Episode 05

"The Budding Yggdrasil" (ユグドラシルの芽生え, Yugudorashiru no Mebae) is the fifth episode of the Sakura Quest anime series, aired on May 3, 2017. The episode was directed by Tomoaki Ohta and written by Masahiro Yokotani, with storyboards by Fumie Muroi.

Yoshino and her "ministers", minus Sanae, prepare to learn more about wood-carving only to discover that their "Sakuraike Familia" goal requires funds out of their current league. Meanwhile, Sanae searches for her true purpose being in Manoyama.

Synopsis
The morale is low in the Manoyama Tourism Center after Sanae's decision to step away from their project on the Wood-Carving District. However, after mulling over Sanae's words from the day before, Yoshino decided to learn more on the wood crafts of Manoyama and began a self-tour of the town through its ranma. Meanwhile, the rest of the ministers minus Sanae began doing their own research on wood-carving.

Sanae spent much of the day inside the log cabin, and wandered aimlessly at night. In the Manoyama Train Station, Sanae was found by Tatsuo, and later found herself in a random conversation with him, particularly about their first-time experiences in Manoyama. She later returned to the log cabin, still hesitating about the decisions she wanted to make.

Yoshino continued her tour around the wood crafts of Manoyama and eventually visited shrines, workshops and museums with Maki, Shiori and Ririko. Later, Yoshino held a meeting that allowed her and the three ministers to gather the fruits of their research. Their study concluded that the decline of traditional Japanese wooden houses and the decrease of interest in woodworking as an occupation is affecting the district. Yoshino decided that a wooden structure inspired by the Sagrada Familia (see Notes & Trivia) would bring tourists to the town. Her suggestion was quickly rejected by Ushimatsu, noting the immense costs involved.

Meanwhile, Sanae was visited by Tatsuo, who showed her a pair of wooden shoes which was inspired by the Cinderella-themed conversation they had in a previous meeting. Tatsuo is worried about Kazushi, who continued to work on a ranma initially worked on by their master for a loyal patron; despite the deaths of their master and the patron who ordered the ranma, Kazushi urged himself to finish the ranma.

Yoshino is devastated by the rejection of her Sagrada Familia plan on Manoyama, and Maki pointed out that such a plan is doomed to fail because the people to be involved in the project lacked the fame Gaudi had. Ririko decided to turn to Mr. Sandal for ideas; despite his eccentric character, Mr. Sandal, real name Alexandre Sena Davis Celibidache, is a vagabond artist with a sizable following. Yoshino managed to get Mr. Sandal to draw a Manoyama-themed illustration, and she decided to use this for their next project.

After making cold calls to attract interest to the project, Yoshino returned to the log cabin, where she entered a conversation with Sanae about work and how certain people can make certain results with other people. These words eventually inspired Sanae to return as part of Yoshino's ministers, and she used her expertise in the field of IT to change Yoshino's plans, starting with moving the Sakuraike Familia itself from the palace of the Chupakabura Kingdom to Manoyama Station, and using the ranma left by Kazushi's master to decorate the main lobby of the train station.

The 100-year Sakuraike Familia project has made its first step, and Yoshino promises that this project would make her grandchildren happy.

Appearances

 * Ushimatsu Kadota
 * Yoshino Koharu
 * Maki Midorikawa
 * Shiori Shinomiya
 * Ririko Oribe
 * Kinu Kadota
 * Tatsuo
 * Kazushi
 * Sanae Kouzuki
 * Angelica
 * Mr. Sandal
 * Takamizawa

Notes & Trivia

 * The Sagrada Familia, full name Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic Church designed by Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect. The church is known for its sheer size and widespread use of sculptures. Construction began on 1822, and is currently still incomplete.