Series synopsis
Sarazanmai, also known as さらざんまい is a Japanese animation action & adventure comedy sci-fi & fantasy television series that premiered on Fuji TV on April 12, 2019. It ended on June 21, 2019. It stars Ayumu Murase, Koki Uchiyama, Shun Horie and Mamoru Miyano.
After accidentally breaking a statue of the guardian god of the Asakusa district, middle school students Kazuki, Toi and Enta are transformed into kappas -creatures from japanese folklore- by Keppi, self-proclaimed prince of the Kappa Kingdom. If they want to regain their human form, they must collect the five Dishes of Hope for him, which fulfill the wishes of whoever possesses them. To do so, they will fight against the kappa-zombies and extract their "shirikodama", the mythical organ containi ...
Premise
After accidentally breaking a statue of the guardian god of the Asakusa district, middle school students Kazuki, Toi and Enta are transformed into kappas -creatures from japanese folklore- by Keppi, self-proclaimed prince of the Kappa Kingdom. If they want to regain their human form, they must collect the five Dishes of Hope for him, which fulfill the wishes of whoever possesses them. To do so, they will fight against the kappa-zombies and extract their "shirikodama", the mythical organ containing humans' deepest desires. Two policemen, Reo and Mabu, are the ones behind this evil scheme, turning humans into zombies as agents of the Otter Empire, enemy of the Kappa Kingdom since ancient times. In the guise of "Kappazon, Inc.", they control society by manipulating the desires of the masses for their own goals. To succeed in their mission, the boys must be connected through the "Sarazanmai", revealing their most intimate secrets in the process...
Premise: I want to connect, but...
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Ayumu Murase as Kazuki Yasaka
- Koki Uchiyama as Toi Kuji
- Shun Horie as Enta Jinnai
- Mamoru Miyano as Reo Niiboshi
- Yoshimasa Hosoya as Mabu Akutsu
- Teiko Nanahara as Sara Azuma
- Junichi Suwabe as Keppi
- Rie Kugimiya as Haruka Yasaka
Guest cast
- Junya Enoki as Player A (voice)
- Mariya Ise as Otone Jinnai (voice)
- Yuuki Shin as Player B (voice)
- Kimiko Saito as Enta's Grandmother
- Kosuke Echigoya as Toi's Uncle
- Akinobu Imai as Official
- Ryo Kato as Box Zombie / Nekoyama Mokichi
- Toshihiko Seki as Yuri Kamome
- Yuji Murai as Sara Azuma's Manager
- Takaya Kuroda as Otter
- Masato Niwa as Policeman A (voice)
- Taishi Murata as Kazuki's Dad
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 11 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 11 | April 12, 2019 | June 21, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I Want to Connect, but I Want to Lie After accidentally breaking a statue of a kappa at a shrine in Asakusa, middle school student Kazuki Yasaka encounters Keppi, heir to the throne of the Kappa Kingdom. He, along with his classmates Toi Kuji and Enta Jinnai, enrage Keppi by calling him a frog; he steals their shirikodama, a mythical organ located in the anus that stores an individual's desires, and transforms them into kappas. Keppi informs them they must defeat a zombie by extracting its shirikodama in order to become human again. They are successful, but the act of "Sarazanmai" to transfer the shirikodama to Keppi exposes Kazuki's secret to the group: that he cross-dresses as the idol Sara Azuma. In a post-credits scene, police officers Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu extract the desires of a man they are questioning. |
April 12, 2019 |
| 2 |
I Want to Connect, but I Want to Take Keppi gives the group a Dish of Hope as thanks for helping him, which grants one wish to whomever possesses it, and informs them that they can earn more plates by defeating more zombies. Kazuki explains that he cross-dresses for his younger brother Haruka, a fan of Sara's, and that he wishes to earn a dish for him. Toi wishes to earn a dish for his older brother Chikai, a yakuza for whom he sells cannabis. Kazuki and Toi are later forced to pursue Nyantaro, a feral cat cared for by Kazuki and Haruka, after he steals a bag of cannabis from Toi's grow-op. Nyantaro is suddenly captured by a kappa zombie who, upon being defeated, exposes Kazuki's secret that Nyantaro is domestic cat that he stole. In a post-credits scene, Enta encounters a sleeping Kazuki dressed as Sara, and kisses him. |
April 19, 2019 |
| 3 |
I Want to Connect, but It's Not Meant to Be Enta, who has a crush on Kazuki, wishes to earn a dish so that Kazuki will return to playing soccer with him. Reo and Mabu extract the desires of Otone's boyfriend (who, unbeknownst to her, is a serial killer targeting women) and turn him into a zombie. The group defeats the zombie, exposing the secret of Enta's crush, and causing Otone to forget her boyfriend ever existed. In a post-credits scene, Enta visits Haruka in a hospital, who is revealed to be a wheelchair user. |
April 26, 2019 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Fuji TV |
|---|---|
| First aired | April 12, 2019 |
| Last aired | June 21, 2019 |
| Runtime | 23 minutes |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | Thursday at 00:55:00 |