Creative Staff
Story/Art: Mitsuru Hattori
Translation/Adaptation: Lindsey Akashi
What They Say
WE ALWAYS EAT THE ONES WE LOVE
A strange foreign doctor warns Rea that her “turbid period” is approaching… and that it will bring with it an insatiable desire to eat Furuya’s flesh! Realizing she may not have much time left to live as a sane, normal girl, Rea works as hard as she can to enjoy her first, and maybe last, summer festival with Chihiro. But is it already too late for them both?!
The Review! (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Content:
Ah the festival episode, nearly as universal as the beach episode. The group trip to the local festival seems like a normal part of many stories, but this trip is Rea’s first time visiting a festival. Her father was so protective he never let her attend any before, which makes this a little bit of a development situation for her character. She tries her hand at the fish catching booth and some other standard festival things, and then she takes a walk with Ranko and they have a heart to heart. Well, at least Ranko gets her feelings about Chihiro out on the table. In the end, both girls agree they like him and they will both do everything in their power to win his affections.
And Rea doesn’t waste any time. She goes right after Chihiro and gets him to go on a walk with her; just the two of them. Everything is leading up to that great teenage romance where the couple kisses for the first time. Ah, bliss…except Rea snaps and takes a bite of Chihiro’s neck!
All hell breaks loose after Rea comes back to her senses, just short of ripping our Chihiro’s jugular! Then Rea disappears into the woods before the others can rescue Chihiro and get him bandaged up. From here, things get a frenetic feeling after Chihiro recovers enough to go searching for Rea. He tries to get help from Rea’s stepmother, who tries to seduce him instead (super sexy BTW). But Rea’s stepmother hates her, so Chihiro has a difficult task at hand. And even if he can convince her to help him, will it be enough to find Rea? What if Rea has slipped into full zombie mode and is wandering the wilds eating small fluffy woodland creatures? Will Chihiro be able to kill Rea if it comes to that?
In Summary
After watching the Sankarea anime, it has been great fun reading the original manga. These two incarnations of Sankarea have been created exactly the way I like to see it; similar stories but just different enough to keep me from feeling like I’m watching a rerun. Mostly the differences between the two media have been the order that certain aspects of the story take place. Between the two, I like them both equally; although I do greatly enjoy the art of the manga and the slightly sexier presentation of the characters. Rea’s stepmother is especially naughty in the manga.
Admittedly, I am surprised to see that Rea is losing her humanity only four volumes into the manga. I would have thought they would stretch it out a little longer, but only time will tell. Maybe there is some surprise super elixir yet to be discovered that will help Rea hold onto her humanity and slow the rotting process? But maybe not; and that wouldn’t be a terrible thing as many series go longer than they should have anyways. Regardless, Sankarea is an entertaining read and fans of the anime should give Kodansha’s manga version a chance!
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: December 24th, 2013
MSRP: $10.99
