Episode 03

"The Cry of the Mandrake" (マンドレイクの叫び, Mandoreiku no Sakebi) is the third episode of the Sakura Quest anime series, aired on April 19, 2017. The episode was directed by Keisuke Onishi and written by Osamu Honma, with storyboards by Daisuke Hiramaki.

Due to being unfamiliar with Manoyama, Yoshino decides to switch mascots for a turnip-based mascot called "Kabura Kid" after much inquiry and research. The ideas clash with Kadota's Chupakabura mascot as the Regional Mascot Festival competition draws near, leaving Yoshino to make a choice.

Synopsis
After a bitterly-received parade across town by Ushimatsu, an exhausted Yoshino fell back on Angelica's restaurant for a snack. Here, she and Shiori met Maki and her younger brother Kosuke, who listened to Maki's decision to not return to her parents. Yoshino also decided to remain as Manoyama's queen for the meantime, and even had her things from Tokyo brought to the log cabin.

The next morning, Yoshino appeared on a local station for the first time as Queen of the Chupakabura Kingdom, and she found out from the experience that she knew very little about Manoyama. To know more about her "domain", Yoshino talked to some of the townsfolk, only to discover that very few people are interested in promoting the town to tourists. Upon Yoshino's return to Angelica's restaurant, Takamizawa, who revealed himself as a former prince of the kingdom, tried to lift her spirits, while Erika, a girl working as a server in the restaurant, pointed out that the town is beyond saving. Yoshino returned with Shiori to the log cabin and talked with Maki and Sanae about the origins of the Chupakabura Kingdom, and the discussion about the town's history of cultivating turnips, also known as "kabura", brought Yoshino to conclude that the crop will be a step towards change in Manoyama.

Yoshino and Ushimatsu headed to the Regional Mascot Contest to push the Chupakabura mascot as Manoyama's entry, but the loss of the mascot's head forced the tourism office to look for options. Upon the cunning suggestion of Chitose Oribe, Ririko and the others brought back the Kabura Kid costume from before the establishment of the Chupakabura Kingdom. Mino and Yamada also arrived on the contest venue, managing to salvage the Chupakabura head from a recycling facility, and Ushimatsu found himself choosing between a Chupakabura costume that reeks of garbage, and the Kabura Kid costume that he hated. The commotion was only stopped when Yoshino called out Ushimatsu's aggressive push on the Chupakabura concept since the beginning.

Yoshino chose the Kabura Kid head worn over the Chupakabura mascot and stepped on the contest stage with Ushimatsu. There, she spoke about the reception of the mascots in Manoyama as well as her determination in finding out the things the townsfolk deemed important within the next year.

Manoyama earned the third to the last place in the contest. Nonetheless, the five girls decided to hold a party under the newly-bloomed cherry trees. Ushimatsu received Yoshino's decision to remain as Queen of the Chupakabura Kingdom, and Yoshino chose Shiori, Maki, Sanae and Ririko to help her fulfill her duties.

Appearances

 * Ushimatsu Kadota
 * Yoshino Koharu
 * Shiori Shinomiya
 * Angelica
 * Erika Suzuki
 * Maki Midorikawa
 * Kosuke Midorikawa
 * Takamizawa
 * Mino and Yamada
 * Mr. Sandal
 * Chitose Oribe
 * Ririko Oribe
 * Sanae Kouzuki

Notes & Trivia

 * The episode is named after Kabura Kid (カブラ君, Kabura-kun), the mascot of the Kabura Kingdom. Interestingly, the mascot resembles a mandrake—a plant with human features.
 * The emcee for both the TV program where Yoshino first appeared as queen and the Regional Mascot Contest is based on Mikio Date, a Japanese comedian and a member of the manzai duo Sandwich Man.