Tensui no Sakuna-hime

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin - Man, I wish I'd experienced the game before coming into this anime, because it has done the COMPLETE opposite for me to WANT to play the game now.

If you'd ask me on how anime adaptations from games have fared for the last few years or so, I will tell you pretty much that's it's better to play the original games that inspired making anime out of it, because the adaptations were more or less hits and misses so much that there's no incentive to ever want to experience the games for themselves. Like the masses, I have quite the ... history when it comes to watching anime adaptations that never lived up the hype of the games themselves, but the fair few that did were CyGames's offerings of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, and especially Princess Connect! Re:Dive of which its initial Spring 2020 season (that was right around the COVID-19 pandemic) impressed me so much to experience the mobage, I'm glad I eventually did after that...before Crunchyroll would shut down the service in April 2023 (for the global market), which I'm still salty at.

But not to worry, because this Summer 2024 season has brought us yet another joy of an unexpected adaptation: Tensui no Sakuna-hime a.k.a Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, developed by Edelweiss and published by Marvelous (XSeed Games in North America) in November 2020, got its anime produced by P.A. Works, that's directed by Masayuki Yoshihara, the director for the Uchouten Kazoku a.k.a The Eccentric Family series, and written by the maestro that is series composer Jukki Hanada (which you ARE guaranteed to get a quality anime with his name attached) that any anime he does, is an instant watch.

Adapted from the game of the same name, Tensui no Sakuna-hime is a 2.5D side-scrolling, hack-and-slash farming simulator that's all about the rice-harvesting, supported by a cast that is as unique as they come, and scenarios that reflect the many elements that culminate in what is a very faithful adaptation towards the game itself. The plot about the spoiled brat that is Princess Sakuna being served her due when a group of humans tried to infiltrate their way into the Lofty Realm where the gods reside, only for the harvest goddess to stumble her way to keep the humans off-limits from a sacred place to invoke chaos around its passageway, leading to the head goddess of Lady Kamuhitsuki thereby banishing her alongside her dragon familiar Tama and the same group of humans to an island that's filled with demons as a temporary substitute to call home, until arrangements are made to be able to send them back to their world.

For starters, the anime adaptation is such a feels trip of a ride, adapting the same tranquil and cozy atmospheric vibe of the game, from its initial worries of Sakuna and the band of humans that she's in charge of and taking care of them despite her hard-headedness, to the rice-farming segment that just exudes all the joy and warm-hearted feelings, that you can't help but be transported into its world that's so inviting and experiencing the vibes of such a simple, but hearty plot/story to go by. Those who've already played the game know these feelings all too well, but it's the anime-onlies (like me) getting introduced into Sakuna's world that naturally sucks you in hard, and it's even damn near impossible to get out of. It's definitely a guilt-trip, especially if you're the emotionally deep-end kind of person like I am.

The colourful cast of characters in the game are many, but the main theme is centred around the series' titular MC herself. As I've already mentioned, Princess Sakuna herself is a lazy couch potato who just wants the others (like her fellow friend and Princess Kokorowa) to treat her as such, but it's really through VA Naomi Oozora that the true extent of her character is revealed to be like so, and the same VA that voices Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! a.k.a Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!'s main central female MC of Hana Uzaki, is, dare I say, a perfect fit for Sakuna's character who likes the extravagant and doesn't like to deal with the hard work, and she'll make you pay for it with her insisting annoyance. With the anime being a character-driven story at the same time, there may be no one leader in the band of humans, but Tauemon, Myrthe, Kinta, Yui and Kaimaru, accompanied by the island's only protector of otter Ashigumo and the enemy of their band that is Ishimaru, every character gets their moment to shine through the open-endedness of the medium, which is one of the strongest suits of the show that is paid very close attention to fleshing out the anime side of the game as much as possible. This is especially the case for Sakuna, who experiences character growth, turning from a selfish to a selfless and sacrificial person, seeing everyone as valuable people that she spent the fair amount of time getting by, growing rice and singing the game's iconic Rice Planting song, as well as eliminating demons of nuisance alongside Ashigumo, who investigates the Isle of Demons that's connected to his tribe. Massive props for keeping the game-to-anime experience as authentic as possible.

Of the 3 P.A. Works shows in this Summer season, I've got to hand it over to this show for being the bright and gorgeous, almost pleasant feeling that perfectly captures the vibe of the game translated over to the anime, though Mayonaka Punch is equally just as good, if not on a different roster being of the dark and gritty vibe. Regardless, this is a valiant effort from a studio that has consistently wowed the audience with quality...if you forget the nonsense that was Na Nare Hana Nare a.k.a Narenare: Cheer for You!.

The music is even better and matches the game's vibe with its melancholic take despite its action fantasy. It's no surprise given the experience of yet another veteran working for the show: music composer Yoshiaki Fujisawa, and like Jukki Hanada, is the face of reassured quality to match. I may not have heard much of Ikimonogakari (barring that Yozakura-san Chi no Daisakusen a.k.a Mission: Yozakura Family's 1st Cour OP is the most recent song), but what I can tell you, is that "Hare!" is definitely the pop rock duo's best song to date, and a song that, more than it being my favourite OP of the season (in a season of disappointing OPs), it fits perfectly into the show's rhythm naturally. It's the same story with Little Glee Monster's ED with the calm and traditional feels, and I couldn't be happier for this.

All in all, Tensui no Sakuna-hime a.k.a Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is more than just a commercial success of a game; its anime adaptation is even more underrated, replicating the subtle gentleness of a world so busy with things happening left and right, that its simple and cozy moments are the definition of a slow-paced, but heartwarming show that'll hit you in the feels indefinitely for a faithful adaptation. It's IMO the best of the 3 P.A. Works shows for the Summer 2024 season, and you opt NOT to miss this one, now that the time's right to binge and (possibly) experience the gane for yourself when all is said and done.

A pretty chill anime with a really chill vibe. As someone who thought I'd drop this on the first episode, I ended up keeping up with it--if only because I enjoyed the art style and vibe to it.

There's nothing particularly special about Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin. It's one that requires patience and being able to get past the first episode where it gives a terrible first impression between the character introductions and the fact that the main focus of the games, the plot itself, /the rice/... is super CGI. Something that can be a big turn off for a lot of people, me ... included. But it was only the rice? Sure why not.

Regardless of this first impression, I found myself feeling comfortable with the overall art style and the cozyness with it. I enjoy the ending theme song most of all. Most of your beginning cast of characters aren't very likeable at the start and they don't really grow on you until much later. And even when they do "grow", it's very minimal. A lot of what I really wanted to see and learn, you don't really get to until the final few episodes. Of Sakuna's actual fighting plot, the enemies, finding things out about her parents... the real meat of it you'll find in those last episodes.

Before that however? This anime reminded me of my childhood days where I'd turn on the tv and a pokemon cartoon would be showing. Because it's very much like watching a children's show and the way the character's personalities are is very akin to those olden days of watching cliche anime like that.

The anime isn't bad, but it's not great. It's average at best, and truly is enjoyable... sometimes. I'd go into this with tempered expectations.

Game adaptations are definitely an interesting medium. One way or another, they're very loose adaptations of their game counterpart due to the game in nature being a completely different experience -- usually spending tens of hours to complete. How does one adapt those hours of gameplay into a mere four hour adaptation?

Mobile games, in my experience actually tend to have the most success. Surprisingly, the production value of mobile game anime adaptations tend to be the highest, with a solid plot that the original game might not have been able to produce in it's mobile medium. Examples can be Rage of Bahamut Genesis (only season ... 1 let's be honest here) or Magatsu Wahrheit: Zuerst.

Tensui no Sakuna hime? It's a console game. Still, I don't judge. The first six or so episodes were good, especially the first 3 or so. It's about farming on a remote island, with a main character that acts spoiled, but slowly comes to age as the story progresses. Whether it be doing minor chores, taking on major responsibilities, or acting as a mediator, Sakuna-hime goes from a pampered spoiled god to someone that is shouldered with a bit of responsibility as a Goddess of Harvest. Sakuna-hime is a great character that's multifaceted and experiences many dynamic changes due to the challenges and hurdles she's forced to confront.

However, that's where all the magic stops happening. When the show becomes less about character development and farming, then it starts going downhill. Suddenly, a show about farming and developing land and character interaction becomes some third rate shounen anime about beating the evil god. Of course, this theme about demons looming around is certainly a theme that was always behind the scenes, but to so suddenly only focus about fighting was a wrong move. You're subject to the most one dimensional villains with self-righteous dialogue from Sakuna-hime and the rest of the cast that it's sickening. Yet another cliche-filled dialogue about how "we have to stop the cycle of hatred," and yet none of the main characters are forced to make a difficult moral decision. Rather, despite letting go villains and evil-doers constantly, the issue resolves by itself. By "forgiving everyone," Sakuna-hime and her people are able to still easily be absolved of any consequences due to plot armor. The final boss is similarly boring plot armor fights where feelings and sentiments are more important than the fight itself.

Additionally, I never said that the side characters were good. Tama is good just because he's mentoring/a close companion of Sakuna, but the rest of the characters -- especially the human ones -- are extremely cliche. Kinta was supposed to be a reclusive, polemic yet perhaps misunderstood or kind character that could have been explored a lot more than it should have. His whole arc with Yui kind of makes sense, but it just seems quite rushed and there's not enough exploration into the character relations afterwards for me to care. In fact, after Kinta's and Yui's character arc, he kind of just becomes a completely different character, which is to say he becomes a nice and generic side character that never contributes to the plot again. Tauemon, Myrthe, and Kaimaru are also similar in that there are some surface level descriptions of all of them, none of which are going into depth, and they also similarly contribute literally nothing to the story other than sometimes functioning as a plot device to a Hero's Journey.

If all of the human characters were likeable, the slice of life farming with some fights and magical happenings could have carried the entire show for 12 episodes, but unfortunately that would require good writing capabilities. Instead, if you slap an already failing cast of side characters and shove them away to make way for a generic and below average shounen show about beating the big bad boss guy, it's still slop, but you can get away with the terrible writing you had in the initial half of the show.

Art was fine, probably above average definitely when it comes to character design, details, and renders, but it was quite obvious that 90% of the budget was focused on the first few episodes where the visuals were quite a few notches above the latter parts of the show.

Overall, an uninspired anime adaptation that could have been great if it focused on character development and better writing.