a charming, cutesy and sometimes awkward hidden romance.

Now, I haven't watched any other Yuri (lesbian anime) shows, so I have little experience in comparing it to other, older shows, but I'd say that if you're interested in the genre (for one reason or another) Sakura Trick is a good place to start.

Probably the only major setback this show has for me is the blatant fan-service. No, I'm not talking about the kissing, because that's a part of the story, but things more along the line of the constant crotch and boob shots that pop up occasionally. It can be fairly distracting and can be argued as fetishizing lesbianism (as if it hasn't been enough)

But whatever, it's merits outweigh what is probably a trademark of the Yuri genre, and besides that, it's a very tame show.

(+10 points if you got that reference without looking it up).

What I'm trying to say is; the show is fluffy. But sadly, only that; fluff.

This was my first time watching something of the "yuri" genre, being redirected here from another sappy, but enjoyable show. Curious to see how they would handle a girl-girl scenario without turning it into hentai smut, I decided to give it a shot. But before I started I lowered my expectations, foreseeing plenty of pitfalls. I guess it turned out better than I feared, but not as good as I hoped.

The show often seems like a badly written fanfic, with scenes that feel very artificial. "Oh no, I've tripped and now I'm touching your boobies! Oh well, let's make out." Perhaps not that bad, but not by much. Not to say it doesn't have its sweet moments, it does, but overall it just doesn't feel natural. The protagonists' first kiss feels rushed and forced. What follows are tired scenarios to create opportunities for them to kiss again (with a quota of 1 per episode), and a bit of story squeezed in between.

Said story doesn't have much substance. There is no sense of progression, all relationships more or less stay the same between the first and last episode. There is no tension, no real hurdles to overcome. There is a bit of a story arc involving the older sister, but the situation is pretty much held in stasis the entire length of the show, not affecting the main characters, and then quickly resolved the last 20 minutes or so. It just goes from one fluffy moment to the next. The show's storyboard must have consisted of Hallmark cards.

Sure, the girls are cute. Some more than others. Ironically I found the two main characters the least appealing (both felt rather bland and the smaller one (Yuu) got on my nerves by acting like a petulant child most of the time. Were they going for a Lolita vibe? Or perhaps the show just subscribes to the idea that invoking "moe" means adding a touch of mental disability) while the characters I enjoyed the most were those with the least amount of focus on them; Kaede and Clementine - oops, sorry, I mean Yuzu.

The girls are innocent, unfortunately the show considerably less so. Starting with the opening credits, followed by a continuous series of shameless crotch-shots and views of bouncing bosoms throughout the series, the show tries very hard to undermine the very innocence that is supposed to be core of the story.

The humorous portion of the show is entertaining, but fails to hit the mark a bit too often. Luckily it features some nice animation, with the occasional quirk in storytelling, keeping the show fresh. This is probably the saving grace which made me finish watching the series.

I ended up watching the whole series, but objectively can't give it more than a 5/10. But still, if you're in the mood for some pink, aimless fluff (and some gentle girl-on-girl action), go ahead and give it a shot.

As someone said that this is fluffy, they ain't wrong. In fact this again is like Sweet Blue Flowers and Sasamekikoto, all personalities are the same including the background of it.

The two girls on this really didn't suit as a couple as they both looked like they acted the same as if they were siblings rather than lovers really. If they gave them different personalities, then I wouldn't have a issue here.

Im just dissapointed that I don't have a second Yuri favourite at the moment lol!

School girls Haruka and Yuu have been friends for quite a while and as their circle of friends grows they decide that there should be something special involving just to two of them… so they kiss! As the series progresses they find more reasons and opportunities to kiss. While their relationship is now more than platonic it doesn't go much further for the most part. This isn't just about two school girls kissing, like a typical school girl series they get involved in a number of activities that proved opportunities for humour. There are some more yuri moments such as when Yuu mistakes Haruka's invitation to attend a family wedding with her for a marriage proposal! There is also the possibility of jealousy when we learn that Yuu's sister Mitsuki is also developing feelings for Haruka.

This gentle series is a lot of fun. The romantic elements are sweet rather than salacious and the characters are likable. Each episode is broken up into two stories although it is hardly plot-heavy. Haruka and Yuu are definitely the main characters but the rest are interesting enough too. They aren't the only pair of girls in a relationship although the others are shown in a more matter of fact way. There isn't too much in the way of fan service, just the near-mandatory swimsuit episode and perhaps a little more focus on characters' chests than is strictly required. Overall this was a fun series that provided plenty of laughs, I'd certainly recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.