Episode 07

"The Mansion in Purgatory" (煉獄の館, Rengoku no Yakata) is the seventh episode of the Sakura Quest anime series, aired on May 17, 2017. The episode was written by Shingo Irie, with storyboards and directed by Hideaki Kurakawa.

Synopsis
With Maki refusing to replace an injured secondary cast member in the movie, Ririko stepped up to take over. However, the other girls noticed that she is also struggling in handling the role. Instead of finally joining the film, Maki decided that this is a chance for Ririko to get over her timidness in front of other people. With a quick word from Maki, Ririko delivered her line, allowing the crew to complete another day of shooting with a finished scene.

As Ushimatsu's acting prowess as a zombie became a point of discussion in the tourism office, the ministers stumbled upon a new problem when a sudden rain forced an indoor scene involving "mini-zombies" earlier into the shooting schedule. While Ririko, Maki and Sanae look for available extras for the role, Yoshino continued to look for an available homeowner for the house burning scene. She eventually saw Shiori in the first house that was considered by the director, and Shiori revealed that the house was owned by an elderly woman who was close to Shiori, the house still having memories of her childhood even after the woman's passing. Their conversation immediately became an argument as Yoshino insisted on the movie being more important than Shiori's nostalgia. Yoshino returned to the cafe after Shiori stormed out following their short argument, seemingly heartbroken by their heated exchange.

With the help of their father, Kousuke managed to gather enough elementary pupils to fill the need of "mini-zombie" extras for the film, much to Maki's chagrin. As shooting started at the gymnasium, Maki wandered around the school and found Ririko, who revealed that she also enrolled in the same elementary school as Maki. Ririko took the opportunity to thank Maki for helping her deliver her lines earlier, while Maki warned Ririko about people who do only the things they like.

The house burning scene approaches; Sanae failed to grasp the plot of the movie, while Yoshino and Shiori took the chance to make amends after their heated exchange earlier. Maki, on the other hand, still found herself mulling over her entire childhood's experiences as an aspiring stage actress. In the cafe, Angelica allowed Maki to make a decision through tarot—The Sun card means that she will pursue her dream, while Death means that her dream will end at that moment. Before she could choose the card that would decide her future, Kousuke showed up to give a CD that contains a video of their father filming her role as a tree in a Snow White play in her elementary school days.

As night approached, the director once more added a change to the house burning scene, compelling Moe to dive into the burning building to pursue her boyfriend, who was turned into a zombie early into the film. Despite the protests of her manager, Moe decided to push through, but Maki stepped forward to act as a stand-in for Moe for the scene.

The scene marked the end of shooting for "The Forever Forest". As the crew celebrated the completion of the scenes, Maki thanked Yoshino for the opportunity to act in a film once again. Meanwhile, Shiori received word from Fujiwara that Yoshino suggested to add the name of Miyo Yasuda, the elderly woman close to Shiori's childhood, to the credits for allowing the house to be used for the film.

In the log cabin, Yoshino and the ministers celebrated the success of the shooting of "The Forever Forest". The next day, Yoshino received a call from a movie production company, wanting to confirm if car chases and exploding temples can be shot in Manoyama, much to the queen's chagrin.

Appearances

 * Yoshino Koharu
 * Maki Midorikawa
 * Ririko Oribe
 * Shiori Shinomiya
 * Sanae Kouzuki
 * Moe Sawano
 * Mino and Yamada
 * Ushimatsu Kadota
 * Takamizawa
 * Angelica
 * Kosuke Midorikawa
 * Taiga Hayama
 * Sonoda
 * Fujiwara
 * Miyo Yasuda

Notes & Trivia

 * The Golden Raspberry Awards, mentioned by Mino and Yamada, is an "official" award-giving body that recognizes the worst achievements in the movie-making industry.