Sarazanmai

If you enjoy this, you really should go back and see his others. His worst is still an audio-visual treat - Ikuhara's really great at making things more than the sum of their parts.

Granted, if what you like is teenage boys getting turned into kappa-themed anal beads, there's not going to be any of that.

(Edit: Figures my page topper would involve anal beads.)

Edited by Bur on Apr 22nd 2019 at 8:09:30 AM

Hey man, I think page-toppers for this thread should just be left as is. It's only appropriate given the topic.

Episode 3.

Y'know, Enta and Haruka seem to have a better relationship with each other than either of them do with Kazuki. Even if it does consist of them sitting around and wishing that Kazuki wasn't such a standoffish jerk to them.

Also that last scene at the end had my plot senses tingling.

am i wrong in thinking that the musical sequences mean i should just treat its narrative logic as similar to a musical

Was not expecting Enta's crush to reach the point of constant fantasizing about Kazuki

The pointed reveal of the wheelchair seems really obvious in retrospect.

Edited by Nouct on Apr 26th 2019 at 2:23:59 AM

Oh.

Well, that last scene was something. That was well-hidden. Makes sense in retrospect, but I found no trace of it in the last episode. Haruka is also not on the poster for the show, of course, since he couldn't be standing like everybody else. Oh, and apparently the people caught by the otter cops are retgone after the fact. And they have a boss, who's not very happy about things.

Also, call me mad, but I think Enta being into Kazuki isn't going to be dropped that easily.

Edited by TheLovecraftian on Apr 26th 2019 at 8:31:04 AM

In the second episode, Haruka's chair at the dining table is the wheelchair or something similar, there's at least one shot that shows the other three chairs Kazuki and his parents sit in are uniform in contrast to Haruka's.

Edited by Nouct on Apr 26th 2019 at 4:33:34 AM

Oh, yeah, you're right. Hadn't caught my eye.

My earlier theory regarding Haruka is probably incorrect, then, if this is the revelation.

Eh, I don't see why not. Sure, narrative law of causality doesn't usually give a single character two conflicts like that, but you never know.

I suppose that’s true.

Episode 3:

And now it's about the episode when they fight against fish like creatures And seems like the BL here is strong in this one. It's not a bad thing though as I found Enta and Kazuki's relationship to be... Interesting I suppose. And ouch, no wonder why Kazuki tries at his best to entertain Haruka which is understandable. In the meantime, seems the policemen had a higher up. Wonder if he will make an appearance though.

So it seems like the three main themes of this show are desire, gayness and horrible puns.

…Yeah, that last shot took me by surprise, but it does explain a lot.

Also, I love the opening and ending more with each listen. <3

Edited by Lyendith on Apr 27th 2019 at 4:48:39 PM

Someone compiled all of Sara's text crawls which is good because there is way too much going onscreen for me to pay attention to them specifically

Edited by Nouct on Apr 30th 2019 at 4:58:24 AM

…All of those are the show surreptitously shouting at us that Sara is a kappa. Talk about Freeze-Frame Bonus.

Mind, I have no idea what that would actually mean in terms of the plot...

Granted, the opening spoils that already… plot-wise, I suppose it's gonna be related to Mabu and Leo in some way, assuming the manga is canon.

So episode 4…

Kazuki: "I dress as a female idol for my little brother."
Enta: "I'm a bit obsessed with the guy I like."
Tooi: "I killed a mafia boss."

That's pretty hardcore…

On another note, is Generic Cuteness an in-universe thing for Kazuki to assume that no one is gonna bust him? I wonder if the last line simply means "I'm tired of doing all this shit for my brother" or if he genuinely hates him… That would explain why he's so distant at least.

Edited by Lyendith on May 2nd 2019 at 1:41:34 PM

Most of the masses are faceless so they're probably high grade cuteness to those white voids.

This show continues to not disappoint and I love it!

Edited by OmegaRadiance on May 2nd 2019 at 11:52:19 AM

well this explains why Tooi latched on so hard to his brother

I wonder whether the added Soba touches in the extraction sequence means anything for the metaphor it represents.

Now that his secret's out, I really like all three Leitmotifs they've got going for the secret exposure sequence.

Haruka's incredibly short-sighted plan seems to be in line with past behavior but then that line hmmm. His judgement on Tooi seems sound and in-character though obviously Enta's a bit more reticent, having actually seen the murder.

I think Kazuki's just burned out about being a one-boy Make-A-Wish Foundation and wants to get it over and done with. That means he's both more desperate to please Haruka and more resentful of him.

Man, every episode of this has been a pun fest so far, but I think this one has been a lot more pun intensive than anyone before it. I hope that after this series is over it gets re-translated by someone who tries harder.

About Kazuki, he was planning an impersonation just this morning, so I'm pretty sure seeing Tooi's secret was the cause of the sudden change. I guess he related too much to Chikai and saw his own bad ending in that.

Episode 4:

Yeah, this episode is a bit darker because of Tooi's flashback with the mafia and his brother Social Darwinist philosophy and I won't gonna deny that. But it was revealed that Kazuki hated his brother in the end... Oof

Decided to give Sarazanmai a try last Monday and got up to Episode 3. Yep, first time I watch an Ikuhara anime*, so my reaction to the first episode seemed to be quite on par with the usual for other people.

• Actually, I just found out Ikuhara also directed Revolutionary Girl Utena, both the anime and the movie. Huh, things seem to make more sense now. Anyway, first time I watched an Ikuhara anime knowing it's him. :P

Note 1: Fantastic animation so far. I hope they don't drop the ball.

Note 2: I like how they play with the audience regarding characterization.

Note 3: The songs may be repetitive, but they're so catchy!

Note 4: What exactly is Haruka's gender? My subs were constantly changing forth between male and female treatment, but Haruka has a pretty androgynous appearance, so I figured that may have been on purpose.

Male. Kazuki explicitly says "brother" all the time.

Thanks. My subs are just wonky then.