If you enjoy “working” anime series, with a good balance of humor and drama, “Sakura Quest: Part One” is definitely recommended!
Image courtesy of © 2018 Funimation. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Sakura Quest: Part 1
DURATION: Episodes 1-13 (325 Minutes)
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 16×9, English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Funimation
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Directed by Soichi Masui
Series Composition by Masahiro Yokotani
Script: Masahiro Yokotani, Shingo Irie
Music by [K]NoW_NAME
Original Creator: Alexandre S.D. Celibidache
Original Character Design: BUNBUN
Character Design by Kanami Sekiguchi
Art Director: Ayumi Sato
Anime Production: P.A. Works
Featuring the following voice talent:
Ayaka Nanase/Alexis Tipton as Yoshino Koharu
Atsushi Ono/Mark Stoddard as Ushimatsu Kadota
Chiemi Tanaka/Brina Palencia as Ririko Oribe
Chika Anzai/Leah Clark as Maki Midorikawa
Daiki Hamano/Aaron Roberts as Mino
Hiro Shimono/Dallas Reid as Yamada
Katsuyuki Konishi/Robert McCollum as Takamizawa
Kazuhiro Yamaji/Charlie Shima as Doku
Maki Izawa/Rachel Robinson as Chitose Oribe
Masashi Nogawa as Kindaichi
Mikako Komatsu/Elizabeth Maxwell as Sanae KÅzuki
Misao Kobayashi/Greg Dulcie as Shigaraki
Nanako Mori as Angelica
Reina Ueda as Shiori Shinomiya
Tomoyo Kurosawa/Jill Harris as Erika Suzuki
Vinay Murthy/Jerry Jewell as Mr. Sandal
YÅ«suke Kobayashi/Ricco Fajardo as Kosuke Midorikawa
After being rejected from job after job, Yoshino Koharu’s career prospects are looking dire. That is, until she gets an offer to become queen! But what she thought was a one day gig turns into a year-long commitment to the small rural town of Manoyama. Stuck out in the country with an entire town’s expectations on her shoulders, it’s up to Yoshino to show the world what a hidden gem Manoyama is!
From April to September 2017, a “working series” from P.A. Works titled “Sakura Quest” was broadcasted on television.
Created by Alexandre C.D. Celibidache, which is a nickname for the production company within P.A. Works, “Sakura Quest” part 1 featuring the first 13 episodes is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of Funimation.
The anime series revolves around a young woman named Yoshino Koharu who is looking for a job in Tokyo, but unfortunately, she keeps getting rejected.
She receives a call from an agency for a job to work in the tourism board of the economically struggling village, Manoyama in the country and she would be their “Queen”.
Needing a job, Yoshino takes it and accepts the offer and when she travels to Manoyama, she finds out that she was hired accidentally (they were looking for a singer from long ago) and to her surprise, the job she accepted has a contract for one year and not one day, as she thought.
So, Yoshino accepts the job and what would be days, becomes weeks and the more she stays, she realizes that the bonds she creates with the local townspeople, may make her want to take her job more seriously.
VIDEO:
“Sakura Quest” is presented in 1080p High Definition. The animation is vibrant and colorful. But as expected with many animated TV shows, there is a hint of softness. For the most part, character designs are done well and background art is also well-done.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Sakura Quest” is presented with a English Dolby True HD 5.1Â and a Japanese stereo soundtrack. Dialogue and music are crystal clear for the series.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Sakura Quest” comes with no special features but Funimation trailers
EXTRAS
“Sakura Quest” comes with a Blu-ray slipcover, the Blu-ray and DVD for the series.
Personally, there is a lot to love about “Sakura Quest” and you have to also love the fact that Funimation has been releasing these “working” anime series in the US.
The overall show is interesting as it focuses on Yoshino Koharu but the more she starts to work on project with her staff, we start to see the bonds that are created with her and her staff who want to work hard and achieve their goals and bring in tourism to the struggling village.
The show features Yoshino’s business relationship with the good-mannered Shiori Shinomiya; an amateur actress named Maki Midoriakawa who is the local celebrity in the village; Ririko Oribe as the granddaughter of the local sweets shop owner who likes very dark things; a web entrepreneur named Sanae Kozuki who moved to the village to escape Tokyo and then there is the King of the town, the grouchy Ushimatsu Kadota.
Ushimatsu doesn’t get along with Ririko’s grandmother for some unknown reason and if anything, the anime series does a good job of showing hardworking women, uniting together to hopefully bring tourism to the town and improve the village of Manoyama.
The first 13 episodes are no doubt character building episodes to get to know each of the primary five female characters but also to improve as individuals. If anything, with each project, we start to see these characters start to have a voice for themselves and try to make a difference and I like that a lot!
So, I do recommend this first part of “Sakura Quest” and I look forward in seeing how the second part featuring episodes 14-25 works out and whether or not Yoshino and team will succeed in saving the village.
“Sakura Quest” is recommended!
