Sankarea: Undying Love (Volume 4) - We Always Eat the Ones We Love

Rea and Ranko have a heart-to-heart at a festival, which seems to alleviate some of Rea’s concerns. However, she then has some time alone with Chihiro and takes a bite out of his neck!

Sankarea: Undying Love (Volume 4) – We Always Eat the Ones We Love

What happened?

When Rea asked Darin to go to the festival with her, it allowed Chihiro to go with Rea without having to ask her. He basically got a free pass and didn’t have to do anything to get it. Rea and Darin had never been to a festival before and were in awe of pretty much everything. Then, they bumped into Ranko and Mero and her friends.

Ranko challenged them all to a goldfish catching contest which Rea surprisingly won, although it was due to the fish being attracted to her hands. They may have been nibbling on them too… Then, they found Darin who had managed to get drunk on an alcohol-free shaved ice sake. Ranko took the chance to take Rea away and have a discussion about Chihiro.

Ranko got Rea to confirm that she liked Chihiro although she assumed he only liked her because she was a zombie. Ranko admitted that Rea had an advantage in that sense, but there was more to it than that. She confirmed that she liked him too and that they were now rivals, but since Rea didn’t know how long she had left (as if Ranko did) they shouldn’t hold back. Best to have no regrets.

Inspired by their Rea managed to get Chihiro alone and finally got to talk to him. However, she’s been skipping on her hydrangea leaves and was starting to lose focus. At one point, it looked like they were about to kiss, but then Rea tore a chunk of flesh from Chihiro’s neck. The others found them, but Rea ran away before she could do anything else.

Sankarea Volume 4 Zombie Rea takes a bite from Chihiros neck

Darin saved Chihiro, stabilising his wound. However, he slept for two days and when he woke, Rea was still missing. Since only a family member could put a missing person report out, they needed Lady Sanka to help them. She was not interested at all. Then, Chihiro and Bub leapt over the three-metre-high gates to get to her. She agreed to talk to Chihiro, but it was just to seduce him. He learnt that she was not Rea’s real mother and left.

His instinct told him to go back to the hotel where they had revived Bub and it was a good one. Rea was already there and had bound herself in a chain so she couldn’t hurt anyone. When Chihiro arrived, she threw herself into the well and hid. Amazingly, Chihiro found her. Darin was just as surprised, watching them via 18. Chihiro pulled her out and tried to reassure her, but then lighting hit the hotel, creating a fire. He was trapped with her and she was getting hungry!

Sankarea Volume 4 Zombie Rea chained up in the well

What did you think?

A few things that happened in this volume that appeared in the anime out of order. The scene where Chihiro learnt about Rea and Aria’s relationship was actually better in the anime but positioned better in the manga. It made more sense that Bub (Babu) was there and fit with the timing better. We also saw Rea bite Chihiro again as she did at the end of episode twelve, although the final moment of the manga was even better.

I love that Darin is not just there to cause problems and is actually watching them to gather further information. She’s managed to settle into the house and will no doubt become a fairly significant force in the story. Overall, the manga has a very different feel from the anime. Even the talk between Rea and Ranko took on a slightly different tone by placing it at the festival rather than after Ranko helped her put on her yukata.

Sankarea Volume 4 Chihiro and Bub vault the Sanka gates

What have you learnt?

At one point, Ranko tried to list Chihiro’s qualities and started by stating what we all know that he is a hopeless idiot. She may have tried to turn some of them around, but we all know and understand what she meant. Another thing that makes me chuckle is that all the good ideas that Chihiro had in the anime have turned out to be someone else’s ideas in the manga.

Another difference for me was how Aria was portrayed in the manga. In the anime, I felt sorry for her. She had been fooled into thinking that she could win Danichiro’s heart when it was clear he was a very weird man who would never show any interest in her. Then, he turned all of his attention to his daughter. Hell, they didn’t even consummate the marriage. In the manga, we’ve not learnt any of that yet so it just looks like Aria is heartless and conniving. Context matters.