Sakura Quest Episode 22 Review – “The New Moon Luminarie”

(Spoilers in this review) Summary:

• Ririko manages to figure out the code, but the message says to take 2427 steps outside of the park where the treasure was buried.
• Anji, Erika’s little brother, misses his onee-chan and asks the adults about the Golden Dragon’s ability to make dreams come true.
• Erika starts experiencing pain from a loose molar, but Yoshino, her ministers, and their immediate contacts do not have any child strength painkillers on hand.
• They thus turn to Ririko’s grandmother, who convinces the local pharmacy owner to open up shop for them.
• As the girls marvel over how this turn of events could have only happen because there was a local pharmacy involved, they learn that Anji has gone missing and that he left a note saying that he’ll try to get Erika to return home.
• While the entire town gets involved in a huge search party, Mr. Sandal comes across Anji (who was searching for the Golden Dragon so his wish would be granted), takes him to the police station, and lets everyone know.
• Erika is so worried about Anji and touched that he wants her to stay in Manoyama to the point that she finally agrees to put off her dream (she wants to open a cool clothing store which would probably not work out in the countryside) for now and returns home.
• Shiori comes up with the idea to hang up lanterns, just like the residents of Warayiba Village, outside of the shopping district’s home so the district becomes more inviting and lively.
• Some people have decided to make Manoyama more attractive for kids and have opted to open up centers and cafes and such at the revamped middle school.
• The three middle-aged guys finally dig up the Golden Dragon, but it’s just a toy and not the actual festival treasure. They return to the town and are impressed with its make-over.

Comments:

• The theme for this episode was about dreams. But there were many sentiments and conclusions regarding dreams in this episode to the point that there were no clear message to be found. “You have to personally seize your dream and not just wait around,” “Your dreams are only a step and not the final destination,” and so on. This adds a sense of realism considering that many dreams/goals are just as messy in real life, too.
• By the way, for those of you who were wondering what was the conclusion of Maki’s story about the woman who was wearing a wedding dress as she stumbled into a crepe shop, the viewers (and Erika) get to find out! The woman had asked for a change of clothes because she had just fled from her own wedding. Apparently it was always her dream to get married but “it simply didn’t feel right” at her wedding. Essentially, Maki was trying to get Erika to realize that you have to be resolved in order to accomplish your dreams or something.
• I didn’t expect a poop joke to show up in this episode.
• Anji is such a precious child. Anime kids done right can really melt my heart. Erika is a bit more bratty, but she’s a good child, too, at heart.
• I’m not entirely convinced that opening up shop in the revamped middle school building will keep kids around. It might work in the short-term, yeah, but what’s stopping the kids from moving away for college when they get older? I guess we have to hope that they’re more like Shiori at heart. and that they’ll grow so attached to Minoyama that they won’t want to leave.
• I don’t talk enough about shiptease in this show. I’m tickled pink that Maki knew how to win Ririko over (so that she would sleep over with everyone else) by comparing sleeping in a sleeping bag to being a Pharaoh. I still don’t know if Maki should be with Sanae or Yoshino or Ririko (or even Erika???)
• I’m really curious about how this show will end. They still haven’t found all 3 treasures, either, which has me worried about pacing and/or potential rushing. Be that as it may, this episode proved that the Warayiba Village arc wasn’t pointless since it helped inspire the girls to make the district more lively.
• All in all, it was a nice episode that tied things up from the previous episode, but the message was unclear (for me) and I’m left worried about the pace of the series give that there’s only 3 more episodes yet they need to find one more treasure, they need to throw the festival, and they need to figure out what to do once Yoshino’s contract expires.