Sankarea: Undying Love

Chihiro Furuya is a high schooler obsessed with zombies who experiments with a reanimation elixir while mourning his dead cat. He meets Rea Sanka, a wealthy girl trapped under a controlling, abusive father, and when she tries to end her life she drinks his potion instead. The mixture doesn't kill her, but after a fall she returns as an undead, still sentient but slowly decaying. Rea slips into hiding with Chihiro, who’s thrilled to have a zombie companion, and they try to carve out a normal life amid practical problems like decomposition and keeping her secret from a father who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Released in 2012, the anime adapts Mitsuru Hattori's manga, with series composition credited to Noboru Takagi and Hattori as creator. The voice cast includes Maaya Uchida as Rea Sanka and Ryohei Kimura as Chihiro Furuya, supported by Sayuri Yahagi, Yuka Iguchi, and Misato Fukuen.

Critical and fan reaction leans positive, reflected in an average user score around 7.8 out of 10 from 248 votes. Viewers tend to praise the tonal mix of dark humor and romantic awkwardness, while some note uneven pacing. Major themes include mortality, autonomy, adolescent longing, and the odd intimacy that forms when two damaged people care for one another.

Within anime circles Sankarea built a modest cult following, especially among fans of horror-comedy and unconventional romances. Its unusual premise and memorable moments pop up in genre roundups and fan discussions, and it still gets referenced when people talk about zombie stories that focus on relationships rather than gore.

The series didn’t rack up major industry awards, but it found a steady audience through home video and streaming, and it continues to generate fan art, cosplay, and debate over how it balances macabre elements with everyday slice-of-life scenes.