by Kristina Potts January 1, 2016

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As an old song muses, one you must remember, “a kiss is just a kiss” and “a sigh is just a sigh,” but, as time goes by you come to learn that perhaps these assertions aren’t so fundamental. After all, if said sigh contentedly passes across the puckered lips of your closest friend as hers are pressed tight against your own, there’s not necessarily any “just a” about it. A kiss can be a big step in a new direction, and this is precisely the path journeyed in Sakura Trick, Studio Deen’s anime adaptation of Tachi’s four-panel yuri manga series of the same name. The only question: should there be a travel buddy along for the ride—that is, the viewer—or should our lovebirds be given a moment of privacy?

The backdrop for this tale of blossoming romance is Misato West High School. After 62 years of entrance ceremonies warmly welcoming new classes, the latest batch of first-years will be its last. The school is set to merge with Misato East High in three years, and the imminent shutdown of West High can already be felt in the budget cuts and abandoned rooms.

This, however, isn’t of great concern to the members of the incoming class, such as best friends Haruka Takayama and Yuu Sonoda, who are more preoccupied with how high school life will differ from middle school. With a fierce jealous streak, Haruka agonizes over the idea of distance growing between her and Yuu, so to put her heart at ease, Yuu proposes that they “do something other girls would never do” to prove that their bond is special. Little did she expect, Haruka requests a kiss of all things. And after some playful teasing, that almost frames it like a dare, Yuu relents, and, well, I think she liked it.

Thus begins Sakura Trick, a series that is thoroughly devoted to crafting scenarios that enable girls to smooch. Each of its 12 episodes is divided into at least two vignettes that carry us through exactly one school year. Hitting all the predictable key events in a Japanese student’s life, including a sports meet, culture festival, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, the girls strive to make memories that will last a lifetime, even as their campus is winding down.

This holds true not just for Haruka and Yuu, but also for their friends: the spunky tomboy Yuzu Iizuka, levelheaded but mischievous Kaede Ikeno, Kotone Noda, with a pert demeanor that belies a sage outlook on life, and Kotone’s saturnine partner, Minami Shizuku. Yes, the kisses aren’t limited to those between Haruka and Yuu, but all the secondary couplings and crushes are not nearly as logically established. Then again, even our main pair raises some red flags, with how the infantile Yuu is mothered, and smothered, by Haruka.

But the most unsettling aspect of Sakura Trick is how intensely voyeuristic it feels. Some female viewers may turn to Sakura Trick seeking representation, for something to relate with, but the frequent gratuitous closeups of busts, behinds, and thighs and out-of-character scenes of fondling make clear that the target audience is male, with titillation a primary goal.

That’s not to say that Sakura Trick doesn’t have its sweet, tender moments, and these are accentuated by the gentle, sentimental score and the soft, pastel color palette, living up to the springtime theme. Further emphasizing the aesthetic is the fact that each character is represented by an icon, such as Haruka’s cherry blossom and Yuu’s daisy, and these are put to use not only as background design elements but also as stand-ins for the characters themselves.

The yuri genre is no stranger to romance between girls portrayed as a secret garden blooming with youthful trysts, and Sakura Trick settles comfortably into this cliché. However, if you crave the simple pleasure of witnessing lovely young ladies locking lips, Sakura Trick delivers in spades.