Underplayed Gems

Sarazanmai (2019)

Sarazanmai poster
Original title
さらざんまい
Genre
LGBT-related television series, fantasy anime and manga, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Psychological
Country
Japan
Length
1 season, 11 episodes
Rated
TV-14
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 29 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Three middle school boys are turned into kappas and must collect magical orbs from people's bodies. They confront their own desires and connections while dealing with fantastical creatures and a mysterious police officer.

quirkyabsurdistsurrealemotionalfast-pacedwhimsicalchaoticmetaphorical

What happens

Sarazanmai (Japanese: さらざんまい) is a Japanese anime television series jointly produced by MAPPA and Lapin Track. The series aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block from April 11 to June 20, 2019, for eleven episodes, and follows three middle school students who are transformed into kappas in order to collect shirikodama, mythical balls located in the anus that contains the physical manifestation of one's desires; Ikuhara broadly developed the series as a story about yōkai (supernatural monsters) for an adult audience. In English-language markets, Sarazanmai is syndicated by Crunchyroll, which simulcast the series during its original broadcast run; a dubbed version of the series was produced by Funimation. The series was praised by critics for the quality of its animation and its thematic richness, notably its focus on anti-capitalism and materialism, but was criticized for its compressed storytelling. Sarazanmai spawned a range of spin-off and adapted media both prior and subsequent to its release, including a serialized manga series, a manga anthology, a dramatized Twitter account, two light novels, a radio series, and a stage play. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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