Sankarea: Undying Love - Season 1

When the family cat is accidentally killed, zombie buff Chihiro Furuya secretly tries to bring it back to life. After he overhears Rea Sanka shouting her frustrations down a well, Rea offers to help Chihiro, as they both keep each others’ secrets.

Rea continues to assist Chihiro’s attempt to reanimate Babu. She reveals her home life, including an unhealthy relationship with her father. The two of them decide to make one last attempt to bring Babu back to life, using a hydrangea blossom.

Rea is grounded indefinitely for sneaking out at night, and her father decides to keep her home from school, for good measure. She sneaks out again anyway, and goes looking for Chihiro. Elsewhere, when Babu runs away, Chihiro and Ranko chase after him.

Aria learns that Rea has run away, and Dan’ichiro vows to get her back. In Chihiro’s room, Rea sews up her wound, and the two of them each come to terms with her rebirth as a zombie. Free of her father, Rea reveals to Chihiro what she now wants from him.

With Rea going through rigor mortis, Chihiro does his best to keep her hidden while attending to household chores. While trying to figure out how to preserve Rea’s body, Chihiro makes a startling discovery about his grandpa. Ranko learns more about Rea.

Rea’s strange behavior leads her to kiss Chihiro in front of Ranko. After Rea slips away, Chihiro learns some valuable information about the undead from his grandpa. Chihiro decides to start keeping a diary of his observations of Rea.

Chihiro spends his Sunday helping out with the Saoji family’s restaurant. Ranko tells the tale of the first time she met Chihiro. The two young children develop an unusual friendship between themselves as more about Ranko’s family is revealed.

After Rea agrees to join the Furuya family in a meal, Chihiro becomes more interested in her dietary habits. At Rea’s insistence, he takes her to the mall to shop for clothes. Once there, however, Chihiro isn’t the only one who pays attention to Rea.

Mero and her two friends tell tales of their own brushes with zombies. Ichie tells of the creature that the art teacher keeps; Miko relates the story of an awful smell that led her to a house of horror. Mero’s story, however, trumps them both.

While being held hostage inside the Sanka mansion, Chihiro meets Aria. She discloses that she is Rea’s stepmother, and relates how she came to be married to Dan’ichiro. In the course of her tale, more about Dan’ichiro’s past is also revealed to Chihiro.

Rea arrives home just as Dan’ichiro shows Chihiro into the fencing hall, where he is determined to settle things between them. Though detained by the maid staff, Rea is able to elude them, and rushes to save Chihiro, but is startled by what she finds.

Chihiro begins to have second thoughts about his duty in looking after Rea’s welfare, and how little he can do for her. When plans to watch a fireworks show that Rea has her heart set on seeing fall through, the group comes up with an alternative.