Sankarea 08 – 09
*insert lame Inception joke*
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Sankarea’s first double episode post! I am soooo not slacking off (so sowwy Hawth >.<) |
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No problem anaaga! I’ve been slacking off a bit this week too, last week of school and all. ´▽｀ Sankarea will be going on a one week hiatus along with Acchi Kocchi and Accel World, so expect an absence of next week’s post as well as the two latter shows from Meta Mash. Now, on to Sankarea!~ |
Chihiro takes his “observations” to an even higher level this week. Rea voices her obvious discomfort during a meal with the family, but Chihiro insists on carrying on with his … studies. That night Chihiro compiles all the information on zombies he has so far, they can’t use the bathroom or sweat, and sleeping is not necessary. While he continues making observations of her throughout the night, Rea finally speaks up and asks him to uphold his end of the deal to help her to become a normal girl. They end up going to the mall the next day, but while they’re shopping some shady figures sent by Rea’s father watch their every move.
That moment when a seme is stalking his uke
Wanko decides to head to the bath after helping out her parents, but realizes the only thing that’s on her mind is Chihiro. Chihiro and Rea grab lunch. Whats-his-face arrives as soon as Chihiro heads over to get food and takes her away. The shady guys take the opportunity to attack, but Rea defends herself with inhuman strength. When Chihiro arrives and goes over to question them, they grab him and take him to Rea’s father instead of Rea herself.
BURN THE VIRGINS!
Unfortunately, us audience won’t be able to find out about Chihiro’s fate until next week because episode nine is about Mero. In this episode, the audience gets to know about Mero’s friends and their wild adolescent fantasies about zombies. Mero is a lethargic girl who has the same expression no matter what, but Rea managed to prove otherwise by making Mero’s blush. The resemblance between Rea and Mero’s mom is too much for Mero to take. This change is a surprise for Mero, but it seems that she doesn’t mind.
Mero might try to deny it, but she’s just like her brother!~
Learning about Chihiro’s family and getting his sister’s approval, two birds with one stone.
Picspam
Meet Mero’s friends, Mini-Suruga and eyebrows.
I was kind of glad when Hawthorne suggested the double episode post because episode eight did not impress me at all. I was slacking off too, but that’s not really important right? Don’t fire me, Kyo. Anyhow, the overall impression I got from each episode was different, but the animation for both were top notch. Sankarea is back to its playful and witty animation tricks, and I welcome it with open arms. So yeah, although episode nine was “meh” for me, the animation was entertaining. My favorite scene (as usual) is when Chihiro thinks about Rea in a video recording-ish way, making it seems as if Chihiro’s filming Rea when he was actually imagining about her. If this explanation doesn’t make sense, it’s this scene. It was memorable. There are other scenes too, such as that scene where Wanko is thinking about Chihiro in the public bath. Episode nine is not as playful as episode nine’s animation, but the scenes of Mero’s mother are beautiful. The fragility of Rea’s mother was depicted perfectly, and the mysterious aura was clearly shown. Me gusta.
Now, about episode eight… There’s a reason why I don’t like it, but that can come later. In episode nine, her own death finally hits Rea. Rea tries to be a normal girl by going on a date with Chihiro, but the irony is that the small things she did make her “abnormal.” Eating poisonous hydrangea leaves for lunch is not normal. No normal girls do that. The worst has got to be the fact that she can’t be under the sun when it’s really hot though. Being under the sun is something what normal girls, heck, normal people do. This very moment in episode nine reminds me of the movie Never Let Me Go (based on a novel). Although the Rea’s frustration is not fully shown, unlike Tommy’s frustration in NLMG, both of them suffer the same fate of not being able to change their life even though they tried. The difference is that Rea has the chance to live to her fullest (with some obstacles such as her father), while Tommy can’t. Now it’s just Rea’s decision whether she’s going to dwell on her abnormality or to live her fullest. Unfortunately, this alone wasn’t enough to make me like episode eight. Half of episode eight is spent on the date, and it bored me. Not that I don’t like it, but I’ve seen/read too much anime about dates.
Though I was all RAGE at first when episode nine did not continue episode eight, my RAGE turned into fangirling when I found out that episode nine is about Mero. I really like it when an anime dedicates one of its episode to a minor character to give him depth (I want Sakamichi no Apollon to do this for Yurika, but I guess it’s not going to happen). Although Mero’s character is nothing outstanding, her reaction to Rea was worth it. And thanks to Mero, the audience managed to get a glimpse of Mero’s mother. The similarity between Rea and Mero’s mother just makes me more suspicious: Mero’s and Chihiro’s mother might be a zombie. The question is, is that a good thing or not? Is that the reason for her disappearance? Will Chihiro’s balls be saved next week? (A week hiatus for Sankarea)
Same here, anaaga, my inner fanboy surfaced when I realized episode 9 was dedicated to Mero. ´ ‿｀♡ Unlike a certain other side-character episode (*cough* Wanko), Mero’s episode actually holds some importance to the plot, which is to be expected considering she’s directly related to Chihiro. While Wanko’s past provided a better look into a relationship, Mero’s past introduced an important piece of the Furuya sibling’s family. It should be perfectly clear now that their mother was a zombie, there are just too many similarities for that not to be the case. I do have to wonder though, did she get pregnant when she was a zombie, or was this before the fact? (Wouldn’t that make Mero and Chihiro zombies too?) In any case, Chihiro’s mother being a zombie might explain his obsession with the undead, since it’s been said that humans unconsciously look for similar qualities of their parents for a partner. Mero’s immediate thought when Rea touched her was to call her “Mom”, so I doubt Chihiro is completely oblivious to the likeness of the two. Their mom’s past could hold the key to curing Rea, but first we’ll have to dig further into her history.
Otherwise the episode was fairly lighthearted with the usual horror-esque undertones. Mero and her two friends make an entertaining trio, and IMO could probably hold over a show on their own. (I’d watch it … ><) The short side stories were cute, though the first was far creepier and even with the “resolution” to it all I don’t trust that teacher. Who eats raw liver and has pet alligators? Whaaa. Anyway, the end was obviously more important to the story, though I enjoyed it throughout. Once again the production quality shined through. I don’t think I have the proper knowledge to be a good judge of animation/art quality, but sometimes you can just feel the amount of professionalism in the way things look and come together. The lighting effects alone manage to always impress me.
Anaaga already did an amazing job covering episode 8 and already said most of things that were also on my mind, so I’ll keep it brief. It was one of the weaker episodes in my opinion, but nevertheless entertaining as usual. I’m having trouble liking Rea, most of the time she seems kind of boring. I suppose her “normal” behavior is meant to show that she’s getting to live the life of a normal girl, but let’s be honest, crazy-hydrangea deprived Rea is so much more fun to watch! Rea’s family is finally entering the picture again, and I’m looking forward to it greatly. Until next time!~
Preview: They’re baaaack~ And they do not look pleased.
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I really didn’t care for the Rea they showed in episode 8. She really seemed empty-headed, almost ditzy. I guess they are going for the ‘bird released from its golden cage’ feel, but it seems that it goes a little too far, or even like they’ve ramped that up, because I didn’t get that feeling nearly as much when she was sneaking out around her father to go to the old hotel / meet Chihiro.
Maybe it’s that she’s not used to independence or standing up for herself, but it just seemed extra weak when Yasuda shows up and starts dragging her around and she doesn’t even say a word.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
The Rea in episode 8 didn’t stand out as much as she used to be before. The excitement from being “free” is probably the reason why Rea is acting like that. I don’t mind it that much, but it was pretty boring. I want her wild zombie personality back
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hmm… These two episodes were a bit average to say the least. Chihiro threw me a curve ball, though. For a guy that’s all about zombies, I didn’t think he’d get scared by a haunted house. Rea was cute and looks like she’s finally coming to terms with her fate but trying to stay optimistic at the same time because she wants to enjoy the freedom she always wanted.
Also, I find the relationship development between Chihiro and Rea is slower than that of the couple in Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. They’re still just friends and I hope it doesn’t wait until the very end for them to confess to each other.
It was interesting seeing Mero spending spending personal time with Rea in the graveyard. Hopefully, Mero’s flat attitude will change a little now that there’s another female in the house to spend time with because it seems she acts a bit different when Ranko is around. Her best friend is a zombie freak as well. She and Chihiro should meet up.
That art teacher is a first class fruit cake. Who in their right mind takes a crocodile in as a pet, let alone bring it into a school where there innocent bystanders? It’s gotta grow up sometime.
I can’t wait to see is if the story will call for that bastard pedophile of a father to die a horrible and well deserved death. In my opinion, he’s lived for too long.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
The whole haunted house thing baffled me. TBH I find it to be rather dumb because I see no difference between zombie (horror!) movies and haunted (horror!) house, except the fact that the other is on TV.
Hmm I’d rather have their relationship to be like this actually. I like it when the characters take their time to know each other better. And with their personalities, I think they’ll confess to each other anytime soon.
Bwahaha I think Chihiro will have a hard time talking to Mero’s friend, remembering his difficulty talking to others. It’s a little bit sad though when Mero’s friend think that Chihiro is “a freak.” Everybody is labeling him as that.
Art teacher will have to kill it soon. I remember my elementary friend who used to have cobra as a pet, and she had to kill it because it was getting dangerous. She cried.
I want Rea’s father to be burned halfway then be thrown into a jungle. Ok, that’s a little bit too sadistic, but… He’s an asshole
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Mero’s episode was a snoozefest for me. Literally, I fell asleep about 5 minutes in. I wish they would’ve put it before or after episode 7 and not break the flow of the current situation at hand (the capturing of Chihiro).
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I actually had fun watching about her friends (instead of Mero herself). They have pretty wild imaginations for middle schoolers