First Impressions / Sakura Trick

「年末デビューのS・B・J・K／続・すっぱい大作戦!?／ゆずちゃん 風になる！」 (Nenmatsu Debyuu no S・B・J・K / Zoku Suppai Dai Sakusen!? / Yuzu-chan-fuu ni Naru!)
“JHSG’s End-of-Year Debut / A Sour Plan Continued!? / Yuzu-chan Becomes the Wind!”

Jealous girls abound, but Kaedecchi knows everything!

Jealous High School Girl Haruka, Jealous High School Girl Mitsuki

There’s a fine line between endearingly jealous and annoyingly jealous, and Haruka crossed that line long ago…or she would have, were I the one who had to deal with her. Since she’s Yuu’s problem though, the first skit was pretty funny overall. The kisses through the phone were sweet, and Yuu & Haruka have good chemistry, but all the home runs for me were when Mitsuki entered the fray. Did you notice how much sweeter her voice got when she was talking to Haruka? Hng~! Haruka is a bit overly jealous, but Mitsuki is just the right amount to be super moe. If she wasn’t gay I’d waifu her in a second. And, you know, fictional.

Trip Kiss!

A skit based around Mitsuki, Yuzu, and Kaede? YES! I hope I’ve made it clear that of all the couples in this show, the one that’s not actually a romantic couple (probably)(maybe) is my favorite. Yuzu and Kaede have such a good rapport, and seeing Yuzu all gung-ho to tail Haruka & Yuu and Kaedecchi seeing right through Mitsuki was wonderful!

Not that Mitsuki was a slacker, with her adorable jealousy and her accidental forehead kiss with Haruka, hng~! That plus Haruka’s deft lie about doing something for Mitsuki-kaichou…only for Kaede to see right through that too. Kaedecchi truly does know everything!

Excited Trickster Kaede

Remember where I said that Yuzu and Kaede were my favorite couple? So it should be no surprise that I enjoyed the third skit. Honestly though, this was mainly informed by my life for Kaede as a character, because even as I look back at it now, the gags didn’t have a lot of permanence. Kaede being uncommonly genki was nice, her toying with her siblings and her joke backfiring were all fun as well, but I feel like my memory of these gags will fade soon after. That’s the risk you take when you base a skit off of not a whole lot happening, even if it was enjoyable at the time.

Looking Ahead

Snowball fights and gym storage room promises are apparently incoming, but let me direct your attention somewhere else: That end card. Yowza! Just…yes. More of that please.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Start with a jealous Haruka & a jealous Mitsuki, & end with a Kaedecchi who knows everything #桜Trick 09

Random thoughts:

Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Combat scenes – Blocking & initiative order, Critical flaw, Sometimes, the fluff is everything, and Mental domination.

 

Preview

End Card

20 Comments

  1. Ever since Kaede noticed Shizuku’s remarks about Kotone “kissing her” back in the swimming pool episode, the dynamic between the only “straight couple” of Kaede and Yuzu began to evolve. Though it’s mainly one-sided from Kaede, with Yuzu being the totally clueless one.

    While Shizuku continues to be my favourite girl, it’s the “will they/won’t they tension in Kaede x Yuzu that I find most intriguing.

    (Previously I’ve been unable to comment on this series because I could find nothing to add which hasn’t already been said by others, plus I’ve been way too incapacitated by the diabetic-inducing sweetness. )

    echykr
    Reply

      2. It’s not Wanderer’s post as much as much as his post on this series, some down voting idiots with too much time on their hands apparently have yet to accept yuri into their lives.

        Pancakes
        Reply

  4. Although a weaker episode, that first skit reminds me a lot of high school romance where it’s “you hang up!” “no you first!” “but I don’t wanna, you do it!” “but, but, neither do I!”. Too much experience in that makes me not look upon my past self very favourably in the romance department anymore 😛

    They better up the kissing ante next week too, not enough open yuri, too much subtlety; I cannot get drunk off innuendos after all. Getting Kaede and Yuzu to (accidentally) smooch or Haruka and Yuu to (finally) get caught in the act, now that would be start.

    Also, didn’t realize Mitsuki was that well endowed, no wonder she’s smitten with Haruka, birds of a feather flock together after all 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

  7. An episode where a large part of the ep is dedicated to ‘those two girls’? Yes, please! While you’re right about the gags not being the stuff of legends, they do make the two of them grow on me even more than they have. The jokes don’t have permanence, the characters do. Because they’re one of the more memorable duo’s of their kind in recent memory, in my opinion. Kaede’s such a gadfly, and I get the feeling she has very clear suspicions about what all her friends are up to relationship-wise.

    I also wonder if that ending ceremony is going to be the climax of the show. Either that, or Valentine’s. Those seem to be the big events coming up now they’ve already had Christmas and whatnot. I’m banking on the former, anyway, given that they’re already building up towards it.

    And dammit Onee-chan. Between her hnnnggg actions and her bazonga’s, she makes me wish for an OTT. Because threesomes solve everything!

    Dvalinn
    Reply

    1. A good point – the gags might not have been groundbreaking, but they further developed the character’s personalities, especially Kaede’s. We got a lot more of her perceptive-trickster antics than we have in the past.

      Stilts
      Reply

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