For the people we love and care for, time past, present and future. We all have them. But what happens when that "Dish of Hope" that we oh-so want to claim becomes a hindrance to others who want them too to fulfill their ambitions, and what's up with the secrets becoming public? Ultimately, what happens to that connection that we long for the most?
This season, famed director Kunihiro Ikuhara and his production team from Utena and Penguindrum introduces this series to us: Sarazanmai, not just a story about the generational war between the Otters and the Kappas, but of a much sinister and not-so-complicated plot of human ambitions and connections that Ikuhara's formula of "nonsensical, unpredictable" shows are known for. Similar to his past directorial works (including Yurikuma), he stated that as much as Yokai (supernatural monsters) stories are made for children, this is his first attempt at changing the narrative for the adults, plus in addition, male-centric protagonists as opposed to the female-centric ones before.
A foreword before I start my review, this is my very first exposure on Ikuhara-sensei's work, and while I have heard of his shows mentioned at the beginning, this is still mind-boggling for me, so criticize if you must, but take my words with a grain of salt if I fail to mention any references.
Story:
The setting of the story is based in Asakusa, a city in Tokyo in the Taito district, where there exists this strange area called Kappabashi-dori (nicknamed "Kitchen Town"). More than just a famous place for kitchenware (yes, plates are sold there!), but there also exists a kappa statue (which is shown as sorta the HQ for the characters), of which our main central characters (Kazuki, Toi, Enta) broke, and there in there, a kappa appears by the name of Keppi. Being the prince of the Kappa Kingdom, the trio band of boys are subjected to helping Keppi collect the "Dishes of Hope" by getting their shirikodama (mythical organ) extracted from their anals, sing songs about the desires to collect, and by doing so, making the sound "Sarazanmai" to extract the shirikodama from the antagonists Reo and Mabu (acting as the Otters' agents)' created "desire" zombies.
However in doing so, every time the trio tries to connect with each other, in exchange, private secrets are revealed, pitting each other in extreme ways of reasoning in light of their desire. This is the baseline of the story, but Ikuhara fans will know there's more between the lines, as all characters will fight for what is right to them, and claiming the "Hope" that can settle their issues once and for all (at least for this series).
(If you need clarity, seek ANN's post about "Here's What We All Know About Sarazanmai", that's a very extensive and informative read!)
Plus, having chief series director Nobuyuki Takeuchi (who worked on Utena) is one of the major factors in achieving Sarazanmai and its valiant efforts alongside Ikuhara, who has since then matched Ikuhara's efforts (on Penguindrum) and now this series. What an amazing work.
Characters:
If you haven't seriously paid any attention to Ikuhara's works before, the characters play the main plot of his stories, sometimes weird and vague but it definitely has a "finishing line" feel to it. (Spoilers will be kept to a minimum not just because it's Ikuhara, but because there are heavy weights behind their actions.)
Kazuki, seemingly has one of the most bizarre backstories to whatever he does, and it feels like that for a reason. Back before this Kappa thing ever happened, he was proficient in soccer (or how Americans call it football), and in his childhood, paired together with his good ol' bud Enta, they were known as the "Golden Duo". And also, due to his obsession with the idol Sara Azuma, he too cross-dresses for his younger brother Haruka. Oh man, this boy is just too busy with a lot of things! But he fights with passion for anything to make sure his dreams are fulfilled.
Enta, who is "attached" with Kazuki as the "Golden Duo", his story is a bit underwhelming, but for the sake of friendship, it's the widest of long shots. So he exists as that, but due to his unforseen "bump" with the Sara Azuma cross-dressed Kazuki, he develops a crush for him. However, down the line, he realizes that Kazuki is not into soccer as he hopes as time passes, and carries Kazuki around his selfish desires to stay together.
Toi, who is the total-badass of the trio, doesn't seem like that by first choice. Once a middle-school transfer student, he resides in Kazuki and Enta's class, but seemingly has a side job for his wreck of an older brother, Chikai, selling drugs for him. And overtime it becomes an intoxication for him as his whole family isn't living the high life, and concurrently in debt with his "big, bad wolf" brother on the run, Toi has to make split decisions which affect how both Kazuki and Enta tries to mend things with him, whenever his reasoning is lost in-between moments.
Reo and Mabu, the antagonists who were once on the side of the Kappa Kingdom, now opposes it with the Otter Empire after their resurrection. However, due to the war between both factions, Mabu sacrifices his life to save Reo, in the exchange that the love that Reo had for him be not told, and together with the Otter implanting a mechanical heart in Mabu, Reo goes through an extensive cycle for Mabu to realize his love for him. What a deadly sequence of events and a road treaded to catch one's love and desire.
The side character, Sara Azuma the idol herself, we see each and every episode about her appearance on TV, with the daily "Fortune of Today" having secret meanings. And yes my friends, this is NO mere coincidence, as Wataru Okabe, the graphic designer and iconographer of Penguindrum, repeated his methodology with the ? ('A') and has become the "Greek chorus" element. Furthermore, every episode we see with the "Sara + (add episodic item)", it is still a mystery but it's fun to speculate what this could mean. Plus she is always around with Keppi, the Kappa prince, and what this means, honestly I really don't know. Keppi is a fun character though, voiced by MHA's Aizawa-sensei, his voice gives Keppi the look that is as ferocious but also comedic.
Art and Animation:
NOW this is where it gets interesting. We all know MAPPA's sturdy record of prominently great shows with cool and striking animation, but in this series, I would like to direct your attention to 2 figures:
Studio Pablo, the small art studio responsible for the overall art, backgrounds and foregrounds included. This studio, although no directorial works have been under their belt before, but it is regarded as one of, if not, the best background-designing studios that anime could ever have with very lush colourwork, high detailedness and naturalized workstyle. And Flip Flappers (from Studio 3Hz) is a very great example of bringing that creativeness and realism to a whole new angle, and if you've seen that show, Sarazanmai shares the same philosophy, and heading that directorial post is Ayaka Fuiji.
Lapin Track...? Who's that?
No doubt this is one strange studio that everyone has seen for the first time, me included. Founded under Ikuhara and his main home in the anime industry, this backseat studio has been working outsourced projects before with skillful directors under their belt, but just like Madhouse, Shaft and the bigger studios, people left to form new studios (MAPPA, here for example, is founded from directors under "old" Madhouse before). This is the first appearance for everyone, so if you happen to find a future Ikuhara show, this studio will be the No.1 thing to keep in mind of.
So unorthodox and creative-filled is Sarazanmai that while the differences from the norm are striking, it definitely gave the series a look that is unlike anything ever seen, and shows off the signature of Ikuhara as per the usual.
Sound:
To Ikuhara fans (I don't really know if this is true), sound too plays a part of his works, in those moments where we least expected it. At least the series' theme song when the episodic zombie fights come were symbolical to the items that were shared when the idol Azuma displays as "Fortune of the Day", leading up to the usual shenanigans and hops. Otherwise, the main roots (OP and ED) were great to listen to.
AND OH YES, the Kappa anal fights and Reo and Mabu's Otter duet songs! Those are the best, and while they get repetitive (and sound like the "Power Up!" BGM you hear in games), it's so fun to see the differing details between the trio (each episode featuring a different front man) along with Reo and Mabu's dance.
Overall, Sarazanmai is intriguing yet enjoyable, and is an experience not to be missed. Even if you're not an Ikuhara fan and you don't like his sense of storytelling, there is no denying that whatever he touches, turn fine wine into gold. Even when the story is all said and done, and you're left to piece everything together, don't. Because we may have just found our creative ground in an age of "copy-and-paste" tactics. So come along for the ride, and don't start weaving the lines just yet.
Kunihiro Ikuhara-sensei, we the fans and audience, await for your next surprise work.
