*spoilers ahead
So, the first episode looks good, shows some promise, the way characters are presented, kazumi's secret, turning into kappa, etc. And honestly, some nice, fluid animation, with no CG. Sure, there are some lazy backgrounds for animating people, but I'll take that over crappy CG. The leaking memory thing is also kind of interesting in terms of character development and plot progression.
HOWEVER, so much stuff and plot is just CRAMMED into a 11 episode series. Kazuki's secret, which honestly, could have been the main topic of all the 11 episodes, is wrapped in like 2-3 episodes. The other characters get 1 episode each. And then the random flashbacks happen, along with introduction and history of the traitors. And then haruka. Again, Kazuki and haruka's relationship could have been the topic of the entire series, and it would not have been a slow paced anime. Not to mention the other 2 characters that also had a lot of character in them, but in the end, nothing else was explored because KAPPA. The plot progresses, stuff happens really quick, and the ending is boringly wrapped up with very uninteresting last few episodes. Of course, the ending was to be expected by episode 1, "good guys win," but the journey there, the execution, and the plot details of getting to that ending is also just boring and not creative in the least.
There's also the question of: why the kappa thing to begin with? The characters in this show are very dynamic, and they change and develop throughout the entire series. However, they are thrown into a story about being a goddamned kappa and stupid stuff that happens all the time. Basically, a serious cast of characters that could have been in their own little melodrama or dramatic series, is put in a kind of comedic action series. Of course, I am not saying that you can't have something comedic and also being serious, (like gintama I'd say), but this show definitely doesn't execute quite well at all. The leaking thing plays a great role in the characters' development, but it could have been without if more time was spent in the characters to begin with.
They're not too related, but I'll compare this with panty and stocking. Panty & Stocking has a similar vibe with this show: group of people need to defeat some sort of evil, and kind of episodic with new villains popping up, with reoccurring villains that show up throughout the entire series, both done in a comedic fashion with transformations and also, a sort of "head guy" that gives out orders to defeat the enemy in the episode. However, Panty and Stocking have more static characters, focus more on the comedy, and with great animation and writing to accompany the comedic tone of the show. It's more "simplistic," but much more refined, makes more sense, doesn't feel rushed, and is a great piece of work, unlike Sarazanmai, which feels just terrible. You'd think that the whole is greater than the sum of all parts, but Sarazanmai doesn't become anything special, even after watching all 11 episodes, unlike Panty and Stocking, which felt a lot more complete and cohesive.
Conclusion-
-story's a big jumbled mess, with a terribly boring ending in both execution and result
-A serious set of characters set in a comedic series, a weird juxtaposition that doesn't pay off
-Lots of plot is rushed and also, subsequently buried for the conclusion of the show
-all in all, a show with great ambition that fails in execution in a lot of departments
