Anime Hajime Review: Highschool of the Dead

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Highschool of the Dead. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

For Takeshi Komuro (voiced by Junichi Suwabe), his life isn’t in the best place. Besides his mundane high school worries, the woman he loves is with another man. Rei Miyamoto (voiced by Marina Inoue) cares about Takeshi but is no longer willing to wait for him.

At an all-time low, Takeshi is at a loss for what to do. Then in a matter of seconds, this kind of trouble is one of many luxuries that are about to die.

At his school’s gate, Takeshi notices a man wandering around. He watches as teachers confront the stranger. Without warning, the person bit. That was the moment when the nightmare began. Takeshi had witnessed the start of the zombie apocalypse.

Within minutes, society descended into chaos. In every direction, there is nothing but blood and carnage. Family and friends run from each other as the dead feast on the living. Takeshi and Rei manage to meet up with several other survivors. Together they succeed in escaping their school. Too bad there is nowhere they can run.

From this point on, every step taken could be a person’s last. The end has begun.

Series Positives

I was of two minds when returning to Highschool of the Dead (HOTD).

It wasn’t until after first watching this series did I realize how much of a following it had. A following that was in the same vein as Kore wa Zombie Desu ka. Unlike Zombie, this was a show I remember liking a fair bit. Along with that, I had recalled HOTD having plenty of gore and sexualization. This was no doubt a memorable series in that aspect.

Things like plot and characterization though, I might as well have been seeing this show for the first time. This wasn’t my most anticipated series for Pre-Blog Month, but I was excited to return nonetheless. Or at least, part of me was.

There was an element about HOTD that I was dreading. In the period between my initial viewing and now, I had developed this idea of what the start of this show was like. From my memory, this touched upon something that bothers me about the zombie genre.

To be clear, I like zombie stories. They can be a ton of fun and intriguing if in the hands of a competent storyteller. The survival aspect of this narrative I find interesting. When I say there’s something that “bothers” me about this genre, it has nothing to do with an annoyance. Quite the opposite. The better told this segment is, the more disturbing I find it to be. If anything, this is a compliment.

I am referring to the outbreak itself. Z-Day, if you will. Case zero gets out and the start of everything. Or rather, the end of everything. The thought of society breaking down under this apocalypse frightens me. I’m not joking. This isn’t something I think about often, but when I do, it usually means I’m not going to go to bed at a decent hour.

Zombie stories that begin sometime after this moment I find less stressful. But zombie tales I remember the most, do have this. In terms of anime, the obvious example I can give you is Gakkou Gurashi. Granted HOTD aired several years before it.

Gakkou Gurashi did show its outbreak and it was amazing. It had everything in it that makes this such a terrifying segment for me. It was brutal, it was quick, it was chaotic. Plus, it was all very well done. On top of that, Gakkou Gurashi had its cutesy, slice-of-life art style. Thus, making the whole thing that much more impactful. If you haven’t seen this series, please go check it out.

Before I get ahead of myself, HOTD is no Gakkou Gurashi. Yet I did remember it having a decent depiction of its own outbreak. This was the reason why I was apprehensive about returning to this series, despite me having liked it.

It doesn’t help that over the course of my anime watching life, I have set myself up to fail. I have seen a ton of school life stories. Like Gakkou Gurashi, HOTD looked similar to countless other shows. Shows I have both enjoyed and not enjoyed.

To put it in perspective, this review is coming out in March 2018. The last series I watched that took this dark of a turn in this kind of setting was Gakkou Gurashi. That review came out in July of 2017. The next closest thing before that was Mirai Nikki which I got to during the last Pre-Blog Month. Granted, Mirai Nikki’s apocalyptic nature wasn’t zombie based, but that just proves my point.

I was expecting HOTD to be a rough sit. Except like I’ve said many other times before, my memory isn't the greatest. I was projecting an issue that turned out to not be a problem.

HOTD’s outbreak I found myself getting into. Dare I say, it was a lot of fun. This segment still had many of the elements I usually have difficulty with. There was an ever-increasing amount of carnage. The show wasted no time in getting the blood flowing. Within minutes, there were bashed-heads, torn-limbs, and death everywhere. So, what made this different?

I can say with confidence; these characters have seen a zombie movie or two. Our main group picked up on what was happening fast. For example, Takeshi saw someone get bit. He saw this person die within seconds, get back up, and start attacking. Putting the pieces together, Takeshi knew he couldn't let these things get him.

Another instance, Rei pierced a zombie’s heart. That didn’t work. Fair enough, try the head. Okay, that did work. Therefore, always aim for the head.

Within hours, our team had enough working knowledge to find a safe place to plan their next step. There was idiocy going on all around them. That didn’t matter though since those weren’t our characters. Do you know what’s even better than learning from your own mistakes? Learning from other people’s mistakes.

What allowed HOTD to avoid the chaos of other zombie stories was its characters' ability to stay calm. For the most part, our group didn’t succumb to panic. They were scared, but that’s different. They always remained aware of their surroundings. They understood the situation enough to know they needed to get out.

For those who have never seen this show, I’m going to guess there is a question going on in your head. Odyssey, isn’t such a response a little unrealistic? I can’t say I disagree with that. Except this was what made HOTD so much God damn fun. This story embraced its absurdity.

Going forward with this review, that is the most critical thing you need to remember. If you want tense, dramatic, pull-at-your-heart-strings horror, go watch Gakkou Gurashi. If you want something that goes “boom”, then HOTD is your ticket.

Characters: Part 1

HOTD had an interesting cast. They weren't the fascinating kind of interesting. No, these people were the fun-to-watch kind.

If you can believe it, there were actually seven main characters in this series. There was also only twelve episodes. The story had to focus on survival, fighting zombies and traveling. Moments to slow down and rest were few and far between. There was a lot to do. There were a lot of people to meet. Time was not on HOTD’s side.

Could character development come while on the move? Sure, and to an extent that happened with a few of its characters. With its limitations, this series didn’t do that bad of a job with exploring who made up its central cast. Then again, this is a Part 1. Where do you think Part 2 is going to be?

If it's any consolation though, four out of these seven I will discuss now. With what HOTD had to work with, four is nothing to scoff at. Also, the remaining three, they weren’t awful. They were likable. Too bad there wasn’t enough time to give them the proper amount of depth they otherwise deserved.

That’s a discussion we will get to soon. Yet imagining what HOTD could have been if it had a few extra episodes, it’s surprising that wasn’t the case.

The first of the four was Rei Miyamoto.

What I am going to say next, I want it to sound as neutral as possible. Rei reminded me of Kei Kishimoto from Gantz. If you were around for the last Pre-Blog Month, a slew of red flags should be popping up in your mind. I don’t blame you, but I wouldn’t say such a thing without a purpose.

For the uninitiated, I hate Gantz. It is a trash series that is among the worst I have ever seen. And I have seen what is, arguably, the bottom of the barrel, Mars of Destruction. I would rather watch that train wreck ten times over before even looking at a single episode of Gantz again. And Kei Kishimoto is part of the reason the show was pure garbage.

Before I compare Rei to this person, let me say this. Rei is a far better character and that is why she makes me recall Kishimoto. At the most basic of levels, these two played the same role in their respective series. To oversimplify the characters, they were the main love interest for the lead. To the extent to which that is true is a debate for another time.

A theme between Rei and Kishimoto is the amount of flack they give their show’s main protagonist. Along with that, they each got rather harsh in their criticism.

With Rei, she had a tendency, in the beginning, to compare Takeshi to her boyfriend who was also Takeshi's best friend. On occasion, this was deliberate of Rei. Other times, it slipped out. It didn’t matter which it was, whenever she brought this up it was unfair and uncalled for. Rei’s boyfriend got bit and Takeshi was the one who had to deal with it.

When Rei did this, she realized she crossed a line. But when this happened, it made sense why. Once was right after Takeshi did what needed to be done. This was a knee-jerk reaction for Rei who, to be fair, wasn’t thinking under the best conditions. Another came when she was drunk. Because of course, that was a thing that happened.

Although Rei said some hurtful things, you could understand where she was coming from. How about Kishimoto? She never stopped comparing Gantz's main protagonist, Kei Kurono, with her “knight” Masaru Kato.

Kishimoto thought Kato was the greatest person to ever be great. This was despite the fact he never did anything. After deciding all-words-no-action was better, the starry-eyed Kishimoto had no time for Kurono. This didn’t stop her from relying on him every chance she could without a single word of thanks.

Where Rei knew when she took things to far, there was no such concept going on in Kishimoto’s mind.

Plus, Rei had a reason behind her frustration with Takeshi. She did love him. Their affection for each other was mutual. But a person can only wait so long. Rei was under no obligation to give Takeshi any time. Nevertheless, she gave him years to come to terms with his feelings and he never pulled the trigger.

Another thing, when it came to fighting, Kishimoto was a bumbling buffoon. Her idea of participating was standing in the back and berating Kurono for not doing anything. Her one and only significant action led to what was the funniest moment in Gantz. It was funny because it was among the dumbest things I’ve ever seen in anime. And as a bonus, she was no longer in the show after that.

What did Rei do? She would tell Takeshi to hurry his ass up as she ran out ahead of him. She was not deadweight. She could be quite awesome.

Why did Rei make me think about Kishimoto? When you see a character done right, how can you not think of another character done so utterly wrong?

The second of the four characters is Takeshi himself. Like it was with Rei, he reminded me of another character from Gantz, Kei Kurono.

So we are clear, me not liking how Kishimoto treated Kurono is not me saying I like the guy. Kurono was a huge prick. He was an awful character in his own right. What made him “special”, he was the least insufferable thing about Gantz.

That doesn’t amount to much, but it’s something.

If Kishimoto was the absolute worst version of Rei, the same is true with Kurono and Takeshi.

Both guys found themselves in otherworldly positions. Along with that, somehow or other, they became the face of their respective groups. Neither chose to fulfill this role nor did they desire it. Regardless, they had it. One of the tasks Takeshi and Kurono had to do was adjust to their newfound responsibilities.

In their own way, they struggled in this regard. They weren’t perfect. They made plenty of mistakes. This is an effective way of establishing a character worth following. What separates the two is how they decided to handle themselves in their situation.

For Takeshi, he understood his circumstances weren’t special. He and his friends had to face a harsh reality. Everything they ever took for granted was now gone. How could he be the most miserable person in the world when everyone else could say the same thing?

To go along with this, Takeshi knew he wasn’t a one-man army. Against a zombie horde, he could only last by himself for so long. He was never against relying on his teammates for help. This was what made this group so strong. They had an amazing amount of teamwork behind them. Whenever they had to take a stand, they stood together.

Takeshi was the direct link to everyone’s morale. Whenever he started to feel hopeless, that energy transferred to the entire team. There were a few points where things got pretty dire.

Upon seeing this though, Takeshi found the drive to make one more push. No matter how desperate the move, this was the motivation the group needed to stand until the end.

When the seven weren’t fighting, there was nothing to distract them from how bad everything had gotten. While he wasn’t fantastic at this, Takeshi often had to console his friends. One of his biggest flaws was his bluntness. Though this worked for some of his group, it didn’t work for all of them. If there was something he needed to work on it was his bedside manner.

This wasn’t a one-way relationship. Takeshi got plenty of support from his friends as well. Everyone's strife allowed Takeshi to maintain his humanity. What better way is there of proving you are still alive and human than by acting as such.

When the team reached a safe house to rest up, the weight of everything set in. No more than a day had passed and already they went through an unimaginable nightmare. Some had concluded that their best chance at survival would be to look out for themselves. They couldn’t go around helping everyone they met.

This didn’t sit well with Takeshi, but there was little he could do to argue against this mindset.

Yet the moment he heard someone crying for help, Takeshi couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Against his better judgment, he went out to save this person. This act didn’t change the optimal strategy of self-preservation. 

But what this did do was prove to the group that was not how they were going to do things. If they were able to act, they would.

This was Takeshi, what was Kurono’s approach. His strategy was to be the biggest dick possible. No matter what happened, it wasn’t his fault. He did nothing wrong. Nothing was his problem. He whined, he complained, he acted like a spoiled child. This was the person we had to deal with through Gantz’s twenty-six episodes.

I ask you, who would you rather follow?

The third person of the four was Saeko Busujima (voiced by Miyuki Sawarashiro). Unlike Rei and Takeshi, there is no Gantz equivalent for her. This makes sense too. Saeko’s character type was way too good for that series.

I haven’t mentioned this yet, but something needs to be said about the odds of this group coming together. In a zombie story, you couldn’t ask for a stronger party make-up. This team had the right balance to face any threat. They were effective at both long and short range.

When thinking protection during the zombie outbreak, guns, and lots of them, appear to be a must-have. There are not particularly hard to use, and anyone can become an instant threat. Though effective, jams do happen and bullets run out. Depending on the firearm, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re holding nothing more than a stick that goes bang.

This team had that covered.

An alternative to guns are blades and bashing weapons. These would require moving within the biting range, but at least knives never run out of ammo. Personally, I would always make sure to never leave my handy machete behind. Why a machete? They are designed for general hacking and slashing. If you want the precision and power of a sword or katana, you would need to be an expert. And an expert was what this group had.

A massive factor why this team got anywhere was because Saeko, and to be fair, Rei too, knew how to fight. But unlike the others, Saeko knew how to keep her mind calm under pressure. This made her an important source of confidence and stability.

But there was something else concerning Saeko that no one should undervalue. This is especially true for a show like HOTD.

Saeko was in as many revealing dresses as the other female characters. There was a while where she wore nothing but an apron over her underwear. This series wasn’t above applying its brand of fanservice to her. Yet her physical features weren’t her most memorable trait.

HOTD gave Saeko development. More so than anyone else. She wasn’t just a beautiful swordswoman. She was a person dealing with her share of dark, inner demons. Granted, Rei got some backstory as well, except nowhere near this extent.

Saeko admitted that this new kind of world was like a paradise for her. She felt more comfortable here than she ever did when things were normal. When she realized this, it scared her. As she saw it, she was no different than the monsters wandering around eating people. If anything, she was worse because she was aware of her actions.

For the insanity that was HOTD, this was an actual moment. This side of Saeko helps reconfirm over-the-top sexualization can exist without becoming distracting. It doesn’t matter how absurd things get. Please note, this series was quite out there in this regard.

And by the way, Saeko was badass in a fight. For most of the show, she used a wooden training sword. But I had distinctly remembered her wielding a real blade at some point in the story. Turns out, there was a reason why I thought as such.

The last of the four was Kohta Hirano (voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama). Of these four, I have the least to say about him other than he was the best character of HOTD.

Kohta was absurdly entertaining.

When we first met him, Kohta appeared to be a wimpy nerd who couldn't do anything. That perception changed when he built his nail gun rifle. One look at his face told you what kind of character he was going to be. With Saeko being our group’s blade master, Kohta was its marksman.

Kohta was the reason Takeshi, Rei, and Saeko could go all out. He could pick off zombie after zombie in seconds. And each time he squeezed the trigger, it resulted in a headshot.

Like I said, you couldn’t ask for a stronger party.

Plus, I’m happy this series didn’t make him the default pervert. Both him and Takeshi never went out of their way to be a leech. The worst they did was react to the circumstances that were happening around them. Circumstances that were one hundred percent out of their control. This was another way HOTD’s fanservice was more a pleasant addition and not a necessary crutch.

Atmosphere

HOTD was a blend of three genres; action, comedy, and horror. This series did an amazing job with each. The story got plenty exciting at points. Things became quite amusing at other parts. And when called for, the mood turned tense.

This series doing these three elements well wasn’t the most impressive thing. What was impressive was this series doing these three elements well at the same time.

I’ve seen too many shows like this one. On the surface, HOTD looks like it should have been a giant mess. In actuality, this was a story that knew when to use the assets it had.

There were a fair number of actions scenes. If there was something HOTD understood, it was how to have fun with itself. This was the kind of entertainment that comes about when you stop worrying if things make sense. Instead, you start asking, how do we make this look as cool as possible?

This series made the active choice to blow itself way out of proportion. A decision that ended up working out in a big way.

There were several, but I’m only going to mention two moments that showcased how crazy HOTD got.

One took place atop a bridge. The team was looking for a safe spot when a horde surrounded them. To start, Takeshi and Rei joined the fray atop a motorcycle after jumping off an abandoned semi. Once on the scene, they didn’t even bother to take in what was going on. They saw zombies and they went to town.

With the group at full strength, they began performing incredible tandem moves on the fly. This level of coordination would make you think these guys had been working together for years. Except they only met not but twenty-four hours earlier.

This was completely mindless, and it was great.

I should also mention, this was when the group still had their base weapons. Once they got a hold of some real firepower, there was nothing holding them back.

The second scene of ridiculousness came when the seven found themselves trapped on the highway. With a wall to their back and an incoming wave to their front, they had to stand their ground.

What then proceeded was pure madness. It’s hard to explain everything that went down here. I wouldn’t even bother trying to make sense of any of it. When you get to this point, I suggest switching off your brain.

What I can say, there was enough bullet time to make even The Matrix look like science. Also, this was when HOTD’s most iconic moment occurred. If you don’t know what that is I won’t go into the full gritty details. But it involved a high-powered rifle and Rei’s chest.

When you have absurdity like this, you can’t expect anyone to take you seriously the whole way through. This was why more laidback and silly scenes could exist in a story about the end of the world. Except that was something HOTD never forgot.

This was the zombie apocalypse. Sooner or later these characters needed to make choices. That and they had to endure nightmarish difficulties.

This show acknowledged the brutality of its setting. There was plenty of violence and blood. And this was not the type of blood used for comedic effect like it was in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka.

The highway scene, despite its craziness, was a last-ditch effort for the team. The longer it went on, the direr the situation became. They were running out of bullets, stamina, and options fast.

HOTD knew when to enter this world. And when it did, that was when the reality and the horror struck.

When the group picked up its seventh member, Alice Maresato (voiced by Ayana Taketasu), it was no laughing matter. If you’re wondering how a small child could survive in this environment, they would need help. Such as the help only a parent can provide when protecting their child.

If you want a series that can balance lightheartedness and seriousness, I present Highschool of the Dead.

Series Negatives

It needs saying. HOTD is a series that challenges my criteria when it comes to fanservice. If you take this aspect away, where does that leave a show?

For HOTD, it would still have strong characters and a fine enough story. Too bad if you remove the fanservice, you remove a huge part of this series’ identity.

Although the show met my conditions, you won't get the same experience if the boobs and risqué nature wasn’t here.

That said, if you don’t like this kind of stuff, you would be in for a tough sit. HOTD was unapologetic with its fanservice. It was constant, and it was everywhere.

This series was on par with the most in-your-face ecchi anime out there. In fact, most of the shows that went this extreme I ended up having a problem with. HOTD was not unlike Prison School and Maken-ki in this sense.

Yet where this was a headache in those two shows, here it was fine. Why was that? There were two reasons.

One, HOTD had characters and a story worth caring about. There was more to everyone and everything than big chests and up-skirt shots.

Two, the characters weren’t the ones being ridiculous. Much of what we saw was the result of the camera having its own agenda.

I’ll admit, this second reason isn’t the best excuse. Except this was better than everyone always doing counterintuitive actions. When someone needs to stand where they are, they should only need to stand where they are.

Tell me why it makes sense to start doing squats in clothes three sizes too small in front of a collection of confirmed perverts? It’s been two years Prison School and I still haven’t forgotten.

Regardless of what my reasons were, if this isn’t your kind of thing, it isn’t your kind of thing. You will find it hard to enjoy this show.

With warnings out of the way, were there any other problems with this series?

Characters: Part 2

I said there were seven and we have only talked about four. The remaining three I must put here.

To make this clear, I do not hate these characters. I wish the story would have used them more. Takeshi, Rei, Saeko, and Kohta were fundamental in ensuring everyone got out alive. This last trio had the potential to do the same. Too bad they never got the chance.

This section will be nowhere near as long as Part 1. That in itself is a bit of the problem. I don’t have much to say about these characters. How then can I consider them to be essential to the main cast of this series?

The first was Shizuka Marikawa (voiced by Yukari Fuki). Of these three, she actually did perform an important, albeit supportive role. She was the team’s driver. For what it’s worth, she was able to fulfill this duty. Except, any of the other characters could have taken up this job. This wasn’t unique to her.

The only reason Shizuka wasn’t removable, she was also the group's medic. This rocketed up her value to no end. You could argue it’s a good thing none of the characters ever needed her expertise.

But this meant there was nothing for her to do.

Shizuka was the character with the largest bust size though. Yet even this wasn’t much of an advantage. It wasn’t as if HOTD was lacking in this area.

The second character was the before mentioned Alice. She was a kid so there wasn’t much she could do yet. She did help move ammo around during battle, but not much else.

If you want to get philosophical about her role in the story, Alice was the innocence of the team. She was their living reminder of what they should be protecting. If humanity prevailed, Alice and kids like her would be the ones to rebuild the world.

I am stretching. Not once did the series bring this up. The truth is, when I saw Alice I grew worried. HOTD had explicit fanservice. I was hoping this wasn’t the show's way of covering all its bases. Thankfully, this never happened, and it was a huge relief.

The third character was also the biggest waste of potential, Saya Takagi (voiced by Eri Kitamura). She was no doubt meant to be the brains of the group. She fit the part. If she had been making plans and devising strategies, it would have made sense for her to stay in the back.

Except, a situation never arose when the team needed to make a complicated play. They always needed to get from point A to point B and there was usually only one option. If zombies were in their way, that meant they would then have to fight.

This left Saya without a purpose. But to give her due credit, she wasn’t the coward of the group. No one was. During that highway scene, Saya didn’t try to abandon her friends. The thought never crossed her mind. Instead, she picked up a gun and stood side by side with them.

What I’m saying is, Saya never did her one main job.

For all seven of these characters, their story doesn’t feel finished. This is something a season two could rectify. Speaking of which, why is there not a season two of HOTD? It’s astonishing to think this series didn't warrant a continuation.

One can hold out hope. Except HOTD came out in 2010. This review came out in 2018. I don’t like the odds.

The Villain

When I said Saya was the biggest wasted potential, I should have added, “of the main seven”. The true biggest waste was the show’s villain.

With twelve episodes, HOTD could have gotten away with the zombies being the obstacle. Surviving and fighting, that could have been the show. For the most part, that was what happened. Yet the series went ahead and added a legitimate bad guy in the form of Koichi Shido (voiced by Kisho Taniyama).

To add context to what I’m about to say, HOTD did a decent job of establishing Shido as a real threat. He was a sadistic teacher from the team’s school with a major God complex. He wanted to control. He wanted power. He got off on manipulation.

Within minutes of his introduction, Shido succeeded in building a, I’m not kidding, cult around him. With almost no effort, he had most of his former students ready to give their lives for him. It was disturbing how fast and effective he was at doing this. This guy was ready to be a problem.

He never was.

Our main team realized they wanted nothing to do with Shido. At their first chance, they cut ties with him. Smart on the characters, but for the story, why did it ever bother with this person? It wasn’t until five episodes later, in a twelve-episode anime, did we see Shido again.

When we did, his followers we even more under his control. Shido seemed ready for war and his army was at his side. When he showed up at the same place the team was, it looked like things were about to go down. This was going to be a bloodbath.

To what extent could this maniac go?

I don’t know. It never happened. Shido’s return was anticlimactic. When you get down to it, our team did nothing more than tell him to piss off. To make matters worse, HE DID. He left. He didn’t try to do anything.

That’s it?! That’s all we are going to get? That entire set up and nothing to show for it?

This is even more evidence that HOTD was setting the groundwork for a season two that never came. Fortunately, there was plenty of other things to keep the show afloat. The story wasn’t riding on this. Yet the series shouldn’t have mentioned Shido if it wasn’t going to do anything with him.

Final Thoughts

This was not my most anticipated series of Pre-Blog Month 2. But of the shows so far, I have a much larger respect for this one. This was a ton of fun.

With a great cast of characters to push it along, this show knew what it wanted to do. And what it wanted to do was whatever the hell it wanted. Go big or go home, that sums up this series. The action was insane. The violence was brutal. The horror was real. This was a well-balanced story.

This is also a story that does not feel finished. There was so much more that could have happened. I would argue there was so much more that should have happened. That notwithstanding, what was here was plenty satisfying.

If you want a bit of adrenaline-fueled entertainment, this is for you. Highschool of the Dead is one I highly recommend.

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this show? How would you advise Highschool of the Dead? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.

And if you liked what you read, be sure to follow me on my social media sites so that you never miss a post or update. Also, please share this review across the internet to help add to the discussion.

I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.

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