「さんか…れあ」 (Sanka… Rea)

Just when I thought Rea’s father couldn’t get anymore possessive… we get to witness more of Sanka Danichirou (Unshou Ishizuka) and his obsession with his daughter this week — notably the creepy references to his gloves. That’s some strong symbolism there, and if this was an English essay, I could probably type up 500 words explaining how it displays both his controlling behavior and vulnerability at the same time… but I won’t.

That’s mainly because Danichirou’s behavior still makes me excruciatingly uncomfortable, especially with all the touching (*shivers). His attitude towards his daughter seems to have two extremes. He loves her and he seems to treat her well (compared to Rea’s mother anyway), but on the flip side, he pressures her into doing things that could get him arrested for harassment (I don’t know if he actually rapes her though…). He seems so bipolar that I’m not sure what even motivates these behaviors anymore. I think what makes me most weary of him is his creepy smile every time he talks to Rea. You know what he’s likely thinking of, but he gives off this facade of being an old friendly man who loves his family. I guess that’s the cost of having a reputation to uphold, but every time I see him now, I just assume he’s a perverted old man.

Rea’s mother, Sanka Aria (Asano Mayumi), isn’t much better of a role model for her daughter either. She’s cold, distant, and seems to care an awful lot about the reputation Rea needs to keep up for the sake of the family. What a hypocrite… She must know what’s going on behind the scenes between her husband and daughter, so what does that imply about her? Well since Danichirou could give two shits about her, she spends her afternoons drinking, half-naked. That’s nice – as a bystander, she’s simply neglecting Rea as much as Danichirou is harassing her.

I know I’m complaining a lot about Rea’s family, but I do think this makes for an interesting story and gives a lot of context for what’s to come. I started this anime with the impression that Furuya would be the main character; however Rea has completely stolen the spotlight (which I don’t mind at all!). I’m more attached to her than any other character at this point so I hope they continue to explore the complexity of Rea’s family relationships. There’s obviously a lot of tension between the three of them, and for good reason I’m sure; I just wish I knew where it stems from.

On the other hand, I think Furuya, his family, and his friends) need a bit more screen time too. So far, the only impression I have of Ranko is… she has a lot of fans. Mero and Jogorou also make short appearances, however they weren’t long enough for me to really grasp more of their personalities. I think Baabu (Misato Fukuen) would be the only other “family member” who has a bit more personality (and that could be because he’s undead…). He doesn’t even say “nyaa” when he talks, he says “baabu”! That’s so cute =3

We finally get to see Rea’s transformation too, and although I had a good idea of how it would happen, Baabu’s involvement was an interesting twist. I’ve never seen such a strong reaction due to allergies from a grown man – it was a bit of an overkill. The plot device served its purpose though and now we’ll finally get to see Rea’s development as a zombie. I’ve been looking forward to this moment since the show’s premiere and all the buildup was definitely worth it. I never imagined Rea would make for such an interesting character (maybe because I had no prior knowledge from the manga), but I’m glad I was proven wrong (her red eyes scare me though… reminds me more of vampires; but I’m sure I’ll get over it).

 

Preview

99 Comments

  1. Hmmm, judging from the interactions between Ranko and Furuya, I believe their tension will become a plot device in the near future. You have to be near deaf or extremely narrowminded not to hear someone shouting in a pipeline. Although it’s not the main plot persay, I personally will feel annoyed if Furuya doesn’t get a reality check concerning Ranko by the end.

    Zanibas
      1. It’s sort of a misconception that inbreeding causes massive genetic defects. Inbreeding simply leads to higher chances of common ancestral recessive genes to surface in offspring.

        This does not automatically equate to extra limbs and mental disabilities, though it would be a serious concern and tests would be done to see if they had the genes for various birth defects.

        Between first cousins the risk for such a thing arising if they had the genes for it is around 5%. Again assuming at risk genes are present, for sibling – sibling relationships (or parental – offspring) relationships it is 25%, much higher than the general population but they would be similar if regular partners held the same genes for various defects that could affect their children.

        Ultimately, the taboo comes more from the associated potential for mental / physical abuse or trauma coming from relatives, leading it to become reviled by society at large through out most of the world with the misconception being a easy fallback to rationalize.

        Fun fact: The farthest removed you can be from any contemporary human being is 56 times removed. Hope you enjoy technical incest with your cousin =D.

        DaSilva
      2. Well, yeah…apart from the genetics, which the guy before me pretty much sums up…the entire conception of incest being wrong *only* stems from the prevalent modern concept of “morality” (and where most of those moral values come from, we should all know). If you hadn’t been taught that it is “wrong”, you’d never think it is for one second.
        One of my professors just said to the entire idea: “There’s nothing wrong with incest…or how do you think we created all the cattle we keep?”

        Anyway, it was really common in pre-modern societies everywhere on the world…but the amount of emperors and whatnot who fell sick early or were a bit retarded proves that genetics are not to be taken lightly 🙂

        Morricane
    1. Hey, Guys, about Japan where cousin’s get married, is already a common knowledge if you watch anime with great details, to the point you’ll be shocked that there are things that Japan can do normally.

      Ken Sanders
      1. lol i don’t think people really can rely on knowledge from anime since anime contain a lot of Japanese fetish, i was sure cousins love was japan fetish, like sister and brother love but its real.

        lkm
      2. But cousin love and sibling love both deal with the exact same issues (social pariahs) and consequences (mentally defect offspring), so they might as well be the same thing.

        Da5id
      3. true, but still brother and sister love more complicated, probably because they came from the same mother. plus i don’t think such a thing as brother and sister love exist, cousins love is a very rare thing so brother and sister love, nope.

        lkm
      4. More like they have the same father is the bigger problem. In HK, marriage between cousins is legal but not recommended on mother’s side cousins and REALLY not recommended on father’s side cousins. As most people know, for all the biological issues.

        KJacket
      5. I’m not surprised it’s still legal like the age of consent/marriage is still 13. For family traditions where you want to keep the blood line pure … Japan isn’t alone in this.

        Ani_BEE
      6. Wait sorry, if cousins having babies can go wrong as well why it it legal? Or is there a extremely significantly low chance of that ever occurring? I always thought it was okay because the degree of separation was enough that they wouldn’t have to defected babies.

        pho
      7. I’m pretty sure (but not certain) that cousins are genetically diverse enough that the possibilities of defective babies are negligible and comparable to the chance for just natural mutations. That is of course if the two pairs of parents are not brothers/sisters/twins of each other which would narrow the gene pool.

      8. Well, sisters and brothers (and for that matter, childhood friends), don’t usually hook up because of what’s called the westermarck effect or “reverse sexual imprinting”. Basically, if you’re around a member of whatever sex you’re attracted to since childhood for years, you won’t usually gain an attraction to them when your mature. If you only know each other for a little bit during that time, then meet again later, you have a more likely chance of being attracted to each other. Meaning if a sister and brother are apart from each other for a long time during their early years, they could hypothetically become attracted to each other…assuming they don’t already know they’re related.

        That in itself pretty much disproves most of the “osananajimi” romances in anime, and partially explains why they almost never work out.

        Da5id
      9. @Da5id: That’s actually an interesting point. However, I wouldn’t go as far as saying it concretely “disproves” anything since psychology is mostly hypothetical anyway.
        I do like that it is the opposite viewpoint of Freud with his Oedipus Complex theory. Anyone that studied any psychology should know the Freud was an idiot that spouted a lot of biased opinions as gospel.

      10. Well, he did lay the groundwork for modern day psychoanalysis, right? True, most of his stuff is obsolete now, but he did put forth the idea that studying an individual as an individual would give an idea to general human behavior.

        But yeah, it probably doesn’t disprove it entirely. I had a crush on a childhood friend for awhile, but then again, I didn’t see her that often during the time I started to like her, so who knows if the effect was actually in place.

        Da5id
    1. Yup, and it was obviously censored. It will be interesting to see it on BD when it comes out on June 29. It will also be interesting to see how they will choose to censor the scenes that were censored (by the author) in the manga. I like it that Rea’s blood was not bright red. Strange as it sounds, I hope they draw what’s hanging out of her realistically.

      Love this shot of Babu, but the hortentia’s should be more crushed.

      bertman4
  2. This was a pretty cool episode.

    I get the funny feeling gramps might be a zombie. Keep in mind I have never read the manga, but if you noticed zombie babu seems to crave those poison leave, and Fuurya mentioned Gramps eats them too. Plus he’s got green skin!

    Well… probably way off on this but meh

    In conclusion I am definitely a Ranko fan!

    Tez
    1. I was thinking that as well (about gramps). Also notice she was getting quite ill by the end of the episode (just before she fell). Seems to me she was ill since she hadn’t eaten the plant, which is probably necessary for the zombies to live.

      Tomer
    1. I got that impression with him as well. In a twisted way the only creature he would be willing to touch would be Rea as an extension of himself. The thought of anyone defiling her (or simply touching her) would send him into a blind rage/panic.

      Ani_BEE
  3. The colours in this ep were just beautiful and I’m totally in love with the intentionally uncomfortable and creepy vibe this show gives…not to mention Rea, cat ear hairstyles and babuuuu <3

    By the way Cherrie i think you accidentally linked to the wrong image on 'whipping her' because that pic was when Rea's father did it on accident when trying to whip away the cat?
    "I guess that’s the cost of having a reputation to withhold"…u mean like uphold? ahah i've spent to much time editing ppl's essays 🙁

    Flippy
    1. no. Painful to say this, but the adaptation for this 3rd episode (and this episode ONLY so far) is subpar. Hopefully it’s an one-off incident and not what to come. And no, it’s not just because of stupid censorship. By the way, why the heck did they censore the gut hanging out in this episode, but not on the very first one? Go back and see, it wasn’t censored there. I feel slightly cheated.

      RC reader56
  4. I started reading the manga after this episode and I must say up until now the anime is quite faithfully adapted. If they continue this then this show may become rather interesting.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    J-Luke
  5. While watching the episode I noticed Baabu went to the old building to eat the leaves there. Does he has to do that because he’s a zombie?
    Does that make Jogorou a Zombie too, as he chews on them all the time, looks like one and wasn’t all that surprised by hearing that Baabu was rescurrected?
    edit: Just noticed Tez wrote this already.

    All in all I really like this show, it seems somehow refreshing.

    xerocs
  6. Wanna see more Mero… and a bit of Jogorou. D:
    But to actually have a zombie in this anime was something surprising (for a reason or another). I thought Baabu’s condition would be explained, and part of me is still waiting for a reason Rea’s not dead. xD
    I need to accept that this anime actually DOES include zombies. >__<
    Now, to find my own red-eyed undead girl (they're surprisingly hot, you know!)…

    That Bored Shounen
  7. At first I was hesitant about watching this show as I’m not really a big fan of zombies, but the characters especially the members of Rea’s family are so intriguing now I’m officially hooked. Also if all the zombie girls have ruby red eyes, I wouldn’t mind having a zombie girlfriend.

    ybaby
  8. I don’t read the manga so my assumption here is probably wrong, but it seems to me that her mother only wants to be loved. However, I can’t feel sorry for her, not even pity her, because neglecting a daughter out of jealousy is not acceptable to me. But on the other hand, I don’t know if this is correct or not. I’m always wrong \o/

    Great post for a great episode!

    Stereoman
    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      Rea’s death scene was beautiful and well-animated. The anime did a wonderful job portraying the manga quite accurately. I’m really curious how the anime will fare now that Rea is a zombie.

      BNV
  9. When anime touches upon more crude subjects, the general audience tends to dwell on it a lot. Here we have a dysfunctional family AND necrophilia subjects… Thank god there’s Ranko.

    Ananas
  10. I find it interesting that Rea’s mother saw her daughter sneaking away, but did not tell a word to her husband. I don’t think she really cares about reputation at all.

    He is the one she loathes and everything that works against him, like being harsh to the daughter he loves so much or seeing said daughter disobey him, gives her some sense of relief.

    Zreon
    1. The way I saw it, it looked like Rea’s mother was trying to cover up Rea’s disappearance hence the half naked invitation seduction attempt to distract Danichirou from finding out.

      BACKSPACE
  11. The first scene of this episode which was the ccontinuation of the end of the previous is so damn romantic… Rea just looking at the camera as furuya put her in the seat of his bike is so cute. Such real life expression in her face. This show man… This show.

    End3rr
  12. The animation really tok my breath away in this episode, even more than the first two. I just stared so long at some points that I missed the subtitles. It’s so gorgeous and this series deserves it. It’s definitely one of the best this season!

    Kiria
  13. “I’ve never seen such a strong reaction due to allergies from a grown man – it was a bit of an overkill.”
    May I kindly remind you that the man is completely insane? xD

    Crook
    1. Show Spoiler ▼

      Momo
  14. well now it finally happen she is now zombie & cat ears hairstyle boy got a zombie girl.

    yet that father really indeed so do NOT like or trust that father not one bit in anyway really yea even goes scared of zombie babu cat yea panic cause i’m algeric.

    cause of that give rea try to defend babu but her father really cause of your doing you killed own daughter!!!

    now rea is zombie girl oh my now how to handle it next?

    POW-KLAC RAN-KLAC-GERS
  15. The red eyes definitely scare me too. What I’m worried about for next ep, though, is… Daddy and his butler saw Rea still moving… >>;;;. Aren’t they going to assume she’s still alive? How is her life gonna change at all @A@?!?!? awuwuwuwu~

    (don’t tell me, these are just my worries. I assume next ep will clarify things ^^;.)

    KumaKaori
  16. Parent of the year right here. Well considering how much I’m liking Rea guess it sort of balances out with my dislike of her parents.

    However Rea’s death made me cringe, I didn’t expect that.

    xephx
    1. don’t worry Accel World fan. We still have episode one’s lack of censor over intestine dangling. They managed to sneak that in. ha ha I pretend to think that the fall was so mighty that it created a black hole over Rea’s stomach. Now Rea can pig herself and not gain a pound since the food will just disappear into the black hole.

      RC reader56
  17. One random thought: I think the eyes of characters, both in color and expressiveness, are done exceptionally well. You can look at their eyes in almost any frame and understand their emotion at that moment.

    Also, I have never seen eyes the colors of Wanko’s in any anime – I’m not sure why but they are quite striking IMO.

    7godeohs
    1. Danichirou’s creepy smile wan’t be as effective without the detail to his eyes. A true simle reaches the eyes while a fake one doesn’t (unless they their something really wrong with that persom in the head.)

      Danichirou does come off as fake really well for this reason.

      Ani_BEE
  18. “(her red eyes scare me though… reminds me more of vampires; but I’m sure I’ll get over it).”

    It’s interesting to note that in Japan Zombies and Vampires are almost one in the same. Both are/have been depicted with red eyes, both are brought back from the dead. Both feed on humans and tend to be more intelligent then a North American Zombie. The only differential is that vampires don’t need to kill their victims to feed on blood.

    I think in the first episode we see in one of the movies Furuya watch has a very traditional anime Kyonshi, a young woman with white hair and red eyes, I’ve seen this patern use alot.

    Ani_BEE
  19. 1.the Sanka father – I cant wait for him to be smacked down. Hard. Even his photos are enough to send him to jail.
    2.the Sanka mother – I’d be frustrated and jealous of Rea in her place too, she is virtually abandoned by the above person. In the manga her character is developed further and quite pitiable.
    3.Ranko oozes sex appeal, but she is on a lost position since title of the show plainly shows who is the romantic heroine – but fans can enjoy the service. And being “only” a cousin she avoids “hard” incest theme.
    4.Furuya imouto is definitely pot calling the kettle black, sleeping daily in a traditional funeral garb seems a bit… off?
    5.Baabu is the cutest undead ever. I guess cats even being undead still cna haz cheezburgers… with hydrangea of course.
    6.Finally the zombification happens. This makes “taking responsibility” quite a challenge, ne?
    Ewok out

    ewok40k
  20. It’s sad you didn’t write this essay about the gloves. That’s right, I found this really interresting too. The power to control with a touch. I understand this part, but not sure about the vulnerability part (because I actually didn’t really thought about it.)
    There’s a lot of symbolism in this show, and I think that if there were not here, I can’t assume I would have countinued this anime.

    I hope the relations between all the characters will become more deep in the next episode, and if someday you write something about these gloves, I would really read about it =P
    Good article anyway, and like everybody, the last was wonderful. Colors, animation and all. Hope the anime will follow the same path =P

    Laiae
    1. Haha! I think I’ll leave the essays and editorials to Stilts =) but I’m glad someone picked up on the gloves too… I only noticed because they had so many shots of him putting them on/taking them off =S or just his hands in general.

      Cherrie
    2. Those gloves reminded me of Vander Decken. Speaking of essays, I used ef ~ a tale of memories as one of my supporting texts back in high school. Series directed with some (not overwhelming) Shaft style make for some easy material to extract techniques. There’s also the added bonus that most of the English teachers aren’t familiar with the series so you can alter/make up techniques as you so desire 😛

      Fling
  21. You can say Danichirou just killed his only daughter, it might have not been his intention but he pushed down the cliff towards her death. Also he killed her spiritually, you can say you failed as a father when you push your daughter to commit suicide, or at leat try in Rea´s case.

    haseo0408
  22. IT BEINGS! Sanka’s zombification had begun…eh been complete. Depending on if you’re just considering coming back to life, or the urge to eat BRAINS! If it’s the prior, then yes it’s complete. However if it’s the latter then no Sanaka’s not there…yet.

    Also, poor Wanako, left behind like that. Granted she can get a bit bossy at times, but c’mon.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Snicket

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