The Results of a Rewatch

I recently finished rewatching Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, to see if my opinion on it had changed after nearly a year.  Long story short: it didn't, even though there were a bunch of things I noticed in the show that I disliked.  This post will not contain major spoilers.

Also, as far as I know, the light novels are crap.  At least, that's what everyone says.  I think there's an unofficial translation for the first four, I should probably read those at least.  In any case, what do I like about Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo?  Well, I really like most of the characters and their relationships.  I'd like to think that the characters really are good and it isn't just inexperience talking, because a fairly large number of people have expressed hate for any given character in the series.  "Kanda is whiny, Nanami is a tsundere bitch, Misaki is annoying," etc.  I can see where these are coming from, but I feel like the characters are indeed well-written.  I think.

I mean, it's not like it's as bad as having all the main characters be static.  That's the worst kind of show. (and to be honest most shounen are like this)  But that's besides the point.  Most of the main characters change, and most of the characters have purposes.  Yuuko doesn't.  Seriously, Yuuko isn't a needed character.

Useless.

I suck at this.  Anyway, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is about the residents of the Sakurasou dormitory, their aspirations, and their relationships.  The main character, Kanda Sorata, is kicked out of the school dormitory for illegally owning a cat.  He gets transferred to the eponymic Sakurasou, a dormitory whose inhabitants are generally regarded as problem children.  And, well, they kind of are weirdos.  One of them is Misaki Kamiigusa, a ridiculous hyperactive animator; she is always positively bouncing off the walls.  Another one is the resident playboy Jin Mitaka, who has six girlfriends or something, including a married woman.  There's also the hikikomori programmer Ryuunosuke Akasaka, and the (probably)autistic cute kuudere girl Shiina Mashiro.  I forgot about the obligatory tsundere romantic rival Nanami Aoyama, she's an important character too.

The series is weak at some points, and introduces a couple of pointless characters like Kanda's little sister, who fulfills absolutely no purpose whatsoever, and there's a lot of filler bits.  But generally, the great thing about the show is the characters' relationships and the like.  There's an evident theme of ambition throughout the series' 24 episodes, and it's quite enjoyable to watch the characters of the show experience the ups and downs of trying to fulfill their dreams.  The romantic relationship between Kanda and Shiina that sort of unfolds throughout the story is at some points quite lacking, and sometimes Nanami's part in it(she has an unrequited crush on Kanda) borders on ridiculous, and the developments seem quite painfully slow.  To be honest, the dreams and aspirations part is more interesting to watch, though plenty of fans manage to enjoy the romantic aspect.

The voice acting is quite good, there are several seiyuu in the series that I am somewhat familar with.  Kanda is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, who also voiced the lead of several shows including but not limited to, Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka, Eromanga-sensei, No Game No Life, and Sword Art Online.  He also voiced that crazy fucker Petelgeuse in Re:Zero.  Mashiro is voiced by a personal favorite of mine, Ai Kayano.  She voices Menma in AnoHana, Mayaka in Hyouka, Darkness in KonoSuba, and notably, Shiro in No Game No Life.  That last one is notable because it forms part of one of the most evident weird similarities between Sakurasou and NGNL.  Shiro and Sora are voiced by Ai Kayano and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, respectively, and Mashiro and Sorata are voiced by Ai Kayano and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, respectively.  Coincidence?  I think not!  Or something.

Yui Horie is in Sakurasou, too, she voices (the male character) Ryuunosuke, as well as his AI, Maid-chan.  Yui Horie is notable for voicing Hanekawa in the Monogatari Series(which I love), that one girl Kisara in Black Bullet, the (male) lead of Little Busters, Naru in Love Hina, Felix in Re:Zero, and plenty of more main characters in a lot of anime.

Takahiro Sakurai is in it as well, and I know he's in a lot, but the only character besides Jin who he voiced who I can think of at the moment is Meme Oshino.

The last one I'll mention(what?  I like seiyuu), Yui Ogura, also voices that useless imouto I mentioned.  She voiced Hinata in Ro-Kyu-Bu, and, errr, actually, that's the only other character voiced by her I think I know.  I don't know why I mentioned her, but I like her voice.

Anyway, enough about seiyuu.  I've seen that people hate the humor in Sakurasou, but it's not really terrible.  It doesn't exactly leave anything to be desired or anything, but I wouldn't watch the show just for the comedy.  It made me laugh probably only 50 or so times. (Compare to shows like Nichijou, which surely made me laugh over 400 times)  So, basically, the comedy isn't the central point, for me at least.  It might be for you, who knows.

Overall, I really enjoy the series and wholeheartedly recommend it, I guess.  It's not so recommendable to be "everyone should watch it!" nor even recommendable enough for me to insist "if the synopsis catches your interest, you should totally watch it!" but it is a good show, in my opinion.  If you feel like it, watch it.