Sankarea: Undying Love: Complete Collection
Chihiro Furuya is a young man obsessed with horror, especially of the zombie variety. From films to manga, and even to the girls he finds attractive, all his interests are focussed on the brain-munching creatures. So when his beloved friend and family pet cat Babu dies, he feels that the only option is to attempt to resurrect him as a zombie. While he’s mixing his potion late at night in an abandoned bowling alley, he meets a young girl named Rea Sanka who seems to be suffering because of a dark secret related to her father. As the pair become close, her life is thrust into danger and it’s not long before Chihiro has another test subject for his zombie potion.
For long-time anime fans; the plot synopsis can be seen as a massive warning sign of poorly written wish-fulfilment trash. It combines two genres (rom-coms and horror) that are usually badly written for the general masses, and then throws in a guy who just so happens to get his dream girl. It’s a recipe for disaster, or at least a fan service-centric show, but, thankfully, cute girls aren’t the only thing Sankarea delivers on. Chihiro is introduced as a massive geek for all things horror and his flat, sarcastic tone comes off as aloof from the start. Then in comes Rea, a sweet, naive girl with a troubling past. Yet, despite expectations, the pair have genuine chemistry. As Sankarea is a slow-burning romantic comedy it takes time to have the pair interact over minor, trivial things but it’s the small actions and words that all add up to a relationship that feels authentic and could have really developed into something wonderful, had both parties remained alive.
Then comes the dramatic turn in Episode 3, where both characters seem to get what they most want, and, in fact, it raises more question and confusion rather than suddenly solving anything. Being a zombie is, surprisingly, a lot of hard work. For Rea it means gaining the freedom she craves, and the opportunity to do things that ‘normal’ girls can do. But the problem is that she’s not ‘normal’ anymore; she is now a decomposing corpse, and it’s become her and Chihiro’s job to somehow slow down the decomposition and maintain upkeep of her body, which is difficult considering she still wishes to live some sort of a life in a hot climate like Japan. The pair continue to have a naturally building relationship during this stage but its Chihiro’s actions that paint him as the best possible boy for the job. He has everything he’s ever wanted land right on his lap, but he doesn’t immediately start nose-bleeding all over the place or attempt to conquer her heart and body as some male leads would, instead he treats her as a friend, first and foremost, which is the best reaction, considering the trauma the poor girl has gone through. The best example happens early on in Rea’s zombie life when her body begins to go into rigor mortis. Rea is helpless and unable to move, just after she’s taken a shower and is only wearing a bath towel. You’re practically waiting for the scene in which Chihiro’s nose starts to bleed, or the moment when her body just so happens to fall onto his with her breasts right in his face. But it doesn’t happen; instead he carries her to a safe place to hide, turns up the air con and keeps his distance to make sure she’s comfortable when she comes to. He may be a geek, and blunt at times, but he’s a real gentleman and a rare example of seeing why there are multiple girls pining for his affections in return.
Like some romantic comedies, Sankarea has its share of fan service. Despite not being the main focus of said service, the heroine is somewhat objectified; however, given her situation and horrific upbringing, it does raise some serious questions to the production team. The poor girl is a victim of sexual abuse so when the series decides to zoom right into her thighs and the hem of her skirt it only creates a very uncomfortable situation for the viewer. It’s slightly more lenient earlier on when we don’t know the full extent of her home life but later on when we get more details about her father there’s no excuse for such thoughtless pandering. Thankfully, in this regard, most of the fan service for the series is provided by Ranko, who jiggles in all the right places but her input into the fan service quota is nothing original or satisfying. Up-skirt shots whilst crawling in tunnels, zooming in on cleavage whilst in the bath and ripping of clothes during fights are the standard boxes ticked, and it’s all been done before. It doesn’t help that her character is your standard ‘hyperactive cousin with secret crush on guy’ stereotype for the majority of the series.
The protagonist isn’t the only one with a fetish for the undead; Sankarea has many references to other media based on the very popular horror trope. To the uninitiated there’s lot of easily spotted visual references such as the puppet from Saw appearing in Chihiro’s cupboard, and DVD covers representing Western zombie movies. Those who really know their zombie trivia may also pick up on certain names of characters and scenes that call to mind classic zombie films. However, despite being a love letter to all things horror and zombie-related, hardcore zombie fans hoping for a full-blown apocalypse or at least a few chewed-up brains in this series will be disappointed as the zombie count remains minimal and the mythology is tweaked in various places to keep the blood count down. Instead of brains, the zombies in this series eat hydrangea leaves, the same that are used in the potion to reanimate them. But what the series lacks in horror it makes up for in intricate details on the likelihood of an actual zombie attempting to stay contained in this world. How long can a zombie last before the body starts decomposing? How far can the muscles stretch before it becomes a problem? What about the mind of the zombie? All these questions are never fully answered but are asked by the protagonists who know little of what to expect but must face the repercussions in the short and long term. Being dead and coming back as a zombie is just the beginning of their problems, and it’s fascinating to see these events unfold in a cosy, coming-of-age environment.
The music score is provided by Yukari Hashimoto and has a few quirky comedic pieces but there’s also the use of steel drums, cellos and ukuleles to create a humane, down-to-earth backing that fits really well. Complimenting either side are the opening theme by nano.RIPE titled ‘Figment’ and closing theme ‘Above Your Hand’ by Annabel; the former a cute pop-rock number and the latter an incredibly gentle acoustic guitar song; both capture the themes and emotions of the series very well.
DVD extras include clean opening/closing, US trailer and commentary for Episodes 3 and 11. One amusing OVA (down as Episode 13) that is narrated by the zombie cat is included in this set but the other two (Episodes 0 and 14) are not, sadly.
If the fan service wasn’t tone deaf at times and we got an actual ending rather than a ‘read the manga’ sign-off, Sankarea: Undying Love could have been a really great, unique rom-com. As it is it’s still a sweet, charming tale that remains incomplete. Sankarea has for the majority of the time an emotionally satisfying centre and nice horror Easter eggs for the fans to pick up on throughout, plus its tackling of themes of death, abuse and the meaning of freedom with a surprising maturity and grounded emotion warrant it at least a look.
