Review of Sagrada Reset

Please Note This review assumes that you have finished watching Sakurada reset and while care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there will some spoilers within character analysis. Sakurada Reset is based off a popular light novel of the same name and introduces a rather interesting setting that puts a unique take on the powers genre. The overall premise of Sakurada Reset is twofold. On the surface Sakurada Reset is a power based anime that also feature heavy elements of human drama, mystery and school genre elements but it also features a unique play on the traditional powers anime. Because ofboth western influence and a need to make an anime stand out power based animes tend to feature either heavy combat or feature powers that are flashy to look at. Because of this it’s a popular misconception among anime fans and general viewers that superpowers or in this case abilities are always flashy and powerful and has the potential to strike a guy a mile away. Sakurada Reset introduces its own take to this by going along an entirely different route.

In the case of setting Sakurada Reset takes place in a large town of the same name of which what is noteworthy is that the town houses a substantial amount of people who live in the town that have access to various types of abilities. As noted before these abilities are not as flashy and destructive as what one would see in other forms of media. For example, the ability to send pre-recorded messages to one another via telepathy that can be delivered on a date and time of your choosing may seem normal to us and indeed may sound like it’s similar to an email but this is a good example of what abilities in the anime are like. In that while they are not as flashy or powerful they are still able to provide to their users a means to enjoy their lives better and help others that may be less fortunate than them. This take on the traditional powers anime I felt was interesting as I felt that not all superpowers should be destructive or flashy and indeed some can be subtle and still have a powerful effect on people and society. The fusion of a traditional powers anime with human drama and mystery is also something that I quite liked about the premise and one that was rather unusual as well.

Now that the premise is done let’s move on

The overall story for Sakurada Reset follows the lives of Kei Asai and Misora Haruki two teenagers that live in the town of Sakurada that met each other on the prompting of Kei’s old school friend Sumire Souma. The two of them because of living in the town of Sakurada the town where ability users live are both ability users and each have powerful abilities that help complement each other. The overall story common with modern animes features several different story arcs that are combined into the main plot while also having a number of sub plots as well. In the town of Sakurada both Kei and Haruki while still students on the surface use their powers to help the members of the bureau help maintain order within the town and solve ability related incidents. While solving problems with their powers is part of the overall plot that’s not the only one as the growth and development of Haruki and Kei’s relationship also forms it as well. As the series goes on and they encounter more characters and events Kei and his friends and allies soon discover that their involvement with the bureau will link them to much larger events that had in its roots in the towns mysterious past that can also affect the lives of everyone in the present. Common with most modern anime Sakurada Reset features a number of plot lines that are bundled into the overall plot as story arcs each of I felt was unique.

Kei

Kei Asai played by veteran voice actor Kaito Ishikawa of Owari no seraph and Occultic Nine fame is one of the main characters of the show and serves as the main protagonist of the show. A teenage boy that lives in the town of Sakurada Kei is a somewhat normal looking guy from initial appearances but beneath his somewhat mundane appearance Kei’s personality is what defines him and allows him to be effective at countering the enemy. Personality wise Kei is a level headed, kind and caring person and as a result can understand the views of others quite easily which I felt was important for his job with the service club. At the same time Kei, due to his level-headed nature is able to easily get to the heart of a problem by understanding the crucial parts of an event and come up with a means to solve it showing that he also has impressive deduction and analytic skills as well. However, while agreeable and pleasant to talk to when Kei is in his normal mode Kei has shown to have a more devious and cunning side to him when creating plans to deal with his opponents. In this state Kei while still bring his trademark cautiousness to the table is also willing to place himself and his friends at risk so as to allow his plan a higher chance to succeed.

However, Kei’s most prominent skills that allow him to stand against powers greater than him in the overall plot is undoubtedly his intelligence and his skill at strategy both of which allowed Kei and his friends to outsmart the series main enemy faction the bureau on multiple occasions. Although still a teenager by all accounts Kei has shown himself to very adept at strategy especially with regards to both anticipating the enemy’s moves and outsmarting them by moving events in motion before the enemy does which I found to be pretty amazing considering his opponents in the story are all adults. When combined with Kei’s unique ability as a character Kei is someone that can be seen to be a cunning and devious opponent for the bureau that while still impressive in his own right is more so when he’s working with allies that agree with his plans and aims.

As the series goes on Kei’s personality changes a great deal as a result of both meeting the series main female leads and his interaction with a number of different characters that reside in the town. In the beginning of the series Kei while still having his trademark calmness was rather quiet in the beginning and rather indifferent to the plight of others that meant that he at this time only had a small circle of friends. However, as the series goes on and especially after Kei meets Haruki Kei’s personality starts to gradually change becoming more understanding of others and their situations and more importantly learning to place more trust in his friends and allies as well. As a character, I thought that Kei was a pretty well-designed character that showed that despite his young age that good planning and strategy combined with good analytic and deduction skills can easily frustrate opponents that have larger numbers of assets at their command. Watching Kei direct his friends in demolishing the enemies plans that he gleaned using his skills was a joy to see. I thought that Kaito Ishikawa really did an excellent job portraying the character of Kei.

Sumire Souma

Sumire Souma voiced by veteran seiyuu singer Aoi Yuuki is one of the main characters of the show and can be considered the second main female lead after Haruki. A old school friend of both Kei and Haruki when they were still in middle school Souma was the one that ultimately started the friendship between the two and with that create the foundation that will create the strong bond that both of them share as the series progresses. In the beginning of the series Souma behaved very much like a childhood friend of Kei’s and looked rather normal which I believe was part of her character design as one would never assume that such a girl would become so important to the overall plot.

Personality wise Sumire is a positive and cheerful girl that at the same time is also rather bold and brave at times. Her relationship with Kei in the beginning of the series did seem to be rather close which she uses to her advantage by teasing him often and being mischievous around him. However even at this point Sumire’s mysterious nature is still prevalent and forms a part of her personality that only adds to her mystique. Like Kei Sumire as an inhabitant of Sakurada knows of the existence of abilities within the town.

Unlike Kei and Haruki Sumire herself is a character that’s tied in rather closely to the overall plotline and such her character actually changes quite a bit as the series goes on due to plot related events. In the beginning of the series Sumire while retaining her positive, cheerful and mischievous and teasing nature also retains a level of mystery about her that indicated that she was anything but a normal character. As the overall plot progresses and events happen that bring grief to Kei and Haruki Sumire’s nature gradually changes. While still retaining her initial personality traits Sumire becomes smarter and more adept at thinking ahead which is helped greatly by her ability. At the same time Sumire also becomes somewhat manipulative though in this she always puts the interests of Kei first and foremost. While Sumire for the most part is allied with Kei and co her true goals and objectives in the plot are as mysterious as she is which makes seeing what decisions she makes in the plot even more interesting. As a character, I felt that Sumire was a pretty well-designed character that made great use of her mysterious nature, fluid personality and her abilities to both keep Kei and the bureau guessing her intents while at the same time helping those that are dear to her while not being obvious with her true aims. I felt that this character was not someone that can easily be played but I felt that her seiyuu Aoi Yuuki really did an excellent job portraying her despite the challenge of this role.

Misora Haruki

Misora Haruki voiced by veteran seiyuu singer Kana Hanazawa of Mahouka Koko no Rettosei and Psycho Pass fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main female lead of the series. A teenage girl that lives in the town of Sakurada Misora is initially a fellow student of both Kei and Sumire though they were actually in different classes. The three of them met as a result of the machinations of Sumire as part of her plan. In the beginning of the series Misora was someone that was somewhat of an outcast within the school as a result of her quiet nature and because she seemed to prefer solitude than anything else. In the beginning of the series it can be seen that Misora had a rather limited personality in her which made trying to converse with her difficult for both Kei and Sumire. At this point in time it can be seen that Misora is a quiet, reserved but at the same time perceptive person traits of which allow her to live life well enough until she met Kei.

As the series progresses and as her relationship with Kei improves Misora’s personality and attitude begins to gradually change. While still retaining her core personality traits Misora gradually starts to open up to Kei first then to their increasing number of allies. The gradual evolution of Misora’s personality is actually part of the overall plot of the series and I felt that this aspect was done particularly well. As the series progresses Misora gradually becomes more confidant in herself and gradually starts to break out of the shell that she herself created to protect her. This is best seen in her talks with Nono. And indeed, by the latter half of the series Misora’s personality had changed so much that she was almost a different person that she was before. Although Misora and Kei did not have the best of first encounters their relationship gradually improves over the series and more so after they were paired together for their work with the service club.

In terms of relationships the relationship between Kei and Misora can also be considered to be one of the main points of the overall plot. In the beginning of the series after they met each other their relationship can be seen to be similar to that of a teacher and a student as at this point in time Haruki was still learning what a personality is and how it will benefit her. This gradually evolves as the series goes on as the two become friends and partners. Though they met in the most unusual of circumstances I felt that the relationship between Kei and Misora was done pretty well and linking the personality changes with the developing bond between the two of them was a smart move. Apart from her bond with Kei what sets Misora apart from others is her ability itself which I found to be rather unique and one that I felt suited Misora a great deal due to her nature. As a character, I felt that Misora was a really interesting character that was well designed and seeing her gradually start to develop her own personality while bonding with Kei and his allies was something that held my attention on this show. I felt that Kana Hanazawa really did a great job portraying the character of Misora.

Seika Nonoo

Seika Nonoo voiced by veteran seiyuu Sachika Misawa of Accel world and Aldnoah Zero fame is one of the main support characters of the show and one of Kei and Misora’s main allies. A fellow student of Misora and Kei Seika is a quiet, well-mannered and kind and caring girl that seems to have a love for animals. In terms of personality Seika is very similar to Misora in that both are quiet and have trouble expressing their opinions of things. However unlike Misora Seika actually has her own unique personality and things that she likes and dislikes. While the series itself had a large number of abilities that were unique in their own right each of these abilities was paired with the personality of that person in question. In the case of Seika her affinity with cats was related to her powers and I felt this was a pretty good combo as it allowed her to use her beloved pets to help and aid her when needed. Her ability in question was something that I felt was well suited to her. Though Seika and Kei met several times and can be considered to be acquaintances her relationship with Misora is perhaps the one that was the most important to the plot. While both Seika and Misora are quiet by nature it was interesting to see both learn from each other and bond over this shared trait of theirs. Watching Misora make her first friend with Seika I felt was a nice thing and did well to develop Misora’s personality.

Eri

Eri Oka voiced by veteran seiyuu Yuuka Aisaka of Ange Vierge and Active Raid fame is one of the main support characters of the show and one of Kei’s opponents/ally. A old acquaintance of Kei’s that he seems to have known when he was in middle school Eri is someone that Kei has a rather complicated relationship with though in no fault to his own. Personality wise Eri is a smart, fast thinking and cunning girl who’s not above using deception to achieve her goals. However, it is in her relationship with Kei that Eri’s more unique personality traits come out. Eri’s personality when she deals with Kei can be best described as that of a Tsundere. This personality trait of hers I felt was actually pretty cute since she always ends up helping Kei in some way or form. In fact, I find Eri’s constant attempts to act as Kei’s nemesis and be evil to be more amusing than ever. Of particular note to Eri’s character is her name which when said in full actually means welcome back which I thought was appropriate for her character.

Masamune

Masamune Urachi voiced by veteran voice actor Takahiro Sakurai of Bungou Stray dogs and Buddy Complex fame is one of the main support characters of the series and serves as the main villain of the series. A high-level member of the Bureau Masamune true to his role and rank is a calm, composed and intelligent person that’s also devious as well. Masamune’s most prominent trait is twofold firstly it’s his careful nature in which he will evaluate a given situation thoroughly before committing to any action and secondly his habit of recording every last bit of detail in his trusted notebook. These two traits combined with is other personality traits make Masamune a tough opponent for Kei and Haruki and one that tests their intelligence to the limit.

However what sets Masamune both as a great villain and makes him such a threat to the story and its characters is his motivation and what caused him to have such an extreme view. As a member of the bureau Masamune knows that the town has many people that has access to many different kinds of abilities but should these abilities really exist in the first place. Should man not strive to achieve what they want by their own efforts by themselves. These are questions that truly define the type of character that Masamune is as they help define his reasoning and the ideology that caused it and help in understanding why he is that dangerous. As a character, I felt that Masamune himself was a pretty well-designed character as in addition to having all of the assets that someone of his rank is entitled to call upon he also has something that a lot of villains in other animes lack which is conviction and a good origin story that created such a conviction in the first place. As someone that works with ability users as part of their duties Masamune’s views which ultimately resulted in the creation of his ultimate plan was really surprising and even more so after looking at his backstory. As a villain, I felt that Masamune really did a great job in his intended role as he was as a result of his intelligence, personality traits and abilities was able to frustrate and surprise Kei and his allies on a regular basis and seeing them clash over their opposite views in a discussion rather than in a brawl was a welcome sight.

Arts and animation

The character designs for the characters that appear in this series I felt was pretty well done and designed with my favorites being Haruki, Nono and Eri and Souma. The uniform designs for the characters I felt were also pretty well done. The animation for the ability effects was also well done with the dream world created by Honoka being especially interesting.

Music
The anime as one that has a whole season makes use of two opening and ending themes. The first opening is Reset which is sung by Yui Makino and conveys a welcoming feeling to the town helped by the visuals that show each of the main and support characters. The ending theme for the first half of the season is Tonari Au sung by the Oral Cigarettes. The second opening theme that plays from ep13 and the start of the second half of the season is Dakara Boku Wo Tebanasu sung by Weaver. This opening helped convey a sense of revelation and truth to me. The scene music for the series I felt was really good with a pretty large variation of instruments and music used to convey the different types of emotions and situations that each scene conveyed.

Voice acting

The voice acting for the series I felt was strong with particular praise going to Kana Hanazawa who voiced Misora and Aoi Yuki who voiced Sumire Souma. Both I felt were able to convey to the audience the many changes and emotions that their characters experienced on the show as their characters were developed and improved upon as the show went on. Kana I felt had a much harder job since the initial stage of her character was very quiet and very different to the character that we see in the end but im glad to see that she could portray the character of Misora successfully. The show also had a number of support characters that I felt also did a great job despite their roles not being important with the best examples being Maaya Uchida who voiced the character of Honoka, Rikako Aida who voiced the character of Sera and Kana Uetake who voiced the character of Sakuin.

Overall conclusion

In overall Sakurada Reset’s strong points that made it stand out to me was its strong story, interesting premise, complex characters, excellent voice acting and its unique take on abilities. The insight into human emotion and the relationships between characters was I felt another of its strongpoints. Story wise I liked the contrast between the two halves of the series as they were quite different but yet linked rather well with the series overall plot. In the first half, the story focused on the club activities of the two main leads Misora and Kei and I liked the fact that in this first half in addition to seeing how each case played out we also get to see how they develop their friendship and bond. Each of the cases that was featured here I felt was pretty interesting and evoked a number of emotions in me when I saw them. The fact that each of the methods that were used to solve these cases was focused on negotiation and observation rather than rash action which is used in other animes was also refreshing and matched well with the atmosphere of this series. The second half of the series I felt was very different to the first as it was more focused on specific events and saw a lot of revelations and surprises both for the story and for individual characters as the main enemy plot was revealed. The teamwork that the main characters exhibit with others was also something that I felt was done nicely and seeing them combine their abilities for Kei’s plans was fun to see. The characters that were in the series I felt were also pretty well designed and pretty complex with each having interesting backstories and motivations especially the main villain Masamune and the character of Sumire Souma. The unique take on the abilities that serves as one of the shows main premises I felt was interesting and it was nice to see abilities that are neither flashy or destructive but yet still are different enough to define them as abilities. Seeing the main cast use this to change the world and stop the main villain was really entertaining. While I do agree that the story can be hard to follow by some due to the amount of twists and revelations it’s not as hard to follow as some others animes I seen. In the end while the views of both sides were both interesting I felt that I agreed more with what Kei and his allies were fighting for which is another good point for this series in that the reasons themselves were also good.

In terms of score I would give it a 9/10 due to its unique premise, excellent story, well-designed characters and a unique take on abilities plus its focus on human emotion.