Sankarea 13 – (OVA)

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[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_04.50_[2013.01.30_22.18.05] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_14.46_[2013.01.30_22.30.25] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_20.35_[2013.01.30_22.37.15]

Yep, still damn good.

I pretty much said what I wanted to see about Sankarea and how sadly underappreciated it is in the Episode 14 post, but this was certainly a fine episode in its own right.  It’s become something of a tradition for series to do OVA episodes about their cat characters, it seems – and as was the case with Ao no Exorcist, it’s yields excellent results.  This one completely slipped under my radar when it was released, so thanks very much to Pearl, who notified me of its existence in the Episode 14 comments.

Everything that I enjoy about Sankarea is present in this episode, but it’s especially notable in that it gives Fukuen Misato a chance to really shine as Babu.  I always always like her in whatever series she’s in, whether I like the series itself or not – she brings a combination of warmth and humor to nearly every performance that I find extremely winning.  It’s hard for seiyuu to find much that’s really new in cat roles, but Fukuen’s work here is some of the best – I especially loved her vocalizations of Babu’s approval when he got a look at the girl cat in the car that almost hit him, but here she’s given a chance to give Babu human speech.  It’s an interesting tack, a way to give the audience a little more background in what’s really happening to the characters (such as the removal of the “limiter” on their muscles being the reason zombies are so strong).  Of course it also allows director Omata Shinichi to explore the feelings attached to a zombie’s fate in a way he can’t with Sanka, because Babu is far more introspective in this OVA than Sanka ever was.

I’m beginning to suspect that Sankarea may in fact be better suited to the OVA format than the series format, in fact.  This was a series where the gap between the best episodes and the worst was wider than most, and I think it really benefits from being forced to focus on what really makes the show special.  There’s always a real sense of tragedy to Sankarea that’s expressed in a lovely fashion in this episode, a feeling that’s perfectly matched by the lovely but melancholy visual imagery.  Absent the trip-wires that often sent the series tumbling, it exists in its pure form here – a wistful look at the cruelties of fate through the lens of flawed but good people helpless to resist them, laced with a bit of humor and a dose of mystery.

As it always seems to, Sankarea manages to ask more questions here than it answers.  Who is the woman who’s flying into Narita as the OVA ends, whose owl snatches a bit of Babu’s fur?  A bit of research tells us that she’s Darin Arnschent Kurumiya (Kusumi Aiko) a zombie researcher – though you’d never know that from the episode, and her connection to the rest of the cast is unexplained.  It’s frustrating, of course, to see a series which so brazenly admits to being incomplete yet offers no promises of a return – but I sort of admire the way DEEN stubbornly refuses to sugarcoat the manga or rewrite it for the limitations of the format.  An incomplete story the Sankarea anime may be, but it’s a very good one – full of genuine emotion, relatable characters and truly lovely visuals.  It will certainly never be popular, but I hope it will ultimately be recognized for the hidden gem it is.

[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_03.00_[2013.01.30_22.16.15] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_07.09_[2013.01.30_22.20.26] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_09.42_[2013.01.30_22.24.47]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_10.10_[2013.01.30_22.25.14] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_10.28_[2013.01.30_22.25.32] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_11.52_[2013.01.30_22.26.56]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_11.58_[2013.01.30_22.27.01] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_12.11_[2013.01.30_22.27.15] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_14.38_[2013.01.30_22.30.17]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_15.12_[2013.01.30_22.30.51] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_15.33_[2013.01.30_22.31.12] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_15.53_[2013.01.30_22.31.32]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_17.08_[2013.01.30_22.32.47] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_17.33_[2013.01.30_22.33.12] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_18.19_[2013.01.30_22.34.58]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_18.31_[2013.01.30_22.35.16] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_19.15_[2013.01.30_22.35.55] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_19.15_[2013.01.30_22.35.59]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_20.06_[2013.01.30_22.36.46] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_21.11_[2013.01.30_22.37.53] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_21.20_[2013.01.30_22.38.18]
[Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_21.22_[2013.01.30_22.38.39] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_21.47_[2013.01.30_22.39.06] [Eveyuu] Sankarea 13 [BD Hi10P 1280x720 H264 AAC] [0F4DB8E6].mkv_snapshot_21.56_[2013.01.30_22.39.15]
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11 comments

  1. B
    Beckett
    January 30, 2013 at 4:20 pm
    Reply

    This was my favorite of the two OVA's for sure and probably one of my favorite episodes of the whole show. Babu's interactions with the other cat sort of perfectly summed up both the pros and the cons of this zombie business. It's all fun and games until you get the irresistible urge to eat someone's face.

  2. i
    ishruns
    January 30, 2013 at 4:57 pm
    Reply

    I can't find it. There are 2 ovas: 1 with the mom and the other at the Furuya's hometown right?

    Where would this fit in in terms of date released?

  3. i
    ishruns
    January 30, 2013 at 5:44 pm
    Reply

    Okay found it. In spanish subs but my Japanese has gotten good enough to do without subs. And I think once more that Sankarea is to me what NxK is to GE.

    So want a second season after watching this.

  4. i
    ishruns
    January 30, 2013 at 5:47 pm
    Reply

    Also why wont it be popular?

    Its a harem anime with ecchi at times, an interesting story, no shortage of girls. It should fit right into most Otaku lairs of cute things.

  5. H
    Highway
    January 30, 2013 at 5:56 pm
    Reply

    Sankarea definitely suffered in comparison to NnK X when it both were airing. The OVA's are a significant step up from the average level of the series. I felt the series stumbled a bit in the middle (parts that really stuck out as things I disliked were the whole sequence in the shopping center, and the kind of fizzle ending that the series had).

    It's a cute story, but there seemed to be so many places it could go, and in the end it didn't really go anywhere.

  6. L
    Lord of Fire
    January 30, 2013 at 7:36 pm
    Reply

    The problem with this show was that it had too few episodes to really tell a story.

    Though this OVA exposed some elements that will become important later on (like the various stages of zombiehood), the rest still remains a mystery.

    The real story starts here, but it was impossible to fit it in without butchering the original story altogether. This makes it all the more saddening that this is most likely all we're ever going to see of this without resorting to the manga to tell us more.

    In any case, I agree that this a hidden gem and that it deserves more. Especially since this is one of Studio DEEN's best-looking shows.

  7. B
    Beckett
    January 30, 2013 at 7:57 pm
    Reply

    I'm still hoping for the best. Nobody seriously expected Chihayafuru to get a sequel either. Sometimes the universe surprises you, so I'm still holding out hope for this one.

  8. admin
    January 31, 2013 at 12:29 am
    Reply

    There are some big differences though, most acutely that Chihayafuru saw a huge bump in manga sales that Sankarea didn't. Also, it was pretty universally acclaimed critically. If this were another studio I'd say there's no chance, but DEEN seems to love doing sequels to commercially unsuccessful shows, so who knows?

  9. B
    Beckett
    January 31, 2013 at 12:48 am
    Reply

    Ssssshhhhhhhh don't dash my hopes against the wall lalala I can't hear you I can't hear you.

  10. s
    sikvod00
    February 4, 2013 at 1:51 am
    Reply

    Have english subs for this OVA already been released? I still can't find any. =/

  11. admin
    February 4, 2013 at 10:27 am
    Reply

    Yeah, they're out there – I didn't have any trouble finding them in the usual places.

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