Sakura Quest

Sakura Quest (Japanese: サクラクエスト, Hepburn: Sakura Kuesuto) is a 25-episode Japanese anime television series produced by P.A.Works and directed by Soichi Masui. It aired from April 5 to September 20, 2017. The anime is described as part of P.A. Works' "working series", which tells the stories about people and their jobs, after Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako.[1]

Sakura Quest
Promotional image featuring the main characters (from left to right): Ririko Oribe, Shiori Shinomiya, Yoshino Koharu, Sanae Kōzuki and Maki Midorikawa.
サクラクエスト (Sakura Kuesuto)
Anime television series
Directed by	Soichi Masui
Produced by	Masaya Saitou Hiroyuki Kobayashi Shōji Sōma
Written by	Masahiro Yokotani
Music by	(K)NoW_NAME
Studio	P.A.Works
Licensed by	^NA Funimation
Original network	Tokyo MX, AT-X, ABC, BS11, TUT
Original run	April 5, 2017 – September 20, 2017
Episodes	25

Plot

Yoshino Koharu is a young woman looking for a job in Tokyo but is only met with a series of rejections. However, she has a seemingly lucky break when she receives a job offer to work with the tourism board of the economically struggling Manoyama village as their "Queen". With no other choice, Yoshino accepts the offer and travels to Manoyama only to find out that she was hired based on a case of mistaken identity and that her contract term is for one year instead of the one day, as she had initially thought. With nowhere else to go, Yoshino reluctantly becomes Queen of Manoyama.

Characters

Yoshino Koharu (木春由乃, Koharu Yoshino)

Voiced by: Ayaka Nanase[2] (Japanese); Alexis Tipton[3] (English)

The main heroine. She grew up in a rural area in Japan and went to college in Tokyo in hopes of landing a job in the city, but after failing to land a job she gets an offer to work for the tourism department of Manoyama village.

Shiori Shinomiya (四ノ宮しおり, Shinomiya Shiori)

Voiced by: Reina Ueda[2] (Japanese); Tia Ballard[3] (English)

A native of Manoyama and member of the tourism board, Shiori is a friendly and kind hearted girl who wants to see the town improve and acts as Yoshino's guide.

Maki Midorikawa (緑川真希, Midorikawa Maki)

Voiced by: Chika Anzai[2] (Japanese); Leah Clark[3] (English)

An amateur actor and local celebrity in Manoyama, Maki is famed for a bit part she played in a television series called the Oden Detective.

Ririko Oribe (織部凛々子, Oribe Ririko)

Voiced by: Chiemi Tanaka[2] (Japanese); Brina Palencia[3] (English)

Ririko is the granddaughter of the local sweets shop owner and is a fan of the occult.

Sanae Kōzuki (香月早苗, Kōzuki Sanae)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu[2] (Japanese); Elizabeth Maxwell[3] (English)

A web entrepreneur, Sanae is a Tokyo native who moved to Manoyama to escape city life.

Ushimatsu Kadota (門田丑松, Kadota Ushimatsu)

Voiced by: Atsushi Ono[4] (Japanese); Mark Stoddard[3] (English)

The grouchy head of Manoyama's tourism board and the King of the town. He acts as Yoshino's direct superior. He was in a band with Chitose during his youth and planned to leave Manoyama, but stayed after an incident during the town's festival.

Chitose Oribe (織部千登勢, Oribe Chitose)

Voiced by: Maki Izawa[4] (Japanese); Rachel Robinson[3] (English)

Ririko's grandmother who runs a sweets shop. She was in a band with Ushimatsu during her youth.

Takamizawa (高見沢)

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi[4] (Japanese); Robert McCollum[3] (English)

Manoyama's sole bus driver.

Yamada (山田)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono[4] (Japanese); Dallas Reid[3] (English)

Mino (美濃)

Voiced by: Daiki Hamano[4] (Japanese); Aaron Roberts[3] (English)

Mr. Sandal (サンダルさん, Sandaru-san)

Voiced by: Vinay Murthy[4] (Japanese); Jerry Jewell[3] (English)

Angelica (アンジェリカ, Anjerika)

Voiced by: Nanako Mori[4] (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard[3] (English)

Erika Suzuki (鈴木エリカ, Suzuki Erika)

Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa[4] (Japanese); Jill Harris[3] (English)

Broadcast and distribution

Sakura Quest is directed by Soichi Masui and produced by P.A.Works. It ran for 25 episodes and it aired in Japan from April 5 to September 20, 2017 on Tokyo MX, with further broadcasts on ABC, AT-X, BS11, and Tulip TV.[5] Alexandre S. D. Celibidache is credited with the original work,[1] and the screenplay was written by Masahiro Yokotani. Kanami Sekiguchi based the character design used in the anime on Bunbun's original designs.[6] The music is produced by the band (K)NoW_NAME, who also perform the opening and ending themes. The first opening theme is "Morning Glory"[7] and the first ending theme is "Freesia".[8] The second opening theme is "Lupinus" and the second ending theme is "Baby's Breath".[9] The anime is licensed by Funimation in North America with an English dub,[10] and the series was streamed by Crunchyroll with English subtitles.[1]

No.	Title[lower-alpha 1]	Original air date[11]
1	"Off to Magical Manoyama" Transcription: "Ma no Yama e" (Japanese: 魔の山へ)	April 5, 2017
Yoshino attempts to find a job in Tokyo before she graduates from college, but has little luck. She finally receives a job offer to act as Queen for the rural village of Manoyama. Despite having moved out of a rural town to enjoy city life in Tokyo, Yoshino decides to accept the job, only to find out from the town's tourism board that she was hired based on mistaken identity. Nevertheless, Yoshino goes through the "coronation" ceremony, and sees that like her hometown, Manoyama is in decline and economically struggling. As a result of failing to read her contract, Yoshino finds out that she must stay in Manoyama for one year instead of one day as she had initially thought. She tries to escape the town, but stops when she accidentally injures Kadota. When she is accidentally locked out of her dorm, Yoshino spends the night in the town's "palace", where she discovers that as a child, she was the town's 100,000th guest and a previous Queen of the town. The next morning, Yoshino receives a rejection from her final job application, and reluctantly accepts her position as Queen.
2	"The Gathering of the Five Champions" Transcription: "Tsudoishi Gonin no Yūshatachi" (Japanese: 集いし五人の勇者たち)	April 12, 2017
In order to celebrate the coronation of a new Queen, Kadota purchases a thousand boxes of Manjū and tasks Yoshina with selling all of them. He promises to Yoshino that if she can sell all of the Manjū within one week, then she will be released from her contract. First, Yoshino recruits Sanae to design an online web page to try to sell the Manjū over the internet, but the site fails to pick up any traffic. Maki then suggests they film a commercial, and Shiori invites Ririko over to act as the camerawoman. The commercial involves Yoshino slaying the "Chupakabura", the town's local mythical monster. However, despite their best efforts, they are unable to sell all of the Manjū before the deadline. While dejected, the girls decide to eat some of the leftover Manjū together and admit that they each had fun working together. Yoshino then expresses her desire to view the towns' cherry blossoms with everyone, despite the fact that the cherry blossoms won't bloom for another two weeks.
3	"The Cry of the Mandrake" Transcription: "Mandoreiku no Sakebi" (Japanese: マンドレイクの叫び)	April 19, 2017
Yoshino continues trying to help revitalize Manoyama, with little success. During a television interview, Yoshino realizes that she doesn't actually know all that much about the town, nor what to do to actually change things. However, when she tries to ask the townspeople what they think should be done, the majority of them end up being completely apathetic to their situation. Yoshino researches the town's history a little more and finds out that Manoyama is famous for its turnips, and tried to market a turnip-based mascot called "Kabura Kid", which ended in failure. Kadota then had the idea to use the Chupakabura as the town's mascot against the Merchant Board's wishes, resulting in the current feud between the Tourism and Merchant boards. Yoshino and Kadota then head for the Regional Mascot Festival competition, but the head for his Chupakabura costume is misplaced in the garbage. Kadota is then left to decide whether to wear the dirty Chupakabura mask, or the mask of Kabura Kid, which he dislikes. Frustrated at everybody's indecision, Yoshino makes Kadota wear the Kabura Kid mask, but when she goes up to stage, she makes a sincere speech about how she will find something that will make the townspeople of Manoyama unite to improve their town. Afterwards, Yoshino officially enlists the aid of Shiori, Maki, Ririko, and Sanae to assist her as her "Ministers".
4	"The Lone Alchemist" Transcription: "Kokō no Arukemisuto" (Japanese: 孤高のアルケミスト)	April 26, 2017
Yoshino and her friends help Sanae move into their cabin. On the way, their truck breaks down and they enlist the help of Doku, Manoyama's local mechanic and inventor, to repair it. Doku also gifts them a prototype powered exoskeleton he developed to help them move their things. After hearing that the town has a large wood carving district, Yoshino gets the idea to use the wood carvers' skills to help promote Manoyama. However, the Tourism Board had tried to promote the town's wood carvers with little success in the past. Yoshino then gets the idea to combine new and old ideas by decorating the exoskeleton with wooden carvings. When that idea doesn't prove to be practical, they instead decide to decorate Doku's transforming vending machine to resemble a wood carved Buddha. However, the project angers the more conservative wood carvers and the Merchant Board, leaving Yoshino and her friends unsure of what to do. Sanae then confides to Yoshino that she left Tokyo because she was tired of overworking herself, and realizing that the world will go on despite whether she does anything or not. She then tells Yoshino that she doesn't have the motivation to be one of her Ministers and leaves.
5	"The Budding Yggdrasil" Transcription: "Yugudorashiru no Mebae" (Japanese: ユグドラシルの芽生え)	May 3, 2017
Yoshino and her friends, with the exception of Sanae, begin a rigorous study program to find out all they can about wood carving. Upon discovering that the Manoyama wood carvers had continually changed their products as the times changed, Yoshino gets the idea to build a massive palace out of wood sculptures as a tourist attraction called the "Sakura Pond Familia". However, Kadota points out the issue of who will raise the required funds to build such a structure. Yoshino manages to gain the backing of Mr. Sandal, who is a modestly famous local artist. Meanwhile, Sanae continues to wonder what her purpose in Manoyama is. She has a brief talk with Yoshino, who tells her that even if anybody can be replaced in a job, individual people will always have different results. Encouraged, Sanae begins taking steps to make the Sakura Pond Familia a reality. She first suggests starting small by erecting traditional wood carving panels in the Manoyama train station, while at the same time promoting a line of wood carved products such as designer shoes, which everybody agrees to. Afterwards, some visitors arriving in the train station see the wood carvings and are awed at the sight of them.
6	"The Rural Masquerade" Transcription: "Den'en no Masukarēdo" (Japanese: 田園のマスカレード)	May 10, 2017
The Tourism board prepares for the arrival of a film crew that will be using Manoyama as a location to film. Due to shortage of staff and a limited budget for the film, Yoshino and her friends agree to help the crew out, with the exception of Maki who seems reluctant to get involved in the film. However, they quickly find out that the director is a rather eccentric man who is prone to constantly changing the plot of the film. One change he requests is to burn down a local abandoned house for a scene, which makes Shiori uncomfortable. Even though she receives permission from the house's owners, Shiori lies and tells the others she couldn't contact them. Meanwhile, filming begins and suffers more setbacks when one of the minor actresses is injured and cannot reprise her role. Yoshino asks Maki if she can stand in, causing Maki to angrily snap at her and storm off. Incensed, Sanae goes to confront Maki when she sees Maki turns out to be acquainted with the film's female lead, Moe. Maki explains to Sanae that she feels she doesn't have the drive to become a true actress and decided to find some other pursuit in life. Sanae chastises Maki for so easily abandoning something she dedicated her life to and tells her to apologize to Yoshino before leaving. Meanwhile, Yoshino continues to look for a stand in.
7	"The Mansion in Purgatory" Transcription: "Rengoku no Yakata" (Japanese: 煉獄の館)	May 17, 2017
Ririko acts as the stand in for the missing actor, and has trouble doing the scene until Maki gives her some coaching. Maki then manages to collect a number of children to act as "mini-zombies", thanks to her father being the vice-principal of the local school. However, Maki begins to have recollection of her childhood and her love of acting, which troubles her. She then views a video of an old school play she was in that her father filmed. Meanwhile, Yoshino contacts the owners of the abandoned house and finds out they already gave permission to Shiori. She confronts Shiori who admits that she had spent her childhood at the home and has dear memories about it. Shiori realizes that the decision to burn the house is not hers to make and allows the filming to continue. On the last day of filming, preparations to burn the house are being made. However, the director makes the last second decision to have the heroine leap into the flames to burn with her lover. The rest of the crew is reluctant to endanger Moe, but Maki volunteers to be her stunt double, finally finding her passion for acting again. The scene is a success and filming wraps up, and Shiori discovers that Yoshino had petitioned to have woman who used to live in the house be included in the credits. Afterwards, the Tourism Board receives another filming request, though the director makes even more outrageous demands such as blowing up a temple.
8	"The Fairy's Recipe" Transcription: "Yōsei no Reshipi" (Japanese: 妖精のレシピ)	May 24, 2017
Yoshino and her ministers help Shiori harvest her family's crops, and meet Shiori's older sister Sayuri. Sayuri works as a nurse for a hospital in a neighboring town and plans to move there to make the commute easier. Meanwhile, Yoshino organizes the C-Rank Gourmet, which is plan to come up with a signature dish for Manoyama that will hopefully draw tourists to the town. However, all of the attempts by Yoshino and her ministers to come up with their own dishes end in failure, so they instead decide to consult with the town's local restaurants. They then meet Kumano, an old acquaintance of Sayuri who has just recently returned to Manoyama from France, and intends to inherit his family's restaurant. Shiori then learns that Sayuri and Kumano both had crushes on each other in high school, which neither of them had realized. Later, an angry Mrs. Oribe confronts Yoshino, pointing out that the C-Rank Gourmet has been scheduled on the same day as the annual summer festival, putting the Tourism Board's event in direct competition with the Merchant Board's. Yoshino is shocked at the oversight and apologizes. Though when Mrs. Oribe asks Yoshino what she plans to do correct the problem, Shiori steps and assures everybody that she will come up with a plan that will make everybody happy.
9	"The Lady's Scales" Transcription: "Shukujo no Tenbin" (Japanese: 淑女の天秤)	May 31, 2017
Taking charge of the Tourism Board's event, Shiori decides to turn it into a contest where participants compete by making the best Sōmen dish, with the winning recipe becoming Manoyama's signature dish. Since Sōmen is a local staple of the town, the Merchant Board has no objections to Shiori's plan. Yoshino and her ministers head out to recruit contestants. Yoshino meets Dokushima and commissions him to develop a special Sōmen making machine while Shiori and the others talk with Kumano again, who mentions that he had originally gone to France to train as a cook to impress Sayuri. When Sayuri prepares to leave town, Kumano meets her again and asks her why she never met him at the train station to bid him farewell before he left for France. Sayuri replies that she had also been waiting at the station at the agreed upon time but never saw him, leaving the both of them confused. Once the festival begins, Shiori is overjoyed to see a huge crowd attending. Yoshino shows off her interactive Sōmen-making arcade machine, and while Shiori doesn't win the contest, her Happy Sōmen recipe becomes very popular. Shiori also figures out that the reason why Sayuri and Kumano never met was because Sayuri was accidentally using an outdated calendar and came on the wrong day as a result, and clears up the misunderstanding between them. The contest is a success, and Yoshino gives Shiori the official title of "Minister of Mediation."
10	"The Dragon's Soft Spot" Transcription: "Doragon no Gekirin" (Japanese: ドラゴンの逆鱗)	June 7, 2017
Yoshino is tasked with helping organize a "Rural Romance Matchmaking Tour" for the local Community Club, where three women from the city have been invited to visit Manoyama to look for potential suitors. Yoshino and her ministers organize a planned schedule for the tour, which includes teaching the women Manoyama's traditional dance, which is taught to all of the girls of the town. Yoshino shows interest in learning it as well, though Ririko states she never had an interest in learning the dance. On the first day of the Matchmaking Tour, Yoshino and Maki greet the three women and introduce them to the single members of the Community Club. They then organize an evening barbecue beside the local lake, where the women and the Community Club further mingle. Yoshino, Maki, Shiori, and Sanae perform the Manoyama Dance, with Ririko declining to participate. Kadota explains to the women that the dance was originally created to ward away a dragon that lives in the lake. A sudden rain storm then hits, forcing everybody to flee for shelter. However, in the confusion, a stone dragon idol is accidentally knocked over and damaged. As a large unknown man emerges from the lake, Ririko is separated from the rest of the group and takes refuge at a nearby bus stop.
11	"The Forgotten Requiem" Transcription: "Bōkyaku no Rekuiemu" (Japanese: 忘却のレクイエム)	June 14, 2017
The next day, Yoshino arranges for the dragon statue to be repaired, though her friends joke that they are now cursed by the dragon. Meanwhile, Ririko secludes herself at him under the guise of a cold, as she reflects on how she doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the town. As the matchmaking tour continues, it is revealed that Mr. Sandal's great grandparents met in Manoyama, meaning his is descended from a Manoyama native. Yoshino also discovers that Ririko's mother came from outside the town, but eventually left and divorced. With her mother gone and her father working overseas, Ririko lives along with her grandmother. However, as the tour moves through the town, they begin to find clues that they are being followed by a mysterious stranger. Ririko begins to study the legend of the dragon, and tells Yoshino that there's a different interpretation of it. Instead of warding away the dragon, the dance was originally supposed to appease it, but due to a misunderstanding the dragon hid in fear and died alone, and the remorseful villagers wrote a song honoring the dragon. Fortunately, Mr. Sandal happens to know the song, as it was passed down from great grandmother to him. That night, at the last event of the tour, it is revealed the mysterious stranger is in fact the boyfriend of one of the visiting girls who followed her to the town. Ririko then overcomes her shyness and sings the dragon song, impressing everybody. The next day, the girls return home, but promise to come back to visit Manoyama again, and Ririko points out that they could market the town as a popular spot for elopement.
12	"The Dawn Guild" Transcription: "Yoake no Girudo" (Japanese: 夜明けのギルド)	June 21, 2017
As Yoshino and her ministers prepare for the upcoming Founding Festival, they are approached by Amamiya. He is the producer for a popular documentary series called Moving Mountains, and as a Manoyama native, he is interested in filming an episode focusing on the Manoyama Tourism Board. While filming goes smoothly, Amamiya is troubled at the fact that Yoshino seems too "normal", which may make it difficult for viewers to be interested in her. Afterwards, Yoshino reveals to her friends that she was the 100,000 visitor to the town in her youth, and despite that story being perfect for Amamiya, her friends agree to keep that fact a secret between them. The next day, the board has trouble finding sponsors to fund the Found Festival when Amamiya arrives and lets them know he secured the popular band Ptolemaios to perform at the festival, and even convinced his network to fully fund the event. Their final task is to convince the Merchant Board and Community Club to allow the distribution of coupons to the tourists for Manoyama businesses. While many of the members balk at first, Yoshino manages to garner enough support from the people she's helped to convince Mrs. Oribe to back her plan. That night, Yoshino is woken by Maki and Sanae, who show her the crowd of people who have arrived in anticipation for the Ptolemaios concert, which is a positive sign for the festival's attendance.
13	"The Marionette's Banquet" Transcription: "Marionetto no Kyōen" (Japanese: マリオネットの饗宴)	June 28, 2017
The arrival of Ptolemaios attracts a massive crowd to Manoyama, who attend the Founding Festival as they wait for the concert to begin. However, most of the crowd is more interested in Ptolemaios than the festival. When the concert is delayed and starts in the middle of the trivia contest, much of the crowd leaves to see the concert instead. Despite this setback, Yoshino and her ministers are able to complete the trivia contest and the festival ends with an attendance of over 6,000 people. Later, when Moving Mountains airs, the girls are dismayed to discover that the episode was edited in a way that misrepresented how the festival preparations actually occurred, and showed no footage of the actual Founding Festival, instead focusing on Ptolemaios. In addition, only twenty out of the thousand distributed coupons had been redeemed, indicating that none of the guests had decided to return to the town. Yoshino realizes that despite all her efforts, nothing has actually changed in the town. Dismayed, she packs her suitcase and leaves for the train station.
14	"The Queen, Convicted" Transcription: "Kokuō no Danzai" (Japanese: 国王の断罪)	July 5, 2017
After the Founding Festival, Yoshino and her ministers go on vacation and go their separate ways. Yoshino returns to her hometown, Sanae goes to visit friends back in Tokyo, Maki goes to see one of Moe's plays, and Shiori and Ririko work on a proposal to turn Manoyama's empty houses into bed and breakfasts. Sanae goes drinking with her friends, who discuss the difficulties of office work and building their own businesses, and they note that Sanae seems more self confident and assured since they last saw her. Maki has dinner with Moe, who convinces her to attending an acting workshop being hosted by a famous director. Yoshino reunites with her family and her old friends, and attends her town's local festival. After seeing how her town seems have been revitalized, Yoshino regains the desire to help Manoyama, and her parents tell her they plan on bringing the whole family to visit her there one day. Back in Manoyama, Shiori and Ririko inspect one of the empty houses, where they encounter a group of Spanish speaking tourists. While the tourists are friendly and mean no harm, Shiori and Ririko cannot understand Spanish and become terrified of them.
15	"The Queen's Return" Transcription: "Kokuō no Kikan" (Japanese: 国王の帰還)	July 12, 2017
Yoshino, Maki, and Sanae return to Manoyama, where they encounter the Spanish tourists at the palace. Shiori and Ririko explain that they are part of a group called "Cryptid Twelve", who came to Manoyama to find the mythical Chupakabura. Coincidentally, the city is about to perform the "drying", which is a procedure that hasn't been done in 70 years where the Sakura Pond is completely drained in order to control the black bass population. Cryptid Twelve's hope that the draining of the pond could reveal evidence of the Chupakabura. However, it will take two weeks for the pond to completely dry up, though Yoshino and her ministers manage to find lodging for Cryptid Twelve using their B&B plan. Meanwhile, Kadota seems to be troubled at the thought of the pond being drained. One night, Kadota catches sight of something in the pond and leaps in. He nearly drowns, but is quickly rescued and taken to the hospital, with everybody wondering what drove him into the water. Ririko returns home and overhears Doku calling Mrs. Oribe to warn her about an event that happened fifty years ago. As it begins to rain, Kadota escapes the hospital, determined to prevent anybody from seeing what is at the bottom of the pond.
16	"The Harlequin on the Pond" Transcription: "Kojō no Arurukan" (Japanese: 湖上のアルルカン)	July 19, 2017
Yoshino, Maki, and Sanae find a fever-stricken Kadota after he crashes his car trying to pull something out of the Sakura Pond. Ririko then shows them a picture she saw her grandmother looking at, depicting Kadota, Doku, and Mrs. Oribe as part of a rock band in their youth. Intrigued, the girls talk to Doku, who tells them that he, Kadota, and Mrs. Oribe did indeed form a band 50 years ago, and were all planning to run away to Tokyo during the annual Mizuchi Festival to advance their musical careers. However, instead of going with Doku and Oribe, Kadota crashed the festival and started playing his guitar on top of the festival shrine float in an effort to "wake up" the town. He accidentally causes the shrine to fall over and sink into the pond, discontinuing the festival. The girls then conclude that Kadota wanted to remove the shrine to hide his past. Meanwhile, Ririko confronts her grandmother about the events 50 years ago, and Mrs. Oribe advises to her to go after her dreams while she is still young. Meanwhile, as the pond dries up completely, an unexpectedly large crowd arrives to observe, giving Yoshino the idea to revive the Mizuchi Festival. Afterwards, Kadota recovers from his illness and Cryptid Twelve leaves the town to continue their travels. Yoshino is then told that she must find the Three Sacred Treasures of the Mizuchi Festival: the Staff, the Hanging Drum, and the Golden Dragon. All three treasures have been lost over the years, but Yoshino takes up the challenge to find them.
17	"The Sphinx's Antics" Transcription: "Sufinkusu no Tawamure" (Japanese: スフィンクスの戯れ)	July 26, 2017
Yoshino and her friends search Manoyama for the three treasures, but nobody remembers where they went. They then pursue a lead where the Professor, a cultural anthropologist, may know where the treasures are, but he lives in the remote Warayiba Village up in the mountains. Yoshino and her friends meet him, and he gives them a hint that one to the treasures is hidden in one of the town's old storehouses. However, he does not tell them that the treasure is in fact being kept in his own storehouse. Meanwhile, the bus route from Manoyama to Warayiba is planned to be removed, which would effectively strand the small elderly population of the village. After still having no luck finding the treasure, Sanae remembers a piece of advice the Professor gave her and comes up with the idea to teach the elderly residents how to use tablets. The elderly can use the tablets to communicate and reduce their reliance on the bus while the search for the treasure can be better coordinated. The plan is successful, with the elderly learning how to use their tablets. The Professor then invites Yoshino to his home, where he takes her hostage. The Professor and the residents of Warayiba then release a video announcing their intention to secede from the Kingdom of Chupakabura unless their bus service is restored.
18	"Minerva's Sake Saucer" Transcription: "Mineruvua no Sakazuki" (Japanese: ミネルヴァの杯)	August 2, 2017
Yoshino voluntarily becomes the Warabiya villagers' hostage since she wants to help them get their bus service back as well. Eventually, the villagers turn their town into the "Republic of Warabiya", and begin gaining fans and support from Manoyama. Sanae confronts the Professor, who explains that he doesn't expect the village's withdrawal to succeed in restoring the bus service, but he did want to make Manoyama aware of Warabiya's issues. He also reveals to her that he had them teach the villagers how to use the internet so that they could record their lives and culture in a digital archive that will exist long after the village disappears. Sanae then works together with Takamizawa to set up a "on demand" bus service for Warabiya. Since the villagers can now use the internet, they make reservations for the bus online, eliminating the need for a regular bus route. The Professor ends the withdrawal and incorporates Warabiya back into the Kingdom of Chupakabura. Later that night, the Professor tips off Yoshino and her friends that a treasure is located in his storehouse before collapsing and dying. After the Professor's funeral, Yoshino and her friends find the Staff in the Professor's storeroom and use the on demand bus to transport it back to Manoyama.
19	"The Foggy Folklore" Transcription: "Kiri no Fōkuroa" (Japanese: 霧のフォークロア)	August 9, 2017
Yoshino and her friends search a nearby shut down school for another Treasure, the Hanging Drum. While there, they hear rumors of the old school being haunted by a spirit known as the "Blood Soaked Santa", and encounter Maki's father. With his help, Yoshino and her friends are able to find the Hanging Drum, though it is damaged and in need of repair. As the Drum is moved out, Yoshino finds out that the school is scheduled to be torn down, and decides to try and find a way to preserve it. Eventually she settles on hosting a hot lunch party there. Meanwhile, Maki still refuses to move back in to her home due to her strained relationship with her father. She stops by to give her mother a present, but instead gets into an argument with her father and leaves. Maki then finds out that her application to an audition was accepted, but decides not to go. She runs into her father again, who reminisces that Maki used to be a lot happier when she was younger and pursuing acting. Yoshino and Sanae find out about the audition from Maki's brother and convince Maki to go, pointing out that she'll only regret not taking the opportunity. Listening to her friends' advice, Maki leaves for Tokyo to attend the audition.
20	"The Phoenix in the Holy Night" Transcription: "Seiya no Fenikkusu" (Japanese: 聖夜のフェニックス)	August 16, 2017
Despite taking part in the audition, Maki is not selected for a part and returns to Manoyama. She comes back to see that the hot lunch party was a failure, as nobody came to attend, and surmises that nobody has realized the school actually closed since a formal closing ceremony was never held. This gives Yoshino the idea to hold an official closing ceremony for the school and invite all of the past graduates to attend. One of the main events will be a Christmas stage play with Maki taking on the lead role. In light of this, Maki takes charge of all of the preparations for the play. On the day of the closing ceremony, attendance is strong as a number of past graduates and staff arrive. The play proves to be a huge success, with the entire audience giving their applause. Yoshino then reveals that even though the school is closed, they plan on reopening the building and repurposing it as a public community center dedicated to spreading Manoyama culture, which receives the support of the graduates. Encouraged by the success of the Christmas play, Maki decides to form her own acting troupe and create a play around the Dragon Song to explain its origins. Meanwhile, an anonymous benefactor pays the cost of repair for the Hanging Drum, and Maki surmises that the benefactor is her father.
21	"The Pixie in the Town of Ice" Transcription: "Kōri no Machi no Pikushī" (Japanese: 氷の町のピクシー)	August 23, 2017
Maki, Shiori, and Ririko come across Erika, who they found out is trying to run away from Tokyo. They decide to let Erika live with them for a while until she calms down. Meanwhile, Yoshino and Sanae bring their proposal to revive the Mizuchi Festival to the Merchant Board, and Mrs. Oribe accepts, though she instructs them to obtain the consent of all of the other shopkeepers in town. Shiori becomes troubled when she realizes that out of the group, she is the only person who has never shown any interest in leaving home. She tries to talk to Erika to find out why she wants to leave Manoyama, and Erika reveals her greatest fear is growing old in the town without taking the opportunity to experience life outside. Overhearing a conversation, Maki and Ririko learn from Takamizawa that he and his friends found the Golden Dragon when they were young and buried it in a nearby park. Yoshino and her friends meet Takamizawa at the park, but learn that they must solve a secret code he and friends created when they were young in order to locate the Golden Dragon.
22	"The New Moon Luminarie" Transcription: "Shingetsu no Ruminarie" (Japanese: 新月のルミナリエ)	August 30, 2017
Ririko is able to figure out the code, noting how it must be read vertically instead of horizontally, but the resulting message seems contradictory since it says to take 2427 steps outside of the park. Meanwhile, Erika's little brother Anji becomes anxious about Erika's absence and wants her to come home, and begins asking about the Golden Dragon's power to grant wishes. Yoshino and her friends then return to the dorm, where Erika begins suffering from a toothache due to a loose molar. There is no child strength painkiller available and the stores are normally closed at night, but through Mrs. Oribe, they are able to convince the local pharmacy owner to open for them. Later, they receive word that Anji has run away from home to find the Golden Dragon to wish for Erika to come home. After a massive search by the whole town, Mr. Sandal finds Anji and returns him. Upon seeing how much Anji wants her to stay, Erika agrees to return home. Shiori then gets an idea to revitalize the shopping district by borrowing Warayiba Village's custom of hanging lanterns outside their homes, to make the district look more lively. Takamizawa and his friends manage to find the "Golden Dragon", but it is in fact a toy and not the real treasure. They return to the town and are amazed to see the entire district decorated with lanterns.
23	"The Crystal of Melting Snow" Transcription: "Yukidoke no Kurisutaru" (Japanese: 雪解けのクリスタル)	September 6, 2017
Maki continues working on the Dragon Song play, though her acting group mentions their concerns that the original ending where the dragon dies may be too depressing for a play, and Maki agrees some adjustments may be needed. Meanwhile, Yoshino receives an offer from an Manoyama alumni to open a branch of the highly successful Belem bakery in the town. Mrs. Oribe asks around the shopping district to see if any owners are willing to rent out their store spaces, but many refuse since they live on the second floor of their shops. Even the one Merchant Board member who does not live in his store, Akiyama, refuses to rent out for unknown reasons. Mrs. Oribe then organizes an emergency meeting of the Merchant Board and considers disbanding the organization since the shopping district has apparently become obsolete. The other merchants begin pressuring Akiyama to rent out his store, until Yoshino speaks up and points out that even if it's for the revitalization of the town, decisions shouldn't be forced on those who don't want to participate. Akiyama then reveals that he rented out his store to an outsider in the past, only for him to abandon to store and leaving Akiyama to pay off the loan. Feeling ashamed, one of the other merchants volunteers to rent his store out to Belem. Maki changes the ending of the play to be more upbeat. Yoshino decides to use the toy Golden Dragon as one of the three treasures for the Mizuchi Festival. However, as preparations are going along smoothly, Kadota informs everybody that the government is planning to absorb Manoyama into the neighboring city of Tomikura.
24	"The Eternal Obelisk" Transcription: "Yūkyū no Oberisuku" (Japanese: 悠久のオベリスク)	September 13, 2017
Yoshino and her friends decide that the best way to prevent the absorption is to continue with the Mizuchi Festival and convince people that Manoyama is still worth preserving. Amamiya then arrives and warns them that his boss Kume will offer to broadcast the Mizuchi Festival on national TV on the conditions that Ririko's role as the dragon in the Dragon Song play be recast for one of the network's idols. Not wanting a repeat of the Founding Festival, Kadota flatly refuses Kume's offer and chases him off. Instead of using TV, the townspeople starting promoting the festival online by recording all of the preparation activities. Kadota meanwhile is left wondering if there is something that he can do for the town on his own. Maki asks Yoshino what she will do once her contract, and thus her term as Queen of Chupakabura, ends. Yoshino muses that thanks to her time in Manoyama, she may consider staying in the country rather than return to Tokyo. While cleaning the dragon shrine, a stone memorial is discovered listing all of the people who helped build the Sakura Pond, including Mr. Sandal's great-grandparents. Two days before the festival, the townspeople band together to throw a surprise birthday for Yoshino. The festival finally begins and starts off strong, with many previous visitors to the town returning to attend. Seeing the stone memorial, Kadota gets the idea to have Manoyama and Mr. Sandal's hometown become sister cities, which might help prevent the absorption. Upon learning that the mayor of Mr. Sandal's hometown, Mayor Naumann, is on a trip to Japan to see cherry blossoms, Kadota leaves to pick him up to both show him the Mizuchi Festival and talk about making Manoyama a sister city. Mrs. Oribe is worried since Kadota might ruin the festival like he did 50 years ago, but Yoshino decides to put her trust in him.
25	"The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms" Transcription: "Sakura no Ōkoku" (Japanese: 桜の王国)	September 20, 2017
Kadota is able to find Mayor Naumann and bring him back to Manoyama in time for the play, with the help of various townspeople. Meanwhile, Yoshino's family arrives to visit, and Amamiya is also present to record some of the events for the evening news. The Dragon Song play begins, and unlike the original tale where the dragon dies alone, her spirit comes back to forgive the villagers and encourage them to be more open and accepting of outsiders. The play then concludes with Ririko singing the full Dragon Song. The Mizuchi Festival then ends and the staff celebrate the event's success, with Kadota and Mayor Naumann becoming quick friends. Yoshino and her friends then view the cherry blossoms and reflect on the past year, as well as what they intend to do in the future. Maki decides to stay and write more plays based on Manoyaman folklore, Sanae wants to open a regional consulting office in the town, Ririko wants to travel the world, and Shiori will continue working in the Tourism Board. Yoshino decides that she will leave Manoyama once her term as Queen is over in order to pursue her own dreams, but will always consider Manoyama a second hometown. During the abdication ceremony, Kadota also announces that he is disbanding the Kingdom of Chupakabura, as Manoyama no longer needs a King or Queen as long as the town has the will to improve itself. As Yoshino leaves on the train, many of the townspeople bid her farewell. Mr. Sandal observes and remarks that both Yoshino and Manoyama are starting a new adventure. It is also revealed that Yoshino did not return to Tokyo, but instead travels to another town to help revitalize it. The final scene shows Yoshino and her friends all pursuing their dreams.

Notes

1. All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References

1. "Crunchyroll to Stream P.A. Works' Sakura Quest Original Anime". Anime News Network. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
2. "PA Works Makes Sakura Quest Anime About Girls Reviving Rustic Town". Anime News Network. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
3. "Funimation Reveals English Dub Casts for WorldEnd, Sakura Quest Anime". Anime News Network. May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
4. "Sakura Quest TV Anime Reveals Key Visual, More Cast". Anime News Network. February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
5. "Sakura Quest TV Anime Listed With 25 Episodes". Anime News Network. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
6. "P.A. Works' Sakura Quest Promo Video Reveals April 5 Premiere". Anime News Network. February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
7. "Sakura Quest Anime's 1st Teaser Video Previews Opening Theme". Anime News Network. December 14, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
8. "TVアニメ「サクラクエスト」主題歌情報" (in Japanese). P.A.Works. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
9. "Sakura Quest Anime's 2nd Cour Visual, Theme Songs Revealed". Anime News Network. June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
10. "Funimation Adds Sakura Quest Anime Series to Simuldub Lineup". Anime News Network. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
11. "Sakura Quest" (in Japanese). Tokyo MX. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Sakura Quest (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia