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ANIME REVIEWS

Copyright © U-jin / Victor Entertainment 1997







Sakura Tsuushin
—by Roderick "Agitator" Lee

The name U-jin is usually equated with erotic manga and anime titles, and often, his material pushes the envelope of what is deemed publicly acceptable. In fact, there has been more than one occasion where his publisher was forced to pull back a title of his to stem the rising controversy. Most English language fans are only familiar with USMC's U-JIN BRAND, a brief anthology showcasing his rather twisted variety of eroticism. But, relative to his own work, U-JIN BRAND is rather tame; for one thing, it never generated the firestorm some of his other titles have. Thus, it is initially surprising to discover that a recently popular romance OVA series circulating around fan circles is, in fact, an U-jin title, almost completely devoid of his customary sexual hijinks and plot twists.
  On the other hand, let's get this straight: SAKURA TSUUSHIN (Sakura Diaries) is not going to challenge TOUCH, MAISON IKKOKU, or KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD any time soon for best romance series. Fans of these series should, though, find it appealing and the story and characters engaging. For one, SAKURA TSUUSHIN is not as "clean" as any of those series; this still is U-jin, after all. There is a sexual undercurrent which is far less subtle and would, therefore, place SAKURA TSUUSHIN somewhere between GOLDEN BOY and the very astute teen angst of Katsura Masakazu's VIDEO GIRL AI and DNA2.
  Inaba Touma is a recent high school graduate from the country province of Izu. He is visiting Tokyo for the first time in his life to take a battery of college entrance exams. On his first night, a teenage girl unexpectedly arrives at his hotel room, who he mistakenly believes to be a "burusera" compliments of the hotel. The term burusera is the katakana-shortened version of "bloomer seller" and refers to the practice of certain high school girls to exploit and profit from the Lolicon mentality by selling their panties. And if a burusera meets her customer in person, sex is not unexpected.
  Being an inexperienced country boy, Touma is completely shocked and dumbfounded and has no idea how to react. But, after some fumbling around, his self-preservation instinct for his exam performance and his desire for his first experience to be true love, he kicks her out of the room, but only after she sneezes on him first. Sure enough, the next scene shows Touma wearing one of those illness masks, and cursing the burusera who got him sick and ruined his chances at all the exams that he took during the week. Now, he has only one chance left, the entrance exam for Keio University.
  Kasuga Urara is Touma's younger cousin. Years ago, Urara met Touma during a large family trip to Kamakura, and, in her words, he gave her "a memory I can never forget." He was her first love, but Touma did not realize she was his cousin. Urara is also the girl featured in all the scenes of the OP as well as prominently displayed on the LD covers and magazine advertisements. The implication is that the diaries referred to in the series title are hers, and each episode begins with the title of the episode printed in what appears to be a page from Urara's diary. She is as much protagonist as Touma. After the Keio exam, Touma arranges to move in with his uncle. Needless to say, when Urara greets him at the door, it is more than a surprise, and for more reasons than one.
  Unfortunately for Urara, Touma only has eyes for Yotsuba Mieko, a young woman he meets right before the Keio exam. He resolves to make Mieko his wife. Thus, the love triangle is born, and, to Touma's credit, he even figures out that Urara has a crush on him. At first, Mieko seems to solely take advantage of Touma's naivete to extract herself from certain situations, but later, she actually starts developing feelings for him, much to Urara's dismay.
  As a manga artist of erotic stories, U-jin certainly has no problem with the female form. But he also is not as blatant as say Urushibara Satoshi (of PLASTIC LITTLE fame or infamy). Touma's reactions, as alluded to earlier, are the best since Oe Kintaro. This is very attractive, eye-catching art. The music is rather nondescript, failing to stand out either favorably or unfavorably. On the voice front, SAKURA TSUUSHIN employs a whole stable of newer names. Urara's Hikami Kyoko debuted on the scene a scant few years ago as WEDDING PEACH's title character Momoko, and is, to a certain extent, cast from the same mold as Momoko. Mieko's Hyoudou Mako also saw significant work in WEDDING PEACH as Aphrodite, but her most prominent role is as Sharon Apple. Suffice it to say Mieko is not like either of them, though her seductive voice is evocative of the mad virtual idol. Madono Mitsuaki, playing Touma, on the other hand, has been around longer, first seeing supporting work in HIME-CHAN NO RIBBON, then later playing, ironically, Touma, in the second RANMA movie. Rounding out the cast is Urara's sex-obsessed best friend, Koumi, voiced by Kasahara Rumi, a.k.a. PRETTY SAMMY rival Pixy Misa.
  All of the principals in the SAKURA TSUUSHIN triangle are genuine and appealing. It helps engage the viewer to the romance and also makes it difficult to determine which final match-up to root for, always a plus in romance series. The story quality compares favorably with Katsura, though U-jin is more risque than just the trademark Katsura panty shots. At twelve volumes and U-jin's penchant for plot twists, this should draw most romance series fans.

VHS and CLV LD, 45 minutes each
Vol 1: VILF-90 (LD) / VIVF-10160 (VHS), 21 May 1997
Vol 2-6: VILF-91~5 (LD) / VIVF-10161~5 (VHS), monthly release through 22 Oct 1997
¥5700 each
Available now in Japan
Where to buy


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