TV-Series
Description
Dan'ichiro Sanka is the head of the wealthy and prestigious Sanka family, the father of the series' heroine, Rea Sanka. He is 48 years old and holds the position of family patriarch. In his youth, Dan'ichiro was considered handsome and was highly skilled in fencing. He met his first wife, Rea's mother, at a fencing tournament, and he fell deeply in love with her, proposing and marrying her shortly thereafter. Their happiness was short-lived, as his wife died soon after giving birth to Rea. Following this loss, Dan'ichiro was left in a state of panic and later married Aria Sanka, a woman who cared for him during that difficult time, although he never truly loved his second wife. His background also includes a variety of cultivated interests, as he is also a pianist, writer, calligrapher, and a gourmet.
Physically, Dan'ichiro has black hair, a matching mustache, and brown eyes. A notable feature is a line of four or five moles that run vertically down his forehead nearly to the bridge of his nose. He dresses in a refined, formal manner, typically wearing slacks, loafers, button-up shirts, and sweater vests. He is almost always seen wearing gloves, which are depicted as either white or brown leather depending on the adaptation. These gloves are a manifestation of his severe germaphobia and allergies to animals, as he refuses to touch any living thing directly except for his daughter, Rea.
Dan'ichiro's personality is defined by a rigid, old-fashioned, and obsessive nature. While he speaks in a soft and gentle tone, he is fundamentally stubborn and lacks a sense of humor. His most defining, and most disturbing, trait is his pathological love for his daughter, Rea. After the death of his first wife, he began to project his love and desire for her onto their daughter, who strongly resembles her late mother. This obsession is possessive and overprotective to an extreme degree, with the narrative portraying it as incestuous and pedophilic in nature. He genuinely believes his actions are expressions of a father's love, but they are in fact controlling and abusive. He completely ignores his second wife, Aria, which has left her bitter, and he has never slept with her. His controlling behavior extends to eliminating any person or animal that shows an interest in Rea or tries to help her, expelling friends and even killing pets.
Dan'ichiro's most infamous act is his annual celebration of Rea's birthday. Each year, he takes a nude photograph of his daughter, claiming it is his right as a father to record her growth. He consistently tells Rea that she needs no one in the world but him, actively isolating her to maintain his control. This behavior is the primary source of Rea's deep suffering and a major catalyst for the story's events, as her desire to escape his control leads her to eventually become a zombie.
Despite his role as an antagonist, Dan'ichiro undergoes significant development. His conflict with the protagonist, Chihiro Furuya, reaches a peak when he challenges the boy to a fencing duel with the intent to kill him for his closeness to Rea. He almost succeeds, but he is stopped by Rea herself. In a crucial turning point, he is finally confronted with his daughter's true feelings and desires, leading him to a moment of realization and reconciliation. After this, he accepts Chihiro as Rea's protector, even going so far as to give the boy a warning about sexual intercourse before marriage, hinting that he accepts the relationship. Following their reconciliation, Dan'ichiro decides to leave for a research institute overseas, specifically the United States, in a desperate quest to find a way to preserve Rea's body and cure her condition as a zombie. His primary ability, aside from his wealth and influence, is his talent in fencing, which he demonstrates during his duel with Chihiro.
Physically, Dan'ichiro has black hair, a matching mustache, and brown eyes. A notable feature is a line of four or five moles that run vertically down his forehead nearly to the bridge of his nose. He dresses in a refined, formal manner, typically wearing slacks, loafers, button-up shirts, and sweater vests. He is almost always seen wearing gloves, which are depicted as either white or brown leather depending on the adaptation. These gloves are a manifestation of his severe germaphobia and allergies to animals, as he refuses to touch any living thing directly except for his daughter, Rea.
Dan'ichiro's personality is defined by a rigid, old-fashioned, and obsessive nature. While he speaks in a soft and gentle tone, he is fundamentally stubborn and lacks a sense of humor. His most defining, and most disturbing, trait is his pathological love for his daughter, Rea. After the death of his first wife, he began to project his love and desire for her onto their daughter, who strongly resembles her late mother. This obsession is possessive and overprotective to an extreme degree, with the narrative portraying it as incestuous and pedophilic in nature. He genuinely believes his actions are expressions of a father's love, but they are in fact controlling and abusive. He completely ignores his second wife, Aria, which has left her bitter, and he has never slept with her. His controlling behavior extends to eliminating any person or animal that shows an interest in Rea or tries to help her, expelling friends and even killing pets.
Dan'ichiro's most infamous act is his annual celebration of Rea's birthday. Each year, he takes a nude photograph of his daughter, claiming it is his right as a father to record her growth. He consistently tells Rea that she needs no one in the world but him, actively isolating her to maintain his control. This behavior is the primary source of Rea's deep suffering and a major catalyst for the story's events, as her desire to escape his control leads her to eventually become a zombie.
Despite his role as an antagonist, Dan'ichiro undergoes significant development. His conflict with the protagonist, Chihiro Furuya, reaches a peak when he challenges the boy to a fencing duel with the intent to kill him for his closeness to Rea. He almost succeeds, but he is stopped by Rea herself. In a crucial turning point, he is finally confronted with his daughter's true feelings and desires, leading him to a moment of realization and reconciliation. After this, he accepts Chihiro as Rea's protector, even going so far as to give the boy a warning about sexual intercourse before marriage, hinting that he accepts the relationship. Following their reconciliation, Dan'ichiro decides to leave for a research institute overseas, specifically the United States, in a desperate quest to find a way to preserve Rea's body and cure her condition as a zombie. His primary ability, aside from his wealth and influence, is his talent in fencing, which he demonstrates during his duel with Chihiro.