One adorable magician, three epic battles, two daemon hunters, six teenage crime fighters, dozens of cups of noodles and countless panty shots later, we bid goodbye to Sakura Newtown and its quirky inhabitants. Following the heartwarming finale, Yozakura Quartet retreats to the realm of tie-in OVAs once again. It’s a characteristic move for a franchise which, despite its fabulous animation, simplistic storytelling and broad appeal, never really managed to attract a mainstream audience. A pity, for despite its questionable relationship with shameless nonsense and shameless adoration for questionable fanservice, Yozakura Quartet in the end proved to be worth a bigger part than the one it played this last season.

Aqua’s thoughts

It would be nice if I could say Yozakura Quartet is a show you only find once in a lifetime, but in fact, the exact opposite is true. There are shows about mythological creatures, supernatural peacekeepers, malicious alternate dimensions and awkward high school friendships every season. Yozakura Quartet tangoed with these tropes for thirteen episodes straight, and in the hands of lesser men, there would have been very little to save this show from the oblivion of generic fantasy that constitutes a solid chunk of modern anime. Yet with Suzuhito Yasuda’s swashbuckling adventure as source material and director Ryo-timo’s aesthetic flourishes in its pocket, Yozakura Quartet turns out to be a show that embraces its idiosyncrasies rather than being dragged down by them.

A near constant in our coverage of Yozakura Quartet has been everyone’s seeming inability to put their finger on why this show works as well as it does. The gorgeous animation is one thing, with highly stylized smears and kinetic displays of violence despite the rather limited budget. Director Ryo-timo swivels his camera around the battlefield with youthful enthusiasm, supplementing every one of the many explosions, magical flashes, dust clouds and pieces of debris flying haywire with excellent sound direction. From cartoony sound effects to industrial drones piercing your ears whenever evil hits the fan, Yozakura Quartet‘s sound is often as bombastic as its visuals, yet hard to resist ever more. Even from the way it is produced, it is easy to derive the passion that went into making this show and, at least to me, that undeniable charm is something no tired-and-true trope can ever take away.

This genuine charm frequently proves to be Yozakura Quartet‘s lifeblood, with frequent heartwarming moments, a close sense of community and most of all, a cast full of interesting and adorable characters. Hot-blooded Hime runs the town in all meanings of the phrase, sexpot Kotoha steals the show with her explosive super-powers and the toddler twins Kana and Mina find their way to everyone’s hearts with their suspiciously precocious double act. By frequently sidelining the rather generic male lead Akina, Yozakura Quartet manages to make his character arc hit home, and even the villains can charm many. Big baddie Enjin may be a cackling, groping maniac who pulls powers out of his behind, both the honorable Shinozuka and the crazy awesome Trucy Wright from hell Lila provide countless jaw-dropping moments. Making virtually everyone in the cast both relentlessly cute and badass at the same time is a rather cheap approach to characterization, but in a swashbuckling romp like Yozakura Quartet, it works surprisingly well.

However, no swashbuckling romp is complete without some flaws and sadly enough, Yozakura Quartet‘s flaws are as glaring as its occasional budget cuts. While the show’s supernatural setting at least somewhat justifies the countless walks it takes with the conventions of writing stories for human beings, its utterly tasteless approach to fanservice is a constant blemish on its perpetual sense of fun. Sexual harassment is as common as breakfast in Sakura Newtown, villains and heroes alike cannot keep their hands off each other’s breasts like it’s the most normal thing in the world and the skeevy close-ups run rampant even at the most inappropriate times. An epic face-off between our main character and his arch-nemesis? Here, have some panties! Hime summons an all-powerful weapon of legend? Panties. Ao finally sees her long lost brother again, only to find out he’s evil now? Gotta sneak some panties in there!

All things considered, though, maybe it is not too implausible to say you will only find a show like Yozakura Quartet once in your lifetime. After all, how likely are the odds that we will ever see a schoolgirl summon a German cannon train again? It is the little things that set Yozakura Quartet apart from its many generic peers, and while it may have its flaws, it ultimately has its heart in the right place. Early appearances by Rokkaku, Iruka and Murasaki sadly enough provide little to no confirmation, but with the show being a clear labour of love, I sincerely hope the team will manage to get the green light for a second run of misadventures. Until then, all that’s left for us to do is crying in the moonlight…

Zigg’s Thoughts

Surprise! I’ve actually been watching Hana no Uta all along, but decided not to chip into the weekly posts. Given the show is wrapping up now — well, excluding the forthcoming OVAs — I figured I should weigh in. I have to say that I’ve enjoyed Yozakura Quartet a great deal, though it’s not a show without faults. Intelligent writing and television making has the power to negate most of those flaws however, and that’s exactly what happened here. Of all the things I liked about the show, perhaps the best is the irrepressible mood that it goes for. While it’s definitely not a story devoid of angst or sadness, it’s generally relentlessly chipper, and that’s a refreshing change in an age where ‘dark’ seems to increasingly equate to ‘worthwhile’. Instead, Yozakura Quartet is a show that’s shamelessly about friendship, fun and sweet-ass magical powers. It’s bursting with energy and enthusiasm, something which comes through in its bustling animation, its snappy dialogue and the irrepressible nature of its characters.

Those characters are an interesting case study for the show. On one hand, they’re one of its greatest strengths. A good, diverse spread of personalities who mesh well together and lead to some cracking scenes, they’re never less than fun to be with and there’s some interesting relationships to probe. Which makes it a little frustrating that the story doesn’t really ever attempt that sort of thing. I understand that the show is only 13 episodes long and is primarily an action-fantasy, but I was still left annoyed by how little time we had focused on pure character interaction. There’s such potential here to explore, like Akina and Hime’s not-quite-romance or Ao’s relationship with Enjin/her absent brother, that I can’t help but feel the story is a little shallow without any of that stuff. The huge size of the cast and the fact we’re dropped right into them middle of the story doesn’t really help either. I found myself having to frequently pick Aqua’s brain for explanations of exactly what happened. While the show is pretty good at hiding plot twists under ‘it’s magic!’ as well, there were one or two times things felt a little forced.

One place where it’s difficult to criticise the show too much, though, is in the looks department. Yozakura Quartet is a wonderful looking show, bursting with colour, style and movement. Credit goes to original author Suzuhito Yasuda for producing a really smart, unique set of character designs who translate well to the moving image. I love that the show embraces the more cartoonish aspects of the medium and frequently jumps between silly faces and a more sleek, stylish look. If the price for that is occasional trouble staying on model, so be it. There’s great direction too, especially in the battle scenes where the camera flips out and flies all over the place for some cool angles. The production team clearly know how to frame a shot stylishly too, and lend the entire series a nice artsy look. I’m not quite as outraged by Aqua at the copious fanservice – it’s more Carry On cheeky than truly perverse – but it’s definitely unnecessary and sadly removes the family value of the show.

Nevertheless, I can safely declare Yozakura Quartet one of the highlights of the last year — and I haven’t even mentioned the amazing OP and ED. For whatever faults it has, it’s smart, funny and warm hearted in a way modern shows rarely are. There’s a spirit of fun and adventure here, but also one of warmth, close knit friendship and community. To escape into a crazy adventure once a week, knowing all your friends (and enemies) are waiting for you, in a town where something is always happening – that’s an invitation I’ll always take up.

Gee’s thoughts

I honestly can’t say much more than Aqua and Zigg that they haven’t already covered, but I share similar sentiments about this little show that came out of nowhere. It’s hard to really explain what made Yozakura Quartet tick, but despite that, it’s been a fun ride. Blessed with a wonderfully likable and interesting cast, some of the best animated action I’ve seen this year, and sound design that flattens the competition, the anime does a lot of things right. Despite a limited budget and some unfortunately timed fanservice, the show maintains a fun ride from start to finish as we explore the strange, yet heartful world and its inhabitants.

I didn’t know what to expect going into the show. As a huge fan of veteran animator Ryo-timo and illustrator Suzuhito Yasuda, I knew I could expect some top notch action sequences and some gorgeous art direction. Thankfully that assumption was clearly validated multiple times throughout its airing, but what I hadn’t expected was a shot with so much heart and spirit to it. As Zigg said, it’s a show with a real sense of adventure, and despite the zany antics and free spirited nature, there’s a real down to earth comfort to watching it. The more I watched Yozakura Quartet, the more I began to enjoy more than just the events and sequences that defined the narrative, but the welcoming nature of the world itself and the way it drew me into it.

Overall, Yozakura Quartet has been a treat to watch. Sure, it doesn’t always make sense, and I often found myself scratching my head more than I’d like while watching anime. But despite that, it’s always maintained a spirit of fun and lightheartedness to it that has made it enjoyable from start to finish. Yozakura Quartet is an unfinished story with conflicts and dangers lurking on the horizon. With another OVA in the works and hopes of a second season, I look forward to seeing the friendly folks of Sakura Newtown again.