While I'm not exactly a fan of the horror genre, this anime does a masterful job of mixing a little horror with a romance genre. Going into this anime, I wasn't sure what to expect and even after watching, I was surprised with what I got (if that makes any sense).
Sankarea, for the most part, is a series about a girl from a rich family that was dealt with a bad hand and in an attempt to commit suicide, she lives through it, dies later in an accident, and is revived due to her attempt to commit suicide (by poisoning). It just so happens that the poison she took to commit suicide is part of a potion to bring the dead back to life as an undead life form.
This series primarily revolves around two main characters. Chihiro, who is the son of a monk who is obsessed with zombies and Rea, the daughter of a wealthy school master who's been mentally abused by her father. Rea meets Chihiro when he tries to revive his dead cat by using an old, handwritten potion book of unknown origins.
The best part of this anime is atmosphere. The animation, the writing, the music. Everything is so perfectly intertwined that the plot, as ludicrous as it sounds, becomes almost realistic. I think the theme that struck me the most was Rea's side of the plot. You had a rich daughter from a family that she wanted no part of. A family that granted her no freedom. Yet, when everything went against her, Chihiro, some "weirdo" kid with a zombie complex helped her in her time of need. It was such an enthralling story because even despite Chihiro's rather odd obsession with zombies, his main goal was to help Rea live the life of a normal girl, even though she's technically a zombie.
This series is a little difficult to describe because for one reason or another, it was an enjoyable watch. Chihiro, Rea, even the minor characters like Mero, Ranko, and Doon in their own way had their charm albeit Chihiro, Rei, and Danichirou for the most part stole the show. I really loved the family element behind this show with Rei struggling with the "real" family atmosphere before she's introduced to Chihiro's family. For someone who had a borderline pedophile father who's psychological abuse was quite extreme, this had to be quite a culture shock for Rea's character to handle. It was interesting watching the interactions and I must say, I absolutely loved Chihiro's interaction with Danichirou when the time came.
My biggest problem with this series, despite my enjoyment of it, was the plotholes. They were quite evident with the biggest one being, why did Rea have a poision liquid that completed the potion for immortality? This was a MAJOR event early on in the series that got no explanation afterward although I was expecting one throughout the series. It did seem like one of those things that they would possibly cover in a 2nd season...if it even got one (at this point, I have my doubts). Another one of the plotholes would include the ending, which again, leads to the possibility of a 2nd season. I'd say the biggest problem the Sankarea season might have is their is probably enough material for a 2nd season (or a 24 episode anime) but since we're left with an open-ending, it leaves too many open questions.
With Sankarea being so open ended, how do I feel about this series as a whole? Well, it's enticing and unique for starters. Anytime you have a story about a zombie trying to live a normal life, I'm sure there's an audience wanting to know how that turns out. I'm not even really a big zombie fan and I found this series fascinating. The biggest problems with this series are as I mentioned. It just left way too much unanswered after a 12 episode series. This is one of those animes that really should've received a 24 episode set but wasn't granted that. One minor complaint I had with it was there was WAY too much fan service. I usually don't mind fan service that much as long as its used in moderation and there are reasons for having it...this series just sort of slapped it in your face and said, "here you go, all the zombie fan service (and then some) that you could ever want.
Overall, it's a fascinating series. I really enjoyed watching it and I find the enjoyment factor to be the strongest part of this series. However, there's far too much missing from this series for me to say it's a great anime. A good, fun-filled anime, yes indeed. A great anime?...It's just lacking too much for that sort of title.
