Project #41: Highschool Of The Dead

Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Let’s talk about zombies. One of the greatest fears of society is a zombie apocalypse. Who would survive, how will we live, and what would become of society if a zombie outbreak were to happen to us? There are books, movies, video games, and even TV shows made on these questions and ideas presented on zombies and in some cases they introduce new questions and ideas of a zombie apocalypse. A zombie apocalypse is all the rage these days that it’s gotten to point where you can put a zombie in the title of anything and it’s guaranteed to sell. But shockingly, with all forms of media boarding the zombie train anime has not once taken its dive into a zombie apocalypse or even created an anime centering on the concept of zombies. Well all of that changed in 2010 when anime studio Madhouse (the people who made Chobits, Death Note, and Devil May Cry) decided to make the anime Highschool of The Dead. Highschool of The Dead or H.O.T.D is an anime based off a manga under the same name written by Daisuke Satō. The story follows a group of high school students in the middle of a zombie apocalypse trying to survive, find their families, and keep their sanity in a world that seems to be slowly losing its sanity. There’s also hot girls with big breasts, guns and swords being used to kill zombies, and plenty of action. You know for guys. This anime and series has received a lot of praise in the years for its great cast of characters, comedy style, suspenseful action, excellent and well done fanservice, and displaying the realistic horror of a zombie apocalypse. This anime was also directed by Tetsuro Araki the same guy who directed the Death Note anime so I guess he’s in his element here more or less. Let’s see Japan’s take on zombies this is High School of The Dead.

Opening and Ending Theme

Our opening for this anime is “HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD” sung by Kisida Kyodan & The Akebosi Rockets. We get a decent rock song for the opening with some well-done animation that matches up perfectly with the song. As I said before I don’t know a whole lot about rock music and I don’t consider myself the biggest expert on which rock songs are good and bad but for this one I would have to say it’s not bad just not a rock song I could see myself listening to on a regular basis. The ending for this anime is a different ending for each episode sung by Maon Kurosaki. I guess the anime was trying to help promote her and for the most part her songs are quite good and she’s a pretty good singer. If you liked the various songs used in the endings I say check out more of her work when you get the chance because she’s a good singer.

Episodes 1-4

We start the anime off at a high school where our main character Takashi voiced by Junichi Suwabe (Freed from Fairy Tail) is busy brooding on the school balcony (Takashi: I like to brood on the school balcony while gazing at the Sakura Trees. It makes me feel like a Japanese Batman only I haven’t lost my parents and I’m not filthy rich or have the psychological problems of Batman). He’s sad because his childhood sweetheart Rei voiced by Marina Inoue (Laura from Infinite Stratos) who he had a crush on since childhood promised to be his wife when they got older (girl childhood friend. Your future wife whether you like them or not). But the two got into a fight in high school about Rei having to repeat a year and Takashi wanting to know why but Rei wouldn’t tell him anything simply saying he wouldn’t understand (well of course not because you’re not telling him anything ya dumb bitch). As a result she distances herself from him (you promise-breaking bitch! I turned down so many other hot girls who were ready to go to third base just for you) and started dating some other guy who’s name you shouldn’t bother remembering because you’ll see why in a few sentences. As he’s brooding he sees a zombie approach the school gate trying to get through. One of the teachers tries to get him to scram but the zombie bites him, kills him, and turns him into zombie where the zombie teacher begins to bite the other teachers standing by him (and so the apocalypse begins. And to think it all began at the local high school, what are the odds). Takashi sees this and rushes to Rei telling her what he saw but of course she doesn’t believe him but after a good bitch slap she comes around (now make him a sandwich). So Takashi, Rei, and the one-time boyfriend leave class (uh teacher, stop them, they’re leaving in the middle of a class session without your permission) and get some weapons just in case what Takashi told them was true. Takashi grabs a wooden bat (good choice), Rei breaks a mop and uses the sharp in as a spear since she’s in the school spear club (how did that get approved by the school? Also, bad choice, only good for like what one time) and the boyfriend decides to use his fist to fight since he has a black belt in karate (and he’s gonna be first to die. Unless you’re name is Chuck Norris and you can kill a zombie by just staring at them always carry a weapon in a zombie apocalypse or you will die within 10 seconds). Rei tries to call her dad since he’s a police officer but the line is busy (well that’s not a very good sign) and an announcement goes throughout the school warning all the students to evacuate because of an emergency and it ends abruptly with the announcer getting attacked by a zombie (and begin school wide panic in 3,2,1. . .). And the students begin to panic and ran through the halls beating each other up just to escape the school. During all of this we see all sorts of students getting bit by zombies, turning on their friends just so they can escape the zombies, and some even commit suicide in the hopes to wake up from what they believe is a dream. While all of that is going on Takashi, Rei and the boyfriend run into a zombie trying to escape and it bites the arm of the boyfriend and Takashi smashes the head of the zombie to save him (your first kill of the day. How did it feel). They make their way to school roof in the hopes of trying to signal the defense helicopters for help but they just straight up ignore them (IGNORE ME~). They set up a barrier on the highest point of the school roof to prevent the zombies from getting in but the zombie bite on the boyfriend is starting to take effect (see what happens when you don’t bring a weapon to a zombie apocalypse dumbass) and begins to turn into a zombie (now yours chance Takashi. Kill him and Rei will be all yours again. First the zombies then the bitches). Takashi does what he has to do to save himself and Rei and uses his bat to smash the head of the boyfriend (dead within the first episode. The moral BRING A FUCKIN’ WEAPON NEXT TIME). After killing the boyfriend (much to Takashi’s displeasure) Rei turns into a straight up bitch saying that Takashi always wanted to kill him and that he was jealous of them (bitch! He just saved your life. If anything you should be sucking his cock while it rests tightly between those two mountains you call breasts as a way of saying thank you for saving me). Takashi takes the hint that she hates him and decides to leave and fight the zombies but Rei has a change of heart and stops him apologizing. We end with him hugging Rei and doing a self-monologue about the world ending (so the world has fallen into a zombie apocalypse, all your friends and family are probably dead, you killed two people but at the end of the day you got to hug the girl who you’ve had a crush on since kindergarten. I say he broke even).

In episode 2 we get to meet the rest of the cast for the series. The first two are females (obviously). First up is Saeko a 3rd year student who is captain of the kendo club, extremely hot and cool, calm and always in control of her emotions, kind and reliable, and will serve as the most badass girl on the show. She’s voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro (Acchan from AKB0048. 0_0 The fuck). The other is the school nurse Shizuka, a ditzy, beautiful, nice, and big-breasted woman who’s only purpose in the anime seems to serve as the driver for the gang and provide as many boob jiggles as possible (I’m not kidding that’s pretty much her only purpose in this entire series if the group could drive themselves around her presence in the show would be pretty useless). She’s voiced by Yukari Fukui (Nia from Gurren Lagann). When zombies invade the nurse’s office Saeko comes in to save Shizuka using her wooden sword to beat the crap out of the zombies and escapes with her through the school hoping to find more survivors and escape (like a mother-humping boss). The other two students who join the cast are Saya a rich, stubborn and arrogant girl who is considered a genius. She tends to act a little bitchy at times calling others stupid and being impolite to them but in truth she’s actually a nice and caring person (she also has big boobs. Something you’ll find almost every girl in this anime have in common). She’s also the childhood friend of Takashi and is shown to have romantic feelings for him but whenever it’s bought up she goes into tsundere mood to hide it. She’s voiced by Eri Kitamura (Homura from Senran Kagura). The final member of the cast and the most badass male character in the show is Kohta an overweight gun otaku who has an obsession with guns and has shown extensive knowledge of them and how to use them. We find out later that he was trained by a US military contractor who taught him how to use guns. He got so good at using them that his skills are said to be that of a trained marksman. He’s voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama (Viral from Gurren Lagann) who surprisingly almost looks exactly like Kohta. Saya and Kohta meet up in the halls and they steal a few things to create their own weapons. They also figure out that the zombies can’t see or smell them but respond to sound (Zombie 1: My human senses are tingling. There are 3 humans coming down the stairs in like 4 halls over. (Zombie 2): I hear them too let’s get them). Takashi and Rei escape from the roof using the fire hose to blast away the zombies and escape. The three groups eventually meet up and decide to join forces to escape this school from hell to end the episode.

Moving on to episode 3 the group sees the news and finds out that the zombie outbreak isn’t just happening in their city it’s happening all over the world (Zombie: First we shall rule Japan than the world. MUHAHAHAHA- Dah I lost my lower jaw). They quickly decide to escape and go look for their families in the hopes that all of them are safe. As their trying to escape they run into other students and see that the only way out is blocked by a large swarm of zombies. Saya tells them that the zombies only respond to sound and if they can reach the door without making a sound they should be fine. But they need confirmation on her theory so Takashi volunteers to walk through the crowd of zombies (balls. Brass balls on that man) where he sees that Saya’s theory was spot on. He throws a shoe across the room to get the zombies to leave (Zombie 1: I heard a shoe! To the left! (Zombie 2): To the window! (Zombie 3): To the wall! (Zombie 4): Has anyone seen my lower jaw?) and the they all make it outside but one of them causes a noise which alerts all of the zombies back to them (both inside and outside the building). They engage in a very cool and well-done action see where the group is just mowing down zombie after zombie in order to get to the school bus and ride the hell out of there. Some of the students get bitten by the zombies and one of them openly gives herself to them because of her boyfriend gets killed by them in front of her eyes (it’s a high school crush you can find someone else). They make it to the bus and are about to leave but they hold the bus so that some more students and a teacher whose name is Shido can board the bus. Rei says to leave them but Takashi just can’t abandon them (I agree with the orange-haired bipolar bitch leave the bastard to die). Shido is just a straight up bastard and can almost be seen as the main antagonist of the series. He’s manipulative, sneaky, and is a down right awful person. Hell, he literally kicked one of his students down and left him to die not batting an eye (that is a bitch move right there). They board the bus and escape and after driving for a while and getting to a safe spot Shido begins to assert his influence on the students and names himself the new leader of the group (okay kill him now. It’s a zombie apocalypse you’re free to do whatever you want, kill him). Rei can’t stand being around the guy and decides to get off the bus with Takashi right behind her trying to bring her back. But another bus tips over and traps them in a bridge cutting them off from the bus. With the path blocked they decide to continue on their separate paths and meet back up in front of the police station at a later time.

In episode 4 Takashi and Rei steal a motorcycle from a zombie (Zombie Theft Auto. The sales will go through the roof) and ride through the desolate and deserted town. As they ride through the town they find a cop car and take the guns, ammo, and batons they find on the dead bodies (not like they’ll be needing them) and eventually run out of gas and have to refuel at an automated gas station (which has very low prices starting at only $1.49. What I wouldn’t give to see those prices again). At the station another survivor who has gone crazy sneaks up behind Rei and holds a knife to her saying he wants their bike or he’ll kill her (go ahead kill her. She’s been nothing but a bitch all day. He’s got three more hot girls on a bus waiting for him who are much more likable. She won’t be missed at all). As Takashi is pumping the bike full of gas he uses this opportunity to get close to him and use his gun to pop a bullet in his shoulder at point blank (ouch! Scene here: https://youtu.be/hJFua2-f-hI). They ride off on their bike and leave him for the zombies (harsh but the bastard deserved it). That’s pretty much all that happens in this episode. Throughout the rest of the episode we get a clip show of the last 3 episodes which is odd considering that this is the 4th episode so there’s really not that much to recap on. We also cut back to the bus the gang is on where we see they’re trying to cross the bridge to the other side of the city where they all live but its rush hour (or zombie hour) and we also see that Shido is slowly influencing the no name students to follow his every word (dumbasses. Can you not see the guy is an evil an asshole).

Episodes 5-9

In episode 5 not much really happens. Saeko, Kohta, Saya, and Shizuka decide to leave the bus and go on foot in the hopes that they’ll run into Takashi and Rei. That, and they can’t stand being around Shido who has completely brainwashed the students into believing that they are angels sent from Heaven to lead the new world and that he is a pitiful human there to guide them (how high are these students to actually believe this bullshit, https://youtu.be/-V2G8fhHJfU). They get attacked and surrounded by zombies but luckily Takashi and Rei come flying in on the motorcycle saving everyone and having another well-done action scene (scene here: https://youtu.be/vqqfUttXH2U). After meeting back up they decide to find a place to crash at for the night. Shizuka tells them that her friend’s place is nearby and that she has a spare key to the place and if they want they can crash over there for the time being. They decide to do that and we end the episode with them arriving at the place and going through any zombies that get in their way.

Episode 6 is the fanservice episode. I don’t know how they did it but they managed to fit a fanservice episode into a zombie apocalypse anime. That’s amazing, my hat off to Japan and Sato-sensei for fitting a fanservice episode into this series I imagine that must not have been easy. Nothing really much to say here except make sure your parents aren’t around and just enjoy the fanservice. Actually I take it back, there are a few important parts in this episode. We find out that Shizuka’s friend is Rika a marksman of the military who is at the airport shooting down zombies. At Rika’s place Takashi and Kohta find her awesome collection of guns (oh yeah, time for an upgrade. Just give me a machine gun and I’ll let those zombies say hello to my little friend). Also, Takashi and Rei kiss at the end of the episode (I know I should be mad about this but all I’m thinking about is Saeko in that naked apron. Honestly, she wants it, she wants it so bad. She wants to take a ride on the Takashi train).

After you’ve enjoyed the fanservice episode, in episode 7 we get introduced to a new character named Alice, a little girl who Takashi saves from a horde of zombies. In the episode Takashi and Kohta bear witness to the horror of people getting consumed by zombies and being unable to help them all because if they try to rescue everyone they see they probably wind up saving nobody or losing their lives in the process so they have no choice but to ignore the cries for help they see and accept that this is the new world that they live in. As they continue to watch they see Alice and her dad go up to a house trying to seek shelter from the zombies but the people inside are dicks and refuse to let them in. Alice’s dad threatens to tear the door down and the people inside respond by opening the door and stabbing him in the stomach causing him to die right in front of his daughter (and I hope the people inside burn in a barbwire Jacuzzi in Hell). She begins to cry which attracts the zombies to her and not being able to stand watching a little girl die Takashi and Kohta take action. Takashi gets on his bike and rides out to go get her while Kohta provides cover fire for him on the balcony. He makes his way to Alice and rescues her along with a dog who we’ll come to know as Zeke from the zombies. Even though Alice is safe they’re both stuck in the horde of zombies with no way out. Luckily, Rika has a hummer at her place and the gang uses it to smash their way through the zombie horde and make it to Takashi and Alice saving them both to end the episode (scene here: https://youtu.be/cyXu0WVQFLI).

In episode 8 they finally make it across the river and to the other side of the city where their families live. Since Saya’s place is the closest they decide to check out her place first. As they drive through the city it seems that all is fine and peaceful but that quickly changes when they run into another horde of zombies and get pinned down by them and a steel-wired fence (caught between a zombie and a steel-wired fence). With nowhere to escape (besides climbing over the steel-wired fence which they never do for some reason) they fight against the zombies using their new guns and weapons that they got from Rika’s place. Takashi runs out of ammo and grabs the gun Rei is using and we get probably the most ridiculous scene in the entire anime and given what I’ve seen in the anime that’s saying a lot (scene here: https://youtu.be/cNtlMjRqfQs, *laughing* okay, okay, hang on let me catch my breath. *Clears throat* What is there to say about this scene? Well, first off boobs do not move like that. Animators, I don’t know if you guys have seen or felt boobs before but anyone even a kindergartener would tell you that boobs don’t move like that. Hell, they’re not even boobs anymore, JesuOtaku probably said it best those are Jello boobs doing a dance at a rave. If anything this scene might as well be called the Boobatrix https://youtu.be/qjBRNqwDPrU). As hours go by and the fight against the zombie horde continues they run out of ammo leaving only Saeko and Takashi (now using his rifle as a beating stick) to fight off the horde. They try to make loud noises to steer the zombies’ attention away from the hummer but it fails (just climb over the fence, it’s not that hard. Actually, I think they can jump over the fence by getting on top of the hummer). Just when all seems lost a group of survivors comes in from the other side of the fence and spray the zombies away using fire hoses (this is the second time the fire hose has been used to save them. Who knew a fire hose would become an effective weapon in the fight against zombies). The leader of the survivors reveals herself to be Saya’s mom which makes everyone happy (yay~). They rescue everyone except for Takashi and Saeko who are too far away to get over the fence so they have no choice but to find another way around the zombies and make their way to Saya’s house.

Episode 9 is Saeko’s episode where we finally get a little backstory about her. After being separated from the group Takashi and Saeko fight their way through zombies and crash at a temple for the night where they find a real sword for Saeko to use (and now she is unstoppable) and she opens up to Takashi. She tells Takashi that when she was in middle school she was almost raped by this guy on the street but she had a practice sword with her and was able to defend herself and beat the rapist. But here’s the catch, she enjoyed it, she enjoyed beating the hell out of that guy. That’s right folks, Saeko is a hardcore sadist who gets pleasure out of hurting other people or things so for her, being in a zombie apocalypse and slashing and splattering the heads of zombies that used to be humans is total bliss for her. For her, hurting people is like reaching an orgasm while riding a fast roller coaster and doing it again just to feel that sense of pleasure one more time. After hearing all of this Takashi doesn’t seem all that phased by her true personality but instead is turned on by it (not to sound like a total perv but the sadistic side ups the hotness in her) and the screen fades to black as they’re about to engage into what I like to call hot temple sex. *Isis shows up*(Isis): Oh come on, what makes you so sure they had sex in that temple last night? For all we know they could have just kissed and fallen asleep. (Nitsuj): How do I know they had sex even though they never show it? Well, it’s because the next morning as they’re leaving Saeko is fixing her skirt meaning she had to have taken it off last night. Why would she take her skirt off in the presence of a boy her own age? The answer, is something I think everyone knows. Also, zombies show up at the temple in the morning as they’re leaving even though they weren’t there before. Meaning something loud had to have attracted them to the area. Are we really supposed to believe that these zombies showed up randomly for the convenience of the plot? I think not. Something loud attracted them to the area, no doubt the wondrous screams of a girl enjoying sex with the man she loves. Unbeknownst to her, her screams were loud enough to attract the zombies to their location. It is with these two pieces that I counter your theory with my sex theory and say that it is right while your theory is wrong. (Isis): *Standing with a shocked face* 0_0 You know, it’s quite frightful to think of the headway you could make if you put this much time and effort into making me and Chibi-Isis better and more efficient weapons and outfits. Why is that? (Nitsuj): Because this has more priority over you guys. Besides I gave you the Isis Royale and upgraded your AI guns and I also gave Chibi-Isis a second sword. Also, I’m working on your Halloween costumes in my spare time so I don’t wanna hear no more complaints from the peanut gallery. (Isis): Oh trust me, the peanut gallery will always have complaints for the troll artist to listen to whether he likes them or not *Isis disappears*. (Nitsuj): Anyway, with the zombies right in front of them they prepare to fight but Saeko is hesitant to fight them because she’s come to see herself as a mindless monster indulging herself in her desires and being no different from the zombies. But Takashi gropes her and tells her that if she needs a reason to fight than he’ll be her reason to fight (and just like that Takashi has gone down the harem route). This gives Saeko the push she needs to fight and she begins slaughtering the zombies with a smile on her face and leading to the best line uttered in this entire anime (scene here: https://youtu.be/Th71nkLc0Z4). We end the episode with them finally making it back to Saya’s house where they have finally reached safety (but for how long).

Not much happens in episode 10. We get to meet Saya’s dad who is a buffed up military officer who slices a zombies head off in front of the other residents that are staying at their compound to show them that this is the world that they live in now and that if they want to survive they have to be prepared to kill anyone. Even their love ones and closes friends. While at the compound the group starts to get edgy with each other (mostly Kohta) because they’ve become so accustomed to living in the zombie apocalypse world and fighting and defending for themselves that they almost can’t stand being in a place that’s so peaceful and almost similar to the world before the zombies appeared. Also the residents there keep treating them as kids instead of as adults (uh guys, did you not see these so called kids fight off a horde of zombies for God knows how many hours waiting for you guys to rescue them? Not to mention these so called kids figured out how the zombies work, escaped from their school in one piece, crossed the river to reach the other side of town, moved swiftly and overcame all obstacles in their path to find shelter for a number of nights, and managed to keep their sanity and demeanor through all of this without cracking under pleasure and going insane like a number of people in this anime. I’m sorry but these so called kids have more balls, guts, and seem more adult than any other adult currently living in this compound). Other than these two events nothing much happens in this episode. Although we do see that one of the residents in the compound is a student working for Shido (yeah I kinda forgot about him and the bus of loonies) who tells him to come to the compound for safety.

We open episode 11 with. . .a bus orgy. Yeah, I’m not bullshitting it’s literally a bus orgy going on between the students and Shido is watching them (he’s kinda of perverted like that). It seems that Shido has completely brainwashed the students calling them angels destined to rule the new world and they believe him (they’re kinda stupid like that). They are so far gone that they actually believe every word he is saying. Seriously, he could tell that Justin Bieber is the greatest singer of all time, the Twilight Saga is the greatest movie saga of all time, and Ikkitousen is the greatest anime of all time and they would believe him, they are that far gone (Oh God, it feels like I’m committing the ultimate sin against humanity by writing this sentence). While the rejected looney tunes are busy following crazy-ass off his drugs teacher, Saya and the others try to convince the other survivors the zombies are real, it’s not a killing pandemic, and that if they want to survive they have to fight back. But the survivors refuse to face reality, ignore Saya’s speech, and tell them to fuck off since they’re just kids and should stay out of adult business (okay, this mob of dumbasses is the next to die. I’m calling it right now any takers). After that scene we eventually see that the group is getting set to leave just as the cult of insanity arrives. Once they arrive we get a little backstory into Shido’s past. It turns out his dad was a high ranking politician who Shido admired greatly and had high hopes of one day succeeding him. Even when he found out his dad was cheating on his mom which led to her death from alcohol poisoning he still admired the guy. But when he found out his dad had an illegitimate son and that the illegitimate son would be succeeding him Shido became pissed and plotted to find the secrets of his family, expose them to the public, and put it end to his family (that’s quite the sad story and all but what does any of this have to do with taking a bus full of students, convincing them that they’re angels sent from Heaven to lead the new world, and letting them have a bus orgy while you stand there watching them? I normally don’t ask these questions but this deserves an answer, and a good one). Once Rei sees Shido in the compound she runs up to him with her rifle prepared to kill him. Why, well remember at the beginning when I said Rei got held back a year in school, well this is the asshole responsible for that. Rei’s dad was doing an investigation on Shido’s dad and saw that he was a corrupt politician (what else is new) and was gathering enough information to arrest him. But Shido’s dad had Shido hold Rei back a year as a warning to Rei’s dad telling him to back off. While Shido had no grudge against Rei he still didn’t care about her and failed her anyway so now Rei wants revenge. I say go ahead, zombie apocalypse, screw the rules let anarchy reign. The others don’t try to stop her including Saya’s dad who tells her that if she wants to kill him go ahead (do it! Shoot him in the head! Shoot him in the head! He ruined your life! He held you back a year! He separated you from the guy you love! Shoot him in the head! This ain’t no game bitch, you don’t need to reload your gun! The animators did that for you! Shoot him in the head! You’ve been nothing but a bitch all season, now’s your chance to get on everybody’s good side by killing this asshole! Shoot him in the head! Shoot him in the head!). But she backs down saying he’s not worth killing (oh don’t give me that bullshit! He may not be worth it but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve it! If you’re not gonna kill him can you at least kick his ass or shoot him in the leg or something? Get a little payback). After standing down Saya’s dad throws him and the cult of insanity out of the compound saying that they have become corrupted by his evil (oh good idea. Let’s give the easily influenced students back to the evil teacher who loves to watch them have bus orgies. It’s not like we could have gotten them psychological help and saved them oh wait we could have and it’s not like we could have sent Shido on his way himself oh wait WE COULD HAVE). We end with a missile being fired off into the sky by a submarine infested with zombies (how the hell did they get on the submarine).

In the final episode we get one big battle to end the series on a high note. We find out that the missile fired was an EMP missile which means anything running on electricity gets fried. Because of this Shido’s bus crashes into the blockade protecting the compound and destroying it allowing the zombies to pass through and make their way to the compound. After that a big battle consumes the compound with a majority of the dumbass survivors getting killed (called it). It’s confirmed that the base next door hasn’t been attacked by zombies and Saya’s parents rally everyone to take arms so that they can fight their way through the zombies and get next door. Takashi and the others offer to help but Saya’s dad tells him that he has his own mission (finding his family) and that he wants him to protect Saya (Saya’s dad: I give my bitchy smart-ass big-breasted sexy daughter to you Takashi. Use her however you wish). Takashi hears him loud and clear and the group heads back to the hummer which wasn’t affected by the EMP missile and escape but not before taking out a few zombies along the way. We end the season with them running out of gas on the highway and making their way to a mall where the story will hopefully be continued.

There is an OVA that came out roughly half a year after the anime ended. In the episode the group washes up on an island where they decide to relax and enjoy the tropical private beach while providing us plenty of good fanservice. At night they unknowingly burn some hydrangea leaves which causes them to have sexual hallucinations. Takashi hallucinates about banging Saeko (good choice), Shizuka imagines Saya to be her friend Rika while Saya imagines Shizuka to be her mother (that’s just incest right there), Saeko and Rei imagine each other to be Takashi and make out with each other naked on the beach (this is hot), Alice and Zeke are nowhere to be seen while all of this is happening, and Kohta is seen dry-humping a broom (I don’t know what the hell he’s doing). This OVA plays out like a soft-core hentai so I recommend watching it when you’re alone and no one’s around to accuse you of watching a hentai. It’s quite funny with the group hallucinating everything and it is fun to watch. This OVA was just an excuse to squeeze out more fanservice and have some fun and for this anime that’s always good.

Final Thoughts

Highschool of The Dead is a great anime. For being a medium that takes its first step into the zombie genre this was a good series to start off with. It’s got great action, realistic characters, a cool setting, and good morals. I like how realistic these characters can be and how different they are from each other. Takashi is probably the most realistic character of them all. He knows he’s slipping into insanity and the only thing keeping him from taking that leap of no return is his friends and love for Rei. I also like how he wasn’t so sure about himself being made the leader of the group because he recognizes his shortcomings and doesn’t consider himself all that strong and smart like Saya, Kohta and Saeko. But he has that initiative to take action and save others not forgetting that he’s still human and has morals like when he risked his life to save Alice. Rei is a bitch, she was a bitch throughout the anime. Throughout the first episodes all she talks about is her dead boyfriend and rubbing it in Takashi’s face. The guy is dead, get over it! Sure she can fight and shows feelings for Takashi but if you ask me I just think she’s treating him like the rebound guy because she doesn’t want to be alone in a world that’s going insane. Saya can also be quite bitchy like looking down on others and calling them idiots but I think that just how she’s dealing with the situation. She’s scared but her pride won’t allow her so show fear to anyone or anything because she believes in her mind she has to be and stay the level-headed genius or everyone around her will lose hope. Even though she doesn’t fight her smart thinking has gotten the group out of difficult situations and serves as an important contribution to the team. Both Kohta and Saeko are the coolest and most badass characters in the show. Kohta is funny and timid at times but at other times when he has a gun he’s one of the most badass guys I’ve seen in anime. Saeko is the best character in the show and the one I’m hoping ends up with Takashi. She’s sexy, strong, and beautiful. They do more than just turn her into the cool senpai with a sword, they give her a good backstory and psychological problem showing that this character has problems but as long as she has someone to fight for she’ll be alright. Shizuka is somewhat helpful. Like I said before her only purpose just seems to serve as the driver for the group and provide fanservice with her humongous boobs. Alice and Zeke are kinda useless characters. I read the manga and I really don’t see the two contributing that much to the team. Yeah I know it’s a dog and child but I just feel that they were just added in as extras for the team like the creator wasn’t sure who else to make so he just decided to make a little girl and hope something would come out of it. If I had to guess I think Alice represents the innocence of the team. She’s there to remind the group that they are human and keep them from going insane. And Zeke? Well I guess the show needs a cuddly mascot so why not a dog.

The animation is nice, nothing really special, it’s what you would come to expect from Madhouse but I will say I like the design of the zombies they look very realistic I could almost imagine them appearing in the real world. The music is good rock music which fits within the series and matches well with the fight scenes. Speaking of fight scenes, the fight scenes are also great. They’re very intense, have plenty of action and pacing in them, and you almost feel as if you’re there with them. They have long range gunfiring and close combat with the zombies so if you’re a fan of either of these kinds of fighting styles or enjoy both of them you’ll be satisfied with the action in the series. The final good thing in this anime is the morals. Very good morals in the anime. Throughout the show we see are main cast making the necessary changes to adapt to the new world and see how others can’t stand the new world and choose to kill themselves, go crazy and lose themselves, or just straight up deny the world they’re in just like real people would do if a zombie apocalypse were to happen. And they’re understandable. If a zombie apocalypse were to happen would you fight while hanging on to your sanity and making the necessary changes to survive or would you go insane and get yourself killed in this world. The anime shows that no matter what choices you make there’s gonna be consequences and you’re gonna have do something or things you never thought you would have to do in order to survive.

The fanservice is also great. It’s time perfectly, funny, and is quite hot to look at. They tend to go a bit overboard on the breast bouncing and that can be a little distracting at times but overall it’s still good. If I had to rate it on an ecchi meter I say it’s a well-placed 8.5/10. Finally, the English dub for the show is good as well. The American voice cast matches up greatly with the characters although I’ll stick with the Japanese since I think they sound better but the English version adds in more pop culture humor and reference to appeal more to the west audience. They also tend to say fuck a lot in the English version. This is due to the fact that the English version was directed by Steven Foster who also helped in rewriting the English script for the show. He has this blind belief that if you say fuck or cuss in all of your sentences your anime will be a hit. Well, that’s fucking obvious. Because every sentence has a fucking impact whenever you cuss. It doesn’t at all make you sound like a fucking idiot who thinks he sounds tough just because he knows a few sailor words. Steven Foster deserves a fucking Oscar for his writing and directing. He’s a fucking genius.

Final Score

The final score for High School of the Dead is an 8/10 with a must watch stamp of approval. I wish the anime had a few more episodes because this series is great and sure to become a timeless show and manga in the future. It’s got great action, characters, music, and morals to go with it and these factors will keep you coming back to the anime. Although I do wish they dived a little bit more into the backstories of some of the characters and a few of the morals. Some morals do get talked about more in the anime while others are just presented and never really talked about. I keep hearing a second season is in the making and will be airing next year but as of right now all we have is the 1st season of the anime but if you wanna see what happens next in the series I recommend reading the manga. For its first shot into a zombie genre Japan did an excellent job and I can’t wait to see what else they do with the genre. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj as Ani-ween continues MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- *Bat swoops in to attack me* AHHHHHHH~ Bat attack! Bat attack! Help me Isis! He’s trying to suck my blood! *Isis shows up with a crowbar and takes a shot at my face trying to hit the bat. She misses the bat and instead knocks me out*. (Isis): Go on shoo, shoo *bat goes flying out the window*. Well, that takes care of him huh master? *Turns around to see me unconscious on the ground* Oh you’re sleeping, I’ll just prepare some medicine for you when you wake up *walks out of room*.

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