Overall Review: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Whether you came for the laughs and stayed for the drama, or came for the romance and stayed for the giggles, Sakurasou is an almost bipolar series that doesn't quite know which chords to strike but remains strangely effective regardless.

Sakurasou was something of a dark horse last fall when it premiered. Similarly to Kotoura-san this spring, no one expected much of it, especially because its premise and title seemed to imply a somewhat edgy focus. There just aren't many series you can convince someone to watch when their selling point is that a helpless girl is taken care of like a pet by a boy in her dorm. It sounds like something tailored to a specific type of fetish, which is why most of us intended to give it a wide berth until we heard otherwise. When I was finally persuaded to try it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the series reminded me strongly of Toradora, an anime I like quite a bit, and that I found it both funny and interesting, and not without drama. In fact, the pet angle is almost never played except as an undercurrent, and thankfully it isn't nearly as demeaning as it sounds. The series doesn't focus on Mashiro's inability to take care of herself unless it's to be humorous, and the real drama surrounds her status as a famous and talented artist and how her presence affects the self-esteem of those around her.

In basic terms, this series is an homage to the spirit of artistry in all its forms and how people cope with talent, or, more often, lack of it. The relationships and friendships all revolve around this theme and every character struggles with accepting hard work and its limitations throughout the course of the show. Like clockwork, the series goes through a series of arcs in which Sorata and the others try to optimistically overcome their lack of talent, hit a wall and crash, and start all over again with a fresh perspective. Occasionally this approach falls flat, but for the most part it's an interesting way to present the various nuances and facets of the characters and the events in their lives, neither of which is without flaws. There's more than one instance in which drama is forced into the narrative, particularly through the uncharacteristic stupidity and obliviousness Sorata suddenly becomes capable of, though other portions of the series, such as Jin and Misaki's relationship, are equally at fault.

In fact, I much prefer the first half of the series, which is more clear-cut in objective and focus and which doesn't rely on induced idiocy to drive its plot forward. Not only is it more confident about what it wants to achieve, it's also much funnier and less stuck in romantic comedy convention than the second half, both of which are problems that I feel hinder the potential of the series quite a bit. Still, despite its meandering and its somewhat unsatisfying relationships, I don't think Sakurasou failed at what it tried to do. More than any other studio, I think J.C.Staff really understands friendship, and most of their projects portray that feeling of a group dynamic differently than the norm. That being the case, I feel that this series is less about the individuals and more about Sakurasou as a whole and how its residents support each other through the painful process of discovering oneself and working hard to fulfill one's passions. That's why, despite being highly flawed and occasionally infuriating to watch, I still regard Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo as one of the series I enjoyed most this spring.