It’s time to meet your friendly Manoyama Monarchs!
Earlier today, the official Sakura Quest anime website updated with a new promotional video. The 90-second teaser offers a brief overview, with opening theme Morning Glory by (K)NoW_Name as a background track.
In addition, the site announced that (K)NoW_Name will perform the opening and closing themes, in addition to composing the show’s soundtrack.
Sakura Quest will hit Japanese TV in April. The four main cast members will appear at a promotional fan event at Comiket 91. The event, which is being hosted by Japan’s regional tourism associations, will be held on December 29 at 2:00 at the Chiba’s Makuhari Messe convention center.
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 Kozuki: 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 Kozuki
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: Animate Times
