The Series (4/5)

     Sakura Trick tells the story  of Hakura and Yuu. Through their middle school years the 2 have been the closest of friends, and have sat next to each other (due to their last names being alphabetical next to one another) in school.  However, upon beginning high school they are forced to sit on opposite sides of the classroom, this minor separation causes Hakura to rethink the relationship with Yuu. Not because she doesn't want them to be friends, but because she views them as much more, and wants them to kiss, and be in a closer relationship. The series follows the pair as they have their first kiss, and the secret relationship that develops as the two develop their feelings for one another after.

    I missed out on Sakura Trick  when it aired initially and was released on DVD in 2014, which is a shame, as it was quite cute and a lot of fun. But also because I think it's quite an important series even though it does easily square into the realm of the "yuri" subgenre of anime. It manages to not be overly exploitive as far as sexual elements are concerned. It also managed being both a slice of life, and a character study of 2 girls (actually a group of girls) coming into their own at a very difficult age.

    The series deals with very difficult issues, and does so simply, but quite well. It is definitely in the slice of life realm, and also populated with other lesbian and lesbian curious characters that support the mains quite well. The animation from Studio Deen is quite solid. The series itself is well paced and rarely has a dull moment. 

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Section 23 presents Sakura Trick in a solid 1:78:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the shows OAR. The Blu-ray has nice color reproduction and solid detail. The audio is presented with a solid DTS-HD MA 2.0 track which handles audio chores quite well with no issues to complain about.

Extras (1.5/5)

    We get another clean opening and closing and trailers for other Sentai Releases.

Overall

     Sakura Trick definitely falls into the Yuri subgenre, but is a nice slice of life/coming of age anime that deals with difficult issues quite solidly. The Blu-ray looks and sounds quite nice, but is limited in the extras department. RECOMMENDED.