English Dub Review: Shikizakura: “Smile/Real”

Overview: Kakeru (Bryson Baugus) asks Oka (Melissa Molano), Ryo (Jeremy Gee), Kaeda (Alyssa Marek) and Haruko (Cat Thomas) to help him put on a kids show. 

Our Take: Despite half of the title indicating so, I didn’t find myself smiling very often throughout the duration of this romp. In what is supposed to be a fun diversion from the main plot is anything but with how laughable the writing is throughout, and not in the way you would hope. 

Kakeru recruits the team to help him put on a superhero kids play for some children and that’s where things begin to go downhill pretty fast. Kakeru’s constant hero rambling must be contagious because it’s constantly being regurgitated out of Kippei and a new character in chief of the show, Ichijoji, making them something out of an afterschool special with all the cheesiness that you would imagine, even with this show’s track record. Endo, an actor who plays Death Koala, is at least a minor step up, in being so goofily committed to being an actor he’s at least somewhat amusing. 

The group agrees when they learn of a sick audience member who is looking for some inspiration to get the surgery he needs, Later on, is revealed he was the overage fanboy critiquing them throughout the show and also a fried chicken owner of Oka’s favorite place, now closed, that is near and dear to Oka with her shared memories she has with her mother there. That mouthful description shows just how lazily this was thrown together. Most of the gang’s performance is reactionary dependent on the fanboy’s approval and disapproval that goes through some various ups and downs to try to arouse some laughs. This is to mixed results with it being considerably campy but Kaeda and Ryo have their humorous moments with each being so enthusiastically engaged and irritated, respectively, throughout, that their performances make for a few redeeming qualities. 

There is also an attempt to make a real Oni enemy plot in the back half of this plot. However, it falls short with it feeling half-baked with no meaningful consequences other than a lack of children’s smiles and, as a result, more ridiculously corny dialogue, this time courtesy of Oka. All of this makes you wonder if it is Kakeru that has got them sick or if it is just something in the water. Hopefully, the writing staff will stop drinking it as well so we can get some better scripted episodes in the future.