First Impression: Sakura Quest

Synopsis

Yoshino Koharu was down on her luck in finding a job in the big city of Tokyo. When she finds an opportunity to work as a “Queen” for a town called Manoyama. But the job is not what she expects and she decides the first chance she gets she heads back to Tokyo. But in facing her new challenges and learning more of the town, her initial plans may change.

The Good

From the opening to the ending, the word quirky was the most apt way to describe the themes, characters, and plot overall. With the opening, not only does the viewer get a viewer on what to expect but fit very well with the tone that the series seems to be setting up. One key point that made the episode work out so well was on the execution of the overall story and portrayal of the characters.

Another thing with the opening is that it’s very catchy with its upbeat tune and fun visuals. The entire artwork of the episode was both simple but enjoyable along with the characters. Their designs while not exactly subtle, case in point the protagonist, is both simple and charming in their designs and were well established in their portrayals throughout the execution of the story.

For the whole episode the most enjoyable parts to put it simply, was the art, the music and the simplicity in the execution and portrayals of plot and characters.

The Bad

With the way the plot and the characters are set, everything seems very standard overall and not all that different from other slice of life works with a similar theme, especially on the main character’s side. Here we have a fresh graduate who;s aiming to make it big in the city after escaping her “boring countryside life” but is down on here luck but somehow ends up with an out of the blue opportunity which she takes only to find out that it is not what she had expected.

Change the characters, settings and even location and it wouldn’t change much as most of the characters shown are rather generic and are only defined by their designs and scenarios. For a long time viewer of anime or even reader of manga, it’s easy to see and predict what type of characters there are when shown and aside from certain differences meant for the show, there is not much difference to them than from the “countryside happy” or “city longing” types.

Overall there isn’t much which makes the plot, characters or even scenario unique other than certain quirky parts such as the town qualities and such.

Conclusion

The songs and soundtracks are the most enjoyable parts to enjoy for the main part. The art as well is simple but delicate in its style which it the second most enjoyable aspect of the episode and left a positive impression. The disappointing factor of this first impression is that the overall story, characters and even setting are all rather generic and if you were to switch things around, there wouldn’t be much of a difference other than the unique factors of the town such as the town lore.

Rating: 6/10