When I try to sample each series at the start of each series, I try to look for potential. I mean, some series are undoubtedly worth watching, but others perhaps might need a bit more time to get going or take off. Sankarea was one such series: it was difficult to sit through, but it definitely had its strong points. After watching the entire series, I have to say that it definitely had its redeeming moments. I’m just not sure whether they are enough to make this series worth watching.
Okay, so here is the thing that sets Sankarea apart from your average moe series: the acting for the main cast is very believable. The male lead, while weird and a geek, isn’t the same harem lead you see everywhere, but instead his characterization is subtle and his worries are very grounded. Rea, the main female lead feels fresh and her father and mother makes for some very interesting and diabolical villains. The combination of these four ingredients didn’t really take off right at the start, but across the series they have quite a few interesting moments and developments that make great use of how genuine and well characterized they all are.
The big problem is that that is about the only noteworthy praise i have for this series… and it has its moments in which it gets really, really annoying. The male lead has this pointless love triangle with this very annoying cousin shoved in, his classmates somehow managed to accomplish ticking me off in every single scene they appear in. I understand having these light-hearted moments in order to balance out the dark stuff, but the light-hearted moments completely fail at being funny, they break up the atmosphere rather than contribute to it and they have the characters trying way too hard to be archetypes.
And that’s strange for a series that really aims to get its basics right. Seriously, it really feels like the writers only read parts of “writing 101”. It’s got a whopping three characters who are entirely dedicated to just one side-character in order to give them background and development, but in the meantime, it forgets to be interesting. I would really recommend watching up to episode three of this series, because that really is where this series shines. After that though, it dabbles on a bit with a good moment here and there, but not really enough to stand out anymore, which is a shame because this really had the potential to go somewhere.
| Storytelling: | 7/10 – This series puts too much emphasis on the basics it feels like it often struggles to find things for the characters to do. |
| Characters: | 7/10 – Some characters are really good, others are really, really bad and are a pain to sit through. That should not be the case in an anime you watch for entertainment. |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 – Granted, Studio Deen has been improving on its visuals lately. It’s the completely wrong area for them to improve on, but granted this show looks pretty when it wants to. |
| Setting: | 8/10 – Neat ideas, especially around Rea’s character. They could have been used better, though. |
Suggestions:
– Phantom
– Natsu no Arashi
– Asatte no Houkou
