LogFAQs > #884457998

Aha! I knew something was fishy. Ishikura Kenichi worked as the director, episode director, storyboard, and series composition for sakura trick. Guess what else they worked on? Maria Holic by shaft and hidemari sketch also by shaft. Looking through their entire history they worked with several studios projects including shaft and mad house. Morikawa Yuuki is listed as a key frame animator and they TOO worked on a bunch of shaft productions including madoka and arakawa under the bridge. And then GUESS WHO does the backgrounds for sakura trick? Matsumoto Katsuki who has done the background primarily for 2 other series. One is the shaft hidemari sketch and the second is none other than MONOGATARI SERIES.

So while sakura trick is technically a studio deen work it seems to have been produced by freelancers who have all done lots of work with shaft to the point that it might as well be a shaft production.

Granted this all just patchworking things together from the MAL staff page which could be incomplete but I found it pretty interesting nonetheless and explains why the show had a shaft like quality to its backgrounds.
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