Sakura Trick - Episode 3

This week, Sakura Trick introduces us to Yuu's elder sister Mitsuki, who also happens to be the student council president.

Despite Haruka being Yuu's best friend (and then some), Mitsuki still hasn't actually met the girl in question - Haruka only seems to come around when she's away or otherwise engaged, and all she really knows about the girl's appearance is what her shoes look like; a suspicious and curious affair, in her opinion.  This curiosity is soon to be sated however, as it becomes known that the school will be replacing its normal (and expensive) sports festival with a ball sports tournament instead - an upsetting turn of events for Yuu, who wanted to be part of a cheerleading squad and take part in a sports festival as part of said squad.  Thus, Haruka decides to cheerlead for her friend by joining the committee responsible for the event so that she can petition for the inclusion of cheerleaders - something she ultimately succeeds in, even if Mitsuki's view of Haruka is nothing but a blur on account of some broken glasses.  Any positive impression left upon Yuu's sister is short-lived however, as Haruka's next visit to Yuu's home leads to them being "caught in the act".

The second half of the episode sees Haruka and Yuu's class cleaning the pool, bringing with it all of the usual tropes of such an event - playing around with water, pondering a character's breast size, swimsuit-led fan service (complete with some rather embarrassing "additions" Haruka has made to her and Yuu's outfits) and making out in a storage shed.  When Mitsuki arrives looking for her sister, it only serves to further undermine her impressions of Haruka, which it seems might well become one of the show's running gags.

Although this episode veered off a little too far into fan service territory for my liking at times, it still exhibits some strong moments - there are some great gags here once again (in particular three consecutive laugh out loud jokes at the start of the episode), and the interactions between the cast of characters continues to be a lot of fun even when it's entirely predictable.  For all of its kissing and parading in swimsuits, there's still a gentle enjoyment to be found within Sakura Trick, and the fact that its leading girls actually make for a surprisingly cute couple certainly does nothing to damage that feeling.