All of my reviews contain spoilers for the reviewed material. This is your only warning. A story dedicated to those trapped by the past. Tagline at the start of each episode There are a million variations on the saying the only thing certain in life is that it will eventually end. Benjamin Franklins quip also invoking taxes is probably the most famous version in the west. Its true though. The world over all human cultures are united by the inevitability of death. Those who occupy themselves with a fascination with finality while still living tend to be viewed as a bit odd. In some cultures respected in others feared in some merely looked at with a cocked eye. The titular Sakurako of Sakurakosan can in some ways be seen as this trait taken to its logical extreme. Anime and narrative fiction in general is built on archetypes. The tsundere for example is a cartoon reflection of a real behavioral pattern. Sakurako broadly falls into a similar reflection though a less common one. She is a mystical woman removed from the daytoday of ordinary life isolated by her calling. In this case shes an osteologist forensics expert and amateur by professionalism not competence detective. 880https://i.ur.com/h7Tu6DW.png Sakurako is haunted by the recollections of those shes lost. Most notably her younger brother and her two cats. Theres more than a little indication over the series run that her bonecollecting is as much coping mechanism as genuine interest. It is here where the meaning of the tagline that opens each episode comes into focus. As much as any of her clients it is Sakurako who is trapped by her past. Really Sakurako is an absolutely fascinating character. Her peculiar sideways morality is highlighted a few times throughout the shows run the woman never turns down a case that could give her access to a skeleton to pick at. Her backstory is dripfed slowly with only small bits and pieces being revealed over the course of its twelve episodes and only actually becoming clear at the end of its final arc. Ive seen her compared to Sherlock Holmes and the comparison makes some sense. Sakurako is intensely antisocial often straight up rude ostensible protagonist Shoutarou Takewaki frustratedly Sakurakosans at her enough times to tell her off for it that it almost becomes annoying and has keen observational prowess. The process of using which she describesin a deliciously melodramatic turn of phraseas connecting the bones. 880https://i.ur.com/a6YtVba.png Takewaki as mentioned the other protagonist is not quite as compelling. This is less damning than it might soundits hard to stack up to a character as memorable as Sakurakobut hes definitely the weaker half of the duo. Takewaki is pretty ordinary and serves mostly as a grounding rod for Sakurakos weirder impulses. He also harbors a massive crush on her which as the show progresses turns into a sort of openhearted admiration. Its certainly possible to read it as romantic if youre so inclined but its clearly intended to be read as a mentor/student sort of relationship. Something thats actually rather rare in the medium outside of certain stock shonen archetypes. The twos relationship ultimately helps free Sakurako of her selfimposed shackle to her past and its nice to see this sort of thing work out for both parties without becoming romantic. As for the show itself ultimately much of what Sakurakosan is about as much as the character arcs of its protagonists is the realities of death in Japan. The many ways it can comeby chance by violence by tragedy by simple accident in one case. Often Sakurakosan focuses less on the deceased themselves and more on who they leave behind and how the loss affects them. The shows halfway pointthe sixth episodefeatures a lengthy scene in which schoolgirl Yuriko and her teacher Isozaki argue about whether they have the right to track down a woman they believe to be suicidal. The show takes neither side explicitly not until a number of episodes later but it is Yurikoof the position that they not only can track her down but mustwho presents the stronger argument aided by the fact that we know that she lost her grandmother just a few episodes prior. In general it is the living despite the subject matter who create the tales in Sakurakosan. On the flip side of mourning is those with secrets to keep hidden. More than once some form of foul play is involved and the series is not afraid to delve into the ugly gristle that would compel such foul play in the first place. Lots of reputationbased facesaving and desperate grabs at sentimentality on the part of the characters here. 880https://i.ur.com/CdRoWHb.png You get the idea Despite what this might imply though the series projects a similar dusky liminality to more overtlymystical works like xxxHolic and the quieter episodes of the Monogatari franchise. Probably the shows single most famous element is Sakurakos lets clear up this mystery sequence a bizarre sideways homage to magical girl henshin transformations that would be out of place in Sakurakosan if not for the fact that Sakurako herself often seems like such a mystic enigma. 880https://media1.giphy.com/media/eEbi4mGnMXMis/source.gif Honestly for its bynecessity gritty subject matter Sakurakosan is surprisingly devoid of much that scans as terribly macabre. Sakurakosan finds romance in dirt and bones. Wouldbe lovers and a mother and child are united in death. A woman frees herself from her past by casting a ring into a river. A depressed salaryman is saved from suicidebypainting. A grandmothers tragic accident in the woods is because she wanted to see an inspiring sunrise her husband had painted years before. It is a melancholy but undeniably romanticeven strangely hopefulworldview and if allowed to seep from Sakurakosans bones into your own intoxicating. Thats not to say its exactly relaxing. The shows final arc in particular dives into much darker territory. A story about a murder egged on by a mysterious fromtheshadows manipulator who raids dead bodies to steal their sphenoid bones it is here that the show finally ties its odd fixation on CGI butterflies to something. 880https://i.ur.com/kfy7jyF.png In what I must imagine was a controversial move at the time the final episode does not actually conclude this arc leaving it unresolved. An opaque question mark over the finale which is otherwise surprisingly upbeateven romanticgiven the series and arc that it ends. And indeed the most surprising thing about Sakurakosan might be how much solace it finds in the unending march of time. Sakurakosan seems to have been relegated to the cult classic bin by the tide of history but maybe thats fine. A minor hit at most even in its day the past few years have done little to raise its profile and indeed the frustrating quibble remains that it seems to have been made with a second season in mindone that has yet to materialize and possibly never will. Yet this flaw aside theres very little wrong with Sakurakosan. If youre looking for something that contains a whirl of contrasting emotionby turns melancholic tragic frightening joyful romantic and just a touch gross you might want to let yourself fall under Sakurakos spell too. If theres a final word on the Sakurakosan its that its a lifeaffirming show that just happens to be about death. You havent become ashes just yet. Sakurako Episode 12