Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo

"Don't judge a book by its cover." Something we are all guilty of doing on a regular basis. Who can blame us? We're human. We are quick to judge, are influenced greatly by first impressions, and will easily discard great potential investments without a second thought. Despite this deficit of reasonable evaluation, humans are also great beings; we are able to look back and realize first impressions can be capable of grievous deception. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou) is not really a romantic series. It is also not really a comedy. Though it has bits of both of these elements, I would not consider either of these two the main focus. If I were to pick any one genre that describes this show best it would be a drama, and a fine one at that. It's very rare that you come across an anime that has such a strong dramatic effect without choking on dialogue, yet it's exceptionally done here. Behind the facade of childish yelling, panty shots, cleavage, and sexual innuendos lies a story. It's a story of following your aspirations and getting shot down, working harder than others but not getting the part, being so talented that others don't understand you, and being wanted by the one you love but denying them because you don't feel enough self-worth. A story of passion, frustration, and maturity. The pacing of story flows with a certain finesse. It never feels too fast, and never too slow. It feels just right and occupies its 24 episode run in quite a snug manner. I would like to say the same about the animation because it stays easy on the eyes and retains its consistency. I enjoyed both OP's and ED's; they felt uplifting and were generally all around fun. Going into the sound criteria, I would like to mention how much I enjoyed the timing of the sound effects during dramatic moments. The voice actors did a great job showcasing emotion and talent through their respective characters. The residents of Sakura Hall are an intriguing group of social outcasts that became more and more endearing as the series progressed. Each of them has their own quirks, talents, and dreams that set them all apart, yet also brought them all together. The reason I really liked this group of characters was oddly because of their negative traits. They act stupid, get depressed, get frustrated, and envious. They seem like realistic people and act accordingly in order to help each other through tough times. There were a number of memorable scenes such as the 'bro talks' between Sorata and Jin, Misaki's struggle with love, the making of Nyapollen, and the graduation speech that leave a lasting impression. These characters took me on a roller coaster of mixed feelings and at the end of it I was a little sad to see them depart for their next ride. While I thought the series was great, it also had its own hindrances that obstruct a better score. First I would like to address the issue of fan service. Fan service is one of the biggest problems in the anime industry for me; often the panty shots, cleavage, and suggestive dialogue is fine in small doses. I understand why it's there, but when it's unnecessary and much too potent it tarnishes an anime leaving you wondering what could have been. For Sakurasou in particular, the fan service is more concentrated towards the early half of the series; this in itself is why the start of the series felt so generic and why I assume many people typically dropped the show to begin with. Secondly, romantic development. Every once in while it would be nice to come across a protagonist that isn't as dense as a plank of wood. Yes, I'm looking at you Sorata. While I don't consider Sakurasou to be a romantic series, romance elements do pop up numerous times throughout the series. Romantic interests felt unsatisfactory and left me feeling something to be desired with the exception of Jin and Misaki. Fortunately for us, at least Sakurasou isn't a cheap harem. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo began an empty canvas. It peered into the hearts of man and admirably grasped what it feels like to be full of envy and full of excitement, heartbroken and loved, alone and surrounded by people you can without a doubt call friends. All of this is gathered on a palette with a wide variety of colors; a palette to paint upon the canvas the joys and disappointments that life has to offer. Looking at the portrait, there is only one question left. ‘What color do you want to be?’

A normal harem anime, nothing special. Typical characters, not plot-heavy, and just fun to watch. The first 4 episodes showed great potential, and led me to believe that this might be the harem anime that breaks the norm. It was one of my favorite anime I had watched, until 'Aoyama Nanami' was introduced. This character, for me anyway, mixed with the plot sent the show into a fiery spiral towards the ground. She is outright annoying. If this character was not introduced, the show would be much better. I'm not joking. I give Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo a 5/10

"I believe in panties." -Shiina Mashiro Episode 11 Updated for the last episode, thanks for following! ;) To be honest, I've seen this anime about 4 months ago on the anime's to watch list back in 2012, but I had skipped over it thinking it was another standard harem. However, this is one of the best anime's I've seen, combining comedy, romance, unrequited love, an innocent girl, girl looking guy, crazy girl, and light fanservice all into one. Story 9/10: The plot of the story doesn't sound all that interesting by itself, but what really shines is how each character will interact with the story. Though it's a bit predictable, each character throughout each "arc" will encounter a problem that takes the collaborative efforts of everyone to push through it. Slight spoiler, but toward the end the story really touched my heart, and was very emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, and I'm quite impressed at the ending. (someone pointed it out that it's based on the light novel or something, but nevertheless it is still an amazing story). It's one of the few animes that has actually left me with goosebumbs as the series finished. Art 7/10: The artwork that they show in the anime itself is amazing, showing some amazing computer artistry. However, the characters themselves are fairly normal, with the only exception being Mashiro imo, who has the "dont care" look about her. Sound 7/10: I hardly ever pay attention to the sound in the anime, so take this part with a grain of salt Nothing amazing, nothing horrible. Character 8/10: Mashiro seems to be the only character that develops at all, but all the characters fulfill the roles that they are in fairly well. Akataka is amazing in his own right, however, being the anti social person he his, but still having a unique personality. However, Jin is the real gold gem among all of them, having such humorous dialogue that goes really well with Mashiro's actions. UPDATED VERSION: I feel the need to amend my earlier review on the character. All the main characters, par Jin, Misaki, and Chihiro-sensei, have developed throughout the anime. I think that no anime is good without some sort of character development, because without it I feel like I've walked in a giant circle and remain unsatisfied. However, Sakurasou fulfills my desire for change, and really left a lasting impression on me. Enjoyment 10/10: I could hardly stop laughing between all the gags in the shows. I won't spoil anything, but Kanda's reactions are hilarious. Overall 9/10: Fairly standard slice of life ish anime (sorry if I'm wrong, just tryig out some new lingo) but amazing in its own right. If you enjoyed any comedy romances, then this is an amazing pick up. Update: The anime honestly has been one of the most shocking, influential, and touching anime that I've ever watched. The feeling I had toward the end definitely left an impact on me, and I wish that they would add a sequel or something of the like, as I'd love to see what would happen later. However, I doubt this will happen, as it ended on a solid and satisfying note.

...an ordinary boy and a brilliant girl must live like "a master and his pet." - Thus ends the synopsis for The Pet Girl of Sakurasou(Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo) Reading such a synopsis, and noting that the genre was another comedy + romance, I saw another brainless anime with a typical anime guy getting a lot of girls, a typical dumb-blonde, etc. at first. You see, I was getting tired of seeing the same romcom animes again and again, and this is the reason I've been putting off from watching this series for so long. The only reason I decided to watch the series was because of its unexpectedly high rating. However, I couldn't have been more wrong about this series, which I am happy to give a 10/10 rating, putting this series up there with SnK, SAO, and CGLR in my humble opinion. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is another masterpiece by J.C.Staff and I would compare it to their other great anime Toradora!, which has a similar feel. Now, I shall stop my useless babble and get right on with it: Story: 9/10 To be honest, in the first few episodes I had my doubts. The anime starts out with a guy moving in to a dorm, which happens to let students to do as they please, and then an attractive+clueless girl. Oh, and did I mention that the girl also happens to be dumb to the extent that the guy needs to help her get dressed, check that she's actually wearing underwear, dry her hair and stuff? There's also the typical nekos(cats) that keep appearing everywhere. However, I still had to give a 9 out of 10 because the story turned out to be very good. I won't go over the plot again (you can find that in the synopsis above or just google it or whatever), but the story sure has some very touching moments in it, and despite being a romcom, the story explores various themes in depth. The pacing is great, and not too unrealistic as well. There still were some parts of the story that were a bit too cliche (not much, but some), which is why I docked one point :P Sound & Art: 10/10 The director of this anime is known to have deep interest in both music and art, so maybe her influence helped out here? Well I don't know about all that, but my point is that the artwork of this anime is very pretty and the characters are also drawn nicely. I also liked that the artwork was mostly bright and colorful. The sound was also great. I liked the OPs & ED, and the background music was always fitting and pleasing. The voice actors were very passionate (especially a certain alien) and the way they talked had me laughing quite often. Therefore, 10 out of 10 for sound as well! (mainly because of the great VAs) Character: 10/10 I've somewhat mentioned this in the "Story" section, but anyways: The characters are pretty realistic and are interesting. Each character is unique and has their own interests and goals. They all have some flaws which they themselves recognize, and they will each face problems because of this, which they eventually learn to accept or overcome. There is some nice character development here, and many characters has changed drastically(for the better i think) throughout the series. Like most anime of this genre, the characters decide the quality of the anime, and I have to say that the characters were very well thought out indeed. 10 out of 10. Enjoyment: 10/10 Because of all the reasons above, I give this anime a 10/10. The anime sometimes made me feel happy, sometimes sad. There are those nice tear-jerking moments, and then those hilarious moments when one of the lovely characters does something stupid. Another good thing = No unnecessary fan-service (Nope, sorry for those ppl just looking for naked women in animes, but people don't "accidentally" kiss or get their clothes torn or whatever in this anime). There is some nudity here and there, but it's explained in the plot as due to the Pet Girl's lack of common sense or courtesy. Overall a very enjoyable and commendable anime. 10 out of 10.

“What color do you want to be?” With this strange question starts the story of a couple of “problem children” at Sakurasou. A dorm for students who have violated Suiko (a.k.a. high school affiliated with Suimei University of the Arts) policies, Sakurasou shelters a diverse group of students each with a unique personality. As a result, there isn’t one day that the dorm stays quiet, and the students are free to express their creativity without worry of getting kicked out. At the start of the story, everyone starts on an empty canvas, each with a brush that has yet to be dabbed in any specific "color." As viewers follow along the process of each character realizing his or her dream and pursuing that dream, it starts to become clear who they are, or what “color” they paint with. With its many heartwarming as well as heart-wrenching moments, this unusual group of friends at Sakurasou all together paints a masterpiece that will leave the viewers smiling from start to end. (Below I provide the “pluses” and “deltas” of the show. Pluses will signify the positive aspects of the anime, while deltas will signify aspects of the anime that could have been changed or improved upon.) Pluses: (+) Overall message: The world is unfair. Those who are gifted are acknowledged and those who cannot keep up are left behind in the dark. Sooner or later, the feeling of frustration, depression, and helplessness will overcome anyone left in the dark, pulling them further and further back. The main protagonist, Kanda Sorata, suffers the most from the unfairness of this world, and cannot help but vent his anger out on others and blame others for his misfortunes. However, the anime sends out a positive message for those who suffer like Sorata, and that is to accept the fact that the world is indeed unfair and face the failures head-on instead of trying to run away. The anime reinforces the fact that failure is but a stepping stone to success, and there’s no need to become discouraged from it. Seeing Sorata overcome his struggles and move on with his life to tackle his next challenges is emotionally satisfying and surprisingly inspirational. Sorata proves that being optimistic and never losing sight of what you want to do will eventually lead to better results. With such a deep and meaningful message for the young demographic, it’s hard not to like this anime. (+) Character development: Everyone in this anime has a goal that they want to reach. The anime shows the process of each of them trying to reach that goal, while they constantly go through struggles. And along that process, viewers see the characters gradually learning, maturing, and becoming better people overall. As much as I would love to expand on how each character changes throughout the series, I’ll leave the joy of watching each of them change to the viewers. The developments are perfectly paced so that they help viewers naturally develop deep connections with the characters. Towards the end of the anime when time inevitably drifts them apart, there’s a strong sense of bitter sweetness because one side of you is happy for them and the other is sad that they’re moving on. (+) Realistic emotions: The emotions expressed and experienced by the characters as they go through their individual development are all too realistic and relatable. The fun yet exhausting nights of working on a project or practicing for a competition, the anxiety before an interview or presentation, the joys of getting accepted, and the frustrations of getting rejected – these are all experiences that all of us have experienced at one point or another in our lives. And some of the emotions that we express during these times are not pretty. This anime delivers the raw and ugly emotions such as jealousy, anger, bitterness, and hopelessness. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is indeed darker than it seems. The anime is not about the characters starting from the bottom and making it big within 24 episodes, but about people starting from the bottom and struggling to make it big. Such is the stark reality of society right now, and the anime teaches the painful lesson that people who think determination and hard work are all they need to reach their goal are overly naïve. (+) Well-developed ending: Unlike most anime whose ending comprises of both the climax and resolution of the story, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo manages to space out the climax and resolution over the last three episodes of the series. As a result, the ending is perfectly paced and not rushed at all; the buildup of emotions leading up to the climax is perfectly delivered; and the resolution is overall satisfying and doesn’t leave the audience wanting for more. Deltas: (-) Fan service: Anime productions often seem to feel a need to please the fans with underwear scenes, cleavage shots, and sexual innuendos. As enticing as these scenes are the first few times, the fan service quickly becomes stale, repetitive, unnecessary, and uninteresting. If anything, fan service hurts the value of the anime because it demonstrates the desperate measures that the production took to maintain or gain popularity. Sadly enough, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is no exception. Expect a lot of underwear scenes, cleavage shots, and sexual innuendos whenever the anime isn’t trying to be serious. (-) Stereotypical characters: When it comes to school-life + romantic comedy anime, nothing bothers me more than seeing the same personas fulfilling the same stereotypes. For example, there is always the overly enthusiastic character that usually brightens up the mood. There is always the quiet one with an emotionless face or a soft-spoken voice, and these characters tend to be airheaded, socially awkward, gifted with a talent, or all of the above. There is always the hardworking one that often works his or herself to the point of becoming ill. There is the overly cynical or critical one that says what is on his or her mind, but doesn’t mean it in a bad way. There is the tsundere, or a typical girl that is tough as nails, but emotionally sensitive. And of course, there’s the average male or female protagonist that is overly optimistic and unnaturally oblivious to the idea of romance. Of course, these stereotypes are simply some of the most common personas that I see in a school-life + romantic comedy anime and thus might not apply to a lot of school-life anime that I have yet to see. However, at some point I, as a viewer, will get tired of seeing the same persona, with more or less the same backgrounds, and more or less the same problems. Having said that, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo fulfills MOST of the stereotypes mentioned and thus their personalities felt familiar at best and not really interesting. What kept me interested in the characters was the realistic side of them, the side of them that tries to reach their goals. (-) Lack of Art: As an anime about students at an art school, there is an unsatisfying amount of artworks shown. Also, as an anime that explores the world of painting, voice acting, anime, manga, and gaming, the anime only touches upon the surface-level knowledge of each world. However, the lack of art and the knowledge doesn’t take much away from the anime. This delta is more of a personal complaint, because the anime seems to only be TELLING how hard the characters work and how passionate they are, rather than taking the time SHOWING these things through artworks that characters produce. (-) Depth of the relationships: There are romantic relationships developing left and right between the characters, so it is quite difficult to take all of them seriously. There is only one relationship in this anime that is explored deeply, and that is the only relationship the viewers should have been introduced to (namely, the Jin and Misaki couple). The other relationships take the focus away from the anime because they are neither realistic nor relevant (to the main story). For example, there is nothing more fr…

Massively overrated. Essentially, a young man has to take care of a woman who is developmentally disabled. However, she's cute so people think it's adorable that she can't do the simplest of things such as dressing herself or bathing herself. The "comedy" comes from the young man just yelling whenever something sexual is brought up by another character or when someone else is being stupidly eccentric. The art is good. The characters are lacking in substance and the writing is not that great. The writing mostly relies on predictable situations that the main character thinks are embarrassing and thus cause him to yell.

I still remember the time when I was waiting for the release of this anime. It was one of those that I was most looking forward to. For me, it seemed very good and a bit more original than all the "weird dorm" anime. Now that I've finished it, I can finally see whether it was up to my expectations. And I can tell you that it was exactly what I was expecting from this anime, but better. At first, I wasn't expecting so much from it but I was expecting something at least as good. The plot is concretely about a "special" dorm, a little different from the others. Up to that point, you're thinking "meh, already and often taken" Even if the beginning looks pretty stereotyped, it's still "masked" by the humor that makes me laugh a lot, so I thought it was forgivable and that the side "included" was well covered. However, the sequence the events is the same. The "déjà vu" feeling is still there, and the same humor is always used, and as a result, you get tired of it. The same situations keep coming up, the same scenes and again the same humor.. It gets boring around episode 7-8, and I was thinking "But when is it gonna start for real?". After some pretty "ordinary" episodes (for some of you, involving "torture" and "perseverance") we start to see an interesting plot. For the few times in Slice of Life anime, the main character, or even all the main characters actually have a goal. They're not only living their student life – they really care about their future, and it's not as grand as it may seem. So we’ve got an anime with at least a degree of realism, even if it doesn't look that way (especially with that kind of humor). And the future of our character isn't all that bright: in this anime, we also have good things happening, but mostly bad ones! There is drama to it all the same, even though it's not often very "powerful". What I truly liked in this anime, is that I had the same feeling of "Clannad" while watching the 23rd episode : They ensure that the characters are having good times together, and that, even if these moments are ordinary, the characters are happy and live normally together. But in the end, they ensure that these feelings and emotion are delivered forward to make you regret to not being able to see more. That's what I felt in the end of Sakurasou (even if it's not on the same level as the one Clannad that thoroughly made me cry). The graphics were nice, the sound and all the things that go with it weren't perfect, but they didn't bother me. The first ending with the song is the one that marked me the most  (And I was very pleased to hear it a last time in the end) The story first goes slowly, but it's worth it! The characters all have real personality and have their own story, as well as their own future. The characters are so well workedout ! The only problem was that, it was too “copy-cat” in some scenes, the plot was sometimes cliché and the end seemed like, "We take new characters, and we do it all over again! ". They could've done better on that point. In short, Sakurasou managed to really give me the "shivers" properly, and far exceeded my expectations.

Has there ever been a time while watching anime where you, the viewer, dislike a part of an anime that is objectively very well done? For me, that is the case with Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. Normally, romance shows generally don't have much to talk about story-wise, as they are more or less completely character driven. And even though Sakurasou is more or less completely character driven, the story holds up on it's own fairly well. What I liked about the story is that it never takes too long on a particular topic, but fleshes each topic out enough to give it weight and meaning. They managed time and pacing really well in this aspect. One of the best aspects of Sakurasou is it's themes. One such theme is failure. When a character fails a particular goal, you feel so much pain for them because of the amount of time and effort they put into that goal. Themes such as this make Sakurasou feel very relatable and close to home. The characters in Sakurasou is easily what you pay to see when watching this anime. What I liked about these characters was that, at the beginning, they seemed very generic and arc-typical. You had the quiet girl, the tsundere, the cheerful bouncy girl, and so forth. However, each character is so much more than just that. Let's start off with my favourite character, Mashiro. She has easily become one of my favourite female characters in anime. Mashiro is an extremely phenomenal artist, to the point where she leaves everyone else in her dust. However, she lacks basic everyday knowledge, such as washing or putting on clothes, cooking, etc. She is an example of the quiet girl archetype done wonderfully. Although she is quiet and seemingly emotionless, she cares deeply for the friends she meets, and shows that eternal bond of friendship through her emaculate paintings and manga drawings. This is going to sound kind of misleading, but she is the indirect cause of a lot of the conflict in this show because of how great she is at painting, as she is a character that keeps achieving her goals whereas many other characters fail, which leads to jealousy, another theme shown prevalently throughout the show. But the lengths she goes to correct what her position in the world has done to her friends leads to some of the more emotionally powerful scenes in the anime. One last thing that made me love Mashiro as a character was the few times where she struggled to come to terms with her feelings. Those moments were truly interesting to watch, and makes Mashiro even more dynamic. Kanda Sorata, the main male protagonist, is a lot less gifted that Mashiro, and has to work tremendously hard to achieve his dreams. What made him interesting was his relationship with Mashiro. When Mashiro succeeds in her dreams, he fails in his, and he, at points, shuns her as she is on a whole other level than her. On the other hand, he looks up to Mashiro as a sort of goal line; something to keep him motivated to complete his goals. However, what I really liked about the relationship was how balanced it was. While Mashiro helped him with motivation, along with other things, Sorata was always there when Mashiro needed help with social aspects of life, creating this kind of give and take relationship. Their bond created from leaning on each other was fantastic. But this is where I dislike the series. It was the objectively good thing I was talking about. The love triangle between Aoyama, Kanda, and Mashiro. The thing is, Aoyama is a great character in her own right, and the love triangle does work. Aoyama is also someone who has to work hard to achieve her goals, and sometimes fails in spite of her hard work. In this aspect, Aoyama and Kanda understand what the other is going through. This is the main problem I have with the series. Both Sorata's and Aoyama's relationship is developed, and Mashiro's and Sorata's relationship is developed. When the anime ends, there is not a clear line of the romantic outcome that should have taken place. Both of these relationships are very enjoyable to watch, but it leaves the viewer muddled and confused. The other relationships are handled nicely in my opinion, albeit to a lesser extent. Jin and Misaki's relationship had a good feeling to it, and had a nice message behind it, but it left a lot to be desired. I feel more time could have definetely been put to flesh out their relationship more. This goes the same with Ryuunosuke and Rita's relationship. Their relationship is focused on even less, but it had a great plan for success. It's just that that plan was never fully acted upon. This is more of a nitpick than anything, but it would have been nice to give the characters reasons for their dreams. Why did Sorata want to be a game designer? Why does Aoyama want to be a voice actress? This isn't that big of a deal because their passion for their dreams overcomes this minor gripe, but it still would have been nice. There isn't a lot to talk about art and sound wise. The art had a very refreshing feel to it, as there was this pinkish gradient to everything. I know it sounds weird when I phrase it like that, but trust me, it looks good. The actual animation is standard fare. Romance shows aren't known for having bountiful amounts of movement. One thing I will say about the sound was the voice actress of Mashiro's character. From the first few episodes to the last few, you could tell the growth of her character just by the emotion being slowly brought in episode to episode by the voice actress. Great job there. The actual music was pretty good, but I was much more focused on the story and characters than the actual music. It worked, but there isn't else to it outside of that. The opening and endings where definitely better than most, though. One last thing presentation wise. Ryuunosuke's character design and voice. It is VERY MISLEADING. He looks like a girl with really long hair, and even has a female voice actress, but he is indeed a dude. It was a little jarring at times to be sure. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo was a great reminder of the potential a romance show can bring. In a day and age where there is so much fanservice and little depth to shows of this nature, it is refreshing to see a fairly new title such as this one with so much emotion and depth. This isn't to say that there is no fanservice in this show, because there is plenty, but it get's toned down later in the series when the more dramatic scenes start to roll out. Same goes for the comedic aspects as well. You watch this show for the characters, their relationships, the drive they have for their dreams, and the emotion they bring. Some scenes almost brought me to tears at how emotionally powerful they were. And speaking of, the ending of the show was fantastic. I won't spoil it to you, but if you have seen Angel Beats, think that but much better. However, the romance itself, although fleshed out, feels confusing as, by the end of a show, their is no clear romantic conclusion. All in all, if you like romance shows, this is one you cannot miss; it is truly fantastic.

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is very very relate-able and enjoyable on a Toradora level. Anyone who is/has been/ will be in the studies of the arts will enjoy and appreciate it even more so. What it’s about: Sorata is your average nobody with a big heart who, due to his acquisition of a stray cat, is dumped into the notoriously zany world of the dorms at Sakurasou Hall until he finds an owner. Unfortunately, he seems to have given up finding an owner and has only taken on more cats as time has passed. Then Mashiro arrives. To add to the already insanely varied residents of the hall, she is a girl from England who is an artistic prodigy that has no concept of social norms or how to take care of herself. Needless to say, Sorata begins to take care of her as one would do for a … well… pet. This is a story following the day to day life of the hall’s residents; their friendships, romances, issues, and struggles with the real world. Art: Though perhaps not THE best I’ve seen, the quality is up there, and considering it’s all about art in the first place, it kinda has to be anyway. 8/10 Characters: Very relate-able, very diverse, and lots of fun. All are remember-able and show some sort of growth throughout the series. Designs are well done for almost always sticking them in uniforms. 9/10 Music: Pretty good. Nothing too amazing, but it’s used well, and the OP’s and ED’s always managed to get me to bob my head. Enjoyable, but not remember-able. 8/10 Story: The story might have been slacking a bit at first, since it was mostly intro for all the characters and the hall trying to figure out what to do with Mashiro, but as the characters began their own struggles and friendships grew, things got a lot more interesting. The second half did seem to start becoming almost too plot driven in that it almost started taking away from the characters, but in the end it turned out to be enough of an emotional wringer that it didn’t matter. It has a definitive end, but it was definitely left open for a possible future season which has me on the fence. Since so much has been settled and changed, unless it’s handled well, it can only go downhill. 7/10 Some points I found good/ bad/ interesting: 1.)It was a real life approach to the romance between a caring guy and a hopeless girl. (Extreme yin yang of social aptitude and talent.) 2.) Lots of real life struggles, and the characters didn’t always ‘win’. Not your typical approach to an anime where typically hard work will always pay off. 3.)The love triangle was well handled and believable. It wasn’t really one sided or a ping pong match between the interests. It was more of a tug of war; it generally stayed in place, but the tension kept growing until one side caved in to defeat. 4.)The last arc seemed too haphazardly thrown in and drawn out, but led to a very good, emotional ending. I feel like the staff had fun reliving their college days with this one. Between master painters, manga artists, voice actors, video game programmers, script writers and anime producers its like they were creating a version of themselves and showing all the struggles they had to endure to get where they are today. Having been a part of this culture as well I can certainly relate more than the average person probably will, especially when it comes to those all nighters and the 3 hour naps before your final exams. However, as much as I can picture every character of the cast as almost an exact replica of someone I’ve met along the way, I’m pretty sure even those of you who haven’t been exposed to the zaniness of the art students can find something/someone relate-able to each of them as well. What’s great about this show is the wide range of cast it carries and the depiction of all the real life struggles the characters have to go through. They don’t all just get free passes through everything and aren’t invulnerable which is something I give major kudos to the creator for. You’ve got extroverts, introverts, geeks, ladies men, socially inept geniuses and struggling caretakers. They all manage to mesh and balance perfectly which is essentially what Sakurasou Hall is all about: the bond between a bunch of oddballs from all walks of life who don’t quite fit in with the norm. Now, if you’re into action… this probably won’t float your boat that well. This is more of your slice of life with character driven episodes and love strings galore. And the last quarter or so of the season will definitely pull at your heartstrings for better or worse. It’s a fun little ride with some comedy throughout and something towards the top of my list that I would recommend to almost anyone. Just... don’t choose Plan C. ------------- In Depth Review Contains A Few Small Spoilers------------------- -----------Surrounded by "***Spoiler***" Continue Reading-------------- -------------------------------At Your Own Risk------------------------------------- What do I think about the characters? Sorata: A good natured main character out to help anyone he can to a point it makes it a fault. A lot of the jokes are on him for misunderstood intimate occasions. I see him as the ultimate wish fulfillment character for any girl who wants a “good boy” or caring husband. He is by all means mediocre, and we get to see him struggle through all the issues there are for an average person trying to get into the professional workplace. I found myself wanting to whack him upside the head for being so damn dense at times, but I suppose it helped keep the suspense up between which of the girls he’d choose since it led to making it seem solely dependent on the girls to come up with a way to confess to him. Mashiro: On the other hand you have the completely beautiful yet hopeless girl that can’t even dress herself trying to learn what love is and understand why everyone else isn’t a genius like her. What she wants, she gets simply because of her talent. It’s fun to watch her slowly learning and becoming more human throughout the show, but sometimes it also feels like she’s just not even trying. I almost expected a few episodes to make it out that she was just trolling someone with stupidness to get her way. She’s just not all that relate-able to most, and at times she’s written in a way that almost feels as if she’s there to alienate the audience as well to keep the suspense and shippers balanced on the Nanami side. But there are also those cute moments of helplessness and innocence that call Sorata to her side and make you melt down and say “they should be a couple”. Nanami: An average girl forcing herself to live by her own means. She puts everything on her shoulders, and refuses to let anyone help her with her burdens. Though it’s always nice to see this sort of thing, she doesn’t know her own boundaries and often winds up finding it backfiring horribly. She’s very determined, but is a complete tsundere so when it comes to anything about love she quickly becomes wishy-washy and shy. It doesn’t help that she’s also extremely jealous and obviously has a crush on Sorata from the get go. You often see her and Sorata in the same light; going through the same struggles of mediocrity and such, and they would clearly work out as the perfect couple. However, they always seem to be pulled apart or set back whenever something happens with Mashiro, and she is constantly reminded that no matter how close they are, Sorata just never quite cares as deeply for her in the same way. The last half of the season made me wish she would find it in her to grow a backbone and confess, but she never really does. ***Spoiler*** Instead, she objectively looks at the situation and decides it’s better to save their friendship and herself from a very likely heartbreak to back down. I don’t exactly know why, but she won a lot of kudos from me on that one. ***End Spoiler*** Misaki: The crazy “alien”. She’s an anime artist who is so energetic, so raunchy, so… eccentric that you can’t really help but laugh at her…

I really wanted to like this show. The main characters are fleshed-out and likable and the show doesn't fall into the harem trap where all the girls end up having a thing for the main character. The "main girl" (of sorts) is a cute denpa-character that offers a few laughs and several very cute moments. Despite having everything one would think it takes, this show still just had episode on episode where I found myself checking how much was left. I can't really put my finger on it, but even as a person that can easily breeze through a mediocre harem I found this show lacking in ability to engage me in any way (and it tries, perhaps too hard at times). I'd personally give this one a miss. There are plenty of other good shows in this genre around.

I've been trying to figure out why this show resonated with me so deeply. Because it did. I'm still thinking about it now, as a matter of fact, even though I finished the final episode last night. I'm thinking about Sorata and Mashiro, about Misaki-sempai and Jin. Aoyama and Ryuunosuke. These characters that meant nothing to me just a few short days ago, but now evoke strong feelings in me. Why do I love these characters so much? I think it's because even in though they are somewhat caricatured, they are so human in so many ways. Their experiences remind me of my own when I was young, not so long but seemingly forever ago. They remind me of what it was like to love for the very first time; that awkward, heady romance that dies ever so gradually as you grow up and grow jaded. They remind me of what it was like to have friends back then-friends that you could only make when you were young. The kind that you don't have to think twice about trusting. And even more than these memories of the past, Sakurasou evokes this sort of wild inspiration in me, the everlasting call throughout the series to "try your best", even if you fail. Even though the chances are that you will fail. Because eventually, if you're quite lucky, one day you will succeed. How could an anime create so many feelings in me? How could 24 23 minute episodes give me so much hope and such drive to push on? This can only lead me to believe that this show is a masterpiece. A beautiful representation of everything entertainment should be. Shows should create these feelings in us. That should be the point. Do you want to feel again? Do you want to remember? 10/10 across the board.

So, I recently watched this anime. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised! I breezed through all 24 episodes in just two days, and it isn't too often an anime keeps me so hooked I have to marathon it nowadays, especially a school anime. Why is Sakurasou so god damn brilliant? Well, for starters, let's discuss the story. It starts with a kid named Sorata Kanda getting kicked out of his school's regular dormitories for keeping a stray cat. He is presented with the options of either getting rid of the cat, or moving to Sakurasou - the school's dorm for problem children. Because Sorata cares so much for his cat, he chooses the option of moving to Sakurasou, a place of which he plans to escape from. One day, a girl named Mashiro Shiina moves to Sakurasou all the way from England, and it turns out she is completely dependent on other people. I must say, out of all the school anime I have watched so far, Sakurasou probably has the most unique plot - it's completely different from the many basic romance anime that don't feature much besides kids going to school and falling in love. The story is very well constructed and I feel the producers handled all six of the main characters perfectly. I would have liked to see a bit more of Ryuunosuke as he isn't even properly introduced until episode 9. That said, he is a shut-in so there is an obvious, acceptable reason for his lack of appearances. The show contains some hilarious moments, some extremely sad moments and some truly great scenes. Now onto the next point - the (absolutely brilliant) art style! At first, I thought the art seemed pretty standard for modern anime, but as I continued watching, I realised just how beautiful it actually is... The art, the animation, Shiina's paintings, it's all great! In fact, I'd go as far as to call it some of the best art I've ever seen in anime. I especially love the eyes as I can really see the emotion in them. Oh, where do I begin to talk about the characters!? I loved them all so much! They are all incredibly well written and if it weren't for them, I seriously doubt I would have enjoyed Sakurasou so much. Sorata and Jin are both pretty ordinary guys. Well, sure, Jin was a bit too obsessed with women, having four different girlfriends at the same time, but let's face it - an obsession with girls isn't too abnormal for man, is it? Ryuunosuke is a slightly awkward shut-in, programmer and a genius of sorts. He is a very interesting character who tends to communicate via email or text message. Despite creating Maid-chan, a female AI, he strongly dislikes women. Shiina is very cute. Her inability to care for herself leads to its fair share of problems, but it is easy to tell her heart is in the right place. Misaki is completely crazy, to the point where she is commonly referred to as an 'alien'. She loves creating anime, and she also loves Jin. Aoyama works ridiculously hard, largely due to the fact her father did not want her to follow her dream of becoming a voice actor. She obviously cares very deeply for Sakurasou and it's residents and is frequently offering to help out with chores. Now, unfortunately, I didn't find the sound in Sakurasou to be quite as good as other factors. While there isn't anything particularly wrong (in fact, it's all pretty good!) with the music, sound effects or openings, it doesn't contain anything I'd really want to listen to again. It's good enough, but I feel it lacks uniqueness. Overall, the sound isn't bad; it's just not particularly excellent. As for enjoyment, I feel it's a thoroughly enjoyable show for anyone who enjoys comedy or school anime, or just cute stuff in general. There are lots of emotional moments, and finishing it made me sad because I didn't want it to end. As I stated earlier, I finished the entire show incredibly quickly. Each episode left me wondering what was going to happen next. It sure has been a while since I watched an anime as enjoyable as Sakurasou. Overall, I feel this anime deserves nothing less than a rating of 9/10. A very enjoyable watch!

"Character cannot be achieved in ease and quiet, Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." -Helen Keller Ambitions, It's Sakurasou's main theme and I personally think it strikes home to just about anyone who has life goals. Upon first impression, Sakurasou is your ordinary Rom-com harem with a dense boy as a protagonist with quite a bit of fan service from time to time, but dig deeper and you'll see just how well made this anime is. Lets start with the art and music. The overall animations look pretty detailed and quite beautiful at times. As a Slice of life anime that has a considerable amount of talking, the background is always something pretty to look at. The music is no exception, the piano OST's sets the mood quite well in the entire series and is quite pleasant to listen to. The characters. When I'm trying to find a good main character in an anime, I always try to look out for conflicts, not just with other people, but with themselves as well, as it would (most likely) make good character development, and to cut things short, all of the main characters in Sakurasou have quite the character development. Every single one of them has this inner conflict that will result in pretty emotional, and at times moving events throughout the series. Lets talk story. Sakurasou is a slice of life, which is pretty hard to make a reasonably appealing story to make of it. There is no specific goal that the main characters try to get to from the beginning; but rather events that make the characters try to reach a certain goal. Liking this type of story is really just up to personal preference, but Sakurasou does have an interesting story to people who quite enjoy it. Don't expect slow pacing in this anime as well, problems and conflicts usually get resolved in 2-3 episodes and a new event comes anew. ? Fan service. Its an on the fence point, but it has to be said nonetheless. The Lines the characters say can also be something that can be rather cheesy or annoying at times. Enjoyment This anime made me laugh, cry and generally grow with the characters as the story goes and satisfied me with its conclusion. most of the questions of the story are answered in the final episodes of the anime and made me applaud at my monitor, with my sister walking in my room midway, asking herself what is wrong with his brother.

I went into this anime under the promise that all is not as it seems. That what started as quite banal, somewhat annoying, rather tasteless... and frankly off-putting could turn into something beautiful. Something you'd remember. 24 episodes later (and after marathoning the last 5), my cheeks are sore from smiling like an idiot for so long. And I'm feeling more than just happy I gave it a chance. In fact, I'm feeling a lot of things. But mostly, its satisfied... a little inspired... and touched. In a way, that journey... that transformation is representative of the story of Sakurasou. And in retrospect, I would not have it done any other way. Other reviews say that Sakurasou starts shaky, and turns into something wonderful later on. I say that this anime knew exactly what it wanted to be from the get-go... even if you wouldn't like it, it stuck to its quirks and celebrated them. I'll just say right now, this is not some weird perverted harem romcom, even if it comes across that way at first. This is the story of a dorm seemingly for misfits, who for some reason or other needed a place to escape the harsher world outside, and pursue their dreams away from society's captiousness. Or... they just needed a place, really. Sakurasou though is a strange habitat, eccentric... and to put you in a prepared state of mind as you enter this show, I'm going to tell you right off the bat... its a place where its almost completely OK for a boy to be given full responsibility of a girl who can't do much of anything for herself aside from paint(including cooking for her and helping her ahem...dress herself), another hyper-charged girl to go rampaging around and (among other things)practically flaunt her sexual availability, a laid-back average looking joe to score attractive(sometimes married) chicks seemingly every night and a computer savant to construct a maid-themed AI to handle virtually all his social obligations. There is also gratuitous, cringe-worthy fan service and many many (all narrowly avoided though! phew)sexual situations. Well, you know where I'm going with this. You'd be forgiven for wanting to leave... but that's where it starts getting fun. How you don't want to. How SnPnK makes you absolutely fall in love with every single one of its quirks, or at least, make you accept them even if you don't like them. Because you love it as a whole. The story is full of twists and turns, and is as real of a life journey as you can put its curious cast of characters through. Its sincere, realistic(for the most part) and relatable in the struggles, situations and feelings it portrays. There is lots of strife and it reveals the makeup of each character it introduces, and along the way, you see them all grow, learn and become closer together. The strength of Sakurasou, as you'll find, lies entirely in its cast, their evolution and their interactions, which were full of a certain charm, and chemistry. They may not seem like a realistic bunch, but by the end, they felt that way. I couldn't help but grow attached. Each of them have many different facets to them, which all develop as the show goes on. Though they admittedly may be very weird, their trials and emotions, their thoughts and fears... their love and friendship, they resonate with many of us. Their passions and their aspiration to succeed seem genuine and infectious and sometimes you can picture yourself in their very shoes as they face joy and disappointment alike. Their conflicts and insecurities come across as quite lifelike and sometimes made it hard to choose a side because you can empathize with both so much... Perhaps I'm biased, I admit(you can probably tell as you read this review) but I found myself relating to them quite a bit, and got unexpectedly emotional during the scenes which showed them each at their very most vulnerable. I should mention that the voice acting, while pretty well done almost everywhere else, really carries through in the important moments. I didn't like the MC's voice much, but even he delivered when he had to. Great performance by the VAs, and the music and sound effects were very appropriate as well. Never quite taking away the spotlight, but noticeably enhancing the immersion. The fade in effects to the EDs were also a nice touch. At its heart though, Sakura no Pet na Kanojo is a pretty silly series. It never loses that spirit for long or tries to. But its serious and emotional moments always seemed just as natural and effortless as its silliness. That charm is ever present. Maybe I should've stepped back a bit before writing this review to present a less biased view, but IMHO, the in-the-moment impression is the most honest, and that's all I'm trying to convey here. That isn't to say Sakurasou isn't without its flaws. I disliked the character Ryuunosake Akasaka(to be fair, he never was really trying to be liked) and his romance felt very forced and pandering to an asocial audience. The panty-shots and underwear shots were somewhat unnecessary and became tedious. And the art while well-drawn and sometimes very cute was very average when compared to shows from the same time-frame. I also disliked the fact that since the show is about art, none of the things produced by the characters seemed particularly impressive, even though they acted as if it was. All in all, this show is well-worth your time despite the bad first impression, and is a welcome respite from the monotony of the harem and high-school romcom genre. This is definitely one of the better ones and I have to give it a 9(great) rating overall.

When you first start the anime, you may think that this is just another crude and cliché anime. You have the boy who thinks life is absolutely dull, and in the first sequence, you have the same character looking straight up at a girl's butt. But please don't be deterred by that fact! The story gets much better from there. Sakurasou no Pet chronicles the life of our male lead Sorata as he tries to find his place in the world. To his misfortune, he ends up in this "residence hall" where its inhabitants are "weird" people. We have Misaki, a girl with a wild imagination, Ryuunoske, a computer whiz with a charming maid AI, and Jin, a promising script writer who is very good with the ladies. The place only gets even weirder when Shiina moves in with them. At that moment, the story takes off. The story is fairly engaging. At times, I felt warm and fuzzy inside (the Sakurasou traditional hot pot dinner), and at other times, I would feel that I was hit by a train of emotions. The story is definitely a roller-coaster ride. I really enjoyed how most of the challenges the characters face are ones that we all face in real life: finding our niche, finding a place where we are accepted. Although the story does have romantic elements, they are not as central as the ideas of the struggles in life and our place in society. The comedic elements arise from Shiina's awkwardness. She needs help getting dressed everyday and she has trouble interacting with others. I laughed whenever I saw Shiina and Sorata getting into awkward situations. My only complaint about the story was the romance. At times, I felt that the romance was an extraneous element. I'm going to go a little into the romance below so if you don't want to read into it, skip down to the END SPOILER mark. ---START SPOILER--- I am on #TeamAoyama and rooted for Sorata and Aoyama to get together at the end. Although it is pretty clear that Sorata had his eyes on Shiina since the first day she set foot in town, they are not a match made in heaven. All Sorata reveres in Shiina is her determination and her ability to draw stunning manga. The story did not support their love with any scenes where I felt that they had great chemistry together. Further, I was really frustrated when Aoyama was unable to confess her feelings to Sorata. Whenever she avoided the question, I found myself yelling at Aoyama to express her feelings! So definitely, the romance could have been much better. ---END SPOILER--- I really enjoyed the artwork in this anime. It had really bright and warm colours and the characters were drawn in a very charming manner. I felt that the artwork of the anime was best showcased when they showed Shiina's drawings. I felt it was like I was in a museum looking at the actual painting. One of Sakurasou's strong points is definitely its artwork. The opening and ending music were spectacular. You will definitely find your head bobbing to the rhythm of the second ending. What made the opening great was that it captured the cheerful aspects in the anime. By the end of the opening, I was pumped up and ready to experience the daily life in Sakurasou. Each character was easily distinguishable as each one had their own "quirkiness." When they combine all of their quirkiness, the whole show just comes to life. If you were to remove even one of them, the party would feel incomplete. The character that spoke to me the most was Sorata. He's trying to find his place in the world and at times, he finds the world is unfair. In terms of his aspirations, Sorata was well-developed. The only downside to him is his love life. Let's just say that at times, you will find yourself either scratching your head or simply frustrated by his actions. Sakurasou definitely lived up to its hype. By the end, you may not find yourself crying but you will definitely feel touched. I assure you that you will definitely find a character that you can relate to and root for during the entire show. Final thoughts: If you are looking for a romance-driven story, you may be very disappointed. But if you don't mind the romance playing second wheel, you will definitely enjoy the journey that our friends at Sakurasou will take you. All in all, definitely give Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo a try! Thank you for reading my review!

I was relatively new to watching anime at the time of starting this show. I had only finished watching around 2 shows prior (summer 2013). At the time, I was also going through a stint of being jaded and slightly "depressed." Interestingly enough, I found some sanctuary in this medium: anime. Watching SNPNK might have amplified some of my emotions. My opinion might be biased, especially because i was new to anime at the time of watching this, but I firmly believe this is one of the best--if not the best--shows I have seen so far. Bare with me, as this review may be long winded and incoherent at some points. This is more for my personal reference, just to get my thoughts down. I quickly wrote down chunks of information&descriptions without comprehensively proof reading. Therefore, this review may be a bit flawed in regards to the construction of a review and might not be well fleshed out. I'll edit parts over time. First off, i would like to discuss fan service and this show. People say the show is riddled with improper fan service (e.g. panty shots) or that the fan service gets in the way of the show. The thing is, TONS of shows have fan service. It is almost a staple of the anime industry. It is the norm now (not saying that the "norm is good"). Plus, there isn't even loads of fan service. Like i said, "I was relatively new to anime at the time of watching this show" so the fan service was not off-putting--almost as if it was shock humor, which made me go "omg what is going on; this show is ridiculous" with spurts of laughter in between words. Thus, this fan service experience was not overdone, nor generic, and basically added to the hilarity of the show. Art & Animation is fantastic. Smooth, fluid. not lazy. I love the way J.C. Staff animated everything and how they portrayed all the expressions and actions of the characters. Some people might say it isn't anything special, that the expressions are all generic, but i would strongly say otherwise; in fact, there are many animes that have a different style and evoke different expressions. For example, golden time has quite a different approach on expressions. It is nice, but i much prefer the way Sakurasou did it. It was perfect. The expressions were spot on for the situations at hand. The art quality was fantastic. Many people argue that the quality is "standard" and they would not "expect any less", but there are lots of shows even now that seem to get "lazy". The animation is, from what I recall, fluid and not stagnant. There weren't many "still frames" and it was very well-made. Some studios seem to get "lazy" in their approach. Honestly, I wouldn't want any other studio to have animated this show. The voice actors were memorable and perfectly fitting (with shiina maybe being an exception) I loved the voice actors. Their emotions were well executed; their characters were realistic; their acting was spot on. Shiina's voice was the only issue. I understand it was supposed to be melancholy and monotonous to fit the role of the character, but i just did not like her voice; though it was somewhat more enjoyable when she did express some emotion, in the 1 or 2 scenes of the whole show. Nevertheless, it would have been a flawless cast, in my opinion, if shiina had a different voice. I really connected with the story-line/characters and thought it was enjoyable and realistic. It hit home. I empathized with their situation and sympathized with the characters. The storyline and plot was realistic and modern. The main character wasn't impervious to defeat; he was real and didn't get his way all the time. But that is not to say that the story was perfect in my eyes. I do wish the story played out a little bit differently, and I do wish that Nanami got with Sorata. I wish she weren't so sad. You can say i got really attached to the characters and engrossed in the show lol, but i digress. There was a good amount of drama throughout, and it was balanced with a good portion of comedy. Quality sound and memorable music. I loved the OP's & ED's. Days of Dash, to be specific. It stuck with me for weeks. It brings back all the emotion and intensity that i experienced during this show. The song is so nostalgic. No other anime's OP/ED can compete with Sakurasou's, in regards to how memorable and enjoyable it was. Few shows made me WANT To listen through the whole OP and/or ED. Few animes had catchy&interesting enough OP/ED's. Granted, many of the animes i've watched have interesting OP/ED's but a select few stood out from the rest and was on a whole 'nother level. All of the music was well placed and did not get stale&old. I don't believe any of the pieces played throughout the episodes became overused. The music was fitting and enjoyable. Story:9 Art:10 Sound:10 Characters:10 Enjoyment:10 Overall:10 I loved Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. This was such a great show. I personally found this show near perfection, and it will be, and always will be, near the top of my list of the best and most enjoyable anime.

Prior to watching this, my only experience in romantic comedy was Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!, which some would argue isn't even that much of a romantic comedy anyway. Since this might have a bearing on my perception of this anime, if I were you I wouldn't rely solely on my review as a basis for judging this show. I won't bother with plot summaries or character descriptions or the like, since you can find those anywhere. So, let's begin, shall we? PLOT/GENERAL COMMENTS: I was first introduced to Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo ("Sakurasou") based on its (relatively) lighthearted nature and its portrayal of the theme of failure. Being a person quite big on themes and messages in stories, as opposed to just the story, I was rather intrigued - and when I watched the first few episodes, I wasn't really disappointed. I rather liked how every character was portrayed as flawed or weak or inadequate in some way, and how, over the course of the story, they grew to overcome their flaws through a combination of determination and hope and hard work. Sakurasou also features numerous contrasts between the genius of the pros - Ryuunosuke, Misaki, and, of course, Mashiro - and the more ordinary, second rate characters of Nanani and Jin and Sorata, which really just emphasises the theme of failure and its overcoming that the show presents. But, just a few episodes on, it fell flat on its face. Out of nowhere, Sorata's little sister comes to stay over - and cue the love triangle/romcom/fanservice episode that pays almost no regard to what the story was trying to do earlier on. Admittedly, there are probably people to whom this kind of thing will appeal. But, for me, it was just to shallow given the subject matter of Sakurasou. This keeps up in the latter episodes, which is when Sakurasou transitions from having a thematic story to simply having a romantic comedy story. Sure, coverage is given of the theme of failure, and sure, it does play a somewhat large role in the plot there - but the focus seemed no longer to be on each of the characters trying to achieve their dreams (although they were in fact trying to do that). No, the latter episodes were more about the relationships between the characters - the conclusion of the love triangle, the long-expected couple finally getting together, the power of friendship, and a disaster averted with that power of friendship. I have nothing against any of that. This is a romantic comedy, after all; and in any case, love and friendship are powerful things, and it's good that this show reminds us of that. In fact, I rather enjoyed the character development and relationships in the later episodes. But they eclipsed all that stuff about failure sufficiently that failure became not a theme but merely a plot point. And that was this show's greatest failing: in telling a good story, it sacrificed the theme it worked to develop. Now, I understand that writing a good story is damn hard. Writing a good story with a good theme is even harder. So I can't really blame them for what they did. But because the developers sacrificed their theme, I can't call this show amazing. And of course, the ridiculously shallow Yuuko plotlines only made it worse. CHARACTERS: But if there was one thing that redeemed (carried) the show, it was the characters. I don't know much about anime stereotypes, not having seen that many anime before; but, stereotyped or not, Sakurasou's characters were strong. They were real and developed and each had a distinct personality, so that they seemed to carry themselves out of the screen and into the world. Plus, they were personable and likeable. I'd liked to have seen a little more development for Chihiro-sensei and the game designer (what was he called again? Oh, right, Fujisawa), but given the strength of the other main characters it's really just pedantic I-want-to-know-more needling on my part. Oh, and Nanami is a pretty awesome character. Mashiro is obviously very likeable because she's a kuudere, and everyone likes kuuderes; but Nanami's struggle for her dream and the hardships she overcomes just make her, to me, a better character. And she's just so damn nice that it's sad to watch :( Yeah. I hope I made it clear enough in the above paragraph, but Sakurasou's characters were watch got me watching past the bad parts of the show. I kept watching not because I wanted to know what happened next, but because I wanted to see more of the characters. And, given the importance (and difficulty, too) of getting characters done right, I should think that Sakurasou's characters are pretty amazing. SOUND: I suppose I should talk about this as well. I don't have have any complaints about the voice acting (aside from the fact that the show sometimes uses comedy right after serious moments - but that's a wrangle with the plot and not the acting): the seiyuus did a great job of making their characters real. The music of the show fits what happen well, and one or two tracks are particularly nice to listen to. As for the OP and ED songs, they weren't anything particularly special - but after listening to them so many times I've acquired a liking for them. Days of Dash, the first ED, is particularly catchy and just...just generally awesome. It's not anything that'll grab your attention when you first hear it, but after you've become familiar with it I daresay you'll like it quite a bit. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo isn't a particularly amazing show. It doesn't compare, for instance, to that other romantic comedy I've watched - Chuunibyou - in that it doesn't have any particular purpose or message, and that it contains episodes shallow enough to be fillers. But it's still fun to watch, and therefore not a bad show either.

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo started off quite brilliantly and so it’s a shame that the second half couldn’t live up to its first half. To start off, the one thing that remained absolutely solid throughout the show was the fantastic direction. Scenes transitioned smoothly to the next, everything was set up in a logical manner whereas many romantic comedies seem to go from scene to scene doing whatever’s best to explain the story and I was pleased that Sakurasou didn’t walk down this path. It was the first half that really kept me interested in Sakurasou. It set up the main cast really well, distinguishing each character and giving them a lot of vigor. The chemistry between all of them was great, especially the love triangle between Sorata, Mashiro and Nanami and it was really nice to see everything unfold. And so I was quite disappointed when Sakurasou decided to go down the path of being a generic romance. The anime started using elements we’ve seen over and over again. Now using generic elements certainly isn’t a bad thing if it can present it in a way that feel fresh, but Sakurasou failed to do that. The energy it once had in the first half suddenly turned into a slow melodrama. But the ending was by far the most disappointing, as it was sappy and very unresolved. That being said, that second half isn’t as bad as I make it out to be as there were still a couple of powerful and heartfelt moments. But overall, it was still quite lackluster compared to the first half and mediocre at best. So overall, starting off with a bang and losing speed at the end, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo was still a fairly enjoyable anime to watch and I really wished they could have kept it solid throughout.

Warning there will be spoilers and what not. This is solely due to my own opinion, if you disagree with this i respect your own opinion to do so. Read on if interested. I will start with a general first impression. I first picked up this anime because i thought the art looked kinda interesting and that it was a school/drama/romance, which is the 3 genres i mainly look for in most animes. When i watched the first episode i thought the way they introduced the characters was just effing hilarious. The way they introduced Jin was one of the funniest ones, a high school player who gets dropped off by car and leaving by giving the girl a kiss. That is just simply hilarious IMO. Misaki had an funny introduction too, when i first saw her butt and realized that she was in his room i immediately thought she was one of the "crazy but funny" characters of the show and i was pinpoint on that guess. STORY: 10 The story was seriously an excellent one. It starts off slow and filled with comedy which was really nice. It gets serious and dramatic later on but it did not feel at all slammed into us, all of the drama is mostly built up or made sense. Most of the events that took place in this anime seemed pretty realistic to me. The characters reactions and what happens afterwards and whatnot. There is so much i want to say about the story but i don't want to end up writing an essay so ill just keep it extremely brief. Ill just list a couple of scenes and my opinions of it. Mashiro's introduction: As an introduction scene i thought this was really well done. it kind of reminded me of Clannad, Where in Clanand Tomoya walks towards school and sees Nagisa at the bottom of the hill and hears her talking to herself asking "do you like this school?" and what not. In the case of Mashiro she asks Sorata what color does he was to be. I thought i was really interesting how they did not thought i am sure it was not intentional. Great scene, really makes me think of what kind of character Mashiro is what what kinds of hidden meaning is behind what she said. Nanami's first failure: I already noticed how she works seriously hard to try to achieve her goal but she was working too damn hard. Everyone has to know their limits, it doesnt matter if you can do a lot of amazing things it it kills you in the end. I felt really sad for Nanami and kudos for Sorata for being there for her. Nanami's Second failure: At the beginning when she opened the letter and that pause i thought she failed and was sad but then she smiled and faced them and i instantly got a smile of my face but then she went "I didn't make it" i was like FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....... But how she decided to stay high spirited and happy and not let everyone else worry about her, at first i thought that was really strong of her to do but slowly i thought that she should just let it out and i guess she held it in too much that whatever was trying to hold in the tears for her just broke and all her tears fell out. That was seriously a pretty heart breaking scene, so not only did she learn that it was bad to hold something in that much, even i learned that it was a bad thing to keep something like that to yourself. This was scene that I would probably never forget since i actually learned something out of this. Even though this seems like common sense it was just not something i put too much thought into. Saving Sakurasou: This is a great scene of this anime. They all put so much effort into trying to save Sakurasou and it was really touching just how much they cared about Sakurasou and how much they really loved being with each other. Even the mighty DRAGON who never really helps anybody ends up making a website that informs people of what is to happen to Sakurasou. Graduation: This is the MOST AMAZING Scene in this anime. I kind of just expected them to accept the demolishing of Sakurasou and not let the destruction of a building stop their friendship. But HOLY CRAP!!!!! I did not expect Misaki, MISAKI of all people to do something like that. It was just amazing. BIG KUDOS TO MISAKI. she is seriously an awesome character, her thanking each one of them was also really amazing, it shows just how much she really cares about everyone, how she was originally alone in Sakurasou and ends up with everyone else in the end. Ending Episode: Rita goes back to England, tricks Dragon into a kiss, THAT WAS GREAT. I support DragonxRita a lot. Then Misaki and Jin parts ways with Jin kissing Misaki and giving her the marriage registration form. Then later Misaki drops off Dragon, Sorata and Mashiro and Dragon says he has to go to a meeting and that made me smile, it means that he has opened up a little bit. I say congratulations to him. (If you guys cannot tell yet, Dragon is my favorite male character in this show) Later on finding out that Nanami actually budged her father into letting her continuing to chase her dream, i just thought that Nanami finally got a break. Nanami's father was the one who was against her becoming a seiyuu and Nanami pretty much ran away from home to go to Sui academy and now that she went back to Osaka and ends up getting permission to continue her dream, man i was really happy for her, something GREAT happened after so much terrible and bad things happened to her. Chihiro sensei also was a great help in this episode, telling her that the last two years was not wasted effort and how it never will be. Although having two new random characters to join the Sakurasou dormitory is great and all i kind of wish that they didn't. That is purely my opinion, i kind of thought it was too random and sudden and it didn't really add to the mood. Well i guess its more happiness and that the new "guy" is a pervert so it adds excitement. Also having Misaki living right next door. That is just a Big LOL!!!!! Ahhh i ended up saying a lot more than i wanted to. Oh wells... ART: 8 Even though art was one of the things i said that drew me to this anime, the art in this anime isn't INCREDIBLE but it was something that looked simple and good, not something incredibly flashy that would make me freeze in amazement of how pretty it is and end up skipping important scenes in the anime. SOUND: 8 The music in this anime was pretty good. The choice of timing of certain tracks was pretty genius and really added to the mood of the scene and what not. Overall there was maybe like 3 or 4 tracks that i really liked. The main tracks that they used got extremely repetitive the more i hear it. What I mean is that the tracks themselves were not so stupendous so hearing them over and over again gets just a teeny bit annoying. An example is the track that they used every time when they screw around or are just having a fun time. For some reason i just did not like that track, in fact i could almost say that i hate it. CHARACTER: 10 I feel that the character is one of the greatest things about this anime. I will go into each character. KANDA SORATA: The main protagonist of this anime. At first i thought of him as a pretty normal guy with a some what normal life except it was really normal at all. okay i take it back his life is no where near normal. The main things that makes him special to me is how REAL he feels. When he got that letter saying that he did not pass and then he sees how well Mashiro was doing, he was mad pissed, he was consumed in anger and even yelled at Mashiro who did nothing wrong. THAT IS REALISM. In a lot of anime the dude would just be sad while keep cheering on the girl and then continue being sad and some retarded miracle happens and they both become happy. That's uhhh great at all but lacks so much realism. I love how real he was. Other than him being incredibly real, i liked how he was so super tsukkomi about everything, he would take a jab at literally everything every opportunity he gets, which makes him all the more funny and interesting. Shiina Mashiro: She is the main Heroine of this anime. T…

I believe this anime to be a masterpiece. It has its flaws, yes, but so does every story in existence. This was one of my first animes I ever found and watched on my own. Despite my nostalgia, it's important to be objective as much as possible. The easiest things to start with are those which are without question, namely the Art and Sound. The artwork is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen in an anime (not including the in-universe artwork). Its used to a great degree of effectiveness. Take the first episode for example. At times it uses cheesy news-like graphics (like the introduction stats) but other times it has the most beautiful uses of color, motion, and form (like when Sorata meets Mashiro). Nearly every scene is packed with some tidbit of interesting information, symbolism, foreshadowing, and easter eggs. (An example of this is while the first opening shows Sorata trying to take out a wasp/hornet nest, this is never shown in an episode. However, the labels on the chore chart (if shown) have "Wasp Nest" under Sorata's duties.) What pulls the artwork together is really the sound. Their audio engineers are definitely top notch. Things can go from loud to soft, simple to complex and layered, and vice-versa without hitting you too hard or too little. Again, using the first episode as an example, lots of detail was put into the sound, especially environmental sound. From the musical-type sounds that help guide the story to the hot pot bubbling layered underneath to the way the evening market street sounded or the way the wind whooshed around with the cherry petals or the trains. The voice actors are really great as well. They fit their characters perfectly and don't turn it into a stereotypical pile of rubbish like many very flat animes do. Together with the sound and art, truly you're pulled into the show. You may have heard a term for extremely realistic art - hyperrealism; this anime is like the perfect fusion of hyperrealism and hyper-idealism. Now the story is interesting. Animes/manga based on light novels tend to have a better story in my personal opinion. The characters all have big strengths coupled with big flaws. The emotions and desires they express feel real. All characters have moments when they act human and "break character" instead of playing to whatever character sheet they have. Everyone benefits and suffers. Growing up is hell and Sakurasou is definitely an interesting pressure cooker of sorts. Some might say this anime is predictable, which it is sometimes. If you begin it with an open mind and few expectations, you'll probably be left feeling like the story's progression and any predictability it had was rather natural. Those who latch onto something and preconceive the story in their heads are the ones who will be left disappointed; they will either be correct and cast aspersions or be incorrect and cast blame. I feel it's important to left this story play out. Theme-wise, this anime discusses so many: hard work (how it works and how it doesn't), talent and skill (what is it and when does it matter), relationships and feelings, love and acceptance, unsupportive parents, what is important and what's not, childhood friendships and their issues. I also like the positive look they take at Mashiro's condition, which is something like high-functioning autism. Overall it's just a wonderful story and anime. Watch it and let it wash over you. Don't try to swim upstream but let the show carry you along with it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll feel a lot. After all, that's what it is to be human. 10/10