Highschool of the Dead Overview:
Zombies attack a highschool? Well Highschool of the Dead at least provides a sensible title.
Highschool of the Dead Review:
Okay, if you’ve been following my blog you know I have a strange fascination with horror and I’m not too concerned about the quality of it. Highschool of the Dead is a case in point. I will freely admit that this is fanservice laden brainless action that suffers from an extreme absence of plot other than survive and kill zombies, and it doesn’t even conclude, but I will still tell you this is fun to watch.
I think it is during the first episode when the zombies are first attacking where I just kind of fell in love with the over the top nature of this show. While we are meeting our core group of students/teachers that we’ll follow as they venture out from the school and attempt to find other survivors/safety we are also introduced to a lot of high school students that exist only to be cannon fodder.
During one of these scenes, we see two girls who are busy swearing that they are friends and they’ll look out for one another when one of them is grabbed by a zombie. Rather than help her friend, the other girl kicks her free and attempts to run off but is also ingloriously killed. It’s cheap but it works to set the tone for this show.
Everyone who is not part of our main group exist only to fill the screen time until we need to rack up a body count and it doesn’t feel like they are using this for cheap thrills or to hit you in the feels. This is used entirely to maintain the ridiculous atmosphere constructed by episode 1.
My real issue with Highschool of the Dead is that it isn’t actually horrific. Sure, there’s a lot of zombies, blood and death, but at no point does it really engage you emotionally (unless you are in it for the bouncing female anatomy).
It really is horror at its trashiest as they use death solely for entertainment without any underlying message or purpose and without a hint of remorse or tragedy. Not saying that it isn’t entertaining, because they did nail that aspect of the show, but it’s just that with so many other zombies out there, it would have been nice for this show to attempt to distinguish itself with some aspect of depth.
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Our cast of characters are pretty much what you would expect. You’ve got the two characters who weren’t dating (she was dating his friend but now he’s dead and there’s guilt a plenty to go around), the overly serious girl, the ditz, the nerd, etc, etc. They come together and each use their own ‘skills’ as they cross through zombie infested cities.
There are some great action pieces. Great but not in anyway grounded in reality. And for those who are fans of seeing zombies get blown away you won’t be disappointed. The soundtrack is also pretty good and fits with the energy of the show.
This is a short review but there just isn’t that much to say. The show doesn’t finish and leaves our characters still on a journey that seems to have no real destination. They’ve been changed and hardened by their experiences, but they have also become quite the zombie killing crew. If you want zombies, murder and mayhem without much to think about other than what your weapon of choice would be, and if you don’t mind excessive amounts of panty shots and other overly suggestive shots of women, then you’ll probably have fun with this anime. For everyone else, probably best to give this one a miss.
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Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
I was actually hooked from the first episode of this one. I still remember the girls running hand in hand promising to be together forever, then the other girl kicks her in the face when she get grabbed so she can get away. Zombie stories don’t have to be complicated to be fun. That’s why the entire genre exists. Sit down and watch people freak out and struggle to survive. It’s too bad the mangaka died and there is probably never be a second season. Unless they do OVAs with studio only writers.
I loved that but with the girls. It was just perfectly executed. Yeah, this is silly but it is still fun.
I don’t think horror has to be serious. I wish it was more Walking Dead and less vapid but I still enjoyed it a lot.
Glad you dug the show, but I think I’ll stick to School Live 😛
Probably safer really.
If this anime actually had anything good in it then it would be the jiggling of boobs. Except that, it was a total shitty train wreck
Yup, bad horror is not for everyone.
Aside from the excessive fan services I enjoyed watching it. For the survival zombie aspect. I LAUGHED this entire time. So I say it was worthwhile. Not a show I would probably revisit though.
Caught this anime on You Tube, because a friend recommended it, but YT didn’t have all the episodes. It is an okay anime and I agree with all your points.
Well, you already know my thoughts on this one lol, but still wanted to say: great review, and I ofcourse totally agree with it 😀
A lot of live action horror is the same way, though they can’t pull off boob matrix. Sometimes you just need a trashy horror.
I do enjoy a good trashy horror. That said, it is hard to recommend it to others to watch.
I know what you mean. I don’t think I’ll be looking into this myself. I have Hellsing Ultimate for my zombie violence fix.
Trashy horror is just to help a friend cheer up after he is dumped by saying, “Look! That zombie looks jst like your ex”
The first two words that come to mind in regards to this show is boobs matrix.
Thanks for sharing.
lol that is extremely accurate.
oh right…this show existed…
LOL Savage
Its interesting how the 1st episode or 2 kinda give off a different impression of the show than the road it actually took. As for the whole point of no conclusion, well i mean madhouse and cliffhangers implying 2nd seasons…however you never know. One punch man got a 2nd season. Thanks for sharing. was an enjoyable read.
So funny I was just talking about this anime with someone yesterday. It was not good at all. It had so much potential to be really good. It’s not like omg bad. But I wish it was better. I do wish it was a second season because i need to know what happens haha