One Drop and ILYY Sakura SE
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
March 2, 2013

Introduction

I will make no bones about it; the ILYY Sakura is one of my favorites from the company. It is totally underrated and I find that to be a complete shame. It was the third yo-yo design completely dreamed up by Frank over at ILYY and I found it to play like amazingly. My only two critiques were the finish and the spikes… both of which were completely minor quibbles. At the end of the day the Sakura vexed me in the fact that ILYY has done updates to quite a few of their designs yet the one I wanted them to tweak and rerelease never seemed to be on their radar, until now. While talking with David over at One Drop it seems that this closely guarded secret had actually been in the works for about a year now… A YEAR. I, like many others, was completely floored when this was suddenly announced. No prototypes, CADs, or test runs were shown. No hint of any kind was announced until February 12th when a close up of a fully assembled and anodized, yet unidentifiable, Sakura SE was shown on the One Drop Facebook page. A week and a day later the curtain was lifted to reveal the colorways and details for this limited release of 200 pieces. Now I guess it is time to see if this is the Sakura update I have been pining for over the last two years.

Specs

• Diameter: 52mm
• Width: 41.25mm
• Gap: 4.34mm
• Base Weight: 62.82 grams
• Weight with Sakura Side Effects: 65.72 grams
• Bearing: One Drop 10-Ball (Size C)
• Response: Flow Groove Pads

Construction

Looking at the profile of the Sakura SE you really wouldn’t know that the design had been updated. The only giveaway that there is something different is the acid wash/splash colorway. Other than that, the Sakura SE retains the bulbous rounded rims, H-Shape step, and butterflyesque catch zone from the original that made for a yoyo that was comfortable to hold and play. The radical departure from the original design becomes readily apparent when you turn your attentions to the cup. The rim design and IGR are still the same but the floor and hub are completely new. Instead, the pond ripple hub and spike have been replaced with One Drop’s Side Effect hub system. While the hub has been updated, the spike has not thanks to a brand new Side Effect design that completely mimics the spike from the original Sakura. The finish on the SE is One Drop’s Pyramatte finish, giving it a smooth, almost blasted feel… something that I wanted on the original. Overall the Sakura SE retains everything from the original while updating it in both looks and feel.

Weight

Even with the beefier hub system the Sakura SE only went up by 0.42 grams in weight. The play is still just as stable as the original and I dare say it plays a little faster. The spin time is still there and even though it is slightly heavier it does not have a heavy thunk at the end of the string.

Response and Bearing

Here is another major departure from the ILYY design; the Sakura SE is the first production run ILYY with a C-Size bearing and without Red Hot SILYYcone. The bearing switch is a welcome change. While the large KMK metric bearing and the C-Size 10-Ball are almost dimensionally identical and therefor indistinguishable in play, I love the ease of replacement that a C-Size bearing brings to the table. The switch to a Flow Groove pad feels slightly odd to me. No, I am not complaining nor am I considering it a negative, it is actually another checkmark in the ease of replacement column. It is just so odd seeing an ILYY ship without the neon orange SILYYcone in its guts.

Playability

On my first throw all I could think was “hello old friend, my how you have grown up”. It has the same feel that the original had and then some. The Sakura SE has gotten even smoother than the original and as I said in the weight section it feels faster. It has instant reaction times when you change direction and the compact design allows it to easily squeak past the strings in a complex combo. One of the things I dinged the original Sakura on was the spiked hub. I like spikes. It is fun to pop up a yo-yo, catch it by the spikes, and then turn it so it is balanced and spinning on a finger or thumb. The Sakura spikes were not sharp enough to do this… and neither are the spikes on the Sakura SE, but these are Side Effects so that is absolutely no big deal. A simple swap of the stock Side Effects with a set of aluminum spikes and I am catching the thing all day long by the hubs. The finish was the other ding against the original. Candodize finish is strong, beautiful and okay for grinding. Pyramatte finish is a better all around surface for grinds, adding it to the Sakura SE makes for an absolutely beautiful grinder. The large rims will spin for incredible amounts of time on a palm. A simple trick I love doing for my students is to start with a Dizzy Baby and then release the yo-yo at the top of the spin and catch it on the finger. I usually sing “Rock-a-bye Baby” while doing it and catch it when I hit the verse “all fall down”. The Sakura SE just wants to sit on my finger and spin even after all the other parts of the trick have been executed, thanks in equal parts to the long spin times and grinding finish. All said and done, the play of a stock Sakura SE is much like playing one of ILYY’s other revised yo-yos. It is more mature and grown up thanks to being able to tweak it using feedback from past users. The play truly shines when you start taking advantage of One Drop’s involvement, namely the customization thanks to the Side Effects. With Side Effects being a stand, you can use everything from the lightest of Ultra Lights to the heaviest RSMs… which a completely different level of fun all on its own.

Final Thoughts

Those of you looking at this thinking “I already have a Sakura so I’ll pass” please think again. As I said above, I am a HUGE fan of the original Sakura and this is better in everyway. This is how a revision should be handled; not just by tweaking the weight a little or adding a finish, but instead by taking the design and ramping it up in everyway. ILYY and One Drop need to be commended for this. The Sakura SE would not work if it were not for the involvement of both companies. To quote Hannibal Smith “I love it when a plan comes together”, and this one sure did.

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