Anime Review: Yozakura Quartet (Hana no Uta, Hoshi no Umi, and Tsuki ni Naku)

Anime review time, y’all! And a doozy at that: a fanservice-y, action-moe-comedy adventure, that is Yozakura Quartet (the later episodes, not the original series)!

I decided to review these three arcs together, since they are meant to be part of the same continuity (the original series deviates a bit compared to these ones, which is why we’ll be ignoring it for now).

Here is a brief synopsis from MAL (this one’s hard for me to explain for some reason):

The world of Yozakura Quartet is actually not one, but two worlds: one of humans, and one of youkai. Despite appearing mostly human, youkai may have animal like physical traits, along with a number of special abilities. Normally youkai are confined to their world, but some have found their way into the realm of humanity. As a symbol of peace, and a bridge between the two realms, a city was constructed within the protective barrier of seven magical trees, otherwise known as the Seven Pillars. This city of Sakurashin is home to both humans and youkai, with the peace between them maintained by the Hizumi Life Counseling Office.

The director of this office is Akina Hiizumi, a teenager with the inherited family ability to perform “tuning,” which can send harmful youkai back to their world permanently. He is aided by a group of girls, including the town’s 16 year old youkai mayor, Hime Yarizakura, their town’s announcer and resident telepath, Ao Nanami, and Kotoha Isone, a half-youkai who can summon objects just by stating the object’s name.

As new residents enter and mysterious events begin to take place, this quartet of protectors and their closest friends must continue to guard the city of Sakurashin, and maintain the fragile balance of peace between humans and youkai.

This show is one of my favorites, though as I rewatched this particular series, I realized it may be a bit… much for people just getting into anime.  Some of the fanservice and jokes may not have aged well, also.

So take everything I say with a grain of salt, and as always, spoilers ahead!

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