Sakurada Reset: Episode 1 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlexWith the end of winter comes spring, which means new spring anime! One of the newest this season is Sakurada Reset.Sakurada Reset opens with Kei Asai playing basketball and talking about that “weird girl” in his class, Misora Haruki. Kei then tells his friend that Sumire Soma from his friend’s class left a note in his locker. As the day turns from April 27^th to April 28^th, Kei goes to meet this girl on the roof of the school.  The girl meeting him there is Misora Haruki, not Sumire Soma. Misora says “reset” and we are suddenly transported back to April 27^th.In a voice-over, Kei explains that everyone in Sakurada has a special ability. He further explains that people who leave Sakurada forget that they have an ability. However, there’s no difference between being unaware of an ability and not having one at all. In Kei’s case, he can recall the past with his five senses.On the second try at April 28^th, Kei confronts Sumire Soma and asks why he tried to set him up with Misora Haruki. Soma comments that the two are compatible together, and that there’s a point for them to be together. At Kei’s second meeting with Misora, Sumire joins them. Misora Haruki reveals she can “reset” time to three days prior, with some stipulations. She can’t use the ability if she didn’t save beforehand, nor can she do another save within 24 hours of a reset. Resetting affects her too, meaning her memories also get erased.Kei realizes that Misora’s ability doesn’t seem to affect him, and that his ability may negate hers. Kei tells Misora of his findings and tells her that the two should team up, but she isn’t interested. She tells him she would never know when he was lying. Kei tells her he will try to earn her trust, even if he’s the first.Later on, Sumire introduces them to Sakagami, the student council president, who has an interesting ability. He can transfer the ability of the person he is touching with his right hand into the person who he is touching with his left hand. Sumire reveals her interest in Sakagami’s ability is due to her interest in learning more about Misora’s past. Her plan is to have Sakagami transfer Kei’s power into Misora. After some hesitation, Misora agrees.Their first attempt is on August 12^th. Misora has the breakthrough of realizing she is always sad about herself, and is trying to reset time for the sake of others. This has led to the destruction of her own emotions and sense of self, leaving her only with sadness. This breakthrough lands her in the infirmary.After she recovers, Kei confronts Misora while she is hanging out with a young girl. Kei tells the young girl that she died several years ago, which is why her mom wants nothing to do with her. As he is telling her this, we see a different figure throw themselves off a bridge.Sakurada Reset is an extremely dialogue heavy show, which could be due to its novel beginnings. Unfortunately, this detracts from the plot by making the show feel very dense. On top of that, there was a lot of information thrown into this episode, and none of it was into character development. I don’t find myself caring if Kei and Misora can connect, nor about Misora’s past. On top of that, the anime uses music very rarely to add ambiance to some heavier scenes, so there’s no reprieve there.While I am not hooked on the characters, I am hooked on the overarching plot regarding the abilities of the people in Sakurada. It will be interesting to see if any of the characters leave, and if they truly forget their powers. The plot also hasn’t explained what happens if someone comes back to Sakurada. Do they regain their powers, or the knowledge that they had powers? Do they have to relearn it? Hopefully we’ll find out.Want to watch Sakurada Reset while reading my reviews? It’s available exclusively on Anime Strike, Amazon’s on-demand anime subscription service.[yasr_multiset setid=11]