Summer 2010 in Anime: Highschool of the Dead Review (Ridiculously Lengthy Edition)

Yes, "Highschool" is one word, apparently. This is the show that a lot of people have been excited about for the past few months. I did a Google Image search to find a main picture for this blog post, and I got these on the first page (NSFW):

You stare at this for a few seconds before realizing the 
image isn't getting any clearer.

The images tell us everything we need to know about the show. They say a picture's worth 1000 words, and we already have 15,000 words screaming at us that this is going to be a show heavy-laden with fan service, boob jiggles and whatnot. What we don't see is zombies. I'm not really into these types of shows, so I need a different incentive to watch. We all came to see the undead, it's in the title of the show for God's sake. Well, don't fret too much, because there's only about thirty billion of them wandering around the city trying to fuck shit up. Excessive swearing aside, let's begin.

The show starts off in THE HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD (I promise I'll stop bolding things from now on) with our three heroes getting chased by some Resident Evil rejects who moan like old men trying to beatbox.

Oh hey, it's Rahzel Brown.

We then cut to the show's opening, which has a gritty style of throwing graffiti splatters resembling blood everywhere that's kind of cool, but at the same time, it's an old trick that's been used over and over. The song is annoyingly screechy and boringly mellow at different moments; it isn't what you'd hear in a horror anime with a hint of dignity like say, Higurashi. By the time the OP is finished, you should have gotten a good idea of what this show is going to be: zombie beat-em-up with lots and lots of sexual images and tasteless pantyshots (sure, there are tasteful pantyshots in anime...of sorts; let's not talk about this) everywhere.

What you should be asking yourself as you watch this show.

The main character, named Takeshi Komuro (or Tekashi Kamero since the subtitles can't seem to make up their mind), is feeling gloomy because his childhood friend Rei just dumped him for his best friend Hisashi. While he's moping, he sees some teachers get attacked by a zombie at the front of the school. He rushes to Rei's class to warn her, and naturally, she doesn't believe him. After slapping her in front of her entire class and teacher, none of whom raise complaints, Takushi gets Rei and her "black belt" boyfriend Hisashi to accompany him. Well, at least the black belt will protect them, right?

Oh.

The principal of the school makes an announcement through loudspeaker that zombies are attacking, a message which is at first met with blank stares and sneers.

"Hahaha...Hey wait, don't zombies eat people?"

I guess Tekishi didn't bother telling the rest of the class about fucking zombies attacking the school, and I suppose the teacher didn't voice any objections to Rei and Hisashi suddenly leaving class. Scenes of students running around, getting killed by the rapidly-spreading zombie population ensue. If you've ever seen a zombie movie, you should already know what's up. You get bitten, you turn into a zombie, and the only way to kill them is with a blow to the head. We also get treated to girls being savagely killed while we get a shot of their blood-stained underwear. That's a huge problem I have with this anime. If you're watching the show for the fan service, your erection might get mixed signals. It'd be like seeing a girl get her arm smashed by a truck, and as she jumped around in agonizing pain, you ogled at her bouncing breasts and got a boner. I mean, what could you say to her?

Let's wrap this up. The three characters barricade themselves on the roof as Hisashi, the black belt boyfriend who got bitten and is turning into a zombie, tells Tikashi to put him out of his misery. Tekishi complies as the 28 Days Later theme song plays. We then see the ED and a quick aftermath. Rei is a little upset that her boyfriend just got killed, and she tells Takashi (the subs finally decided on a name) to piss off. He complies once again, but she changes her mind and tells him to stay because she "needs" him. Probably as bait for later. Anyway, that's the first episode.

The animation has some nice moments during action scenes, but it's mediocre during other parts. Gotta hate Madhouse for inconsistency (just kidding, I love you guys). The music is fittingly grungy with some nice crunchy distorted guitars, but it gives a fighting atmosphere rather than a creepy one. For those who dislike mindless horror movies about zombie fighting and underdeveloped characters, you'll probably find this show tasteless this and should proceed to rant about it on your blog (do it now, while nobody's looking). My plot summary may sound superficial, but that's really all you needed to know about it. There is almost no introduction to the main characters, and we are instead treated to an action show about zombies with a thin plot. If you enjoy that sort of thing, you might like this, but don't expect something like 28 Days Later.

"All in all, a pretty good day."