Sankarea follows the eyes of Furuya Chihiro, who has a very strong zombie fetish. Not only is his room infested with zombie-related items, but Chihiro would go so far as to only date zombie girls. Logically thinking, such a thing would be completely impossible, as zombies do not exist in this world. Yet, what happens when a family pet dies and Chihiro somehow uncovers a resurrection manual in his closet? Naturally, Chihiro would want to revive it, even if it was against human nature to do so, but what happens when a random girl he meets at an abandoned bowling alley also wishes to due and revive as something else. Thus goes the rather unusual relationship between a boy who loves zombies and a girl who indirectly wishes to become one.
If I have to take a guess as to what are the strong points about this series, I would have to say that it would be the character’s background information. As the main plot of the story progresses, we get to see several different perspectives and their views about the situation in hand, that of Rea turning into a zombie due to a fall that gave her a fatal wound. I believe, if anything, Mero comes out as the most interesting character out of the group of characters has she monitors the life of her brother and household as well as some key information about the past. Despite acting as a side-character, Mero is very perspective in terms of the feelings everyone around her has, be it friends or family. Yet, her quiet and humble personality masks her as someone from the shadows and looking afar at what is going on. Although Mero is a nice kid, if there is something on her mind that just has to be said, she says it, acting as an indirect information broker. I think one of the best parts of Mero had to be during her interaction with Rea as Mero recalls the one memory of her mother that stayed with her: that hold and bandaged hand touching her when she was sick. When Rea does the exact same thing and says nearly the exact same lines as her mother, Mero would unconsciously call her Mom. This scene is powerful in that we know that Mero does indeed miss her mother, and, if anything, would want nothing more but to see her again, be it if she knows her mother is a potential zombie or not. Secondly, we get to see Mero in a rather different lighting than her monotone self. With both observations, I feel as though there is much more to Mero’s story that meets the eye.
Of course, this cannot a decent review without talking about Rea’s parents. In the beginning, we have many viewers claiming how poor and horrible both parents have treated Rea, with the father acting as a sick, sexually abusive father and an uncaring, cold mother. With Aria’s back story revealed to us. their actions cannot be perceived as black and white anymore. One cannot hep but feel some sort of pity for either Danichirou and Aria for what both of them have gone through. While some critics claim that they are still crazy parents and got what they deserved, I personally cannot see that. Danichirou lived a live where all of his potential suitors wanted him for prestige and money, Aria included. When Rea’s real mother came up to him, Danichirou finally found someone who understands him and sees him as much more than just a person to use for her own sake. That was why he was captivated by her; that was why he married her. Of course, the death of such a perfect wife would cause great trauma for him, and Aria was the only one who stayed by his side until he recovered from his depression. While he eventually married her, Aria never got the love that she deserves no matter how hard she tries to be with him. Danichirou’s eyes were on Rea, the child his first wife bore who was a near splitting image of his deceased first wife. Danichirou seems to still be in denial of the fact his wife died, even to this day. As for Aria, she never got the attention she wanted. No matter how much she loves him, he does not seem to love her back in the same way. In the end, their personalities have a reason behind them, and they are not so black and white as originally perceived.
Ranko also gets a say here as well. Although she sadly falls in the childhood friend category, therefore having the lowest chance of becoming the winner for Chihiro’s love. However, we do get a back story on how she fell in love with him and where they stand now. It is interesting how she did not wish to be with him at first and was only around him at one point in the graveyard and the rest of the moments via her mother. However, with everything that has happened. Rea goes get to know the good points about Chihiro and mostly ignore or accept the fact that his zombie fetish is incurable. Even so, she continues to fight to get him to see her as potential love interest, even if Chihiro considers her as a “bad friend” first cousin anyway.
I do have to say that the ending was a bit anti-climatic for an end. It leaves the viewer in confusion as if if there is going to be a second series or not. It does not feel like a proper ending, but, at the same time, the studio may decide to simply stop it there and that would be all for it. All we seem to know is that Rea is starting to lose it, and the power of the hydrangea leaves are starting to lose its staying affect. Other than that, I do not believe there is much else to say about this anime. If anything, for me, the anime as a whole felt…weird.
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