English Dub Review: Sakura Quest “The Budding Yggdrasil”

Out with the New, in with the Old

Spoilers Below

After angering the traditionalists around town with their plans to bring Manoyama’s wood carving industry into the modern day, Yoshino and the other champions take a moment to sit back. The biggest problem with their plots was that they didn’t really understand the wood carving culture, and what made it so unique. Yoshino takes a day, travelling all over town to study -really study- the ranma in the old houses. She also tells the others to find their own interests in the wood carving industry, and pour themselves into understanding it. While Shiori reads up on its history and Ririko studies the mythology and religious undertones present, Maki goes into the more practical side, learning to carve. She isn’t all that good. On the other hand, Sanae is studying… the back side of depression. She feels like she isn’t qualified for her job. Moreover, she feels utterly replaceable. She returns to the train station that brought her to the town, debating about leaving. She is approached by one of the younger wood carvers, and they reminisce about the importance of train stations a visceral link to the rest of the world. He also throws in a funny story about losing his shoes while trying to get on a train about to leave the station. She calls him Cinderella. But why is he even there? He just came from a wake. His master died while working on a series of ranma for a long-time client. Now, that client has died, and the entire series is moot, and unpaid for. Still, his traditionalist partner continues to toil away on it, as a tribute to their master.

Their studying done, Yoshino presents their brilliant plan. They are going to turn the Castle of Chupakabura into a palatial work of art, covered all throughout with ranma. While this is a brilliant plan, there are a couple of plans. One, rebuilding the Castle would require a notable architect to make it worthwhile. Good luck finding one of those to help on a budget. Second is funding. The girls figure they’ll just have to put in some legwork. Ririko and Maki do telemarketing to get the funding, while Yoshino and Shiori go door to door. In the meantime, Sanae continues to recover, when the woodcarver comes to her door. He has tried to branch out, carving women’s shoes. It’s a good concept, he knows, but his understanding of women’s shoes is lacking. He needs her help to make this a new market for him. Coming home from a long day, Yoshino finds the still despondent Sanae, and gives her the words she really needs. Yeah, they’re all replaceable, but there are things approaches that only they could bring to the table. By their quirkiness combined, they are capable of far more together. This gives Sanae the spark she needs. The next morning, she arrives at work with a spring in  her step and a light bulb in her thought bubble. She overhauls their funding plan, adding in crowd funding sources such as Kickstarter. Lastly, she has a stroke of genius about the actual work itself. Instead of being in the Castle, it should be in the train station! It’s the first place everyone sees, and links the town to the world! Further, the ranma they use could be sourced from the cancelled job of the traditionalist carver. That way, his work isn’t in vain, and can serve to inspire new generations of wood carvers! He agrees, and the first piece is installed. Finally, a victory for the team!

Man, as an entrepreneur, this episode gets my blood boiling. In a good way! This episode is all about understanding your product, and letting it be itself, quirks and all. What you are doing or selling is replaceable. They can always find an alternative out there. What is going to make it sell is not about being something completely original, just something authentic to its own perspective. You can build your app with all the bells and whistles, but if it doesn’t target what is important to your own point of view, it’s going to get lost in a sea of copycats. This is the problem with Sanae. She isn’t authentic when she does her blog. She has a persona, which is attractive and professional. But that isn’t her personality or perspective at all. You can see this in just how differently she looks when she leaves the house. Personally, I like Sanae a ton, but that is her great downfall. She’s so busy trying to market, she isn’t being real.

Art is gorgeous in this episode. It would have to be, with all this focus on local art. There isn’t really that much of a need for high-quality animation on this episode, as most of it is spent talking, but that doesn’t mean much with P.A. Works. They still work hard on this labor of love. Voice acting wasn’t anything to write home about either, but these girls know their characters, and are giving performances that you can’t poke a hole in. I know that some would be really bored by this anime, but I would say that it should be required viewing for any marketing, entrepreneurial, or artistic student. I give it eight hand-carved wooden shoes out of ten.