Three seconds in and we are treated to a close up of one of Haruka’s boobs, oh goodie I wonder what this episode will focus on (he said with a small amount of sarcasm in his voice). For those of you who didn’t watch the preview at the end of the last episode, this one breaks away from the main plot in order to give us a side story filled with bouncing boobs and scarf buying… I can barely contain my excitement (he said again with a small amount). I should point out that I don’t mind filler episodes or fan service and it would be naive to think Sakura Trick wouldn’t use these two anime elements for comedic effect. However I only found one scene out of the two stories enjoyable with the rest just being plainly average, no amount of boob coverage could make up for that, though to be fair they did make a good attempt to do so.
7-A: Swimsuit Fanservice, Accidents Included
The cultural festival was a success and to celebrate all seven (I’m including Mitsuki now) girls decide to hold their own after party at Kotone’s house; this is where we discover she is incredibly rich and has a heated indoor pool. The focus of the show switches from Haruka and Mitsuki learning to swim to Kotone’s younger sister confronting her about an important family matter that could jeopardize her relationship with Shizuku, this ends with a swimming competition between the younger sister and Shizuku (who can’t swim).
The confrontation was quite a surprise as it reminded me of the conversation Shizuku had with Kotone back in episode 2, showing how emotionally vulnerable Shizuku still is in regards to how Kotone views their relationship. Shizuku’s genuine concern and anger in this scene fully shows her affection for Kotone and what really seals the deal is a line that is both true and powerful.
“Don’t kiss me if you’re just playing around.”
With such an intense scene (ending in a way that breaks the moment), what was that other thing I was supposed to talk about in this story?
Oh yes how could I forget about those, er I mean that subject. Like I said before I don’t mind a bit of fan service and this first half certainly has its fair share; the close ups and wobbling should fill your FS quota and it is nice to see it used to create some interesting moments. I did enjoy how Iizuka and Ikeno made Mitsuki uncomfortable, the manipulative/ mischievous nature of these two were being used with the FS to create a great set up, unfortunately it doesn’t end strong and what we get is a predictable punch line. Not too sure if I should comment on the girls’ swimsuits however I will say that Haruka, Mitsuki and Kotone all have swim wear that fully display how big their boobs are, again if you like FS then you won’t be disappointed.
7-B: Shopping with Yuu-Chan
Haruka and Yuu go shopping for a scarf… okay fine I’ll go into it with more detail. Yuu doesn’t want to wear her scarf because it was a hand me down from her older sister, she then tells Haruka about a white scarf she recently saw and wants to have that instead of her current one. After seeing Shizuku in class wearing the exact scarf Yuu wanted, Haruka goes to a department store with Yuu to see if they have one left in stock. This side story contains a scene where Haruka tries on a dress which is too tight because of her large chest, a small yuri kiss in the changing rooms and ends with Yuu choosing a different scarf altogether. Surprisingly the thing I both liked and disliked about this story was Yuu; on one hand she appears to be ungrateful, impatience and often rude, but on the other it’s these things that make her a more relatable (and admittedly annoying) character.
Yuu is the younger sibling out of her and Mitsuki so it’s only natural for the youngest one to dislike most of the hand me downs given to them, especially if they belonged to their older sibling (and yes I am speaking from experience) and her hatred for Mitsuki’s scarf is shown in a scene where she has to choose between buying a different scarf or continuing to wear the hand me down. I did find Yuu’s impatience towards Haruka irritating and the comment about calling her fat to a sales clerk was a bit harsh (but also very funny). The story ends with Mitsuki freaking out when she sees Haruka wearing her scarf… I don’t know why either because it wasn’t funny in anyway, another missed opportunity and I suspect this may occur again.
And just like last week’s episode we are treated to another little extra at the end; a character profile of all six girls as told by Ikeno and Iizuka, a nice little piece of swimsuit fan service to end an average episode.
This is not one of the better Sakura Tricks; Kotone really holds the first story together and unfortunately I didn’t enjoy the second one as much, the premise was boring but they could’ve made it so much better then what it was. The humour used to end each scene is again, hit and miss with only a couple of funny moments and I’m starting to become more put off by Mitsuki’s crush on Haruka. Combining these elements with missed opportunities, it appears this side story took a wrong turn and I do want and hope it redirects itself in the next episode.
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.
