Sakura Trick
3-A The President is a Big Sister
Well it’s time again to check in on our favourite yuri couple of 2014 (yes I’m already calling it), what are Haruka and Yuu going to get involved with in the third episode of Sakura Trick and how will it affect their relationship? The past two episodes have done a good job establishing a natural and realistic bond between the two and this third episode takes it to another level by adding in an element of risk to their secret, a risk that goes by the name of Mitsuki Sonoda.
That’s right my friends in this half we are introduced to a brand new character and it happens to be Yuu’s older sister. We first get a glimpse of both siblings when Yuu is trying to wake up Mitsuki, asking her if she can borrow one of her hair accessories, this leads to Yuu slipping over and waking her dear older sister up by head-butting her… oh and breaking her glasses along the way. During breakfast Yuu starts talking about an optician that Haruka knows about, Mitsuki then questions why Haruka is always mentioned when Yuu says something and gives the throwaway line “It’s not like you’re dating her or anything.” Mitsuki then realizes she has no idea what Haruka looks like or what kind of girl she is, and thus the suspicion begins…
Due to the low number of first year classes and the low budget of the soon to be closed school, instead of having a full athletics festival they plan on having a regular sports day. This sends Yuu into a pit of sadness as she wanted to be the head cheerleader for the athletics festival, something that isn’t normally done on a sports day. In an attempt to solve this dilemma Haruka became a committee rep and put forward the idea of having cheerleaders to the council president, who just so happened to be Mitsuki. What occurred next was a good example of misinterpretation; Mitsuki wass squinting in order to see what Haruka looked like (having just got her glasses broken), which translates as a look of aggression in the eyes of Haruka. After a quick confrontation with her in the hallway Haruka is pleased with Mitsuki’s decision to have a cheer squad on sports day, thus ending the story with Haruka being in Yuu’s room as Yuu shows her appreciation by giving her a special kiss.
Oh wait, I forgot to mention that Mitsuki walked in on their yuri moment, I may have to go back a little bit. Mitsuki was touched when Haruka was talking about her best friend wanting the cheerleaders on sports day; she then froze when she discovered the friend mentioned was her little sister. At the end of the story Mitsuki walked towards Yuu’s room, she wanted to thank Haruka for fixing her glasses. She opened the door and saw her little sister on top on Haruka, how did she react you may ask? Well…
3-B: A Promise Made while Cleaning the Pool
The second half of this episode doesn’t really have much of a plot; it’s just the six girls cleaning the school pool and ends with Haruka and Yuu alone in the storage shed. It starts off with Yuu forgetting her swimsuit and as a result has to borrow one off Haruka, who spent most of the night sewing on patches that displayed their affection for one another. This sends Yuu into a panic as she rips off the more obvious one claiming that people would discover their secret if they saw it. Think of this half as more of a beach story because the girls certainly did; their ideas of playing volley ball, burying each other and lying about in the sun are immediately shot down my Iizuka who reminds them that they actually need to clean the pool first.
Other entertaining bits from this half include a small water fight between Haruka and Iizuka, a scene that shows Kotone and Shizuku sitting rather cosy together and a great manipulative trick Ikeno uses on Iizuka in order to clean the pool faster. The animation of the water flowing from the hose was done very well and music that played when Kotone and Shizuku were together was perfect, the slow trumpets made the scene more romantic and the way they faded out when Yuu broke the moment was a nice touch. The fan service is quite clear in this half too, mainly consisting of close ups on Haruka’s chest. It’s hard not to notice when Haruka’s swimsuit is shown through her soaking wet top or when she begins poking her chest in front of the other girls… okay she was really pointing to her “I Heart You” patch, but I don’t think anyone noticed (in case you were wondering, she’s a D).The second half ends when a certain big sister arrives and doesn’t see Haruka or Yuu cleaning the pool with the others, after Mitsuki begins to walk away she discovers the patch that Yuu ripped off from the beginning, her reaction was the same as the first half’s end.
Although there wasn’t any funny moments that stood out like the previous episodes (volleyball scene and veranda jump) I really enjoyed episode three, my only problem is that the kisses are becoming more predictable and I’m starting to wonder if the rest of the episodes will always end in them kissing, making each time seem less special and more like a routine. The issue of the school closing down is appropriately used in this episode and is not seen as just a side detail, strengthening the idea that they can only do these event’s once in their life, adding more weight to even the littlest scenario. With the introduction of Mitsuki there is now genuine concern in regards to Haruka and Yuu’s relationship, what will happen once she finds out? How will this affect the two of them? I have a feeling we will be seeing more drama in future episodes as Mitsuki tries to uncover the truth about her younger sister.
Sakura Trick is animated by Studio Deen and is currently being streamed by Crunchyroll. Don’t forget to check out our Anime Impressions page to see what shows the other Capsule Computers anime crew is watching this season.
Check out more Sakura Trick Impressions HERE.
