News Reporting

P.A. Works To Produce Original Anime Series “Sakura Quest”


Tourism hasn’t been this quirky in ages!

Yesterday, P.A. Works announced that they are working on a new anime TV series. The project, titled Sakura Quest, will be an original project that premieres in April.

Sakura Quest‘s official website describes the show as the third of P.A. Works’ “working” series, which revolve around real people and the careers they follow. The other two shows in the line are Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako. The site also updated with a visual, which you can check out below:

Soichi Masui (Chaika – The Coffin Princess, Scrapped Princess) is directing the project, which features character designs by BunBun (Yuki Yuna Is a Hero, Izetta: The Last Witch). Masahiro Yokotani (Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club, Re:Zero) will supervise the show’s scripts. “Alexandre S. D. Celibidache” is credited with the original concept.

The confirmed cast includes:

  • Yoshino Koharu: Ayaka Nanase
  • Shiori Shinomiya: Reina Ueda
  • Maki Midorikawa: Chika Anzai
  • Ririko Oribe: Chiemi Tanaka
  • Sanae Kōzuki: Mikako Komatsu

Sakura Quest will revolve around five young women who work for the tourism bureau of Manoyama, a small rural town. To boost visitors, the town revives its “micro-nation” program, which originally ran in the 1980s, during Japan’s bubble economy. The ladies were brought onboard as tourism ambassadors, also known as “monarchs.”

The show will depict the five girls’ lives on the job at the tourism bureau, and show how they grow and change over the course of a year.

The major characters include:

Yoshino Koharu

Yoshino’s the protagonist. She loathes the quiet small-town life, and wants nothing more than to strike out on her own in the big city. She actually did move to Tokyo once, with the goal of becoming something “special.” Unfortunately, she couldn’t find what, exactly, she wanted to do there. Over thirty companies turned Yoshino down during her most job hunt, and was actually hired as a “monarch” by sheer coincidence.

New job in hand, Yoshino headed to the town of Manoyama. She’s quick to make friends, but has a very serious side beneath her cheerful exterior. She has a bit of a complex about how utterly “normal” she is.

Shiori Shinomiya

Shiori works with Yoshino at the tourism board. Unlike Yoshino, Shiori adores her hometown of Manoyama, and tends to be very conservative in her views. She has a bright, positive attitude, and will go out of her way to help people.

She prefers to keep order in her life, and has a real knack for common household chores.

 Maki Midorikawa

Maki had dreams of being an actress… once. After utterly failing to make it in show business, she returns home to Manoyama.

Maki is a fairly cool character, with a “big sister” attitude. She’s used to dealing with various part-time jobs, as she had to make ends meet while performing in a small theater troupe.

Ririko Oribe

We all know someone like Ririko. She’s the type of girl who hates her rural hometown, but lacks the courage to set out on her own. Since graduating high school, Ririko’s been unable to land a real job, and spends her days cooped up at home, surfing the net. She’s not good with people, and gets anxious around people she doesn’t know. In fact, Shiori is the only person in this sad world that Ririko calls “friend.”

 Sanae Kōzuki

Sanae moved to Manoyama about a half a year before Yoshino. SHe was born and raised in Tokyo, and landed a job at an IT company after graduating from university. Ultimately, though, this wasn’t the life she wanted. Sanae wanted to lie a healthy lifestyle of conservation and sustainability, so she quit her job, and moved into an old Japanese-style home.

Sanae works as a web designer, and she’s super conscious about appearing “interesting” to those around her.

Source: MoCa News

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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