The Japanese aren’t very big on zombies. They prefer ghosts. That is why it’s difficult to find zombie apocalypse anime and manga. Those that do come close, do not actually deal with an apocalypse. Their zombies are just the monster of the day or an odd undead character.
I’m a big fan of zombie apocalypse stuff, but I never realize that there was nothing of it in the anime/manga world. So one day while I was talking to a friend, she mention that there was a new manga/anime coming out that actually deals with the zombie apocalypse. That’s Highschool of the Dead, abbreviated as H.O.T.D.
It goes beyond the usual high school drama and comedies you see in anime and manga, but that’s because it adds the zombie apocalypse to it. It’s set in the present day 2010 Japan, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies. The story follows a group of high school students, high school’s nurse, a young girl and a dog as they fight their way to safety through the deadly streets of Japan. As the cast tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, they must also face the additional threats of social collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, and the possible decay of their own moral codes.
It’s interesting enough and I do enjoy that it’s fun, has action, is gory and has some humor to it. It’s pretty much entertaining even if it does not bring anything new to the zombie apocalypse genre or is ground-breaking. It still has a lot of potential to be great and so far, the story is becoming deeper and philosophical as it goes, despite some issues it has.
Those issues that I have with it is that I wish the fanservice was tone down. I did not read the manga prior to viewing this so I didn’t anticipate the massive amounts of fanservice that goes on in this series. I don’t hate it but sometimes I find it unnecessary and other times it ruins the mood and/or horror scenes when they occur. I’m sure for other people they’ll be turned off by this series because of it. For some people they’ll possibly be annoyed and/or turned off on how unrealistic it is that nearly every female character has giant breasts.
Another issue I have is that I wish the characters become more developed, especially those that need it such as Shizuka Marikawa. She’s the school nurse and the only adult in the group. She’s has a ditsy personality and is apparently emotional fragile. Most of the time she’s useless and seems to only function as eye-candy or amusement.
Overall, the series Highschool of the Dead is enjoyable and does it job in entertaining people. It’s not for everyone though, especially for those that dislike excessive fan service. It’s the first of it’s kind, an anime/manga dealing with the zombie apocalypse and I hope this won’t be the last of it. I also hope that if this does successful that publishing companies and whatnot would encourage other zombie apocalypse anime and manga to appear.
 DamnBlackHeart · Tue Jun 19, 2012 @ 05:06am · 0 Comments |
