
The other cute-girls-doing-cute-things show I stuck with this season, Sansha Sanyou is unremarkable save for two aspects:
- It is bizarrely well-animated considering what it is
- All the characters are kinda garbage people
Now, the first is a nice surprise. It makes the show a visual delight and gives the cartoonier moments some appropriately goofy animation. But hoo-boy, you have to watch this to understand the depth of that second point.
When I say they’re “kinda garbage people”, I mean that they are trash humans in so many varied and beautiful ways. We’re not talking It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia levels or anything, or that they’re even inherently unlikeable. They’re just… trash.
You have the bankrupt rich girl retaining all her mannerisms while subsisting on a diet of bread crusts and mayonnaise. A girl who can only be described as an undiscerning glutton. A girl who is pure evil. And that’s just the main trio! There’s also the extremely proud girl who fucking hates the pure evil girl (don’t worry, it’s mutual-ish). And her best friend who manages to insult everyone constantly and no one knows if that’s intentional. And the evil girl’s twin sister who forces her, frankly, poisonous cooking on everybody. And the rich girl’s ex-butler, who refuses to not be her dog. And her ex-maid, who has no ethical compass. And… and… and… the list goes on.
There isn’t a single person in this show who is worthy of admiration. And there are a lot of characters.

But by god, does it make Sansha Sanyou funny. No matter what is happening, someone is actively being shitty and someone is being miserable and oftentimes at least one character wants to cut another. It is such a breath of fresh air to see a cute-girls-doing-cute-things anime eschew the ‘doing-cute-things’ in favour of low-key sociopathy.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it makes the most of it. It doesn’t exactly go out of its way to avoid the expected tropes, failing to make itself not a cute-girls-doing-cute-things show at the fundamental level. And while the worst of it is avoided thanks to the large cast, colourful personalities, and how energetically they can bounce off each other, the show still leans a bit too heavily on the character quirks for humour in place of more developed jokes.
Still, Sansha Sanyou is a good laugh and a nice change of pace even if it ultimately doesn’t distinguish itself. Worth a punt if you’re looking for a decent comedy and aren’t feeling especially choosy.
7/10
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