Sakura Diaries is an interesting experience. It's a little disturbing, a little cute, a little funny, and a little sad. It lacks depth like many light-hearted romance stories, but it's enjoyable for what it is, and it might just make you think a little. It's a mature anime, containing some nudity and adult themes, but there is a hint of childish innocence in its main characters. This is an anime worth seeing, if you can get over the disturbing part.

Touma Inaba has just finished high school, and wants to go to college instead of take over his family's inn. He travels to Tokyo in order to take entrance exams for three universities. During his first night in Tokyo, a call-girl dressed in a high school uniform visits his room. He figures she just has the wrong room and (somewhat) respectfully declines. The strange thing is that she calls him Tonma-chan, a name he hasn't heard since he was a child. She also repeatedly asks him if he recognizes her. He sees her again before his last entrance exam, and this time she's made lunch for him. She asks yet again if he recognized her, but he pushes her away, remembering her only as a call-girl. His last exam is for Keio Daigaku (Daigaku=University. You'll hear the characters say "Kei-dai", which is just a shorthand for Keio Daigaku), and he has failed the first two. Before the Keio test, he meets the gorgeous Mieko, a young woman with a model's figure, who is also testing for entrance into Keio. Mieko ends up passing the test, but Touma fails. He lies and says he was accepted though, so as to not lose favor with her.

Touma's in trouble again! In fact, it happens so much, you could do a drinking game on it.	The adorable Urara. She puts up with so much, and still doesn't kill him.

In the meantime, he must cram for next year's entrance exams (There are "cram schools" in Japan whose purpose is preparing students for entrance exams), so he decides to stay with his uncle who lives in Tokyo. When he arrives at his uncle's house, the call-girl from before answers the door! It turns out that she is Touma's cousin, Urara, and she had pretended to be a call-girl to calm his nerves. She is one year younger than he, and still in high school. She has been in love with Touma since they were children, and she already knows he failed the exams! Time will tell whether she will use that knowledge to ruin his chances with Mieko, who apparently will only date a Keio student.

The characterization and character development in Sakura Diaries is well done. Touma fits the "detestable male pig" stereotype nicely in the beginning, but he softens up as the story progresses. Mieko begins as a snob, but she improves as well. Urara is daring and adorable. She doesn't change much throughout the story, but her emotional ups and downs make her an endearing character. The story is more or less an account of Touma's experiences while he's attending cram school. The fact that Urara is his cousin and in love with him is slightly disturbing, but if you can get past that, Sakura Diaries is a cute love story that is well-told. The biggest complaint to be had about the show is that the story seems somewhat incomplete. It doesn't close abruptly, but it does give you the feeling that something is missing, after all is said and done.

Sakura Diaries' music isn't anything out of the ordinary, with the exception of the opening song, "Kimi no Mado Kara" (From Your Window). The song grows on you throughout the show, as does Urara. The rest of the show's music is pleasant, but not especially memorable.

The character designs for the show were well done, but little was done to make them unique. A good amount of detail went into each character's face, which is respectable. Concerning the animation quality, the show was staged well but more emphasis was placed on dialogue than motion. The few scenes that do have a substantial amount of motion are executed nicely though.

Overall, Sakura Diaries is a cute romantic comedy for adults of both sexes. It has a few captivating moments, but mostly it's just good entertainment. Any fan of romance comedies or shoujo (girly) anime shouldn't overlook this title.

Distributor: ADV
Creator: Yujin
Released: 1998

Plot: B+
Character Design: B
Animation Quality: A-
Music: B
Overall: B