First Impressions / HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD / Series Introduction

OP Sequence

OP: 「HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD」 by 岸田教団＆THE明星ロケッツ (Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets)
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼

「Spring of the DEAD」

After several hiatuses on the manga, an oddly surprising adaptation appeared out of nowhere for HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD, and today, here we are. The episode starts off with a cold start with a stern narration done by Takashi (Suwabe Junichi), the protagonist of the show. “They” flash by with a direction of cinematography that soon grows familiar to those well versed in horror flicks. The scene quickly pans to Komuro Takashi, Miyamoto Rei (Inoue Marina), and Igo Hisashi (Miyano Mamoru), as they run towards “them”, smashing “them” left and right to get to their destination. As Takashi reaches the stairs, he looks back at the rooftop filled with “them”, and screams questioning why this was happening as the camera fiercely pans out. Show “them”. Cut to OP. Suffice to say, my mind is blown. Most of the supporting characters were also introduced in this episode, such as Takagi Saya, a close classroom friend of Takashi’s, played by Kitamura Eri. The wonderful Busujima Saeko was also shown for a couple seconds, but she doesn’t have any lines in the first chapter. This kind of sucked for me as she’s played by Sawashiro Miyuki, a seiyuu favorite of mine (and I don’t even have that many). As far as my ears can tell of “quality japanese voice acting”, these seiyuu pull off the screams and panic required in the show spotlessly. Hisashi’s agonizing screams as he took his last few breaths had my gut twisted right along with Takashi.

As for the Opening and Ending songs, I’ve never found myself liking most anime OP’s or ED’s, but HOTD’s OP wasn’t one of the worst I’ve heard (remember Death Note’s second OP?). The electric guitar in the background fit the adrenaline pumping show, and the OP itself was entertaining. The ED had the same effect for me, as it was just your typical anime songs that you’d find in any action anime. ED animation was pretty disappointing to say the least as there’s lots of good animations they could’ve done as an ED. But honestly, don’t take my word for it as my failure to understand the lyrics just makes any song without a good melody seem bland to me. However, the background music must be mentioned though, as one of the main background songs has a chorus that sounds suspiciously like 28 Days Later’s “In A Heartbeat”. It’s so familiar that I swear it must be a homage to the movie. This is definitely not a bad thing, as I loved that movie and that theme. With a badass movie already attached to the song in my mind, it just makes the scenes with that BGM appear that much more awesome. Take for example Hisashi’s death scene. That particular song played in the background, and right away I noticed the similarity. The epic levels just flew into space. If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out (and it’s sequel). It’s well worth your time if you love zombies.

For those that are unaware, HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD is animated by Madhouse Studios. For those who aren’t familiar with the studio, they’ve animated many popular anime, such as Death Note, Kaiji, Monster, and the recent RAINBOW. Madhouse is well known for taking up projects with serious matter, as well as having an animation style that’s bold and atmospheric. HOTD is pretty much typical fare for Madhouse as it’s pretty much right in the ballpark with their skills. While the show’s characters are rather 2D and stay true to the anime medium, the backgrounds in HOTD are incredibly dynamic. These aren’t your typical static backgrounds that you see in average budget anime, as they are not only drawn well, but constantly being rotated and zoomed around to create the illusion that the buildings are 3D and well existing within the world. This is obviously a good thing for creating an immersive experience as a zombie apocalypse’s main attracting value is feeling as if you’re struggling for survival along with the viewers. With the clever and dynamic cinematography, brilliantly created atmosphere, and some of the best looking blood animations I’ve ever seen, everything comes together to make HOTD one of the most beautifully animated series this year. The fight scene somewhere in the middle alone left me on the edge of my seat, but hey, I’d expect nothing less from Madhouse. What made me smile was the fact that even all the zombies in the background were constantly moving and rocking about, which really gives that extra bit of despair the characters are feeling of that of being surrounded by hundreds of zombies. On the ecchi side, something which is also a unique factor to HOTD (sexuality and horror somehow seems to work well with each other, as it gives a nice dynamic to the horror aspect), Madhouse did pretty well, even going so far as to add more scenes showing Rei’s pantsu in as many scenes possible. They also made sure you noticed her trampoline jugs, and especially how bouncy they are. Well Madhouse, I noticed. While many people were concerned about censoring, there actually isn’t any done by the broadcaster, but the gore is toned down from the manga by Madhouse themselves. I’m not sure if the manga ever showed any half blown heads, but most of the scenes in the anime didn’t have the aftereffects of the attacks laid out by the characters. Perhaps that’s just for dramatic effect, I don’t know, but I’m fine with it since the blood spatters are so beautiful.

With all that said and done, the first episode is not without problems. The main issue I had was that they skipped a bunch of dialogue between the characters, most of which took place on the roof at the beginning. There’s also a bunch of scenes that went along with those dialogues, such as additional deaths they had perceived from the rooftop. Originally, there was dialogue about saving water, starting up the generator, and even a suicide right in front of the characters (although the suicide was shown, it wasn’t in front of the characters, which makes no sense to me why they would change that). These things were completely left out, and subsequently the characters had far less variety to react against except screaming their asses off at zombies. Where the show boasted with visual immersion, it sort of lacked with character immersion. As a result, the first episode feels like you ate a bag of potato chips rather than a full course meal. These skipped scenes obviously had value to the story itself and its characters, and that kind of downtime between characters was lost. I suppose they had to keep the cold start short in order to cut to the OP, but they could’ve just skipped the OP altogether. Considering how long each manga chapter is, and with content that could last even two 24 episode seasons, it should’ve been fine to not skip anything. There’s not even any hope to seeing it next episode as well, since that scene is already over. I mean, for you manga readers out there, don’t you feel Hisashi’s death felt just a tad bit weaker because of the smaller amount of interaction between the characters? Then again, it was still incredibly powerful, especially with the decision to put the aftermath after the ED song. The seiyuu really pulled their weight here, so they should be given a medal for making such a moving scene. Adaptations always differ, and in the end, none of these changes might matter. I’m just a tad disappointed at the lesser experience, but nontheless I’m going to be blogging this till the end as it was still 90% a faithful adaptation. Honestly, there’s really nothing like HOTD in the anime universe, which makes me all the more appreciative.

So here’s the tl;dr folks. If you like zombies (who doesn’t?), breasts (like I said..), occasional pantsu (that’s an understatement btw), and people getting eaten, you will like this (which is like, 110% of males). If there’s any show amidst the blazing summer to see, it’s this one. Grab a drink, turn on the fan. Just don’t puke when guts start flying at you.

**What’s interesting to note is that Tetsurou Araki is the Director for this series, who was responsible for also directing the Death Note series. Even more interesting is Kuroda Yousuke being responsible for screenplay, script, and the entire series composition, and has been known for his work on Honey and Clover as well as Hellsing Ultimate.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「君と太陽が死んだ日」 (Kimi to Taiyou ga Shinda Hi) by 黒崎真音 (Kurosaki Maon)
Watch the ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Preview

208 Comments

  2. Epic show is epic – well lets see if they really just toned down the gore…a bit…
    this show might become the best show this summer – but just 12 episodes?

    anotheronebitesthedust
    Reply

    3. They’d be in more shit if those dead were actually as fast as 28 days/weeks later and Dawn of the dead (remake). Oh man…I can already remember the movies again. Gonna watch that tonight.

      Shinjiro
      Reply

  8. so glad that this got animated; actually picked up on the manga since the Summer Preview post. I was also fortunate that the mangaka is back working on it after a lonnng hiatus so thats good. now a good reason to look forward to mondays.

    bullrogg
    Reply

  9. Overall IMO a pretty good episode and adaptation of the first manga chapter, so far. For me Hisashi’s death felt powerful enough that I didn’t really miss the additional dialogue of the manga.
    I specifially enjoyed Marina Inoue’s performance. She really knows how to scream and cry. 😀

    Looking forward to Sawashiro Miyuki’s as Saeko. Seems like the perfect role for her, given her past roles (Celty, Canaan).

    Can’t say that I enjoy the moving CGI zombies. Those weren’t as bad as the moving background ppl in True Tears or NGE 2.22, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The less CGI zombies, the better.

    boingman
    Reply

  10. Colour me impressed.

    Zombie related shows tend towards the B Movie standard which for me, generally means it’s going to be dull and tacky, but this first episode at least has certainly perked my interest. I hope they keep this level of animation throughout the show, which is arguably difficult in terms of time and money, but some scenes definitely felt filmic.

    I was a little surprised to see Igo Hisashi being snuffed so quickly (as obvious as it was when he was bitten) purely because Miyano Mamoru is a decent seiyuu – you would think they’d keep him in on the show for longer. I hope/presume they’ll be flashback scenes.

    duh
    Reply

    1. I think because zombies give a legit reason to shred the clothes of a female and proceed to attack her in any way possible. Zombies even give humans a legit reason to shred the clo- you get the picture.

      Kiiragi
      Reply

  14. Well I’m afraid how the show will end. It will only have 12 episodes and the manga is still ongoing. Good first episode though. I like the fact that the zombie attacks showed the true nature of the students. I like the two best friends scene. That part caught me off guard, it tells me that this anime means business, no BS and no sugarcoating.

    conyo985
    Reply

      1. no .. that part was in the c1 from the manga … the special charpter with them is about “hot girls on school” … well, amazing gore anime with a lot of pantsu …but i spected somethin more AWESOME for the OP … too bad …

        pd. also waiting for that one (special charpter) too *¬*

        Ookami Kaito
        Reply

  16. really happy with how adaptation went.

    This is going to be a great show. And not only for action/atmosphere, but for characters too 😛

    I can guarantee(as manga reader) that pretty much every character has certain big flaws in their characters and one of the most interesting parts of this willbe seeing those personality layers unravel due to stress, etc.

    UnknownVoice
    Reply

  18. “So here’s the tl;dr folks. If you like zombies (who doesn’t?), breasts (like I said..), occasional pantsu (that’s an understatement btw), and people getting eaten, you will like this (which is like, 110% of males). If there’s any show amidst the blazing summer to see, it’s this one. Grab a drink, turn on the fan. Just don’t puke when guts start flying at you.”

    It looks like I’m the rare expection. I hated the first ep, it was full of clichés.

    viral
    Reply

    1. Why you complaining about cliches? We live in a world of cliches. If you can handle real world cliches, then you can handle fictional cliches.

      About this episode, the atmosphere of the situation was good. Really felt like I was in that situation and ready to bash in some zombie heads.

      Shades
      Reply

  19. oh yeaaaaaaaaaahhh
    i’ve been waiting for this since forever,
    this manga got almost canceled with a long hiatus, but got revived again
    as the anime got serialized. But sadly, the mangaka releases a chap once in
    awhile.
    Hope they dont force an alternative story line along the middle!!

    Hm
    Reply

  21. HOLY F****ING CHRIST!!!!!!!!!

    BEAUTIFUL!!! THIS SHOW IS JUST SO AWESOME!!!!

    Jesus Christ… The BGM the OP theme the ED theme the QUALITY… HOLY HELL…..
    Let’s hope it keeps on with the awesomeness.

    I’ve never felt so much win since Gurren Lagann!!! But that’s on a different level of win. Do need the released dates for singles and such. I love the ED theme so much and how it transitioned in the last scenes.

    megalith
    Reply

  22. Kuroda is quite the genius to me when it comes to making the script… i.e. he usually succeeds, so it kind of sucks to hear some things where left out. Ah well, I had no intentions of watching this anyway, at least right now =0\.

    frubam
    Reply

  25. This is really one awesome episode. I really liked how the gore, the action was animated, but particularly enjoyed the screaming scenes. I even had doubts about watching this series before it was aired, but they quickly dissipated after finishing this wonderful episode.

    VanillaDango
    Reply

  28. Sawashiro Miyuki is also one of my favorites. For those of you unfamiliar (shame on you) she plays Lag Seeing (Letter Bee), Celty (Durarara), Caanan (Caanan), and Shinku (Rosen Maiden) among tons of other series. I’m gonna enjoy this series.

    Karmafan
    Reply

  31. Oh shit man, just watched the show and I haven’t been this excited for the next episode in a long time. I love how this episode was put together, very well done. The back story of the three main characters in the first episode really showed how fucked things are.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Thinking back from all the other animes/shows I think there are few quotes in the first episode that sets the tempo for the show as well as what Takeshi said. This probably only comes 2nd to the opening lines of zombie land.

    Could you imagine being in their situation? Everyone you know is a zombie. Its you vs the population of tokyo and if you somehow want to rebuild the country its you vs japan. 127,076,183 head that will have to smashed. Damn.

    If I didn’t follow your blog I probably wouldn’t have watched this show, thanks for covering this!

    Leftarrow2
    Reply

  33. “If you like zombies (who doesn’t?)…”

    Me. This will be one of the few shows im skipping this season, due to my irrational hatred of the zombie genre. just dont like the stuff. itll prolly be a solid series, but itll have to go on without me.

    Chanaluss
    Reply

  34. was worried this wasn’t going to get picked up as it didn’t get much of a mention in the preview, but its good to see i’m the 400th person to comment, this is surly going to be my favorit thing this season… although if i add anymore fan service to my watching list i’m going to end up a bit weirder

    fugu
    Reply

    1. Sadly this is madhouse.

      Ala the people who ended claymore with 6 episode “dragon ball Z” arc and who spent entire last episode of gantz as anime-original ending of M.Night-Shaymalan levels.

      UnknownVoice
      Reply

    2. I’m hoping that they manage to get as far as the most recent hiatus – the end of chapter 23. It’s probably the absolute worst place for an ending as far as a conclusion goes, but considering how the following chapter kicked off, I can see the start of a second season using the beginning of chapter 24-25 as a semi-flashback / reintroduction episode.

      Sol Fury
      Reply

  42. Is it perhaps possible to make the six preview screensshots on the frontpage a little less… gory? It’s kind of disturbing for those of us who dislike this kind of show, since there is no real way to ignore the frontpage screens. Schoolgirls getting eaten is really not the kind of thing I want to look at every time I come to this site. I seem to be in the minority, but still…

    CM
    Reply

  44. They really cut out a few things but it was still good. Hisashi death was just as strong IMO. I think in the manga Hisashi got the idea to commit suicide from that teacher.
    I loved the anime so far. The quality is great. I don’t know too much about voice-work but I liked the last moments of the episode with Rei and Takashi.

    alyxva
    Reply

  49. I think this show seems amazing to me!

    Also a little difference between the show and manga was that in the show that one girl kicked her “bff” in the face and let her be eaten by zombies and called her a bitch, but in the manga she kicked a zombie and was screaming “let her go” and then she gotten eaten trying to save her friend.

    Shiring
    Reply

  50. Shiring was supposed to be Shinrin^

    Anyway, sorry for double post. But later in the manga you also see that same girl walking around as a zombie holding her friends hand still with the arm attached, showing she never let go.

    Shinrin
    Reply

  51. im not a fan of zombie movies but ive been reading the manga of this one and i like it. i think its because i usually dislike blood and guts in real life but i find anime ones to be quite easy to accept. strange?

    Chaos
    Reply

  53. Love it, but one complaint, just one complaint, giant watermelon sized gag boobs bouncing hard enough to knock the person out are just stupid looking.

    Fanservice is good, fanservice combined with gore is okay, but over the top gag boobs are just wtf.

    Necromas
    Reply

  55. Well, color me impressed. Both the premise and the characters seem wholly unoriginal, but as I always say, originality is overrated. What matters most is execution, and boy, Madhouse delivered. I haven’t read the manga, but from the OP, to the animation, to the script, everything has been nothing but excellent so far. Clearly the most promising show of the season so far.

    Steelman
    Reply

  56. fucking yeah, regardless of whether you like the boobs und bounces or not …
    Animation, directing and cut where totaly awsome. Something like this you don’t see often in anime.

    csg
    Reply

    1. well thats part of the joke with the nurse. if you read the manga you would know that although she is a bit clueless she serves an important role, like when they make a break for it. Also if you read the manga you won’t even notice them after a while-there are other things to take up your attention.

      Chaos
      Reply

  60. HOLY FCK! MadHouse strikes again as far as creating a bit of the atmosphere (I’ll skip the art and animation since it’s THAT studio) and bringing me to stare at the screen and going “FKKKKK this is beautifuly”. Yes to those beautiful pantsu shots, yes to the bashing and blood spill! Bring it down! This is going to be sweet.
    Ok…now…OMFG, I do agree having a 12 episodes rather than a much longer series is worrying me quite a bit so you nailed it, Divine. I’m just not understanding the trend of having short series when you can have a definite winner like HSOTD.

    Shinjiro
    Reply

    1. Kiiragi, not me.

      By the way, I haven’t seen confirmation on how long this series is from a reputable source, so I’m curious where everyone’s getting 12 episodes from. (ANN is not a reputable source in my books.)

      Divine
      Reply

      1. Yeah, I realized it was Kiiragi and not you, Divine. My apologies for not paying attention but I’m so used reading you, my eyes went right on the impressions. I do hope you’re right and it’s going to be a 2 cour and not a mere 12 (I did check ANN). Can I suggest to add a episode # count per series for future reference if possible? You did mention it in the Summer Preview but some were not official or not there?

        Shinjiro
        Reply

      2. The episode totals I listed in the preview are only ones that I’ve confirmed from a reputable source myself. Unfortunately, this information is not readily available most of the time. If you can read it, MOON PHASE lists any confirmed totals on the bottom of the far right column. After that, it’s a combination of checking official sites and Japanese news sites to see if a total was mentioned in a staff/cast interview. In other words, there’s a fair bit of digging around involved.

        Japanese fans takes it one step further on 2ch by trying to deduce it from the number of volume releases and broadcast time slot, but those are still just very educated guesses. Incidentally, that is how I found out K-ON would be two-cour, though it wasn’t immediately obvious if it was going to be 24 or 26 episodes (which we now know is the latter).

        Divine
        Reply

  63. I’m still very apprehensive when it comes to watching this show. What draws me in is the animation and characters, while HoTD is the typical zombie-slasher tossed in with ecchi and such goes as how you said is a good mix of “sexuality and horror”…I do share that opinion but at the same time it’s one of the things that cause me reservation.

    I can’t stand it when it comes to violence and death of girls, regardless of dimensional identity. I know! I know! It’s just anime and they aren’t real and all that but still you can’t help but feel a certain way, especially when you have such scenes as…

    https://randomc.net/image/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2028.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2031.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD/HIGHSCHOOL%20OF%20THE%20DEAD%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    Even right now my hair is raised and fingers trembling with a sudden, irrational bout of anger.

    I’ll still watch this show once I get over all that. The same happened when I read the manga and I ended up loving that series, though weary of all my favorites every chapter.

    I’ll counterbalance all the death with all the light-hearted fair of Amagami SS and Ookami. This summer season is going to be a blast 😀

    Horus
    Reply

    1. But you know, that anger is exactly the kind of dynamic I was talking about. I don’t enjoy seeing sexual acts coupled with horror either, but it damn well makes me feel something. As a person’s emotions grow harder and harder to affect as they grow older, it’s kind of interesting whenever something can stir up a feeling.

      Kiiragi
      Reply

      1. True, true. I commend the animation studio for beautiful visuals and the production teams for faithfulness and incredible execution of the storyline. One of the marks of a great work is invocation of emotions in its viewers.

        These hard felt emotions just stem for personal helplessness. Girls getting attacked and not being able to do a damn thing about it. As a man I feel the need to do something (as said by Rei to Takashi when Hisashi was being attacked).

        There isn’t anything sexually explicit yet, I would say the farthest this series will go in regards to ecchiness is the bath scene and Saeko in her apron. However, there is definitely a high degree of eroticism about the series, one scene in point was Misuzu in the stairwell with her lower half exposed and you could see her increased breathing as she was being attacked. Shouji Sato has a knack for developing gorgeous character designs for his girls, even for his more ecchi works under the pen name Inazuma. Like I said earlier, the animation studio did a wonderful job in bringing his girls to life.

        Horus
        Reply

    1. I watch shows to be entertained and simply talk about them, so I don’t see much point in being overly critical every episode. I’ll point out stuff I find odd, but reserve judgement of a series when it’s over and I’ve seen the whole thing.

      I know some people expect a review to help them decide if an episode’s worth watching, but quite frankly my posts are targeted towards people who are already watching a given series, not those who are on the fence about it. This is the reason why I never see my posts as “reviews”, but merely “impressions”.

      On that note, I never understood why some people like to rate every episode with a score, as if it were going to some grand total in the end. I find throwing out a numerical value every week kind of meaningless.

      I’m all about the spirit of enjoying anime as a fan, not dissecting it as a critic. 😛

      Divine
      Reply

  66. Is it me or is the song played when his friend “came back” pure plagiarism of the “28 weeks later” main theme? (you can find it on youtube if you want to compare)

    Alpha
    Reply

  68. In my opinion, a very good start to this show. I read the manga a long time ago and only recently reviewed the last half or so, but from what I recall, it’s more or less similar, though I found that Rei gushed too much over Hisashi (this is probably amplified by the animation). She still has a chance to redeem herself, and we’ll see how this goes in the future episodes.

    Anonymous from /a/
    Reply

  69. Beautiful girls smashing zombies? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ASK FOR!!??? =P, and knowing Kuroda Yousuke being responsible for screenplay, script, and the entire series composition im totaly gonna enjoy this, since i also love Hellsing Ultimate… one of my fav character its Seras Victoria! YAY!!
    And as for HSOD Busujima Saeko its BY FAR my fav character and the only one in the list of people who CANNOT DIE… a beauty swordmaster in school uniform cutting down zombies? and if she is a natural born sadist =P… and if you add to that fanservice what else can you ask for? LOL sex? 😀

    Trejon
    Reply

  70. This was so anticipated even the Anime Network broadcasted it on my TV here in Canada. Ridiculous but hay, now we got attractive girls/hawt guys and a F load of zombies! Hell yes!

    Jason Isenberg
    Reply

  73. I’m finding this show to be kind of depressing.
    I can’t believe Hisashi actually attacked the zombie with his bare hands. And Rei is kind of a bitch to Takashi. o_o
    That best friend betrayal part with the two girls, the teacher suicide, and Takashi slapping Rei for no evident reason really has me thinking that the mangaka of this is kind of twisted. Just like the mangaka of Gantz. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

    But the animation is just superb. I’ll keep watching for a while!

    Zombies Everywhere by Karate High School would have been the perfect OP! Lolll.

    Nice Holystone
    Reply

  74. Why you all said zombies? Do it right : Brains !!! give brains I’m hungry LOL!!!!!

    Too bad the screen for her sleeping on her breast is missing !!!!

    It was kind of fum will watch a few more to decide. However I’m not a zombie hardcore fan. Though I did like resident evil. Anyway I settle for some liver if you all wants the brains. hehehe

    Island Esper
    Reply

  75. This show is by far the best this season has to offer, I think they executed the manga to anime transition perfectly in all aspects and i’m very much so looking forward to episodes to come

    Jiak
    Reply

  76. Utterly disgusting. And I don’t even mind some gore. But fanservice + gore at the same time?

    Disgusting. Did a girl getting eaten while being half naked really have to be on the front page? At least try not to put shots like that everywhere, thank you very much.

    Yuck
    Reply

  77. While I’m glad you liked it, personally this series doesn’t do it for me. When I first read this back when it came out, I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it. I was also into the early chapters of Gantz so the pattern should be obvious. Three years later though, my tastes have changed quite a bit and I actually detest this series. The latest chapters are still so full of fanservice while everyone around them is being ripped apart that it’s ridiculous. There’s just a type of warped quality to what they do that just kind of disgusts me as a human being. But I understand how others can like it. After all, I used to.

    OmegaChosen
    Reply

    1. Honestly, I kind of agree with you, as the later chapters in the manga started to become less exciting. But the beginning of HOTD was always great, and that’s what’s being shown, so it’s pretty awesome for now. If the show were only to be 12 or so episodes, Madhouse creating a new alternate ending might actually be a better thing than to continue on to the later chapters.

      Kiiragi
      Reply

      1. I wonder how far they’ll go into the HotD Chapters before they make the alternative ending? I mean there, a lot of spots they could do it depending on the pace they go.

        Sora no Kaze
        Reply

      2. Just thought I’d chime in to say that I haven’t read any confirmation that this series will be 12 episodes. In fact, syoboi calendar already has 13 listed on its schedule. As they only update three months at a time, this series could very well be two-cour like most MADHOUSE productions.

        Divine
        Reply

    2. I haven’t read the manga but based on what I have seen in seen on the comments here (as well as yours), I assume that there would be a lots of ecchi in this series.

      Honestly, I can’t take gore and ecchi element at the same time. It feels wrong. The horror portrayed here in this episode was very intense that I can’t find myself appreciating fanservices anymore.

      Though it might not suit my taste, episode one looks promising so I’ll give it a try.

      kabayongtao
      Reply

  78. Hmm, I really disliked Rei. She was quite literally the stereotypical weak, unable to go on by herself, female character. If she is a main character, and remains like that for the most of the series (crying ad nauseam, Takashi slapping Rei was a highlight of the first half of the episode) then it will be hard to watch. Everything else was decent, if you’ve seen a bunch of zombie survival/horror stuff then its all a bit cliched. Though I liked how Takashi and Hisashi immediately went into survival mode.

    These zombies are strong, but incredibly slow. Much easier to deal with than 28 Days Later super athletic zombies. As such this scenario is a lot easier to survive.

    So Very Odd
    Reply

  79. Sure, these zombies are okay, but Michael Jackson “Thriller” zombies are way hardcore xD

    But in all seriousness, this was pretty awesome. The animation is gorgeous, and you can really see why this so popular in Japan. While they did skip a lot of dialogue between characters, it was still neat to see pandemonium unfold, with best friends betraying each other, and people fighting and even killing others just to get away.

    “If you like zombies (who doesn’t?), breasts (like I said..), occasional pantsu (that’s an understatement btw), and people getting eaten, you will like this (which is like, 110% of males)”
    And about 9% of women LOL

    Click
    Reply

    1. Isn’t 9% a bit too little? It would be interesting to see the percentage of girls following this anime.

      I’ll surely watch it, because Kiiragi’s post made me really want to give it a go xD

      SummelBaerli
      Reply

  84. Once again it seems like everyone is jerking to this crap when it just seem to have the tired old character premise with zombies as a catalyst between the fanservice, read the manga and thought it was terrible, won’t be surprised if this turns out to be the same thing

    ChocoBar
    Reply

  85. This is certainly epic. I love gore. The Final Destination is one of my favorite movie series. But there’s something about animated zombies that get me going on all cynlinders. Mix that with poor cannon fodder girls & you have something that has reached the zenith in my book. The only thing that can top this is MOAR!

    Megas
    Reply

  86. I note that there’s more fanservice than zombies in the opening, and only slightly less fanservice to zombies in the actual episode (and then most of the zombies and fanservice are mixed together).

    Grant
    Reply

  87. Simply put, the best piece of animated work released in Japan in 2010. Madhouse just saved anime 2010 for me. My expectations for the rest of this series has skyrocketed from bad/mediocre to best show of 2010. Lets hope madhouse can keep up this level of quality.

    lHyDrAl
    Reply

  92. “meerh meeerh meeeerheeeeeeeeeer, its all fan service” (in a whiny voice)

    >:D

    but i do like fan services 😀

    though the selfish heroine piss me off somewhat from the impression she gave out this episode.

    N0216332
    Reply

  93. As cool as the first episode was, despite the small differences, I have a bad feeling that, like a bunch of unfinished-manga-turned-anime-series, it’ll go pretty well and stay (mostly) true to the manga until they hit near where the manga currently is, then plummet with how they have to try to salvage up their own original ED since the manga isn’t finished like how they did with things like Elfen Lied, Claymore, To-Love-Ru, etc. It also doesn’t help that a lot of anime lately are only 12-13 episodes which also adds in time constraints, which can lead to them cutting things or changing things to make it so they can fit everything.

    Unless, of course, they make a 2nd season later, but that’s only assuming the manga doesn’t hit a bunch more hiatus’ and manages to keep getting released at a steady pace and maybe finish.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  95. The additional fan-service was too much IMO since there’s more than enough fan-service already in the original material, but the animation quality is just jaw-dropping. Definitely gonna watch this series. Hope they don’t end it with some half-assed original ending when they decide to end it either in 13 or 24 episode.

    aiueo123
    Reply

  96. Two years ago when a fellow forumer recommended this manga, I didn’t bother to read past the 3rd page of the manga. I was a shoujo manga maniac then. So when I heard that HotD is going to be animated, I wasn’t that eager to watch it.

    But it surprised me in more ways than I’ve ever thought. I don’t mind blood, gore and zombies. For someone who watches very few ecchi titles, I’d say that I’m okay with the level of fanservice in this one. Urgh, I thought that Hisashi’s going to make it. Even for a short period of time, Miyano really did a good job. Love the BGM, the seiyuu and the emotional impact that left me speechless minutes after the first episode ended. It’s just that my roommate’s going to get used to hear me scream “kowaiiiiii!!!” every now and then.

    Overall rating for the first episode – 4.2/5.0
    Possibility to continue watching – very high

    Lil' Lilly
    Reply

  98. >>“…I’ve never found myself liking most anime OP’s or ED’s, but HOTD’s OP wasn’t one of the worst I’ve heard (remember Death Note’s second OP?).”

    Holy crap, how could you not love “What’s up, People!”? It wasn’t as good as “Zetsubou Billy” (the 2nd ED), but it was still easily the best OP of the year, and certainly the most memorable (“Hey, hey, ningen SUCKER… a ningen ningen FUCKER…”).

    quigonkenny
    Reply

  100. guns, zombies, fanservice, and marina inoue (kana!). why did it take over 6 decades of animation creators to figure out just exactly what i’ve always dreamed of?!! the whole zombie thing is pretty original too, despite being prominent in films it’s now animated. took them long enough.

    fishies
    Reply

  103. Loved the first episode. I could not keep my eyes of the screen for a second. What irritates me though is how hard some people here are criticizing the anime on its 1st episode. I havn’t read the managa but for someone whos had no prior expeirence with this anime, I loved every minute of it. How can people be complaing about the fan service when animes like KissXSiss pushed the boundries yet everyone loved it. Yes, I know its a horror anime but its not like any of the quick glimps of fan service in this episode really took away from anything on the episode. The complaints about the gore are ridiclous though. ITS A HORROR ZOMBIE SURVIVAL ANIME! Its not like their going to bleed out rainbows and butterflies. I felt the gore and blood was just the right amount to make an impact on how the horrible being in their situtation is. If your faint of heart with this stuff then just don’t watch it. Oh, and KIIRAGI, I have no idea what the guy was complaining about the screenshots you took for the main page, their not gorey at all.

    PS: I hope this doesn’t seem like a rant or anything, I just felt it had to be said. This is my 1st comment on RC and I love the blog, and I admire your guys effort (Especially you Divine) Keep on the blogging :D… Btw..How the hell do you use Gravatar? :/ Does the URL go into website or mail? >_<

    Rin-Chan
    Reply

  104. After meeting Eri Kitamura at AX, it was cool hearing her voice again. (Yui T__T)
    I feel proud that I recognized Inoue and Miyano’s voices.

    Whenever I watch Zombie related things like this, I always get the jitters about it happening in real life.

    chingoo
    Reply

    1. You too!? My brother and I screw around with each other thinking up scenarios like this and always end up scaring ourselves. LOL

      This episode was one big wtf moment. Because of what I just stated above and because I like games like Dead Rising. Really scares the shit out of me.

      This one is looking like a winner.

      unlisted
      Reply

  106. Awesome, I was really looking forward to this after reading the manga a little while ago. Having actual voices and music to it give the scenes more of a dramatic boost, I really liked how Miyano Mamoru voiced Hisashi.

    I’m glad alot of other people also noticed the similarity between the bgm they used and the theme from 28 days later. Since the manga had alot of references to other zombie media I’m sure it won’t be the last time they do something like this.

    Looking forward to the next episode and a new chapter of the manga on july 9th. I’m completely in the survival horror/zombie mood now. Maybe I’ll break out L4D or Dead Rising.

    Oblivionsdawn
    Reply

  107. kyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    that was so awesome it was a crime.

    seriously its been a long time since weve had this level of animation before. It was just soo.. KYAAAAAAAAAA!!!

    I LOVE THE BLOOD GUSHING, the panties, the…. SHIT THIS IS SO AWESOME.

    i am now turned into a fanboi in 1 episode

    ahelo
    Reply

  108. I go for the zombieland rules to survive

    1. “Cardio”
    2. “Double tap/Ziploc bags (Deleted Scene)”
    3. “Beware of bathrooms”
    4. “Wear seatbelts”
    6. “Cast iron skillet”
    7. “Travel light”
    8. “Get a kickass partner”
    12. “Bounty paper towels”
    15. “Bowling Ball”
    17. “(Don’t) be a hero”
    18. “Limber up”
    21. “Avoid strip clubs”
    22. “When in doubt, know your way out”
    29. “The buddy system”
    31. “Check the back seat”
    32. “Enjoy the little things”
    33. “Swiss army knife”

    Zombieland
    Reply

  110. only one thing i can say after watching this episode:

    “epic win”

    Miyano Mamoru with setsuna voice screaming in pain: awesome
    Inoue Maria with chiri voice in psychotic mode: awesome

    Animation quality + gore = holy sh*t it’s fu*kin epic!!!!

    Kakashi_Crusade
    Reply

  111. “they are not only drawn well, but constantly being rotated and zoomed around to create the illusion that the buildings are 3D and well existing within the world.”

    That’s because they are 3D. CG, you know.

    ertad
    Reply

    1. Yeah, I know. It’s just that they’ve gotten really good at making the CG seem well, not CG, so you don’t get complaints from people like, “omg that cg looks terrible” a la Ga-rei Zero (and even then I thought it was fine).

      Kiiragi
      Reply

  112. Hmmm… Theres not much gore in all honesty, a little blood splatter here an there and some blood stained corpses, maybe its just me? Can’t really tell if they want the “bite wounds” to be realistic or non-realistic (one bite and we get a fountain of blood). But moving on I wonder whats more horrifying the zombies or the human survival instinct.

    Vovow
    Reply

  113. Wow, I kind of like the animation. Though I didnt notice that there was much important plots lacking when I was watching haha. Looks like its time to pick up on the manga! Looking forward to more zombie-mowing action! I dont really see the link between the ecchi and zombies. But oh well, its always interesting to explore new combination of genres hehe.

    Tenkou
    Reply

  119. Man, just the other day I was complaining to myself about the lack of anime out right now that I would enjoy watching, and then boom, I see this. O M G, great episode lol, I was laughing the entire time at this awesome take on the zombie apocalypse.
    btw, is the main male voiced by the same VA as Setsuna from 00?

    Walker Texas Ranger
    Reply

  120. Well, I really liked this episode and the 28 Days Later theme used in the episode.

    It really didn’t surprise me that that girl would kick her “bff” in the face, I kinda saw it coming as this is an anime with apocolyptic tones (so you have to show the dark side of human nature/self-preservation).

    I was more surprised to hear that in that manga, that the unnamed girl did not let go of her friend (and tried to help her) eventually becoming a zombie. I’ll probably read the manga after I finish the series.

    mstrchef117
    Reply

  121. Nice ep.

    Yeah it’s too bad Kiiragi, Sawashiro has to wait until next episode. I’m a fan too, of her diverse and yet unique VA roles, she’s got quite a fantastic range. She also VAs in a few of my favorite PS2 games (Ar tonelico 2, Odin Sphere, Persona 3). :]

    Dawn
    Reply

  124. Ah, an anime where girls get brutally slaughtered at the same time they’re being exploited for fanservice. This is guro, and those who like it are guro fetishists. Know that about yourself. Good day.

    Anonymous
    Reply

  125. I think this show would’ve done just fine without the excessive ecchi. Its got great atmosphere, decent starting plot and excellent visuals. What more do you need?! Oh yeah, pantsu. -_-

    Its the type of anime i would love to show my girlfriend since shes always trying to figure out why i like anime so much, but the insane amounts of panty shots would just make her roll her eyes and think I like anime for the wrong reasons…

    Shame really.

    damian
    Reply

  126. EPIC!!! EPIC!!! the only word to describe it: EPIC!!!
    WOW, this series opened with everything I wanted it to have. This epic feeling that I have been searching for, is finally here!!!!!! Sweet, the motion of the camera as Takashi smashed his friends’ head was awesome, and the way he wooed his lover, perfect. YEAAAA ! Epic start, epic

    Leon ni
    Reply

  127. Yea to me ecchi and horror dont mix.Cuz i cant take the material seriously. HOTD made me laugh at the sheer stupidity of it all. I already know whats gonna happen without reading the manga, it only has few options. I wish there was a horror manga/movie/anime where the characters weren’t dumb asses. Dude its funny how knowledge of zombies dont exist inside of most zombie stories.Cuz everyone knows to go for the head, everything else is a waste of time. I could never understand why a zombie bite turns you to a zombie.If it was some type of new virus or sumtin i can see that, but just zombies that raise from the dead for no reason.

    Usually i don’t want characters to die until a few episodes in but the main girl needs to die,I wont bother learning her name. I laughed so much watching this cuz of the random zombie killings. Seriously zombies are smart the have sneaking skills and know how to hide , work as teams. Why do zombies eat people aint like the flesh does anything for them, they are dead. And how long can a Zombie survive cuz they are rapidly deteriorating they shouldn’t be able to move after awhile.

    Stigma0080
    Reply

  128. I loved how Takashi looked at Rei when she said he must’ve hated Hisashi because they were dating. Nice ED song too. Overall great potential, to be honest. I haven’t been this excited about an anime for some time now.

    By the way, nice job Kiiragi – you have a keen eye and ear as well as a clear and pleasant writing style. First time I’ve read something written by your hand and I already hope you keep following HOTD.

    MAS
    Reply

  130. So far, everything looks dandy (animation quality, soundtrack, character interaction, and seiyu talent) for the much anticipated HSotD. The only thing I worry about is the development of the characters and how the series ends since 1, the manga isn’t finished, and 2, I’ve never seen a good ending for a zombie movie/media with the exception of Zombieland. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a long 24+ episode season.

    One last thing to note. Regarding the large amount of ecchi in the series, the ecchi serves not just as fanservice but as a venue for normality in a world that has been warped beyond imagination. It also serves as a balancing point for the seriousness of the series. Even the movie Dawn of the Dead (2004) had scenes of raunchy activity. At least we’re not being flashed boobies or panties every other second because that would be unwatchable.

    Islidox
    Reply

    1. Very true. I’ve just caught up with the manga and the fanservice is pretty tame. It’s not as bad as some other series. Sure there are some scenes that are pretty sexually twisted but they’re done to complement the story (You will understand when you get to watch them). All in all, I found the characters to be interesting and knowing it’s possibly going to be a two-cour series, I’m expecting a lot from this one.

      Shinjiro
      Reply

  131. they need some weapon to kill those goddam zombis. some ak-47.RPG,rocket launcher…… to atomic bomb. plz tell me its a 24 ep instead 13. i’m really looking forward for this.

    Justin2010
    Reply

    2. And the gun porn fans are sure to rejoice. Besides the zombies and the different blends of fanservice, I’m also watching this for the guns. I can’t wait to see Kohta Hirano (not to be confused with the Hellsing creator, though it is a shout out) in action.

      (I’m also reading Cracked.com’s zombie-related articles as I post this.)

      Wow, if Madhouse was able to do this much with HSOTD, how much more when their adaptation of Iron Man rolls around?

      Yeah, after watching episode 1 a while ago I’m hooked on this now. *thumbs up* And you can bet your minerals that I’m gonna enjoy the application of zombie apocalypse tropes to this animated adaptation.

      Incognito
      Reply

  134. Wow how far is the popularity of this show going to go? Are we looking at the new haruhi of 2006 and the new code geass of 2007? Can’t wait to see how much more popularity this show gains.

    lHyDrAl
    Reply

  140. Wow, what an awesome first episode O_O Not as epic as FMA:B but I think I’ll be following it as devotedly.

    The fanservice was gratuitous but I’ve never minded that in an anime and those who do need to remember what they’re watching. Bitching about fanservice in anime is like bitching about how they have funny hair colors and their eyes aren’t proportional to their mouths (or any other part of their faces). Jigglying anime boobs and cartoon panties being shoved in our faces are certainly not new phenomenon in this artform. For that matter, bitching about bloody violence in a ZOMBIE STORY? Shambling corpses trying to commit cannibalism isn’t exactly the prettiest sight (though Madhouse does animate it beautifully).

    Rei was kinda annoying and useless this episode, but I hope she makes up for it in later episodes (and doesn’t turn into another yandere like the psycho from 11Eyes). The rest of the female cast seems much more capable of handling themselves in a zombie apocalypse, and while the ‘pinky promise’ that Rei and Takashi made seem to all but guarantee she’ll be the main love interest, I personally would like to see him wind up with the nerdy pink=haired hottie 😀

    As for whether this is guro or not … I kinda wondered that myself when they showed the girl’s pantied crotch and lower half writhing on the floor as her upper half was (off-screen) being eaten by zombies. If I had to guess though, that’s just another way of letting the horror of the situation hit home, if you find yourself becoming turned on by the fanservice despite her death-screams. For that matter sex has always been as much a part of horror as it has been part of anime … Norman Bates didn’t kill that girl on the street, he killed her in the shower, where the audience could be titilated as well as horrified.

    Forgive my long-windedness, it’s been quite the day.

    Guardian
    Reply

    1. Pretty impressive intro episode, emotion and gore fest galore! Not seen an anime like this ever, should be interesting how interesting they go around to surviving, wonder if it will get or conspiracy and stuff later on?

      Ryoko
      Reply

  148. WOW………I can’t believe I’m watching this. I saw the friend’s death coming a mile away.Takashi for the rebound. Anyway, I’m going to keep watching this. This peeked my interest.

    David Herbert
    Reply

  149. Wow. I like this anime…

    And it seems that the Director of HOTD [same as Death Note] had chosen Light Yagami’s VA to voice Hisashi…so either a Take That [a TVTropes meme] or something like that.

    And yeah…panty shots…serious fans may be disturbed even more than that but for me I could get over this…especially the panty shots of victims and zombies themselves…

    Overall, the director should not let us down…

    general_tiu@yahoo.com
    Reply

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