Sakura Trick
| Sakura Trick | |
 Cover of first manga volume featuring Yuu Sonoda (center left) and Haruka Takayama (center right) | |
| 桜Trick (Sakura Torikku) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, slice of life, Yuri |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Tachi |
| Published by | Houbunsha |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Manga Time Kirara Miracle! |
| Original run | March 16, 2011 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 4 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Ken'ichi Ishikura |
| Written by | Ken'ichi Ishikura |
| Music by | Ryosuke Nakanishi |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | TBS, MBS, CBC, TBS Channel 1, BS-TBS |
| English network | |
| Original run | January 9, 2014 – ongoing |
| Episodes | 12 |
Sakura Trick (桜Trick Sakura Torikku) is a Japanese 4-panel comedy slice of life yuri manga series written and illustrated by Tachi. The series began serialization in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Miracle! magazine from March 16, 2011.[citation needed] An anime television series adaptation by Studio Deen began airing from January 9, 2014.
Plot
Haruka Takayama and Yuu 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 time with more friends, the two decide to make their relationship special by kissing each other in secret.
Characters
- Haruka Takayama (高山 春香 Takayama Haruka)
- Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu
- Haruka is Yuu's closest friend since junior high school. She is the childish one out of the two. She often pushes Yuu to her demands unknowingly (like kissing her just to keep her quiet), and is the extremely jealous and clingy type of person as described by Yuu. Haruka seems to harbor romantic feelings for Yuu, a reason why she is more affected by their seat arrangement than Yuu is.
- Yuu Sonoda (園田 優 Sonoda Yū)
- Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi
- Yuu is Haruka's closest friend since junior high school. She often acts more maturely than Haruka, but occasionally gives in to Haruka's requests. Yuu initiates that she and Haruka do something special together, in order to comfort Haruka's growing insecurity of their friendship.
- Shizuku Minami (南 しずく Minami Shizuku)
- Voiced by: Hiromi Igarashi
- Haruka and Yuu's classmate and Kotone's cousin. Has a generally sour look, meaning her happy or angry expressions tend to look overblown. She also shares a kissing relationship with Kotone.
- Kotone Noda (野田 コトネ Noda Kotone)
- Voiced by: Yuka Aisaka
- Haruka and Yuu's classmate and Shizuku's cousin who is living with her. She is bright and energetic.
- Kaede Ikeno (池野 楓 Ikeno Kaede)
- Voiced by: Mai Fuchigami
- Haruka and Yuu's classmate and their class representative. She went to middle school with Yuzu and Kotone and has two siblings; a brother and sister.
- Yuzu Iizuka (飯塚 ゆず Iizuka Yuzu)
- Voiced by: Megumi Toda
- Haruka and Yuu's classmate. Is on good terms with Kaede.
- Mitsuki Sonoda (園田 美月 Sonoda Mitsuki)
- Voiced by: Saki Fujita
- Yuu's older sister and the school's student council president. She is suspicious of the relationship between Haruka and Yuu. She seems to have a crush on Haruka.
- Rina Sakai (坂井 理奈 Sakai Rina)
- Voiced by: Yurika Endō
- The student council vice-president who works alongside Mitsuki.
- Sumi Otokawa (乙川 澄 Otokawa Sumi)
- Voiced by: Momo Asakura
- A second year student who is set to succeed Mitsuki as student council president when she graduates.
Media
Manga
The manga, illustrated by Tachi, began serialization in the first issue of Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Miracle magazine on March 16, 2011. The first tankōbon volume was released on August 27, 2012, with three volumes released as of October 26, 2013.[1]
Anime
An anime television series adaptation of the manga series was announced in the August issue of the Manga Time Kirara Miracle! magazine.[2] The series, produced by Studio Deen and directed by Ken'ichi Ishikura with character designs by Kyūta Sakai, began airing on TBS on January 9, 2014 and is being simulcast by Crunchyroll in North America.[3] The opening theme is "Won（*3*）Chu KissMe!" by Haruka Tomatsu, Yuka Iguchi, Yuka Aisaka, Hiromi Igarashi, Mai Fuchigami, and Megumi Toda, whilst the ending theme is "Kiss (and) Love" by Tomatsu and Iguchi. The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.[4]
Episode list
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "A Cherry Blossom-colored Beginning" "Sakura-iro no Hajimari" (桜色のはじまり) | January 9, 2014 |
| "Yakisoba, Verandas, and Girls" "Yakisoba to Beranda to Onna no Ko" (やきそばとベランダと女の子) | ||
|
Haruka Takayama and Yuu Sonoda are two best friends who are just starting high school together. However, as the school year starts and the two starting making new friends, Haruka worries that her friendship with Yuu will stop being special. After Yuu suggests that the two of them do something that is unique to them, Haruka suggests they start kissing each other in secret as proof of their special friendship. Later, Haruka and Yuu get locked inside an empty classroom whilst they were kissing on the veranda, requiring them to cross a large gap between verandas to get to the neighbouring classroom. | ||
| 02 | "Another Cherry Blossom Moment" "Mō Hitotsu no Sakura-iro" (もうひとつの桜色) | January 16, 2014 |
| "After School with Harry-chan♥" "Hōkago wa Harī-chan to" (放課後はハリーちゃんと♥) | ||
|
After Haruka and the others note Shizuku Minami behaving oddly, Kotone Nida, who is currently living with her, states Shizuku is mad at her because she kissed her on the cheek whilst she was sleeping. After speaking with Haruka and Yuu on the matter, Shizuku meets up with Kotone, stating she got mad because she felt Kotone was only staying with her because it was convenient. Kotone states she likes staying with Shizuku because of her, and the two share a mutual kiss, which Haruka and Yuu happen to come across. Later, the girls get together to try and help Yuu study for her exams instead of relying on other people's notes. After the usual methods fail due to Yuu's tendency to fall asleep, Haruka decides to use kissing to help Yuu remember the answers she needs for the test. | ||
| 03 | "The President is My Sister" "Kaichō wa Onee-chan" (会長はお姉ちゃん) | January 23, 2014 |
| "A Pool Cleaning Promise" "Pūru Seisōte Oyakusoku" (プール清掃てお約束) | ||
|
Yuu's older sister, Mitsuki, who has never met Haruka face to face before, ends up having her glasses broken due to Yuu. Meanwhile, Yuu becomes downhearted when she learns the sports festival is being downsized to a sports meet due to the school closing in three years, meaning she won't be able to do a cheering event. Wanting to help Yuu out, Haruka and the others join the meet committee to state their case to the student council, led by Mitsuki. Despite some initial failure, Haruka manages to build up the courage to state her plea to Mitsuki, who considers it. Later that day, however, Mitsuki comes across Haruka and Yuu in a compromising situation. Later, the girls get together to clean the pool, with Haruka and Yuu finding an opportunity to do some kissing in the pool storage. | ||
| 04 | "A Sour Operation?" "Suppai Daisakusen?" (すっぱい大作戦?) | January 30, 2014 |
| "Is This a Test of Courage!?" "Moshikashite Kimodameshi!?" (もしかして肝試し!?) | ||
|
Suspicious about the relationship between Haruka and Yuu, Mitsuki asks their classmates, Yuzu Iizuka and Kaede Ikeno, to keep an eye on them and make notes any suspicious behaviour. Later, the girls get together for a test of courage, where Mitsuki attempts to tail Haruka and Yuu, but gets mistaken by Yuu for a ghost, leaving her so scared that she asks Haruka to kiss her to calm her down.. | ||
| 05 | "Let's Have Tea With Big Sis" "Onee-chan to Ocha shiyō" (お姉ちゃんとお茶しよう) | February 6, 2014 |
| "The Witch, The Apple, and The Big Sister" "Majo to Ringo to Onee-chan to" (魔女とリンゴとお姉ちゃんと) | ||
|
With the cultural festival approaching, Haruka, Kaede, and Yuzu go to a café with Mitsuki to try and convince her to join in their class' production of Snow White. When the others arrive, Yuu displays some displeasure in having been left behind at school, due to Haruka wanting to surprise her, but the two manage to make up with each other. Later, the girls succeed in coercing Mitsuki into playing the role of Snow White, where she becomes paranoid about being kissed by Haruka during rehearsal, only to realise it was only a speech-only play. | ||
| 06 | "It's The Culture Festival ☆ It's a Sleepover" "Bunkasai da yo ☆ Otomari desu" (文化祭だよ☆お泊まりです) | February 13, 2014 |
| "It's The Culture Festival ☆ It's Showtime!" "Bunkasai da yo ☆ Honban desu!" (文化祭だよ☆本番です！) | ||
Reception
Anime News Network's critics Rebecca Silverman and Zac Bertschy gave the first episode a rating of 3 out of 5 while Carl Kimlinger and Theron Martin gave it a 3.5 out of 5.[5]
References
- ↑ http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4832243608/
- ↑ "Tachi's Yuri 4-Panel Manga Sakura Trick Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2014-01-06/crunchyroll-to-stream-sakura-trick-yuri-anime
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2014-01-23/sentai-filmworks-adds-sakura-trick-yuri-anime
- ↑ Rebecca Silverman, Zac Bertschy, Carl Kimlinger, Theron Martin (January 10, 2014). "The Winter 2014 Anime Preview Guide Sakura Trick". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
External links
- Anime official site at TBS (Japanese)
- Sakura Trick (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia