Sakura Quest

Sakura Quest (サクラクエスト) is a 25-episode Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works and directed by Sōichi Masui. It aired from April 5 to September 20, 2017. The anime is described as part of P.A. Works' "working series", which tells the stories about people and their jobs, after Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako.

Plot

Yoshino Koharu is a young woman looking for a job in Tokyo but is only met with a series of rejections. However, she has a seemingly lucky break when she receives a job offer to work with the tourism board of the economically struggling Manoyama village as their "Queen". With no other choice, Yoshino accepts the offer and travels to Manoyama only to find out that she was hired based on a case of mistaken identity and that her contract term is for one year instead of the one day, as she had initially thought. With nowhere else to go, Yoshino reluctantly becomes Queen of Manoyama.

Characters

• Koharu Yoshino (木春由乃)[3]
• The main protagonist. She grew up in a rural area in Japan and went to college in Tokyo in hopes of landing a job in the city, but after failing to land a job she gets an offer to work for the tourism department of Manoyama village, which runs a micronation called the Chupacabra Kingdom. She had actually visited Manoyama as a child and was treated as a queen during her visit. At the end of the series, she leaves Manoyama as the tourism board has decided to disband the Chupacabra Kingdom.
• Shinomiya Shiori (四ノ宮しおり)[3]
• A native of Manoyama and member of the tourism board, Shiori is a friendly and kindhearted woman who wants to see the town improve and acts as Yoshino's guide.
• Midorikawa Maki (緑川真希)[3]
• An amateur actor and local celebrity in Manoyama, Maki is famed for a bit part she played in a television series called the Oden Detective.
• Oribe Ririko (織部凛々子)[3]
• Ririko is the granddaughter of the local sweets shop owner and is a fan of the occult.
• Kōzuki Sanae (香月早苗)[3]
• A web entrepreneur, Sanae is a Tokyo native who moved to Manoyama to escape city life.
• Kadota Ushimatsu (門田丑松)[3]
• The grouchy head of Manoyama's tourism board and the King of the town. He acts as Yoshino's direct superior. He was in a band with Chitose and Dokushima during his youth and planned to leave Manoyama, but stayed after an incident during the town's festival.
• Oribe Chitose (織部千登勢)[3]
• Ririko's grandmother who runs a sweets shop. She was in a band with Ushimatsu and Dokushima during her youth.
• (毒島)[3]
• Manoyama's local mechanic and eccentric inventor, and owner of the Dokushima Workshop. He was in band with Ushimatsu and Chitose during his youth.
• (高見沢)[3]
• Manoyama's sole bus driver.
• (金田一)[3]
• A police officer of Manoyama who is friends with Takamizawa and Noge when they were young.
• (野毛)[3]
• A lover of books who fulfilled his childhood dream of owning his own bookshop when the owner of his favorite bookstore retired and agreed to sell it to him. Noge wants to have a business that sells books of all kinds, but with declining birth rates and internet sales hurting his business he is forced to limit his stock to magazines and best sellers.
• (木下)
• Kinoshita is a member of a rock band called Ptolemaios with his bandmates Tokichiro and Hideyoshi. Later, he performs a live concert at Manoyama's Founding Festival per the request of Yukiya Amamiya, a director of a docuseries that focuses on exceptional locals.
• (山田)[3]
• A redheaded member of the tourism board.
• (美濃)[3]
• A darkhaired member of the tourism board.
• Sandaru-san (サンダルさん)[3]
• The town street musician and vagabond artist, whose real name is Alexandre Cena Davis Celibidache.
• Suzuki Tomoko (鈴木 知子) / Angelica (アンジェリカ)[3]
• Tomoko is the mother of Erika and Anji and an inhabitant of Manoyama who is a restaurant owner and a fortune teller specializing in stroke reading and using the crystal ball.
• Suzuki Erika (鈴木エリカ)[3]
• Erika is the daughter of Tomoko and the older sister of Anji. She has a crush on Kosuke, Maki's younger brother.
• Suzuki Anji (鈴木 杏志)[3]
• Anji is the son of Tomoko and the younger brother of Erika. He wants to play the taiko drums when he grows up after being inspired by Kosuke.

Broadcast and distribution

Sakura Quest is directed by Sōichi Masui and produced by P.A. Works. It ran for 25 episodes and it aired in Japan from April 5 to September 20, 2017, on Tokyo MX, with further broadcasts on ABC, AT-X, BS11, and Tulip TV.[7] Alexandre S. D. Celibidache is credited with the original work, and the screenplay was written by Masahiro Yokotani. Kanami Sekiguchi based the character design used in the anime on Bunbun's original designs.[8] The music is produced by the band (K)NoW_NAME, who also perform the opening and ending themes. The first opening theme is "Morning Glory"[9] and the first ending theme is "Freesia".[10] The second opening theme is "Lupinus" and the second ending theme is "Baby's Breath".[11] The anime is licensed by Funimation in North America with an English dub,[12] and the series was streamed by Crunchyroll with English subtitles.[13]

External links

• Official website