This review may contain spoilers
"I want to serve as a bridge between Hawaii and Japan."
"Sakura" is the 29th asadora that I've completed. I've been watching "Sakura" since @heart-ereki began fansubbing it last year. [A great, big thank you to them for subbing it!] I've really enjoyed watching it 2-3 weeks at a time. After watching it for so long, I feel quite attached to this asadora unlike ones that I've binge-watched so this review will be heavily biased [lol]. Oh, it might be a bit rambling..."Sakura" is a rare example of a nearly perfect modern day asadora. "Modern day" meaning that it takes place around the time that it aired. Modern day asadoras used to be popular, particularly during the early 2000s. Some examples are "Hitomi" and "Dondo Hare." In my opinion, these are more misses than hits. [This is also probably why NHK has moved to a more hybrid format like "Mare," which is set during the 1990s but also takes place during modern day.] "Sakura," thankfully, avoids all of the pitfalls of a modern day asadora. It keeps up its relaxing vibe without any drastic tonal changes. There aren't any supporting character that cause neverending frustration. And it keeps conflict to a minimum.
The asadora follows Japanese-American Matsushita Sakura (played by Takano Shiho) who comes to Japan to teach English at an all-boys middle school. Through Sakura, the asadora gives a lovely, nuanced take on identity. In the first week, Sakura's father tells her that Japan will always make her feel different for being American, despite being fully Japanese ethnically. And, yes, she goes through several culture shocks, though she's slowly able to "bridge" the gap through kindness and understanding. It's quite amazing to see the contrast between the beginning and the ending. Shiho is also the perfect actress to play Sakura. She is able to portray all of her emotions well and her English accent is great.
I really love how the asadora is structured. Each week has a new story sometimes focusing on a supporting character or expanding Sakura's character. Through Sakura's "meddling," we get to know more about characters like one of my faves, Sawada (Noguchi Goro). I also appreciate that certain storylines are given more time to develop. For example, the sweet romance between Sakura's grandmother Yoshiko (Tsushima Keiko) and her first love (Naito Taketoshi). While some storylines I'm grateful were wrapped within a reasonable amount of time, which includes the conflict between Sakura's mother Kyoko (Ohta Hiromi) and her grandfather (Kobayashi Asei). This is mostly to say that I think the storylines in "Sakura" were very well-paced.
As for the romance, it's very rare that an asadora wait so long to settle the main couple. However, considering it's Katsuragi (Ozawa Yukiyoshi), I think it was well worth the wait [lol]. I won't lie and say that the will they, won't they wasn't annoying at all, but the culminating moment in the final week convinced me it was worth it. As a character and love interest, I really like Katsuragi. He is given great character development on his own. Though there's obvious chemistry between him and Sakura, the drama is careful about not making it a romance until after Sakura and her fiance are broken up. [Shout out to Robbie and his actor Camus Thane! I loved him so much too.] When it does turn into a romance, all of the moments are perfect!
I highly recommend "Sakura" for all asadora lovers. I think it comes close to perfection, barring a few moments here and there. Overall, I think this asadora will stick with me for a long time and I know that I will rewatch it one day.
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This review may contain spoilers
156 episodes is too short!
Sakura is my 16th Asadora and one of my favorites! I truly enjoyed and had so much fun watching it, I laughed a lot throughout. Although the story seems simple, Sakura is much more than that, and it holds a special place in my heart. Honestly, my review can't fully express how much I love all the characters in this Asadora.♡ Things I Like:
1. The Numata Family – They are the biggest reason I love Sakura so much. I thought no one could match the Shibata family from Natsuzora, but the Numata family proved me wrong! They completely won me over.
2. The Heroine – She’s not my favorite heroine, but I can’t help but like her. Even though her meddling attitude can be a bit annoying, she always tries her best and genuinely cares about the feelings of those around her.
3. The Male Lead – He’s not perfect, sometimes he’s cowardly when facing problems, but he’s still one of my favorite Asadora male leads. He’s such an amazing teacher, he's kind, caring, responsible, modest… and hot! HAHA. I love how he always stays by the heroine’s side, and I really enjoy the dynamic between them.
4. All the Characters – My absolute favorites are, of course, the Numata family. But I also love the heroine’s supportive families in Hawaii and Tokyo, her students who bring so much life to the story, ml's family (especially her mother), her teacher colleagues (especially Mr. Sawada), and her friends at Leonardo. Honestly, I love everyone in this Asadora!
5. The Music – Although the opening theme is only instrumental, the background songs in various scenes are absolutely beautiful.
6. The Setting – Even though most of the scenes take place in the same locations, I never felt like anything was missing, unlike in Hiyokko. The variety of beautiful views and places kept things interesting.
7. The Cultural Aspects – One of the reasons I love watching Asadora is learning about different cultures. In Sakura, I got to learn about the history of Japanese Americans in Hawaii, traditional candle-making, Santera Mairi, and much more!
8. The Seasons – It’s rare to see an Asadora showcase all four seasons. Usually, we just get brief glimpses before the story jumps to a new season. But in Sakura, you can truly feel spring, the rainy season, and even the snow!
♡ What I Don’t Like:
1. The Heroine’s Childhood Is Not Shown – One of the things that makes Asadora unique is how it usually follows the heroine’s journey from childhood to adulthood (sometimes even to old age). But in Sakura, the entire 156-episode story takes place within just one year. While it makes sense for this particular plot, it still left me feeling a bit disappointed.
2. The Heroine’s Meddling Personality – Although this is one of her defining traits, sometimes it was frustrating to watch.
3. Some Draggy Plotlines – The hotel project issue, the heroine’s long period of sadness after her breakup, and how the heroine and the male lead refuse to admit their feelings for each other.
4. The Last Minute Romance – When I said Sakura reminded me a little of Hiyokko, I didn’t mean I wanted the romance to be resolved in the last few episodes! In fact, this was even worse! 😭 It made 156 episodes feel like they weren’t enough. If only we had some extra episodes like Hiyokko.
Overall, I absolutely loved Sakura and highly recommend watching it! Honestly, I feel heartbroken having to say goodbye to all these wonderful characters.
♡ Special Thanks:
A huge thank you to Heart__Ereki for subbing this Asadora! You’ve been an incredibly friendly and dedicated subber, and I truly appreciate your hard work on this project. You’re like a heroine/hero to me because, thanks to you, I was able to laugh, cry, and feel so much joy while watching Sakura ♡
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This review may contain spoilers
TW: Violence Against Children
A heartwarming series revolving around a Japanese-American woman learning that despite her racial and ethnic background, culture shapes people far more than anything else, and there's much for her to learn about being Japanese within the context of Japan. My only complaint is how they chose to finish the story, particularly as it resolved the romantic conflict. I'd say the drama was pretty well written up to the moment Sakura's relationship with Robbie ended, though I'd have prefered if she, much like him, also came to the conclusion that her stay in Japan had forever created a rift between them and the break-up didn't look so one-sided.I appreciated that they gave her a time to mourn, after all she was in a serious relationship for quite some time, which also made her initial hesitation regarding Katsugari make sense. The shift where they understood how they cared for each other was both sweet and comical, everything was going well, and then we got the plot of her returning to the USA. It bothered me how the men, both Sakura's father and Katsugari, took away her autonamy by going behind her back and lying about important feelings, all to push her to accept a job offer far away from Japan. And even though Katsugari eventually was open about his thought procress, I was already far too annoyed that instead of using these final episodes to fully realize their romantic relationship, after Sakura spent more than half of the story with another man, they chose to do this instead, especially as Katsugari at one point used a teacher who liked him to fool Sakura, hurting two women at once.
Truly a shame, because Sakura and Katsugari are now one of my favorite asadora couples, their relationship was so easy-going, you can see how not only they're a couple, but they're true friends and partners, always being there for each other, in sickness and in health, and that's before even a relationship started between them, imagine how lovely they'd be if we had seen them actually together. So that's to say that I'm truly sad their love story wasn't wrapped up in a better way, but I'm still glad I got to see it unfold.
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