Let’s start with the first highlight of Kurumi, namely the art style and her character design. First off, we would say that Gakkougurashi is a misleading anime. Bright colours, simple and joyful melodies, and to top it off, loli characters that hardly look like they belong to high school. Certainly, these characteristics are not what one would expect of a horror anime to start off but we’ll get to that later.

At the beginning, most of us already anticipated a simple slice of life anime, aa we were picking out our favourite characters. Kurumi has twin tails which are often synonymous with loli characters. Other things to note are the minor accessories that she wears that made her stand out from the rest. Her striped black and white arm warmers for example are not typically used with the high school uniform. She also has a black choker around her neck which is also rarely seen in a high school girl’s fashion.

The bold contrast of black and white catches the attention of the viewers and these minor accessories allowed Kurumi to be contrasted with the other characters as they are unique only to her. The piece de resistance is the object that she carries alongside her – her shovel. This final aspect sets her apart from the other characters as she is only one to wield a weapon continuously throughout the series. Her attachment to her weapon is so strong that Yuki gave it an endearing nickname, Shovel-kun.

Kurumi is often the person who volunteers to do patrols and goes on dangerous missions. She has a very good physique, possible due to her time as a manager in the athletics club. She is able to wield the heavy shovel-kun with ease while the others struggled to even lift it.

Kurumi is also able to maintain her composure in tense situations which allows her to calculate her actions. Her bravery is attributed to her dedication to her friends as she functions purely for the sake of her friends such that she will even willingly sacrifice herself should it come to it.

The other side of her lies in her energetic and bubbly personality and can also be said to be more one of the matured ones in the club. She can casually joke around despite being placed in a troublesome situation and often cheers up the others when they feel down. Just being beside her is comfort enough as she possess the aura to make you feel at ease as well.

We have come to see Kurumi as a dynamic and strong fighter as well as her numerous acts of bravery for the sake of the School Living Club. She was able to kill hordes after hordes of zombies mercilessly without as much as hesitating for one second. She has nerves of steel to be able to traverse beyond the barricaded safe zone to track Tanomaru. It was there where she met the one person that made her hesitate.

Kurumi have a weak point. Megumi Sakura was the faculty adviser of the School Living Club. There, she played the role of the kind caretaker and the motivator during the outbreak. Her times as the adviser was short lived and she eventually succumbed to death herself. Yet however, the memories of Megumi live on in the survivor’s hearts. To them, she will forever remain as the kind teacher and the sole person that exchanged her life for theirs. This event alone was made the usually unfaltering and brave Kurumi stop in her tracks that eventually caused her to be bitten.

Through this scene alone, we are reminded that Kurumi is after all human and the act of being weak to emotions is what sets humans apart from the zombies. Whereas zombies are the infected and are devoid of any emotions, it is the humans that are overflowing with emotions – this trait alone is what defines the will to survive. Kurumi is weak to the lingering attachment to her late teacher and she cannot bring herself to deal the final blow in those crucial moments. Her weakness is something we can empathize with, which goes beyond mere sympathy and that makes her a very memorable character.

Despite being in a tough predicament, Kurumi is still able to lift the moods of her friends and fellow survivors. Rarely sulking and moping around, Kurumi joins in casual conversations and keeps the mood bright and happy. The reason for this will be described below. Kurumi owes no obligation such to place herself in a dangerous situation most of the time. Her acts of bravery are not a necessity. Rather, she does it willingly for the sake of her friends as highlighted throughout the series.

The burden of killing is a tough burden to uphold, but one that Kurumi accepted fully without qualification. Often jerking awake at night, she keeps her past to herself as well so as to not burden her friends as well. She bears these loads so as to keep her friends happy.

The final act of devotion is shown when she was bitten by Megumi. Knowing the outcome of the situation after seeing it happen one too many times, she begged Yuuri to end her life so as not to risk infecting the rest of them in spite of the excruciating pain that she was in at that moment. For Kurumi, although the world may have ended, the relations she has with the rest have not. To them, Kurumi will always be there when they need her. That is the mark of a true friend.

The series was quick to hint at the traumatic past that Kurumi had to suffer in the course of the zombie outbreak. Disregarding the first episode of course, since it was all fun and games then.

Already by the second episode, the opening sequence shows Kurumi standing beside a person whom we can easily assume is the person she has a crush on. This sequence shows how much she valued this unnamed person and how she yearned for these similar moments to go on forever. This happiness was short-lived however as we see the male figure approach her in a menacing manner and her expression of bliss changed into one of bewilderment before cutting off as she abruptly awoke from her sleep.

As the story progresses, we learn that the continuation of the events was not at all bliss. Due to the outbreak, the senpai that she adored had been infected as well. Almost as if fate was toying with her, she just happened to be there when he was infected and became his only target. The fear combined with her anguished and pained expression was what was displayed before she picked up a nearby shovel and the screen goes black.

It was hinted that Kurumi often have interrupted sleep and moments of sadness. This all was just a façade as she strived on to protect her friends. The true reasons for the bright and energetic personality is such that to make sure that they never have to go through something as traumatizing and what she went through.