Sankarea: Undying Love (Episode 7) – Childhood… Friends…

Ranko gets to spend some time with Chihiro when he helps out at her family’s restaurant. It gives her the chance to think about how they first met, how she grew to love him, and how she’s not going to give up without a fight!

Sankarea: Undying Love (Episode 7) – Childhood… Friends…

What happened?

Chihiro is helping out at Ranko’s family’s restaurant and he’s not of much use. He’s not the most smooth or articulate so they put him in the kitchen. Sadly, he’s not much use there either as he’s hopeless with a kitchen knife. Ranko’s parents don’t seem to mind however and have pretty much accepted that he’ll become Ranko’s husband and inherit the restaurant one day.

That makes Ranko remember the day they first met. It wasn’t the typical romantic first meet where they hated one another and slowly grew to love one another. Ranko was lost in a cemetery when Chihiro found her and led her to safety. It wasn’t until the next day that she learned that they were cousins.

After a summer together, however, Ranko realised that this prince was a hopeless zombie nerd that cried too much and didn’t like to do anything other than watch scary movies. She went home without even saying goodbye.

After Chihiro’s ineptitude in the kitchen, they had him accompany Ranko on the deliveries. That gave them more time to talk. But then, Chihiro’s friends showed up and Ranko found herself thinking about their next meeting. Her parents had moved their restaurant to within walking distance of Chihiro’s home, which meant they spent more time together and it didn’t get any better until a chance encounter with a scary dog brought them together.

Once Chihiro’s had gone, Ranko demanded that he hold her hand as they walked. He reluctantly did so and was even able to recall the very first time they held hands. With their last delivery completed, Chihiro was free to go home, but not before Ranko pushed him up against a wall and tried to kiss him. When he reacted awkwardly, she ran off. After Ranko had calmed down, she swore to herself that she wouldn’t lose him.

What did you think?

As a big fan of Ranko, it was obvious that I would enjoy this episode. Having read the first two volumes of the manga, I was surprised to see that this was not in the manga. On reflection, this might be filler, but it doesn’t feel like it. After the moment in the last episode when Ranko realised that Rea was her rival for Chihiro’s affection and that she had a head start being a zombie, this episode made sense and gave us an insight into Ranko’s thoughts.

I wondered why Ranko likes Chihiro and this kind of explains it, but it’s still pretty weak. He might have saved her when they were younger, but he’s still hopeless. I felt sorry for Ranko with how Chihiro continued to react to her – frowning when he realised he had touched her arm or the look of terror when she went to kiss him. That said, we’ve seen that he’s not the best at putting things together. After all, it took Rea eating the hydrangea leaves by herself for him to realise that was what was needed.

Surprisingly, the anime continues to be better than the manga, both in terms of pacing and the amount of character development. Of course, that will end because the entire anime is pretty much wrapped up in two books. I think that’s when the manga will really come to life…