Symka

    I wasn't really sure what to expect when going into this anime, and I never would have guessed what the final outcomewould be. I thought it'd be a zanny slice of life, but it was surprisingly serious at some points.

  It centers around a theme of desire vs. love, and how important your connections are. But the way it gets to those points.. 

Enter an anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, brought into the spotlight by Revolutionary Girl Utena, and known for repeitive, yet captivating works. Just like Sarazanmai. 

  The premise is that everyone has a shirikodama, which is an organ in the anus that stores human desire. Yeah, I know: What? An organ where? The main trio end up together after breaking a statue and releasing the king of the kappa kingdom, who informs them that they must turn into kappa {By, y'know,  having their souls sucked up by him through their anus and shit out into kappa forms. Every episode without fail), and fight the kappa zombies that are born when love loses out to desire- like wanting to make soba noodles using your crush's used bathwater as broth, or being into bdsm and wanting your girlfriend to kick you around like a soccer ball for the sexual thrill of it.

   One a kappa zombie is defeated, they earn a dish (a plate). and 5 dishes grant one desire AKA wish. In turn for defeating the kappa zombies and getting what they desire back/earning a dish, one of the main trio's deepest secrets are shared between them, further deepening their connection, which in Sarazanmai is called a "leak".  And, in come the antogonists who aren't really antagonists, known as the Otter Police. Still with me? The Otter Police have their own reasons for messing around and trying to get the dishes, which in turn introduces you to the Otter Scientist, who... You know, hates kappas and desires the complete destruction of the kappa kingdom? 

    Sarazanmai was definitely an absolute wild ride. With song and dance numbers (sometimes multiple) in every episode, and a character that brings a whole new meaning to the term "delinquent" by carjacking, gun toting, water boarding, and pot slinging. It was refreshing to see a homosexual character who didn't want to pursue anything past a close friendship, instead of his entire character being based around his want to pursue his unrequited feelings. 

  The animation is beautiful, the ending song is lovely, the characters all get to see some personal growth and development, the sound quality was excellent. That said, there is a lot of weird focus on assholes, and when they get the shirikodama out of the zombies, their assholes pour out juice, which wasn't super cute. Also, my name is Sara, so seeing all the characters cry out my name every episode left me with some mixed feelings, haha. It was nice since I don't usually see my name in things, but when I do, it's always these types of things? A wild ride for sure, but I had a lot of fun watching, and it's definitely binge-worthy. The characters were all super refreshing, and defined,  and the pace of the show never felt out of place, or rushed. 

If you can stand the weirdness of the show, it's a definite must watch. I haven't seen something this, erm, unique in a very, very long time, and I won't soon be forgetting Sarazanmai.