Every journey begins with the first step.
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo (also known as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou) is an anime series based off the light novel with a manga adaptation also written in the works by Hajime Kamoshida. The story tells of a group of young people and details the lives of them, especially Sorata Kanda the main protagonist who recently got kicked out of his school dorm ...
Every journey begins with the first step.
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo (also known as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou) is an anime series based off the light novel with a manga adaptation also written in the works by Hajime Kamoshida. The story tells of a group of young people and details the lives of them, especially Sorata Kanda the main protagonist who recently got kicked out of his school dorm after picking up a stray cat. Thus, he moves to the Sakurasou dormitory where he meets Mashiro Shiina, a strange girl with a very talented skill.
Thus, let his new life begin!
The story of the series is quite lighthearted to say the least, even judging by the title. We have two main protagonists - Mashiro Shiina and Sorata Kanda who shares a very strange relationship. Although beautiful, Mashiro is known to be a very peculiar girl with a talented skill in her skills of crafting artwork. However, she also has absolutely no knowledge about common sense or the factors of daily life. Now, raise your hand! Do you want to live with a beautiful girl like that? Perhaps some might be but in Kanda's case, it's literally hell for him. Waking up every day and seeing a beautiful girl like Mashiro may sound like a dream come true for any guy but it's a lot harder for Mashiro than he'll ever imagine. It usually spells out for misunderstandings, drama, and situations that puts Sorata at frustration.
The way they meet is quite expected based on the common gags and tropes we see in the anime industry today. They meet in a park of joy and prosperity. The duo lives in the same dorm, eats the same food, but are totally opposites in terms of their personalities and ways of life. For one thing, it's up to Sorata to wake up every day and take care of her. It's like a master and pet relationship in the sense that Sorata Kanda plays the role of the caretaker. On the other hand, Mashiro is the “pet girl” of Sakurasou, as the title says. It's pretty generic but at the same time pleasant to watch because the two's relationship and the depth of how the duo interacts on several episodes. It is also surprisingly entertaining in the way of Mashiro's speech pattern in which her brutal honesty often is (and humorously most of the time) is misinterpreted by other characters.
Oh but that's just the tip of the iceberg. As some may expect, the Sakurasou dorm has more than just these two residents. Among some of the other members includes Sorata's classmate, Nanami Aoyama who portrays the typical tsundere and insecure girl. Often times, she treats Sorata harshly but deep down cares for him and the others. At the same time, it's quite easy to tell that she is insecure regarding her own future in the voice acting industry. Furthermore, it seems that the interactions between Sorata and Mashiro has put her mind under a bit of frustration of seeing them together. It's no surprise that she is the character who plays the rival in a potential love triangle of the story.
The other characters also portrays the typical gags in this anime. We have the all enthusiastic and sometimes crazy girl, Misaki who is hyperactive in the things she do. We have the smooth talking Jin Mitaka who is known for being a womanizer with his smooth talking skills but at the same time deeply cares for his friends. Then, there's the other characters such as the trap Ryunosuke who specializes in his techno gadgets. Also, let's not forget about Rita who used to be Mashiro's caretaker but at the same time feels a sort of resentment and jealousy towards her. All of these characters plays a sort of role in the development in the story especially in regarding Sorata and Mashiro. In fact, it's easy to see how much they come just half way into the series. At the same time though, it's clear that these two still need a bit of development to forge a more solid relationship especially with some rages issues from Sorata.
As mentioned before, Mashiro is a girl who lacks common sense. Yet upon closer examination, she can quite an appealing character. The series often portrays her as a typical dumb blonde in terms of common sense. However, she is very caring for her friends and tries her best to earn the respect and love of everyone. Mashiro is also quite hardworking with her works by slaving all day and night on her manga and strives to not give up especially when she knows that there are others who inspires her to become what she wants to be. In a generic show such as this, it is surprising that we can see how far some characters can become with hard work, determination, and friends.
The show isn't totally perfect though as some of the gags used between each episode becomes repetitive and sometimes, overused. The fan service is present that sometimes appears out of random and is nothing more than nonsense. Most of the time, this falls under Mashiro's case and in the morning time when Sorata gets a surprise wake up call. In other cases, the dialogues that Mashiro speaks becomes exaggerated and forced. It's almost if the directors are trying to mix in too many things at once and sometimes, it just doesn't work out right. For example, the seemingly filler episode involving Sorata's little sister Yuuko seems to play little to no role in the overall progression of the story. She just seems to be another common gag added to the entire series. So now, they wanted to add the little sister type with all the other casts. Seriously, what?...
Luckily though, there is hope for the series as some fans who originally thought this might be a harem is downplayed. In fact, the romance so far is quite lighthearted and non-explicit.The romance is almost humorous with the characters playing the roles in their shoes. With enthusiasm , shallowness, misunderstanding, or just being there, the romance of the series is surprisingly fun to look at.
In my mind, I found the artwork of the series to cute. The designs of the characters is lighthearted that has a soft touch to them with the way they are dressed. It's almost humorous sometimes especially with the way Mashiro dressing up the way she does in some of the earlier episodes. Sorata's over exaggeration in the series is also humorous to look at when he get caught up in a misunderstood situation. Overall, the movement of the artwork is done right to fit within this romantic comedy series. Now, if only Mashiro's manga will be more cuter as well...
The soundtrack and music of the series seems mediocre. Jin Aketagawa handles the choreography who strives to makes the series lighthearted during many of the scenes. In fact, it's no surprise that a lot of the series' comedic, dramatic, enthusiastic, or entertaining scenes are crafted to be lighthearted. Even the OP song, Kimi ga Yume wo Tsuretekita by Pet na Kanojo-tachi is known to be lighthearted and smooth which depicts a montage of the main characters and a tiny glimpse of their lives at the dorms. J.C. Staff is already known for some of their other works in the romantic comedy media such as Toradora, Hatsuoki Limited, and the recent Little Busters! What J.C. Staff presents here is what is their latest line of their evolution of works.
Overall, I found the series to be a charming gem. Despite the weak story and seemingly cliched humor, it is surprisingly entertaining. It's hard to present series like this as some fans may see it the wrong way originally. Yet, I found it to be quite charming. It's not exactly a masterpiece or something of a highlight of the year, but is crafted well with its cast of characters. It's funny how imagination sometimes can go so far to create a series like this but otherwise, I found Sakurasou Pet Kanojo to be quite an entertaining watch.
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