Entry #7: Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru (SoA 2017)

(Recommended from somewhere over the rainbow.)

What an atrocious pile of uninspired slop.

Word of mouth implied that this show was somewhat middle-of-the-road, but its intriguing premise made it somewhat appealing as an experimental watch. I came out very, very disappointed. Words alone doesn’t do its tremendously low quality due justice, as to the experienced eye, this anime is little more than the same old story with pieces of multi-colored gum stuck to each side for some variety. Does that make the story any different, though? Actually, it makes it more of a sticky mess.

On further inspection, there is nothing particularly glaring about how poor this series is. There are no absurdly stupid characters, blatantly inconsistent story elements, or shaky animation. What makes the series so unbearable is just how unappealing it is, despite some slight intrigue caused by the focus on osteology. Everything, aside from the art, admittedly, is below par on its own, blending in with the monotonous infrastructure of an author playing by clichés’ sake without an ounce of creativity. Watching Sakurako-san, which may as well be any other anime ever with a wad of “Mystery” gum stuck to one side and “Bones” stuck to another—resulting in a very bored and very frustrated little bearded bunny.

Bones aren’t even that much of a focus to the series! They’re featured in, like, four episodes! It’s basically just “Sakurako is a super genius and solves all the mysteries and makes everyone look on in awe of her superior intellect as if they’re in an episode of Dragon Ball Z” the series. Some characters receive some attention outside of her, but their blandness as characters and relative importance compared to Sakurako fails to rupture any defense in the viewer’s mind. And for whatever reason, whenever Sakurako isn’t in the picture, characters become randomly philosophical and overdramatic.

It would make some sense if, say, these characters had something to do with the mysteries at stake, but one episode features a girl trying desperately to find a woman in black because she fears she’s suicidal. Her homeroom teacher then berates her for carrying on and trying to convince the woman that life is worth living because one is responsible for their own actions. This led me to believe that the teacher was involved with the woman somehow, only to have things resolve without any interference from him… So… Why? What was the reason for his random belligerence towards his student’s morality? It didn’t mean anything in the end, as neither the teacher or the student really grew from the experience, at least not from future episodes. They reference it again once, but that’s hardly any evidence for some sort of importance.

These little strange sequences that mean nothing, on top of the repetitive episodic formula and overdramatic intensity of the insanity of others, it’s a basic ride of epicly boring proportions. It could’ve been something more with a little more effort into delving into individual characters and giving Sakurako some challenge. Ultimately, a disappointing excuse for something so different on the surface.

Personal Score: D

Critical Score: D

The rating for this title and all others can be found on MyAnimeList.