- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Action, Ecchi, Horror, Supernatural
- Airing Date : July 5, 2010 – September 20, 2010
- Producers : Madhouse, Geneon Universal Entertainment, AT-X, Sentai Filmworks, H.O.T.D Production Committee, Showgate
Highschool of the Dead Preview / Plot (No Spoilers)
Highschool of the Dead is the very exciting story about a zombie apocalypse in Japan. A world wide epidemic of some kind of zombie outbreak. The anime focus on a group of high school students who manage to survive the living dead and fellow survivors who are on the brink of insanity.
The main protagonist and narrator of the anime is Takashi Komuro. The anime follows a little group of survivors with Komuro and his friends. And all of them are determined to not become one of the many soulless corpses that wanders the earth.
Who does Highschool of the Dead cater to?
Firstly Highschool of the Dead is set in a modern time and because of that it is very easy to get into the story of the anime. And because of that it is very easy to start to think what it would have been if such a outbreak would have happened in your own school or city.
It is kind of known that right now and a couple of years back, the zombie culture has come back and are more popular than ever. That being said Highschool of the Dead is for people who love zombie movies, games etc. But also for the fan who likes horror, action, ecchi and the supernatural. The anime is packed with that. I can draw a parallel to the tv-serie The Walking Dead. Waiting for the next season is kind of hard and here the fans can calm those nerves by watching one very exciting and thrilling but also funny zombie outbreak anime.
What's so appealing about this piece of work.
The thing that will draw you in is the mystery of the anime at first and very quickly it will be for the unusual sight of zombies in a anime. You have the regular zombies as they should be. Slow but when they sense human flesh they go crazy. Just imagine a zombie outbreak in a city like Tokyo. And even more at a school as it is in this anime. But the thing that will make you watch is the survival and the thought of hopelessness and the ‘What if this happened to me?!’ as you watch it.
We also can’t forget about the ecchi part either. Which comes off very playfully and cute in the anime. And it brings out a more happy and funny part of a very dark story. Because of that, this anime have a lot to offer to very different kind of audiences.
Highschool of the Dead Trailer
Highschool of the Dead Main Characters List
Takashi Komuro
Voice Actor : Junichi Suwabe
Is a 17 year old high school student who goes in the same class as Rei. They have been friends since childhood and Komuro has loved Rei since she made a childhood promise of marry him when they grow older. But because of ignorance and hesitation, this caused a tension in their friendship. Komuro was one of the first who noticed that something was wrong in the school. And helped his friends not to get eaten by the living dead.
Komuro earned his place as the leader of the small group of students because of respect and admiration. He often risks his own life in order to save and protect his fellow students and friends.
Rei Miyamoto
Voice Actor :Marina Inoue
Rei is classmate and childhood friend of Takashi, they’ve been friends since kindergarten. She gave the promise of marry him when they were young but didn’t follow through when they grew older. She started dating his friend Hisashi instead.
Rei is strong and reliable, she is good with a weapon and has proven to be a great asset to the group. Rei was held back despite being an excellent student. She was originally in the same year as Saeko.
Busujima Saeko
Voice Actor :Miyuki Sawashiro
Saeko is the president of the school’s kendo club, she is extremly skilled with a bokken and close combat. She has a very calm personality and a sense of pride in her skills and those that she’s with. Saeko is one of the most trust wordy of the group. Everyone in the group can count on her combat skills to pull them through a dangerous situation.
Not much is known about her family except her father who travelled abroad on a self-defence conference before the zombie outbreak.
Contains Spoilers
Highschool of the Dead Review
What is it that makes zombie apocalypse stories so appealing? For me I have to say it’s the survival and I guess that is why zombie’s are coming back in style. It’s an old concept but we see new versions of it within movies, tv shows, games etc. I have always loved zombie games since I played Resident Evil Zero on Game Cube. And after that I believe I was hooked.
When it comes to anime, I am not sure how many zombie anime there is out there. Of course I had heard of the name Highschool of the Dead but I had never really taken any action to really check it out but when I finally did I was really surprised. Mostly because I had never seen zombies in a anime. I love how surprised I got from just watching the first episode because it is a perfect story of how it can start with a zombie outbreak and how fast things really can turn into a real hellish nightmare.
We have zombie outbreaks in malls, mansions in the forest etc. But I must say what is different about Highschool of the Dead is that it shows how a outbreak of some kind of zombie virus can look like in a school. Not any school, one in Japan for that matter. Because I have a very big imagination I come across thinking about it. ‘’What if a zombie apocalypse happens in Tokyo?’’ Or when I was living in a share-house in Japan. Much more safe to live in a apartment, right?
Highschool of the Dead focus on Takashi Komuro and a couple of other students from his school. Like with all great stories, they meet big challenges and as a group they overcome those hardships. The anime is a serious one but even though the story plays out like if it would have happened in real life. We get some quite funny and hilarious moments because of the ecchi theme that is in the anime. The only downside to the anime would be that it is way too short. Only 12 episodes, but that doesn’t make it any less good.
The zombies are slow at first but when they are attacking they move really fast. With most series out there, they never mention the word zombies. Which gives the anime a more realistic touch. I also like the fact that the characters are human. In the sense of that they aren’t just smashing their way through zombies without thinking or any personal growth. There is a lot of moments in the anime where the main characters question them-self or need help from their friends. Which is really good and makes it a lot more fun to follow the story with a touch of realism even though it is a anime.
I don’t think I have anything bad to say about Highschool of the Dead because it is a really exciting anime about surviving a zombie apocalypse. But also because all the main characters have very different personalities so I believe there is a favorite character for everyone who watch the anime.
1. Zombies
The most important part of a zombie outbreak! The living dead is very scary in Highschool of the Dead. They are attacking very ruthless in the first episode and many of the students get killed because of this.
The zombies are slow at first but fast enough when they are close-up and personal with their victims. And that is what makes it so thrilling and scary to watch because you’re not ready for it and it will surprise you a lot.
I really love the zombies and they are presented in a really good and scary way in Highschool of the Dead.
2. Weapons
The students grab what they can find and it’s really nice to see when they fight the zombies with a baseball bat at full strength. Even though they find very good military weapons later on. My favorite is the katana sword that Saeko welds. The kind of weapons that are used really reminds me of the video game Dead Rising. I firstly think of the nail gun that Kouta Hirano modifies with a scope.
The thing that is so appealing about the weaponry in the anime is that they really just grab the best thing they can get their hands on that can be a great weapon against the living dead.
3. Survivors
The survivors make a great asset to the anime, not just the main characters but also the more freaky and insane characters that they encounter later on. This is what makes all the zombie outbreak stories so great. Mainly because when your protagonist run into another survivor, you’ll never know if they truly are a good guy or someone who has completely lost it.
Some survivors will chock you and some will make you really wish they die already. In Highschool of the Dead you have all of those characters, even some that you might not be so used with in a story like this one.
Highschool of the Dead is a very awesome anime that will chock you and surprise you very much so. It is a very easy anime to get into and you will not be sorry to give it a fighting chance. It is a short anime with only one season , as for now. But if you are like me and really like the zombie-universe, well then you need to watch this very exciting and thrilling anime.
Author: Daniel Bengtsson
Recommended Post
6 Anime Like Highschool of the Dead [Updated Recommendations]
Recommended Post
Top 10 Kickass High School of the Dead Characters
Recommended Post