Review: HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD

Highschool of the Dead

Alex:It’s just my opinion, but the series with the best first episode by far was High School of the Dead (HOTD). Blood pumping, hardcore action. As the series went on, it’s not that the appeal faded, it’s that well, waiting a week for the next part of it took away a large amount of the tension.I’ll imagine that if I sat and marathoned all 12 episodes of this inside of watched them weekly, my view would be very, very different.

Zombie flicks dominate the western culture’s horror scene.It was inevitable that by now, Japan would churn one out.Just with layers of it’s own culture(fanservice). Because of this, you could describe HOTD as a show where you have a bunch of walking boobs, and a pair of males to enjoy and protect the boobs. But despite that, there are some very awesome moments scattered through the 12 episodes.Unlike a lot of series, this show knows what it is, too.

It’s hard to write a review for a series which didn’t really end and which will obviously have a second season, so i’ll just leave it at what I’ve already put. If you want some blood pumping action, then watch this. If you’re after any form or structure of a plot, look elsewhere. I really thought long and hard about this, and 4 hours after I wrote the review, I think I settled on my score for the show. If you go into it expecting zombie bashing and fanservice, you’ll be really surprised and enjoy the anime. For that reason, I give it:

Mimi’s Score: 7 Meeps out of 10 (Good)

Highschool of the Dead Episode 12

All DEAD’s attack

Alex:An EMP, eh?Or more realistic, a HANE. All electronics get killed…yet I don’t quite see how this helps the human race. They simply just fried everything. This means all electronics on everything are completely useless, all cars and that lot is useless. It also seems to have provoked the zombies, as they’re launching an all out attack to break through into places where there are survivors. This isn’t really good news for our heroes, considering they’re not safe anymore. The stage is set for your basic “Bad End” in a zombie flick.

So, cue kickass action from our walking boobs and manly men. When even the best efforts of them can’t hold the zombies back, it’s a terrible, terrible day…I see a bad end for this anime coming.

The remnants of the adults prepare to make one final push to save the colony, with plenty of explosives and dynamite.  Then our heroes make one lucky discovery- there’s a working car which they can use, it just needs some time to fix it. Go go last stand 8D

Probably the best episode, challenged only by the first episode. Some breathtaking action along with perfectly fitting OST and camera angles, a conclusion which fits this anime perfectly, with plenty of space for a second season (would be surprised if there wasn’t one).

Highschool of the Dead Episode 11

RISING Of the DEAD

Alex:So, the penultimate episode. Then again, I take back what I said last week, looking at viewing figures and the like makes me seriously believe that there’s going to be a second season, unless the next episode wraps everything up, because well, this episode didn’t.

It concluded the stupid stuff about that nazi teacher and his bus of slaves in a manner which doesn’t suit this series, but i’m used to surprises from this thing by now.

And seriously, enough with that frame to protect Rei’s boobs.

Short post because there was a lack of things to say, really.

Highschool of the Dead episode 10

House of the DEAD

Alex:How interesting. This series will end in two episode, probably without a sequel. This episode gives our characters that depth they needed from the beginning to make this show better, but I see where the timing came from.They’ve found a powerful group which are fending for themselves…yet, trouble’s brewing. Whilst the episode was everything you’d get from your typical zombie flick- they’re not happy with peace, won’t give up guns, start fighting amongst each other; it wasn’t a boring episode. I’d go as far as saying the episode ranked among the top episodes of this show.

Sadly, the next episode looks focused on that really annoying teacher, thanks to a cliffhanger which was so weird and over dramatised that it didn’t make much sense and wasn’t very tension-esque at all…which leaves one episode left to bring a conclusion to the zombie outbreak? wat.

Highschool of the Dead Episode 9

The Sword and the DEAD.

Alex:Ah, the episode I had hoped this series would avoid finally comes. The episode where our main character develops his love triangle with Saeko and Rei.From going on a date to running down zombies, this episode manages everything, and it does it with  pretty awesome flair.

If anything good came out of this episode, Saeko became a little more friendly, actually holding a conversation and changing the tempo of her voice when talking. Not much to say about it though, it’s just your average character development episode coupled with getting wet and smacking zombies. And Saeko got a real sword, FUCK YEAH.

This action was as i’d expect from this series, epic, fast paced, and coupled with a piece of music that suits the mood perfectly,and putting fanservice aside, the animation in this episode. was some of the best i’ve seen from this series.

Luckily, it looks like this series is going to through us one hell of a fanservicely amazing ending, as we’re done with the mandatory fleshing out of the main characters, with any luck.

Highschool of the Dead Episode 8

The Dead road home

Alex:Lets do a calculation here.Busujima’s breasts have to be moving faster than a speeding bullet (which is 500 m/s) in order for it to travel between her breasts successfully like it did in this episode.Its amazing what anime characters can manage these days.I gotta give points to the creative fanservice, really.

But okay, 8 episodes in and I still see complaints everywhere. “There’s too much fanservice” “the zombies are too dumb” and so on. I wish they’d shut up about that, because HOTD is an action show, and it shines as one. Yeah, with less fanservice it would be better, but that’s the way Japan works. If I was raised watching hentei instead of porn, i’d want fanservice. Just like how american TV shows have stupidly hot females in lead roles. Its nothing more than a cultural difference >_>

The climax here worked well, as did the action. It wasn’t the best, but it, along with the amazing soundtrack piece they had, really made it feel like the characters were going to die here, and only  Takashi and Busujima would survive. Its not everyday I get swept along in an atmosphere like that. It’s also nice to see them get a change of clothes.

Highschool of the Dead Episode 7

Dead Night and Dead Truck

Alex:Ah, this is better. This was among the top episodes of this series, only let down by the annoying fanservice; it just felt slightly pointless here. I got the whole “We cant stay here any longer lets go” idea, but was it too hard for them to put some clothes on before going?

Anyway, this episode was all about saving a little girl who they spotted when observing the situation from last time. A father and his daughter were running from the zombies, and when they tried to take shelter, the people inside the building stabbed him and left his daughter to become zombie chow.

Well, our hero wouldn’t stand for that. He  took the bike from last episode out to run down some zombies and save the girl.He obviously wasn’t needed though, as that loud dog from last time was there to save her first.Yeah, so the action scenes here were pretty top notch, and the song they had running in the background added to the awesomeness of the moment, so to call it. However, like mentioned earlier, this episode isn’t as good as some of our best episodes so far. Reason? All the females still havn’t recovered from last episode and need to provide MOAR BOOBS.

If I were a typical boob loving otaku, I reckon i’d love this series.After watching this episode, I can safely say that the only thing letting it down is the fact that they made the cast a bunch of hot girls, a nerd and a typical teenager. Couldn’t we have had all typical teenagers?

Highschool of the Dead Episode 6

Hot Girls  of the Dead?

Alex:Episode title is, to put it simply, the majority of this episode. I get the impression Mimi will be pretty mad at me if I blog hentei here, and this episode was very close to that.

For the part which wasn’t Hot Girls of the Dead; it  showed more of the government collapsing into chaos as the police start shooting both real people and zombies. And uh, what kind of nurse makes friends with a person who keeps snipers at their house? -.-

But anyway…lets just forget that this episode ever happened.

Highschool of the Dead Episode 5

Highschool of the Dead

Alex:So this was totally a build-up episode, and lacked what the previous episodes had. It starts by further showing how the infestation has hit the whole world, and how those who aren’t infested are slowly going mad.

There’s really nothing to say about this episode, which was pure build-up and nothing more, apart from the fight scene at the end. Whilst it slightly helped us to get a better grip on the characters . At the very least, it was worth seeing the characters on the bus who weren’t sucking up to pysco-teacher get a personality. Most rewarding was definatly the loli-nurse getting a personality, despite it being a shallow one.

Whislt the fight at the end was exhilarating to watch and it did get my blood pumping, it wasn’t as good as some of the previous offerings this show’s had in terms in zombie bashing scenes.

If this show has 12 episodes, it’ll probably end up being a worthless series which never becomes anything worth suggesting or anything special.But if it goes the whole 20+ episode thing, then there’s plently of potential, especially since it feels like this series is just starting.

It had better be just starting if the next episode really is an episode focused on the characters showering whilst there’s still electricity, like is hinted at.

Highschool of the Dead Episode 4

Highschool of the Dead

Alex:Ask yourselves…what would happen if the world went to hell? What would happen if people started eating and killing each other?What would happen if the military and police no longer could help us?

The result is something like the city portrayed in this episode. Starting with a recap which put some perspective on things, this episode takes a step away from zombie bashing on really takes its time to show how this world is a living hell. The streets are deserted. Blood is splashed everywhere. Buildings are burning. And the walking dead litter the street.

It was only a matter of time before Highschool had to deliver a serious episode, but boy, this episode was beyond expectations. After reading about it on other sites, I was expecting it to be dull, slightly boring, pretty much a waste of time to watch. And they were wrong. This episode can claim to have hardly any fanservice, too. Apart from the scene with the person who lost his sanity, it was panty shot/bra shot free.I guess that next week we’ll see if it can keep the solid atmosphere it built in this episode.