Are you a big fan of one of the best and most famous TV series of those last years, featuring drama, horror, violence and unsustainable suspense? Maybe you prefer the original Black &White comic book by Robert Kirkman that started in 2003? Perhaps you enjoyed games like the Resident Evil series, The Last of Us, Dead Rising or maybe even the official game following the series’ story? Or you just simply love zombie related stories with this feeling that your heart could stop at any time following the unexpected appearance of a dead body trying to eat you alive and you just want to see their heads roll on the floor following blood explosions due to a massive baseball bat smash in the face? (I personally love that last part!)
Well, while the Walking dead 5th season is at its peak and makes you longing for its second part since days (and you will have to be patient as the next episode is planned to be released on February the 8th in the US) we offer you something to spend time with in your unbearable wait:
The Walking Dead in a High School Version (surprisingly) named “High School of the Dead” (In Japanese: 学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD / Gakuen Mokushiroku Haisukūru obu za Deddo)
HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD
In this anime, our Rick Grimes is a High School second year student in Japan named Takashi Komuro. Unlike the ex-Sheriff, Takashi does not have particular fighting or shooting skills but he can make the difference with his leadership ability and his courage to protect his survivors’ group and his loved one: Rei Miyamoto who is actually not the usual loved one who cannot protect herself but an accomplished spear master! Along those 2, a third main character is showing off her skills, this time with a wooden blade from Kendo: Saeko Busijima.
Source: Wikia
Source: Wikia
Source: Wikia
Source: Wikia
You can find several common points between the American TV show and this Japanese anime: the relation between Rick, his wife Lori and his best Friend Shane parallel to Takashi, his loved one Rei and his friend Hisashi Igou.
Source: Wikia
Source: Wikia
Source: Wikia
Also to notice: the different groups of people that are created to overcome and survive the pandemic, of course with different action styles and morals. And most of all and the most evident one: the fight and survival against the “walkers” or “biters” from The Walking Dead which are referred as “Them” in the anime.
Even though it won’t go as deep as the American horror-drama series in strong emotions, sadness as madness, the 12 episodes of High School of the Dead is a good mix between apocalyptic survival horror mixed with some sexy poses that can please some of the gentlemen here and non-stop action until the end. Don’t expect a great storyline but you can enjoy a clear animation, artistically well done, and eye-catching. Another good part of this anime? Well it is related to another character, not the main one though: Kouta Irano, the funny and bullied gun otaku who actually is more important that people would think. Lots of funny part of the anime are related to him and he is actually praised by Takashi who noted that, if Kouta died, the group would all be dead in a single day. Not bad for a “first glance unfit and weak otaku”!
Source: Wikia
So while you wait for February, give it a try, it might fulfil your zombies’ blood thirst!
Highschool of the Dead Trailer
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: Jul. 2010 - Sep. 2010
Author: Thomas