Pet Girl of Sakurasou seems like a gag comedy from its premise, but in reality, it's more about how a person deals with growth and failures.
Its depiction of setbacks is one of the most realistic.
It shows that sometimes giving your best is not enough, and it's okay to feel bad about it.
Despite that, the show stays very optimistic and even changes its stance on talent.
If you read a synopsis of Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo), you'll think that it's a comedy show. It's about Sorata Kanda, a relatively mellow fellow, who ends up living in a school dorm filled with delinquents — sorry, not just delinquents, but incredibly artistic individuals. Surely this premise will bring a lot of hilarious moments, right?
Wrong. Or, well, that's also right, because the show has a lot of ecchi gags in the first episode (and none in the latter half of the season), but its main focus is not on the daily shenanigans. And it’s not on the romance between Sorata and Mashiro Shiina, one of the newest residents of the dorm, an ethereally beautiful and extremely talented artist.
Working hard isn't always the answer
It's about talent, or lack of it. And lack of skill. And lack of success. And the feeling of failure that follows when you are trying, trying as hard as you can but that's still not enough for you to climb to the level of those who surround you.
This part of the narrative is something that hits harder than the romance. It's something relatable, this feeling of dread that consumes you after you poured your whole soul into the task and still failed. This topic has been recently explored in Blue Period, a manga and anime about a boy who suddenly found his passion in drawing and does whatever he can to achieve the only available option of higher education that won't put his family in debt and will allow him to pursue his dream.
Failing is okay
But Pet Girl of Sakurasou was released ten years ago. And for anime to actually portray the failures, explore them, and not focus on the miraculous successes that happen against all odds is unusual. This anime shows how unfair life can be, and not just because it wants to make the characters miserable — no, it's just how life is. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. Sometimes your best isn't enough. Sometimes it's brutal, to be hit with such realism. And it's okay to not feel okay.
The way Pet Girl of Sakurasou depicts the setbacks in the artistic industry is painfully accurate. And what is surprising is how this show, despite its portrayal of failure, keeps this unimaginably optimistic vibe.
Reach for the stars
As the story unfolds, those who seemed unreachable slowly start becoming more humane. Those who felt untouchable become relatable. This progress of geniuses morphing into actual people is also something that follows you as you grow, overcome your setbacks, and try to reach them. If the story started with depicting the talented people as almost godlike and dulling the importance of hard work, then near the end it showed that even the geniuses are actually human and are pretty attainable.
And we love this story for its accurate portrayal of artistic journey.
When failure is not just a gag.
Summary:
Pet Girl of Sakurasou seems like a gag comedy from its premise, but in reality, it's more about how a person deals with growth and failures.
Its depiction of setbacks is one of the most realistic.
It shows that sometimes giving your best is not enough, and it's okay to feel bad about it.
Despite that, the show stays very optimistic and even changes its stance on talent.
If you read a synopsis of Pet Girl of Sakurasou (Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo), you'll think that it's a comedy show. It's about Sorata Kanda, a relatively mellow fellow, who ends up living in a school dorm filled with delinquents — sorry, not just delinquents, but incredibly artistic individuals. Surely this premise will bring a lot of hilarious moments, right?
Wrong. Or, well, that's also right, because the show has a lot of ecchi gags in the first episode (and none in the latter half of the season), but its main focus is not on the daily shenanigans. And it’s not on the romance between Sorata and Mashiro Shiina, one of the newest residents of the dorm, an ethereally beautiful and extremely talented artist.
Working hard isn't always the answer
It's about talent, or lack of it. And lack of skill. And lack of success. And the feeling of failure that follows when you are trying, trying as hard as you can but that's still not enough for you to climb to the level of those who surround you.
This part of the narrative is something that hits harder than the romance. It's something relatable, this feeling of dread that consumes you after you poured your whole soul into the task and still failed. This topic has been recently explored in Blue Period, a manga and anime about a boy who suddenly found his passion in drawing and does whatever he can to achieve the only available option of higher education that won't put his family in debt and will allow him to pursue his dream.
Failing is okay
But Pet Girl of Sakurasou was released ten years ago. And for anime to actually portray the failures, explore them, and not focus on the miraculous successes that happen against all odds is unusual. This anime shows how unfair life can be, and not just because it wants to make the characters miserable — no, it's just how life is. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. Sometimes your best isn't enough. Sometimes it's brutal, to be hit with such realism. And it's okay to not feel okay.
The way Pet Girl of Sakurasou depicts the setbacks in the artistic industry is painfully accurate. And what is surprising is how this show, despite its portrayal of failure, keeps this unimaginably optimistic vibe.
Reach for the stars
As the story unfolds, those who seemed unreachable slowly start becoming more humane. Those who felt untouchable become relatable. This progress of geniuses morphing into actual people is also something that follows you as you grow, overcome your setbacks, and try to reach them. If the story started with depicting the talented people as almost godlike and dulling the importance of hard work, then near the end it showed that even the geniuses are actually human and are pretty attainable.
And we love this story for its accurate portrayal of artistic journey.
