English Dub Review: Sakura Quest “The Forgotten Requiem”

A forgotten song, a warped legend, a hope for a lonely girl and a dying town.

Spoilers Below

The rains wreaked havoc with the Matchmaking Tour. Not only was the statue from the dragon shrine broken, and something dragged in a muddy, algae-covered mess into the throne room, but Ririko got a cold. The mess might be cleanable, and the town mechanic fixed the statue in no time flat, but Ririko has to stay home while the tour continues. But something bothers her about the story of the dragon that the Manoyama Dance scared away. She identifies with the dragon, who was scared by the dances and hid in her cave to die alone. Ririko looks through her library to find out more about the legend and its full story. The tour is going well, right through lunch and over to the shopping district. Scary thing is, it seems like a bug-eyed man with a big beard is following them, just far enough away to keep out of sight. They managed to catch a glimpse of him in a photo, wearing a dragon mask. When they look up to find him, all they see is Ririko. She’s made an amazing discovery about the story of the dragon and… one of the guys shuts her down. Nobody wants to hear about scary stories. It’s all well and good that she’s into this stuff, but nobody else is… he says. This devastates Ri-chan, and she runs off to the nearby shrine.

Yoshino heads up to reassure her and find out what the girl found. Apparently, the story of the dragon had been warped badly over the years. The villagers weren’t scared of the dragon. In fact, they welcomed her with open arms and celebration. The Manoyama Dance was made to thank her for coming to their village. But, the noise was too much for the reclusive dragon to bear, and the villagers lost the opportunity to learn from her wisdom. When they realized the dragon had died alone, they made the shrine for her and wrote a song to put her at peace and beg for her forgiveness. The song’s tune was forgotten, but the words had been written down. Yoshino is amazed by the discovery and realizes it is perfect for the end of the tour. Ririko’s depression only worsens. She looks at Yoshino’s determination, passion, and positivity, and sees everything she knows people like. She wants to be herself but feels like the dragon in her cave. Yoshi rejects this. She is far more impressed with Ririko’s wide array of knowledge and perseverance to be true to herself. That is why Ririko is accepted and loved. In the midst of this discussion, Sandals, the roving bard, arrives singing a song. A song passed down by his grandmother who lived in Manoyama before moving away. The forgotten requiem for the dragon. Yoshi uses this to her advantage as the tour reaches its last leg, a firefly viewing. She presents the ladies, as well as Yoshi’s grandmother and the rest of the tourism board with the true story, and Ririko comes forward to restore the song to its true place in Manoyama culture. Oh, and that creepy dude? That was one of the women’s ex-boyfriends, who wanted to marry her, but her parents wouldn’t let them. As the visitors leave, they tell the couple they should elope to Manoyama. Ririko spouts out a great tagline: “Manoyama for Elopers”. Everyone loves it. And now, the dragon can smile, just a little bit, with all her friends.

This was a beautiful wrap up to the story arc, and a great way to fold Ririko’s problems into the overall plot, and the growing sense of the town’s culture. The story’s actual context is sad, but has two sides. Not only did the town not understand what their actions were doing to the dragon, but the dragon didn’t take a moment to consider the intent behind their actions and make her problem known. This is exactly what Ririko is doing in the first episode of the arc. She retreats from the group and the dance itself because she feels like an outsider. People trying to push her into it made her feel like they were making her conform. In actuality, they wanted to enjoy the fun with her. When Ririko tries to present the amended story, she’s honestly making another attempt to bring herself to the party, but they don’t understand it. Yoshino bridges that gap, trying to understand Ri-chan’s feelings and intentions before she vanishes away entirely. This arc may seem like its cultural implications for the town came out of nowhere, but it didn’t. One of the main subjects of the traditional wood carved plaques we’ve seen throughout the town is that of a dragon. It isn’t that unusual of a subject in Japan, but seeing it so often, then getting this story, gives the town a bit more solidity. I enjoyed seeing how the dragon was being used throughout the episode. People feared the dragon they didn’t know (the ex-boyfriend) and lashed out at the dragon who only wanted to share her knowledge (Ririko). The various cultural myths around dragons came out to play in how the characters began to react to the problem. It was fun for me. What I’m finding interesting is how this major myth is tied to a dragon, but the town isn’t named at all around it. The kanji that make up Manoyama (魔の山) translates as “the Mountain of the Witch” (or Demon, as 魔 or Ma can translate to either, and refers to an evil magic). So why do they have a story about a dragon, when the witch owns the mountain? Maybe this will come up in later episodes.

The art and animation on this episode were, as always, top tier. The view of the bouldering tower, the firefly lake, even the temple were gorgeous backdrops. As the series mostly talk, the animation budget is spent on making sure the subtleties and nuances of each character’s movements are captured. It brings out Ririko’s feelings even more. Speaking of which… Hello, Brina Palencia! You’ve been playing as Ririko this whole time, and I’ve been ignoring you because the character is so monotone. Oh, but you weren’t monotone today. No, no, no! As Ririko bares her heart for Yoshino, you brought out a performance that must have been hard to pull off. You conveyed a deep frustration, pain, and loneliness, but didn’t go so overboard that it didn’t feel like the character anymore. The lines sound completely appropriate for her soft-spoken nature and the way that she says the lines visually in the animation. This was probably the best voice acting I’ve seen from this series yet. It tugged at my heartstrings a bit, but to be honest, they were still kinda sensitive from the finale of WorldEnd. So, I’m pleased to give this episode nine smiling dragons out of ten.