Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what it is with Sakurako that clicks. As this is the second mystery anime of the season that I've seen; it's hard to not compare Sakurako and Perfect Insider- as disparately as the way they tell their stories and treat their characters are. A quick way to put it would be that the show watches a lot like "Bones" mixed with "Castle" and some "Law and Order SVU". Mostly the first two. Sakurako focuses on two characters- a high school kid named Shoutarou, and the bourgeoisie, genius young lady that he hangs out with- the eponymous Sakurako.A few major supporting characters also float in and out- Utsumi the cop, Yuri, a schoolmate of Shoutarou's, Isozaki, a teacher at their school, and Sakurako's grandma- the chillest, sassiest, every-one's-grandma ever. Their stories are mostly arc based, or they simply appear as contacts or random happenings as the story progresses. What's interesting about Sakurako and Shoutarou's relationship is how inverse it really seems, especially to outsiders. Sakurako, despite her nearly royal upbringing, is probably 23 going on 3 years old. She has terrible social cues, a temper, is openly rude to nearly everyone, and has a penchant for speaking her mind, no matter to whom, or what about- much to the chagrin of Shoutarou. Shoutarou on the other hand is more of a father figure in the relationship with Sakurako, despite being her junior by as many as 10 years. He acts practically as her handler and mouthpiece, particularly when dealing with the police- a group whose attention she often attracts with her obsession with acquiring bones, even if it meant stealing state evidence in a homicide investigation. It's obvious that Shoutarou has the hots for Miss Bones, even if she doesn't seem to reciprocate those romantic feels. Shoutarou is a bit bland for a protagonist, but his even and mellow personality reflect the petulant little tyrant that Sakurako wants to be- often with humorous results. They balance each other out pretty well. One point that I found interesting is that though Sakurako involves high school age kids, they're not the real focal point of the show, and neither does the show include a bunch of mundane and pointless scenes taking place in the local high school. I appreciate that, a lot. In fact, the setting for Sakurako is as off beat as its eponymous character, being that the series takes place in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, bordering Russia. As such, it involves a lot of coastal, mountainous, and forested areas, vs the typical urban environment of school-set anime. This lends itself to some beautiful natural vistas, homes, and generally a more rustic feel. This is the first solo production the new studio TROYCA has undertaken, and I felt they did a great job with production values for what's an average of average budgeted anime. Sakurako being a mystery anime, it would be against my nature to spoil the plot for anyone, so I have to say that anyone reading who's not seen the show should see it for themselves (see this as my recommendation), but I have to comment on the way the story presents itself. What's seemingly an episodic sort of slice of life about Shoutarou tagging along with Sakurako places and them happening to come upon bones (sometimes human) in their travels- along with Sakurako helping Shoutarou solve people's mysterious happenings/deaths/etc. By the end of the show, what seemed like loose ends and random dead end plot points manage to connect with some red threads with a pretty thrilling conclusion, if a bit expected. If I were to say one thing about Sakurako- it's a bit more clever than it looks plotwise, for a show about a woman whose near boundless intellect enables her to solve the murder or medical malady of nearly anyone. Some would say that Sakurako herself is a huge deus ex machina with her sometimes implausible amount of intellect and knowledge that enable her to solve crimes with very few clues, but as a viewer, I was also coming to some of the same conclusions she was, given the same amount of time. This isn't an excuse for breaking "show, not tell", but it wasn't a Light Yagami VS L level of jumping to seemingly illogical conclusions only to be right. Sakurako stays grounded, even though the titular character sometimes feels like she has a supernatural mind. The biggest issue with Sakurako's story is certainly the length. If Sakurako were a two cour series, it would be able to make a lot better use of time, because the pacing is, at times, so fast that it almost feels like an abbreviated form of a mystery. In one episode you'll have a setup and introduction, exposition, and then have the mystery solved. That's a lot of progression for 24 minutes, and as such it feels rushed. The arcs that take up two episodes feel a lot more natural and the extended length of time gievs the audience more time to hypothesize and try to figure the mystery out for themselves vs just being directly told by Sakurako. If the show had more room to stretch its legs, I imagine that it would be a heck of a lot better, as it ended leaving me wanting more. It's likely that as recent as Sakurako is, they simply did not have enough material to animate into a second cour- but with that, I have to say that I will look forward to whatever comes in the future.

My Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru review. My ratings: Story: Fair 6. Art: Very Good 7. Sound: Good 7. Character: Poor 3. Enjoyment: Fair 6. Overall: Decent 4.Ok, so what we have is a combination of CSI, BONES, ROSEWOOD and COLD CASE combine in one, cu'z basically it's a crime drama, that was somehow doesn't look like one, so: Story (up) It was nice at first, but as it goes on , somehow original creator Ota, Shiori seem to focus more on the unlikely relationship between the cougar and tadpole....and I'm talking about Sakurako and Shoutarou, in fact most of the logic behind the crime are just too lame to comprehend, example like in ep 6. where the west was portrayed as making a mourning ring was basically something that creator Ota, Shiori may have conceptualize in a wrong manner , cu'z throwing a ring in to the river is basically for someone who was trying to forget somebody who may have been cheated, in fact one might wonder as to how original creator Ota, Shiori got that idea of a mourning ring being a western custom. Ep 4 and 5. about the attempted suicide of Takeshi Fujioka...why would would he fake an attack and making it look like a suicide by cutting himself in his leg , was just too lame even by "B" movie standards, also gradma who fell from her dead in ep 3, they could have chosen a good timing to found the bones, now logically speaking if someone is missing wouldn't granddaughter Yuriko Kougami be reporting as a missing person, wouldn't the cop be on location of the dead granny in the soonest possible time? So it was safe to say that the scenarios and the plot wasn't about the mystery rather it was a dark adventure and indirect romance of Sakurako the cougar and Shoutaru the tadpole. Cu'z IMO this is what original creator Ota, Shiori was focusing, which IMO is "fair"enough. Art (up) There isn't any moe in it in fact Sakurako attire were either tomboyish with her white shirt and black slacks attire or classy in her feminine attire, which is IMO deserves a "Very Good" for art director Itou Akira, since there isn't any fanservice or any bikini scene here, and it's a "Very Good" thing that this anime didn't rely on the those things to sell, just her back scene from the ending theme, it's a big sorry for them perves cu'z they won't be able to make love with Sakurako in their dreams. Sound (up) Well it's good that the seiyuu who did Sakurako's voice matched the character and the opening theme match the anime as well. Character (up) Ok, so Sakurako was great and she one lady who has both brains and guts, but that's just the thing.....she was overmade, how can a Osteologist be a forensic psychologist, chemist, archaeologist and all that CSI she bang, be that good when she's only in her twenties. Shoutarou was also being overmade as well like how can a shorty like him take down a junkie from ep.2 where, even with the knowledge of jujitsu in his bodyframe he would have a very hard time to take-on a junkie who is chemically imbalance where in reality would take at least 2 guys to subdue such guy. IMO, original creator Ota, Shiori didn't properly utilize the proper casting and the right action for the job, in ep.2 it should have been Utsumi who should be taking down the junkie not Shoutarou, if it were me, I would have had Utsumi to try to subdue a junkie despite of getting stabbed and Shoutarou should have help him by knocking the Junkie's leg with a 2x4 wood. In ep 4 and 5, it should not be Utsumi who should be casted with with the two , rather it should have been Itsuki who should have be there as the cast, in ep 10 and 11 , it should have been Utsumi who should be casted there with the two and not Itsuki, so basically the choice of cast with the two ( Sakurako and Shonen) for each episode was just "Poor" that in every episode plot make the support characters ill-fit for it. And let's not for the Sakurako's fiance...where is he, his absence alone really makes this anime focus on a cougar and tadpole relationship. Enjoyment (up) Basically my enjoyment was simply with the cougar and tadpole, and that's as far as I go, in fact I'm very much disgusted with this anime's supposed crime drama . Overall (up) My advice, don't focus on the mismatch crime solving and just focus on the cougar and tadpole mystery romance, so overall it's a decent anime. Peace and Happy upcoming 2016.

(This is a spoiler-free review adapted for this site) [Synopsis]: High School student Tatewaki Shoutarou (Enoki, Junya) led a normal enough life until he met Kujou Sakurako (Itou, Shizuka), a beautiful, young woman and genius Osteologist who is endlessly fascinated with bones. Together on their outings they always seem to chance upon human remains after which it falls to the unlikely duo to discern the story of the bones and solve the mysteries they present. [Characters]: Sakurako-san focuses almost entirely on the explorations and interactions of its two protagonists while intermittently featuring recurring supporting characters alongside a primarily episodic cast. The show’s attention to its main characters iswell founded as none of the supporting cast receives much in the way of characterization beyond their own independent installments. The first episode of the show does a great job of introducing both Shoutarou and Sakurako – you get a strong sense of each of their personalities and dynamic of their relationship. Shoutarou is typical enough as far as high school students are concerned and his ordinary outlook and design serves as a point of contrast to Sakurako’s stranger perspective on the developments of the show. As a layman he serves as our investigative eyes into Sakurako’s world of bones and murder mysteries. He avoids feeling cliche in a number of ways however perhaps the most interesting is the straightforward nature of his attraction to Sakurako – the two make great friends outside of the realm of romance and seeing such skin-deep and hormonal elements at play in their relationship was refreshing and unique. While Shoutarou certainly had a place in the show initially it felt like he was quickly dispensed into becoming a sort of straight man in opposition to Sakurako’s outlandish assertions and blunt nature. Its one thing to have him keep her in check and keep the story grounded however something else entirely to simply point out the eccentricities of her behavior as if to remind the audience that her actions are something other than typical. Sakurako on the other hand I felt quite compelling all throughout for a myriad of reasons. For one thing I thought that having a slightly older heroine was refreshing but moreover her personality, a marriage of the smug intellectual with near-childish enthusiasm, was a great deal of fun given her age and vocation. Its always a pleasure to see an emotive, adult character and Sakurako exhibits great reasons for why she acts the way that she does. She is distant emotionally and generally isn’t phased by sentimental attachments which go well with her logical persona. Her brand of morality is slightly warped by her logic and practical mindset but something more human and emotional seems to be stirring under the surface which gives her a wonderfully complex and genuine feeling. To speak to her one fault within the show, it rests outside of her actual characterization and instead with the way in which she interacts with the plot of the show. The first episode does well in establishing her area of expertise – making her out to be not only fanatical about bones but incredibly knowledgeable about them as well. The problem that arises is that it often feels as if Sakurako is perhaps ‘too knowing’ at times. It is quite well figured that she knows what she does about bodies and murder scenes given her interest in bones and her familial relation to a forensics investigator however when the terrain shifts towards that of the artistic and even the religious she seems to sport the same wicked intellect without skipping a beat. The show occasionally treated her more like a resource of absolute information in order to tell the story instead of an individual with concrete knowledge and expertise. She often became a font of uncommon knowledge rather than a character with intellectual limitations. Little is done to lampshade this character trait and so its awkward presence goes more or less unanswered within her overall characterization. [Art/Animation]: I quite enjoyed the visuals of Sakurako-san and the first episode opens with an exciting sequence of animation and colors. The character designs and some of the environments are highly reminiscent of TROYCA’s other work Aldnoah.Zero however I felt that Sakurako-san gave a familiar aesthetic new life. Its definitely safe to say that the show is very pretty – it has a great variety of colors and plenty of wonderful scenery ranging from incredibly detailed houses to vibrant forests. Something I felt Sakurako-san did especially well was animating facial expressions and character movement which were used effectively to convey emotions and add some much appreciated legitimacy to the actions and behaviors of otherwise plain, supportive characters as well as the main cast. Another minor thing to note relates back to Shoutarou’s seemingly adolescent attraction to Sakurako as discussed above. The show hardly busies itself with fan-service however the camera work surrounding Shoutarou’s perception of her I thought was an intelligent addition to the show and their chemistry. The camera shots of Sakurako’s cleavage and exposed stomach in different episodes do a great job of emphasizing his surface-level, sexual attraction to her. These scenes avoid feeling like true fan service due to their highly intermittent presence and inconsequential nature but present what I thought was a refreshingly straightforward take on a characters attraction to someone else. [Story]: Like many mystery shows before it, Sakurako-san unfolds in a fairly episodic manner with the majority of the episodes being standalone stories of Shoutarou and Sakurako’s adventures. The two certainly share something resembling a Sherlockian dynamic though Shoutarou may leave a bit to be desired in this comparison while Sakurako measures up quite well given her ability to pick out minute details concerning the bones they discover. The show at first seemed interested in developing certain themes such as stagnation and the passage of time however I felt these things were quickly forgotten after the first episode and though the final episode attempts to resurrect these ideas they appear highly non-relevant and jumbled. The early episodes I felt were enjoyable and the manner in which Sakurako went about solving the mysteries felt unique and interesting because of how she derived most of the information from the bones she found. I remember episode 4 particularly well as it was quite slow paced and very methodical in its detailing and conversation which made the character interactions and behaviors feel especially realistic. My main gripe with the plot of the show is in how, even early on, it begins to establish something more overarching and significant than the individual mysteries but never finds the time to actually capitalize on that area of the story. There appears to be something linking together many of the victims and situations that Sakurako and Shoutarou encounter but rather than building up the eventual conflict with minor details scattered throughout and delivering a final, more imperative story in respect to the show’s main characters, it simply peters out without addressing anything. Normally I would at least somewhat forgive a show in Sakurako-san’s position if it were simply a case of the show not having enough time to tell the story that it wanted to however given a handful of episodes that I didn’t feel were all that interesting or even relevant in the midsection of the show I can’t help but feel it squandered what time it had. Some episodes for instance were of no import to the characterization of the protagonists or the overarching mystery behind many of their adventures. These would feel far more at home in the show had it not split its ambition in this way and proceeded either concisely with a significant end in mind or purely on a standalone basis without attempting to develop something greater than itself. This isn’t to condemn the show’s episodic nature due to its inability to deliver something of greater import before the end because I think a majority of the episodes were entertaining in and of themselves. To make matters somewhat worse, the show ends on a somewhat odd note – not in the cliffhanger sense but rather it left me feeling as if the episode could have been utilized better. It focused primarily on Shoutarou and a dilema of his that didn’t have much prefacing within the show or even much reason to give it consequence. The show arrives at a somewhat disappointing conclusion after eluding to a figure behind the otherwise independent events of the show and just before pulling back the curtain greets the viewer with a contextual flashback episode that attempts to answer questions that were never asked in the first place. The episode itself is alright in respect to the characters however it felt as if it could have taken place at any time during the show. [Music]: The show’s soundtrack was pretty enjoyable all throughout and matched the show’s atmosphere and subject matter well though, outside of its main theme which seemed to reappear at some point every episode, I didn’t feel any of the music was too memorable. [Final Thoughts and Rating]: Sakurako-san was a show that initially had me quite excited because of its early episodes, Sakurako’s characterization, and her chemistry with Shoutarou. While the mysteries were fairly interesting there was an unpleasant tendency exhibited by the plot where it would wrap back around to supporting characters it had already introduced in highly improbable ways resulting in a myriad of more or less standalone stories feeling far more self-contained than they had any right to be. It felt unbelievable, especially for a mystery show. Rating: 6 I gave Sakurako-san a 6 because it had wonderfully unique main characters, a flashy, vibrant aesthetic, and a handful of interesting-enough short mystery stories that kept my attention. It fell short of higher scores because of its failed attempt to create something more substantial and its lackluster supporting cast along with its needlessly self-contained narrative progression. Ultimately it was more fun watching Sakurao with her brash interactions and childish enthusiasm than anything else. [Recommendations]: I would recommend Sakurako-san to anyone interested in a decent mystery show with a fun heroine character though I would warn that it is the kind that reveals the details of its mysteries by means of its characters rather than allowing them to be picked up on by its viewers and pieced together beforehand, foreshadowing aside.

So the premise of the show is that it is a mystery and that Sakurako is an osteologist and thus knows a lot about bones and can tell the gender, animal and traumas from it, but the biggest problem with the stories/crime solving is that she magically becomes sherlock holmes at whim. She's suddenly knowledgeable in art. She's suddenly knowledgeable in jewellery. She's suddenly knowledgeable in knot tying. When you never present your character as being a very diversely knowledgeable person from the beginning (like Sherlock from Elementary), everything seems to be resolved by deus ex machina. Now the show is presented in a fairlyepisodic format. One episode generally has no relevance to its previous one besides character introduction, similar to Elementary. So what makes a mystery show great is that there are often lots of clues given out, some that are later proven to be wrong to the case or some that are proven crucial since the beginning. This show basically has none of that. How the mysteries are resolved is largely Sakurako showing up at the necessary place and everything is solved instantly, letting only the audience see it being told. There's no amazing in-depth explanation or analysis of things, it's really just: I'll show up, have a glance, and now the problem is solved. A little bit of techno-babble would have been great as well as letting the audience see into the life of an osteologist would have been ever better. But as it stands, it really feels like the author thought up an idea then decided to research it on wikipedia and eventually made the summary of it in his story. This is a horrible way to present a show, let a lone a mystery. It's boring, it's basically skimped. Let's take a look at another show that does something like this, Mushishi. Now why is this show so much better than Sakurako? It's because there's actually some techno-babble in it along with some developed episodic characters. Most of the episodic characters in Sakurako don't have enough backstory and we're just given a simple exposition explaining their relevance then everything is resorted to melodrama and yelling. Next, since this is basically Sherlock Holmes, let's compare the two. Now Sherlock has a side-kick, Watson. And basically Shoutarou is Watson in this story. Except for a Watson, he is absolutely irritating and does nothing to contribute to solving the case; in fact it sometimes feels like he's hindering it. Hell, he's more like Watson and the police department mixed together since he ends up bringing the case to Sakurako. Shoutarou is probably one of the worst characters I have seen to date as he basically believes himself more mature than Sakurako but has the obtuseness of a male harem MC at understanding other people's emotions. So how does the show feel overall? Well it's a mystery without the interesting mysteries. A dialogue heavy show with very superficial and unintriguing dialogue. The only redeeming thing I can find is the art, I find the character design okay, the background art ranges from industry standard to pretty good. Lastly, yes there's some kind of story and it's told in between and kind of at the end of certain episodes (again, sort of like Elementary). Except we're basically left out of the actual story arc and you're either left to wait for season 2 or forced to read the novels. In regards to deus ex machinas, Shoutarou is a black belt in whatever style for a single episode so solve that one exclusive case and then it's never heard from again.

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