(L) Sankarea (TV)

[Flawfinder]

I was going to give this a decent rating, but the last two episodes ruined it for me. I can't stand bland leads and no matter how hard this anime tried to make them more interesting than in the manga, it just couldn't succeed. There were other problems too, but dammit, these characters have little personality whatsoever.

[Witched]

The anime was somewhat horrible.

There was a bit too much interruptions (Flashbacks, Mero-chan) to actually appreciate watching the whole thing because I expected the next episode to be what comes next in the plot, but all of the sudden, the episodes are about the past. It's like the train gets derailed all of the sudden for something unrelated to the plot (Except the episode with Chihiro finding the book).

It felt like everything was dull the whole time, making me not wanting to watch more, but a friend convinced me to watch this anime. But I have to agree that Wanko seems more lively (and developed more of her character than anyone else).

6.5/10

[Random32]

That was an ending?

It was an enjoyable watch. Not particularly good though. 7/10 ignoring the fact that it had easily the worst ending I've watched in a very long while.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

I was going to give this a decent rating, but the last two episodes ruined it for me. I can't stand bland leads and no matter how hard this anime tried to make them more interesting than in the manga, it just couldn't succeed. There were other problems too, but dammit, these characters have little personality whatsoever.

Funny... I didn't like it for exactly the opposite reason... not enough time spent with the interesting characters (Wanko and Mero only got one "filler" episode each) and the anime wasted itself like most serious-wannabe ones into teenage angst of two clueless and spineless teenagers acting "spinefully" in the last episode without any character development in between... I mean the main plot would have been a delightfully sarcastic parody, alas the anime took itself for something more than LULZ

[Master_Yoma]

Just messed up Chihiro who like zombies to much Rea who just wants some freedom and Danichirou who is just so messed up and into his own daughter way to much but all over some what good


6.5/10

[blakstealth]

Wanko saved this ep with her booty slappin and fist bumpin..just sayin. :P

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

This!

On the other hand, a large part of Wanko's charm is that she is the third wheel

I will admit that I am generally sympathetic to the unrequited love of the childhood friend. Most of these sorts of romance animes will introduce a "rival" that is prettier, more buxom, sexier, and more feminine, making the male protagonist all dazed and googly-eyed. Well, Rea may be outwardly more feminine that Wanko, I will admit, but she doesn't beat her in those other aspects. And she certainly doesn't love cat-boy nearly as much as Wanko (if at all).

When I wrote my last post, I wasn't even thinking of Wanko's obvious physical characteristics. My comments were solely based on her personality. After reading your post, I went back to skim through the beginning chapters for a refresher and was reminded just how sexy Wanko is in the manga:

Spoiler for link to a very NSFW manga page:

Wanko in the tub!

The bottom panel of the next page is also very well drawn, as well as the full-page panel on the next page.

And I just love her expressions on this page. She is really so very cute.

[Flawfinder]

I don't really get what makes Wanko so interesting. She's just the same buxom cheerful girl with a crush on a guy that I could see anywhere. There's not much more to her than that.

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

I don't really get what makes Wanko so interesting. She's just the same buxom cheerful girl with a crush on a guy that I could see anywhere. There's not much more to her than that.

Superficially of course you are right, but on a second read into her character, it's the rare kind of girl, that does not depend on her physical appeal and outgoing personality to attract attention, but strives to gain the attention of someone who has proven to her that has the potential to be a great partner for her, and tries to appeal to him while maintaining the integrity of her own character and beliefs... futile I admit, given the LULZy cast like the clueless-cat-boy, zombie-chick, her creepy-dad and model-step-mom, and the family's army of fetish-maids; but in principle she behaves ideally, given the franchise's context for a small minority of the audience

[Sakanaka Shouko]

Originally Posted by Witched

The anime was somewhat horrible.

There was a bit too much interruptions (Flashbacks, Mero-chan) to actually appreciate watching the whole thing because I expected the next episode to be what comes next in the plot, but all of the sudden, the episodes are about the past. It's like the train gets derailed all of the sudden for something unrelated to the plot (Except the episode with Chihiro finding the book).

It felt like everything was dull the whole time, making me not wanting to watch more, but a friend convinced me to watch this anime. But I have to agree that Wanko seems more lively (and developed more of her character than anyone else).

6.5/10

I have to agree with you, the studio's mistakes ruined a pretty nice anime.

[Guido]

Along with Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Sankarea was another show for the recently concluded season that I didn't have expectations to pick it up from the start.

I'm uncertain about the reasons why I motivated myself to give it a try, but I started watching this anime from the third episode onwards. Whatever the source material whether be manga, light novels, or visual game, the anime was adapted from I'm completely unacknowleged with.

My knowledge only limits to the anime per se. To me I felt that the show's pacing was uneven between episodes with for some it was ok while for other it ran outstretched and lagging.

My choices are for best episodes the fifth when Rea snaps in true zombie mode, and the sixth one featuring Wanko's flashback from how she and Chihiro met in their childhood; Wanko is more of my top favorite character in this show for the female cast than Rea.

Another problem I got with the anime is the ending to the last episode, although the pacing is right there's no clear conclusion as to: what will happen to Rea living her existence as a zombie her way with Chihiro at the Furuya residence?, will her feelings blossom into full love for Chihiro?, and what about Wanko confessing her feelings to Chihiro?

The last episode ends just like if it was a normal episode, and the new situations are left in stand-by mode.

Overall, I liked Rea more every time when she becomes a true zombie delivering a delightful bloody kiss to Chihiro whenever the need arises on screen.

This was my third title finished for the recently concluded spring 2012 anime season.

[Lord of Fire]

I don't get why so many people are troubled with the final episode. I think it went pretty much as I expected. The only factor that is point of uncertainty is Wanko. On one hand, I find most of her incredibly annoying and whenever she appeared, I often felt the need to kill someone. However, there have been other scenes in which she showed a more sympathetic side and I think she would've been a lot more enjoyable if she weren't so damn pushy most of the time. I do like how she gave Rea the confidence to keep pursuing the happiness she longs for, despite her limited time, both in terms of living and love-wise.

I'm kinda wondering why Chihiro doesn't outright tell his family that Rea is a zombie, even though his dad seems to be the only one who hasn't got a clue yet. Then again, it might just be better to avoid any unnecessary conflict, if what (seems to have) happened to his other is any indication. I'm pretty sure Mero isn't asking her brother out of courtesy, since episode 9 made it clear that she is aware of the fact.

I do hope we'll see more of this show eventually. I find the manga highly enjoyable and the anime has only scratched the surface of what the story eventually turns into, while giving us enough hints that Rea is is still a zombie, leaving options wide open for a second season. Studio DEEN's production seems to be much better than a lot of their other shows (probably a higher budget, too) and this gives hope that more will come in due time. I would certainly welcome it with open arms.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

I don't really get what makes Wanko so interesting. She's just the same buxom cheerful girl with a crush on a guy that I could see anywhere. There's not much more to her than that.

At least she is interesting and cheerful. Especially the cheerful bit. Rea, on the other hand, is the typical dull, dumb but pretty, high-class chick that the typical dull, dumb and ugly anime boys ogle at while they trip over their shoelaces with drool dripping down their cheeks. The only thing that makes Rea stand out from the usual horde of anime bimbos is that she is a zombie. Other than that, does she really have any personality characteristics (or personality at all) that outshine Wanko? Nope.

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

The only factor that is point of uncertainty is Wanko. On one hand, I find most of her incredibly annoying and whenever she appeared, I often felt the need to kill someone. However, there have been other scenes in which she showed a more sympathetic side and I think she would've been a lot more enjoyable if she weren't so damn pushy most of the time. I do like how she gave Rea the confidence to keep pursuing the happiness she longs for, despite her limited time, both in terms of living and love-wise.

I must say, I was pretty flabbergasted when I read this. Is there actually praise that I hear in this comment? This is quite different from the Wanko-hate we hear in:

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

I'd rather have her not appear at all. The little time she got in last ep was already enough to ruin the atmosphere, not to mention my mood.

Or especially this:

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

I didn't think I could hate Wanko more than I already did. This episode proved me wrong.

Could it be that, now that it's all over, the Wanko-haters have realized she wasn't as bad as they made her out to be?

[Lord of Fire]

^Can't help it if the last episode decided to show a side from Wanko I actually liked, whereas she's been pretty much nothing but a nuisance before. I still don't like her, though, just a little less than before. And it's not like I want to hate her, it's just that I didn't really see much of a good side to her, until the very last episode.

Since I'll probably rewatch the whole show at a later time, it might help improve my view on her even more. Wouldn't be the first time where a negative first impression of mine turns into a positive one after a second try. I'll never grow to love her, given a certain event in the manga, but I might grow to accept her more at the very least.

[Flawfinder]

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

I don't get why so many people are troubled with the final episode.

It wasn't the final episode. It was Episode 11. Suddenly, the father is supposed to be sympathetic and Chihiro says he treats Rea as a person. While she's wearing a bunny suit?! Screw you anime!

There was a bit too much interruptions (Flashbacks, Mero-chan) to actually appreciate watching the whole thing because I expected the next episode to be what comes next in the plot, but all of the sudden, the episodes are about the past. It's like the train gets derailed all of the sudden for something unrelated to the plot (Except the episode with Chihiro finding the book).

But those episodes were interesting. They were the best part of the anime. The stuff that actually happened in the manga after Rea became a zombie, I couldn't give a crap about.

[Megrim27]

I neither loved or hated Wanko, to me she's just yet another stereotypical over the top extrovert who shows affection through physical abuse. Haven't seen 100 of those before

It took me awhile, but I started to like the slow pacing of the show, the only issue I have was that it didn't go anywhere. It feels more like a prelude to a show, than an actual show. You could boil down the entire series into 3 episodes without much (if any) loss of story, context, sub-plot, or character study.

[justsomeguy]

I don't understand. How can there be so much hate for this excellent show? Heck, as far as I'm concerned it's one of DEEN's best ever. People actually hate on the awesome Ranko and the demure Rea? Come on, so what if they're "generic?" (How many characters are not these days?) Overall, this was a pretty sweet show with an actual well developed romance and serious themes around escaping from an abusive family. I'm glad that dying and becoming a zombie was not presented as a good solution for Rea at all and came with its own problems, while her family issues continued.

The only things that actually annoyed me about this show were the very slow pacing, the poorly timed Mero episode, or Rea's dad. It seems like he's supposed to be slightly sympathetic given how the flashback was presented, but he certainly acts like a pedophile and a total asshole, but given how messed up the Sanka family is, I think that's a bit too simplistic. Since the story is ongoing, there's no resolution to his character yet. And his allowing Chihiro to take Rea was too fast of a face heel turn, comparable to the Evol finale.

9/10. The much better of DEEN's two zombie shows. My favorite anime this season, besides Nazo no Kanojo X. With the finale the way it was and the story obviously incomplete, I can only hope that a sequel is on the way.

[Flawfinder]

Come on, so what if they're "generic?" (How many characters are not these days?)

Accepting generic characters is like me accepting CGI. There's something really wrong about standards if dull, weightless crap is the norm now.

[justsomeguy]

When's the last time there was a none-generic character? With so many new series constantly being pumped out, practically everything has being tried already. How the writer uses the characters in the story is more important than the characters being "generic."

[Flawfinder]

No, giving the character a personality is the important thing, because I can't care for a character that feels artificial (aka, almost all the characters in Fate/Zero). The Sankarea anime tried to give them personality, but after Rea turned into a zombie, she lost all of it. Chihiro has nothing for him besides his zombie fetish, which isn't a personality trait. Wanko is okay, but her weak love for Chihiro annoyed me. Rea's parents are fine.

I'm not asking for the characters to not be stereotypes. I'm asking for some life to them.

Edit: Alternatively, the characters can be funny. I can accept a generic character if they're funny. I did not laugh once during this show, so guess how I rate its comedy.