It’s back to the main plot for Sankarea and no disrespect to Ranko, but it’s not a moment too soon. There’s so much that still needs to be covered (and I’m not even a manga reader) and so little time to do it. There’s some buzz that this is an intentional slowdown to have a logical stopping point because a second season has already been decided on – but I’ll believe that when I see the hard proof. For now, I’m assuming it’s going to be a breakneck race to the finish to try and wrap everything up in an anime-original manner.
There are definitely times when Sankarea reminds me of Mawaru Penguin Drum, and this episode was one of them. Maybe it’s the fact that the father issues with Rea always make me think of something Ikuhara would have written, but I think there’s a more general kinship – and not just Kimura Ryouhei’s presence. The blend of gritty and ugly human drama against a fantasy backdrop with a strong proclivity towards the absurd is a sensibility both shows share. Sometimes it feels as if the characters in both series have the attitude that “if we just act normal everything will be fine” – even though they know full well they’re only whistling past the graveyard (more literally in this case).
Basically, what you had this week was a slice of death episode playing out against the drama of Psycho-Dad scheming to get his daughter back (though what he plans for her in her current form, I shudder to think). Chihiro is still giving the appearance that this is a lark to him, but I think he’s joined in the ranks of self-deception so prevalent in the story. For Rea’s part, she’s almost desperate now to “live” the life of a normal girl as much and as quickly as possible – sensing the impermanence of the current situation no doubt. She’s eating with the family now at least, though her taste in food is quite a puzzlement to Doon-san (clue: not even vegetarians can eat hydrangea leaves). Jogarou still seems safely in his senile state, offering no further wisdom to help guide Chihiro through this ordeal. And Babu is acting extremely catlike, even coughing up hydrangea furballs – though it’s possible that sitting on Mero’s head is a new thing. I did have a cat that did that with me.
Nothing all that “important” happened but as usual with this series, there were a lot of small touches that really appealed to me. I like the chemistry between Rea and Chihiro on their shopping trip, which felt very authentic despite the unusual circumstances, and there were numerous comic touches at the shopping center – a shop named “Hydrangea” and the office of “Dr. Zon Bee”. And who knew Chihiro was afraid of haunted houses? I also thought Rea’s gratitude with Chihiro’s purchase of a jacket for her was rather touching – as was her inability to cry over it, and her promise to keep teaching him more new things about zombies. There were also a lot of very funny things in the scene at the sento with Mero and her friends – I especially laughed when her two friends starting checking each other out as they were undressing. I’m still tired of the constant boob and butt fixation whenever Ranko is in frame, though – she may not be my favorite character but she deserves a little more dignity than that.
Both Chihiro and Rea seem to know this is a charade, and they’re just trying to make each other feel better – but I doubt either expected her “false freedom” to end this soon. I did laugh quite a lot when Danichiro’s three goons starting speaking silently with subtitles (and sound effects) – a very clever sequence – and I even thought Yasatuka was less annoying than usual this time, as he was at least central to the plot. It’s actually a little scary seeing Rea lose control of herself, as she never seems less human than when the absence of her “limiter” really shows itself. With Chihiro captured, I can only imagine the twisted freak Danichiro has something really horrendous planned for him. Will Rea be the one to go after him? I don’t see anyone else in a position to do so, so she may be his only hope – which may be exactly what Danichiro had in mind with “Plan B”. Have fun storming the castle…
Looks from the preview like we may just get a Mero-heavy ep next week – I sure hope so, because I like her way more than her screen time would dictate. Also – Fukuen Misato is delivering one of the all-time great cat voices as Babu.
Fencedude
May 25, 2012 at 7:57 amI highly object to the use of fencing to frame Dan'ichirou's evilness!
Also, Sabre? Seriously? I would have expected Épée.
Ishruns
May 25, 2012 at 8:32 amI am gonna take a bat to take down Yasutaka. Also why didn't anyone help Rea, I mean it looks like a rape/kidnapping from any direction. Don't Japanese malls have security guards.
But when Chihiro came to rescue her, funniest scene ever.
Chihiro should fear for his manhood. Expecting Rea to burst in next episode and convince her dad to let her be because she hates him or something.
Airon
May 25, 2012 at 10:30 amI am really enjoying this show, but I'm being eaten up by two things: Rea's father and Ranko's poor treatment.
Rea's father should honestly just be done with by the next plot-relevant episode (probably the one after this judging the preview). He's a creep, a monster, with no redeeming values. I knew he'd be coming back obviously, but I honestly would have been happier if he was just gone, killed himself, found a new hobby, I don't know but anything better than be in Sankarea.We already have an "antagonist", Rea's limited time to "live", the drama that ensues from a girl locked away from a normal life finally trying to have one in the final few days (or weeks or months, maybe years, who knows?) of her life. Not too mention the relationship fostering between Chihiro and Rea, soomed to be cut short.
As for Ranko, I hope she gets started towards some resolution on her feeling. I don't get the idea that she's going to be with Chihiro, someday after Rea died, rather I feel like we're working on a story based on her coming to terms with her feelings, realizing that it just won't be, and coming to terms with her first love. The T&A service is really hurting her, if only because there's never a missed beat with it. If there is the slightest chance of a boob shot, expect it to be delivered.
On the plus side, Sankarea's pretty good with the fanservice. It caters to everything: boobs, butts, thighs (;3 heh), feet, toes, Zombies. Yup, everything covered.
SQA
May 25, 2012 at 10:51 amAs a technical point, the way to get out of that type of pick up is to twist your body until you can break 1 limb free. Then implant that limb into whichever person you can. Always go for the soft tissue around joints, the eyes or the throat. A child can do severe damage to any of those.
On the episode, I fear for Chihiro's manhood. Though I think that's the least of his worries, at the moment. Though, given the nature of this series, he's probably not in actually that much danger. Though part of me really wants to see Chihiro's father pull out a staff and start beating people, haha.
I wonder if Ranko is kind of intentionally done this way as a trope about the main female character in Zombie movies? Since most of this series is actually inverting your expectations, it's an interesting question. Though they could do with a little less time spent with her naked.
Beckett
May 27, 2012 at 8:21 amEh, I think that may be reading more into it than is actually there. My take on Ranko is that she is the "Please buy the Blu-Rays!" character and little more. They've tried to give her a backstory and make us sympathetic but the way they show her all the time really undermines that.