Overview:
I picked this up after reading the first couple of D’s (D Talks Anime) write ups on this series last month. While I’m not overly keen on slice of life stories set around clubs of cute girls in high school, zombie stories tend to fascinate me and the mix of the two seemed pretty irresistible so I had to at least give this one a go. Fortunately it was available on Crunchyroll.
Review:
If I didn’t know what this show was about and hadn’t read what the twist was for the first episode, I don’t know how far I would have watched. But much like Life (movie reviewed here) knowing where this was going actually helped because it made me a more alert viewer. Small details that may have been overlooked were everywhere in the early parts of the series as we watched Yuki go about her ‘normal’ school day.
There’s so much deliberate irony in this episode and it works really well. I liked how background characters were frequently out of focus or pretty much just outlines, the way we lingered on shots of the window, the table barricade (wait, why is that there), the classrooms. I loved the way her friend reacted every time Yuki mentioned a class and the way she hesitated before calling into the room to chase the dog. Even smaller things like the book being read in the club room that is an obvious Stephen King knock off (I think the one decent look I got at the author had it written as Steppen King). It’s really well done so even though you are watching cute girls run around a school chasing an excessively cute and overly dexterous puppy, there’s plenty to engage you. And then there is this:
Yep, Yuki is delusional and the end of the episode pulls the veil off of the school and lets the audience see things as they are. Now I’m stuck with questions such as how did these girls manage to barricade themselves in the school when whatever caused the zombie outbreak occurred and how many of the other characters we’ve met are actually real? Very intriguing beginning.
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Same about not lasting past five minutes of this without knowing the twist. But I really love how the reveal at the end is supported by a fair amount of hints from the beginning itself.
And I read it as Steppen King too.
That twist at the end of ep 1 totally had me reeling. Really well done and it totally caught me off guard. Really enjoyed watching this one and I hope it gets another season in the future.
It’s funny, I love slice of life, and cute girls doing cute things. Yet, as I watched the first episode, I wasn’t doing much for me. Mind you, I watched it when it was airing, so I didn’t know about the twist going in. I was about ready to drop it half way through the episode, but for some reason, I held on. And thank god, I did, because that was one of the best endings to a first episode I’ve ever seen. Poor Yuki, I probably wouldn’t be able to handle such a terrifying situation either haha. Can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the series!
And for anyone who has watched all of Gakkou Gurashi, I highly recommend reading the manga. The art is gorgeous, and has taken so many twists and turns that will put you on the edge of your seat every chapter! Hopefully, we’ll see a second season one day, especially now that the second story arc has finished.
I just finished it yesterday. Just like you I probably would have shut this down after watching 5 minutes of it, if I had not known what it was about. It’s definitely done very well. I love the twist at the end where all of a sudden you realise what is really going on. Well, all I can say is that this is only going to get better and better 😊
I actually stumbled into this at random and told a number of my friends to just go into it blind and out of the 5 or so that did, all of them were thrown by that ending reveal. It’s one of those first episodes you can re-watch to see all the things you missed at first glance.