English Dub Review: Shikizakura: “Hope / Start,” “United Front / Tag”

Overview: Kakeru’s (Bryson Baugus) chance encounter with that of a lost girl, Oka (Melissa Molano), and a team of mecha battling teenagers will change his life forever as he seeks to become a hero and a force for good. 

Our Take: Shikizakura is about as simple and surface level as far as mecha anime go. The lead protagonist, Kakeru, is textbook chipper and appropriately bushy haired, haunted by a past tragedy on the most superficial level that only becomes relevant until he needs a reason to suit up in a possessed power suit and shout about being a hero. In regards to the side characters, time will tell how they turn out as the focus is very much on Kakeru in the initial debut of episodes. However, Hattori has very much set himself up as the run-of-the-mill tightwad/ potential frenemy of the group while the others Naruse and Yamada still need more time to flesh out their characters. Then lastly there’s Oka, a kind and caring girl who is the final cleanser of the big toothed beasties the team fights. While nothing groundbreaking, she’s got a nice rapport with Kakeru, due to how sweet they are with each other.

If there’s any complexity in this series, it hasn’t shown itself yet. Kakeru even has a nerdy best friend, Kippei, who explains the generalized hero arc throughout the show’s popular media about similarly superpowered serialized characters and that occurs to our main protagonist. With that in mind, the story and characters have yet to really find a unique voice that sets themselves apart like that of My Hero Academia and One Punch Man. However, while very much by the book, that doesn’t mean that all of them are completely devoid of any appeal. Ibara, the being that combines with Kakeru’s mechanical suit, is a foulmouthed and feisty comedic relief when he interacts with Kakeru or the rest of teenage super team, as well as being enjoyably crazy to watch battle onscreen with the series cannon fodder, Oni. In that one respect, it adds just a bit of maturity that I wasn’t expecting out of a straightforward series that I had pegged as a safer, kid-friendly affair. 

“Safe, but fun” is the name of the game thus far. The excitement comes in the epic CG battles that unfold throughout Kakeru’s transformation. And with me being a CG anime skeptic, that was not a sentiment I was expecting to have. The battles are pure spectacle and incredibly fast. They are framed and produced in a 2D mindset as there are dynamic movements and flexibility that isn’t often seen in the space. Even the general CG character models were better than what is seen in that of recent anime like that of Battle Game in 5 Seconds, only looking a bit static at times. If you’re looking for a fun diversion to get lost into for half an hour, kick your feet up and eat a bowl of Fruity Pebbles on a Saturday morning, then look no further than Shikizakura. Anything deeper than that is fairly unlikely if these two episodes are any indication but fingers crossed are tightly crossed for more.