*Spoiler Warning*
Life and death are two sides of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other, both having bones in common. Throughout life, bones are the structure with which our bodies are able to stand, walk and generally move around without being a blobby mess. In death, many see our bones as scary or disgusting, however, they become a story of our former lives.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru is an anime that looks to explore the different stories our bones tell. The show concentrates on a 'mystery of the week' style rather than a more typical overarching plot, although there is a main story, it never really gets explored to its full potential. We accompany two protagonists: Sakurako, an osteologist fascinated by creating specimens from animal remains and the mystery of death, and Shoutaro, her faithful assistant; as they go about their daily lives, only to find themselves stumbling across some form of remains. This then leads to an investigation and Sakurako works her magic to solve the case in each and every episode. The viewers aren't really left to try and figure things out themselves as Sakurako seems to know exactly how to solve each case in record time.
This leads me onto one of the main things I disliked about this anime; Sakurako knows everything, and I mean everything. At the beginning of the show, we are led to believe that she knows everything about bones and only bones. However, as the anime progresses, we see that somehow she has knowledge about very specific things that someone in her field of work wouldn't necessarily know about, and you start to question as to whether it would be possible to have this vast knowledge. As an example, there is a scene where we are in Isozaki's house, a teacher from Shoutaro's school. Sakurako is looking at an unusual plant and says something about it that only a botanist would know. It felt like she became an all-knowing Sherlock, solving cases by being a genius even if it is not related to bones. Despite this, however, I really enjoyed when there are insights on how a case is unfolding due to Sakurako's deduction from the bones; the way she could tell if someone died from blunt force trauma, strangling or hanging is interesting to see. She has a very specific attitude towards bones, she doesn't discriminate between either animal's or human's, treating them with the utmost respect. At times, you question whether she is sane as she tries to take human remains home to create a specimen and it's only when Shoutaro calls the police that Sakurako investigates the story of the bones.
The main theme throughout Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru is very much about life. You may think that I'm crazy, the show is about finding bones and solving the case of how that person died and, to a certain extent, this is true. However, it is during the investigations that we see a person's life, what it meant for them to be alive and what drove them, finding the truth behind their actions before their death. I particularly liked the episode where they find the remains of Yuriko's grandmother, one of Shoutaro's friends at school. The police and surrounding family are convinced that she took her own life, but through the investigation, we find that it was in fact a complete accident, along with a beautiful story on how she was trying to observe the scenery her dying husband had seen and painted in the past. With this, we can see that there is more than one meaning to a person's death and the story being told by the bones might just be more beautiful than was initially imagined.
We see butterflies everywhere during the course of the anime, at least one butterfly is seen per episode. They are mostly depicted as Lethe Diana, a species of butterfly that is attracted to cadavers. We can see that this symbolises death, as whenever we see a butterfly in an episode, we know there will be remains nearby or death is on its way. Another interpretation I took from them is that they symbolise Sakurako herself, she is attracted to the bones of the dead and somehow finds herself in a situation where, without trying, a skeleton will present itself to her. Butterflies also represent spiritual rebirth after death, as we have a 'butterfly' in our skulls in the form of the Sphenoid bone, so could be a visual representation of the soul wanting to pass on as it exits the body of the dead.
I'd just like to quickly touch upon Shoutaro as a character. Many people dislike his lack of personality and find him to be a bit bland. However, I believe this is done on purpose, allowing the viewer to replace him with their own personality, representing their sense of curiosity surrounding Sakurako and giving a stronger sense of immersion.
The audio-visuals in Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru are absolutely stunning. The colours are vibrant, the animation is smooth and the one scene that has 3D CGI blended extremely well with the rest of the anime. Music is an extremely strong tool in anime and we can certainly hear the effects here, the soundtrack perfectly conveys the emotions felt by characters during the course of each episode. The overall art is probably my favourite part of this show and if you enjoy beautiful looking anime that sounds amazing, this is definitely one for you.
Overall there are glaring issues with this show, like the lack of a proper plot, relying on dialogue to push the story forward, but the stunning visuals, coupled with audio that captures the emotions of the characters perfectly, make up entirely for that. In total, I'd give this a 7/10 but because of the potential for another season, I would highly recommend anyone to give this a watch.
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