Synopsis
To promote its tourism, a small pronvicial town revives a micronation that once had been founded in that town. In doing so, the tourism bureau hires five women to act as “monarch” of their nation. One of them is Yoshino Koharu, a job seeker from Tokyo who always fail at her job’s application.
Comments
The fun fact is, the creation of micronation by small towns in Japan actually had really happened. In 1980s, many small towns declared their “independence”. This “micronation boom” happened because each town wanted to promote their local culture and attract tourists. The Japanese government left them be because their independence were, after all, just a gimmick. This trend ended in 1990s when the burst of the bubble economy halted their activities.
As for the anime, the first episode of Sakura Quest looks pretty solid. Yoshino’s characterization is shown pretty well. Her conflict is clear: she is unemployed with financial difficulty and desperate to find a job. Thanks to a miscommunication from the modelling agency, she finally gets a job in a small town in rural area. While her problem makes her a symphatetic character, she also has a bad side. She is naive, thinking that rural area is boring and and reluctant to live there. Sakura Quest is also supported with good directing and good visual. While the conflict of Sakura Quest seems serious, the execution tends to be more relaxed with some funny jokes, like the overly absurd backstory of Chupakabura Kingdom.
The tone, theme, and execution of this anime are pretty similar to two other P.A Works series, Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako, which is understandable because Sakura Quest is described as the third anime in P.A. Works‘ “working” series. If you are the fans of those two series, this anime is highly recommended. This anime is also recommended for those who like anime with working as its theme and more mature main character, such as The Great Passage (Japanese title: Fune wo Amu).
Facts and Figures
| Source material | Original work |
| Casts | Atsushi Ono as Ushimatsu Kadota
Ayaka Nanase as Yoshino Koharu Chiemi Tanaka as Ririko Oribe Chika Anzai as Maki Midorikawa Daiki Hamano as Mino Hiro Shimono as Yamada Katsuyuki Konishi as Takamizawa Maki Izawa as Chitose Oriba Mikako Komatsu as Sanae Kōzuki Nanako Mori as Angelica Reina Ueda as Shiori Shinomiya Tomoyo Kurosawa as Erika Suzuki |
| Director | Soichi Masui (Chaika the Coffin Princess, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV) |
| Scenario | Masahiro Yokotani (Free!, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu) |
| Character Design | Kanami Sekiguchi (Hanasaku Iroha, Shirobako) |
| Opening Song | “Morning Glory” by (K)NoW_NAME |
| Ending Song | “Freesia” by (K)NoW_NAME |
| Studio | P.A. Works |
| Official Site | http://sakura-quest.com/ |
| https://twitter.com/manoyama_PR | |
| Broadcast Date | 5 April 2017 (1500 GMT, 2200 WIT), 6 April 2017 (0000 JST) |
Screenshots and Trailer
The Indonesian Anime Times | by Dany Muhammad
