First Impressions / Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?

「ああ、オレの所にいろ！」 (Aa, Ore no Tokoroni Iro!)
“Yes, Stay With Me!”

For the past few weeks, I’ve been bagging on this show a little more than I should have. It might have been the lack of really funny jokes or how the plot is randomly jumping from A to Z within minutes, but this week’s episode reinvigorated my love for the series.

Sure things are sometimes crazy in this show, but with the show’s precedence of being random and unpredictable, everything just felt a little more right. Surprisingly, what fleshed out the most emotion from me wasn’t Ayumu and Yuu’s predicament but the relationship that Ayumu has with everyone else in his harem — more specifically Haruna. While it’s clear that Ayumu doesn’t reciprocate Haruna’s feelings, it was heartwarming watching Haruna beat some sense into him. As awkward as that sounds, it’s kind of sad to see Haruna always giving it her best even though she realizes she won’t be the “one”. For someone who was loud and annoying at the start of the series, she’s rose up pretty fast in my list of favorite characters — probably because she’s a combination of all the best parts of a Yandere and Tsundere. You get some crazy with the cute!

Even though the general storyline was jumping from one point to another, something about this week’s episode brought back the charm from the earlier episodes. Watching Ayumu finally stand up his beliefs and beating the crap out of the final boss really made things fun. Sure, there was an entire vampire village playing together as an orchestra to prevent the city from being torn down, but Ayumu’s battle with the King of Night is where the action was at — anyone been hankering for some Dual Masou Shoujo action? But something about watching Ayumu go from a pretty Masou Shoujo to a scary strong zombie punching through a person’s head all in one battle felt pretty rewarding.

Before the King of Night finally got his wish to physically perish from the world, he left us with a really interesting question — can anyone really stand living till the end of time? I don’t know how old the King of Night is, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lived over a few centuries. But what I’ve taken away from it is that Yuu and Ayumu probably are a near mirror image of what Yuu and the King of Night were long ago — a pair who really felt strongly for one another. It almost justifies Yuu trying to run away from Ayumu — I say almost because I can’t fathom how running away from Ayumu would solve anything, especially when the person you’re running with is someone who wants you to remove their existence. If only the cute ones had a little more sense.

With an ending that gave me a smile at the end, I’m super excited for whatever comes next week. From what I can guess, it looks like it will involve swimsuits! Oh and before I forget, it might be good to note that Yuu ACTUALLY SPOKE.

 

Preview

95 Comments

  2. They’re getting back to what makes this series good. The comedy basically disappeared in the last few episodes, or felt horribly inappropriate given the “serious” mood.

    the_one092001
    Reply

  4. -> Loved the Bayonetta megalo and Haruna’s irresistible behavior. Ukyuu~ ♥

    I’m starting to see what Sera see’s in Ayumu.. He was really disgusting in the beginning of this episode. D; Oh yeah, all that stuff people said about Ayumu when he didn’t “express” himself last episode during the tea party.. smh Satisfied now? Couldn’t have asked for a more gratifying battle than that one. Seraphim & Co.’s orchestrated background music was beautiful. It really helped the mood. (Can’t wait for the OST.)

    ps. Was this the show that that man was staking his career on..? Sorry for the vagueness but I remember you guys saying that there was an important man from a certain company that was fired and then he came back, made his own show, and said that if it didn’t do well, he would step down. If this is that show, I think he did amazingly well.

    Shirt
    Reply

  7. The dual transformation scene was truly disturbing.

    I couldn’t figure out which side of the screen I should have been aroused by and which side I should have been disgusted by.

    Qwerty
    Reply

  8. The vampire maid outfit orchestra was really out of nowhere kind of like using ramen broth to kill megalos.

    I thought the last Ayumu fight was kind of boring though, same as every other fight interlaced with some Touma preaching.

    Only saving factor? Yuu talked. =)

    xcswmboy
    Reply

  9. Well, that was an amazing comeback for this series. All the subtle humor worked very well.

    Even amidst a somewhat serious scene, King of Knight’s reaction to the double Mystletainn kick was PRICELESS. I laughed so hard that they brought that joke back, even in the final battle.

    I had an eargasm when Yuu spoke.

    PWAAMEAP
    Reply

      1. what would complete is if they changed her VA for the next episode. however, this VA sounds like the person who was making the subtle noises (i want to call them grunts but i don’t think that’s the right word) throughout the series.

        RickyMack
        Reply

  15. What is notable is that this episode called back to every single previous episode in some way.

    Episode 1: “That is not a kick!”
    Episode 2: How death is painful…
    Episode 3: Yuu’s favorite pudding.
    Episode 4: The flying whale.
    Episode 5: Sera probably sucked Yuu’s blood at some point.
    Episode 6: How Yuu can kill with only her words.
    Episode 7: The wish that Yuu made.
    Episode 8: This one is easy to miss. But when the King of the Night first showed up, he put a blue penguin doll in front of Yuu, and he really likes penguins.
    Episode 9: The powers of Dai-sensei know no bounds.
    Episode 10: Sera and her ability to play the violin.

    (I tried linking to the proper images earlier, but not sure if that post went through.)

    MasterDragonKnight
    Reply

    1. actually, yuu let sera taste her blood last ep when she got injured. sera has only tasted haruna’s blood before.
      and it was supposedly yuu who dropped that penguin accidentally, though you might be right that he was the one who dropped it.

      amado
      Reply

  18. Haruna was the star of this episode. It was a really epic moment when Yuu spoke. It really suprised me, and it wouldn’t bothered me of she didn’t speak the whole show. It is weird to think that this show is going to end next week. I enjoyed every episode and the monday’s won’t be the same after next week

    Pera
    Reply

  20. And I thought Show Spoiler ▼

    in Kimi ni Todoke was going to be the “OMG!” moment of this season (not including everything that’s happening in Madoka), but Yuu speaking takes the cake XD. I find it funny that her voice is just as cute as most of the delusion Yuu XD

    Taiakun
    Reply

  21. Yuu did have a cute voice and it was nice. But they made her talk too much. Those long cliche lines did not suit her personality. Her responses should have been like Angel from Angel Beats. Short and with little emotion due to the little verbal communication she had for a long time.

    banzmanga
    Reply

  22. I LOVED how they brought back the ‘that’s not a kick’ quote back for this episode, really made me chuckle.
    Also I too want to be a penguin, gimme gimme gimme

    p.s. DAT VOICE

    Cyberchicken
    Reply

    1. She doesn’t talk because anything she says MAY result into something nasty, since she’s brimming with magic.

      She talked to stress a point, just like what Ayumu did when he wrote on her pad to do the same.

      paulrenzo
      Reply

  24. I agree with you, despite the randomly plot we see here and there, the final battle between Ayumu and King of the Night, plus the heartwarming encounter between him and Yuu was worth it all.

    Well, one last episode to enjoy.

    Syaoran Li
    Reply

  25. Some parts of Ayumu would have been completely atomized in the bomb explosion. There wouldn’t have been enough of him physically left to put back together! Mmmmm, Sera, Saras, and Yuki in maid outfits. Perhaps they all have a secret cosplay side to them.

    EliteF22
    Reply

  26. Wow, Yuu finally talked. I expected something lower but her voice is still cute. It was surprising how much stronger Ayumu got in just a few minutes to the point that he could actually touch the King of the Night. And to point out, in the beginning where Ayumu was reconstructing his blown up body parts was pretty weird. Last is that you said that the next episode will have swimsuits, looking forward to that.
    (in the orchestra had a freakin oboe, oh yeah!, never expected it would show one)

    Zangkin
    Reply

  27. Omg… Yuu talked…. I can… finally…. rest…. in…. peace….

    aside from the fact that Yuu talked this episode was more comedic than I expected it to be. The fact that haruna travelled the world and the “Thats not a kick Mystellain Kick” gave me a few good laughs. Hell even seeing Ayumu’s decapitated body made me laugh for a while.
    I hope next weeks episode will be either a comedic conclusion with Ayumu finally deciding which girl he should go for… Yuu or Haruna.
    Seeing as there is only one episode left I am somewhat dissapointed as a good series will come to an end. I really wanted to see Saras and Dai-Sensei get more screen time but i guess that just has to wait.

    Rasone0104
    Reply

  28. As I said previously the thing I hate about many animes is that the big bad scary villian of the show that does so much evil all season long gets redeemed or dies a much easier death then what he did to others. The King of Night was this big scary villian all year long and all he wanted was to be released from being an immortal zombie.

    The randomness of the series was great as you never knew what to expect. A vampire maid orchestra was pure genius. Overall this was a good series. Got weak towards the end of the series (last 2 episodes kinda all over the place) but made a great comeback this week. This seems more like the finale to the series and next week’s would be a beach fan service OVA to go on the DVD I would have thought.

    Karmafan
    Reply

  31. at least the plot wasnt quite as messy as last ep.
    its pretty much true that living forever would eventually get boring. once you enjoy everything there is, there wont be anything much exciting left especially if you cant be killed anyway. im glad he died, it would have been really annoying if it ended up alright in the end and he changed so that he would also hang out with them. plus he does deserve to finally rest in peace after all the time he had.

    I also like haruna, she made the “I want my beloved to be happy” trope. and she also brings fun and sunshine along with her. as the other zombie said(I think), she was the sun of the group.

    amado
    Reply

  33. Surprisingly episode 12 is out, looks like they pushed it into an open time slot to finish off the series without preempting next season.

    Plenty of service and previews of the character singles.

    Qwerty
    Reply

  35. I really hope there is a second season. I mean, the last bit of the episode showed an unknown girl walking up the stairs while Ayumu was walking down. And Ayumu kind of hinted at there being more mysteries.

    metril
    Reply

  36. soooooooooooo a curious question they didnt explain why yuu could speak without hurting anyone unless i missed something??????

    can someone explain this to meh id appreciate it?…

    andalso that penguin part was hilarious XD

    Charles
    Reply

    1. Yeah, they didn’t really address that. It’s almost as if they were hoping viewers would be caught in the moment and overlook it. Funny, considering the fan-service-filled twelfth episode even takes it into account.

      Divine
      Reply

    2. From the original explanation a few eps back, I don’t think it’s that she CAN’T speak without hurting anyone, it’s that saying one wrong word here or there might have dire consequences. So she doesn’t speak at all, just because she doesn’t want to risk accidentally messing up the world.

      zem
      Reply

  37. All I’m saying is there has not been nearly enough AyumuXSera love. I mean I understand their relationship, but I’m still waiting for her to need to suck his blood. Ok so zombie “blood” sounds fairly disgusting, maybe I can’t blame her.

    Foofie
    Reply

  39. Only once the particular person know wt signifies to taste bitterness and sadness after which tasted one thing pleasant, he/she will get satisfaction from the item that provides you pleasant experiences the most. But for all those that retain endulging in them you are like consuming water. Even using the pursuit of psychological and actual physical problems great after one suceeds in one goal, they retain attempting to go higher. It is very vital that

    inexpensive wedding dresses
    Reply

  46. can somebody please tell me what is that weird looking round thingy that spins around? It’s in the preview, and it has always been in the room that the bunch had their meals in. I’m dying from curiosity

    prejsu
    Reply

  49. This episode (and series) was incredibly enjoyable. “That’s not a kick!” has been used multiple times yet still makes me laugh, especially in this episode because of how seriously the King of Night says it.

    Anyone know how closely the anime follows the novel?

    FMeral16
    Reply

  50. Had quite a laugh at this moment:

    https://randomc.net/image/Kore%20wa%20Zombie%20Desu%20ka/Kore%20wa%20Zombie%20Desu%20ka%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2002.jpg

    Ayumu’s harem seemingly “covering” their eyes not to look, while it’s so obvious they are all looking at it. I expected this from Haruna and Yuki whom both have shown they have feelings for Ayumu, but this was unexpected coming from Sera lol.

    OMG Yuu’s new seiyuu is perfect voice for her! I especially love the preview were Yuu told off Ayumu to stop fantasizing about her.

    Though I agree with you Takaii, about Ayumu and Yuu start of their relationship might be similar to her and King of Night, but I also agree with Ayumu that what differentiates the two is that Ayumu has support from his harem, unlike King of Night whom I guess probably experience too much of a loss of loved ones that he became like that. Though I dont think Ayumu would experience this anytime soon seeing as most of his harem arent humans to begin with (except Tae of course).

    I’m really hoping for a second season of this show, seeing as from what I heard the anime only covered up to vol.3 of the novels, which is I think only half of whats covered in the novels so far. Please correct me if Im wrong. But we all know that it’s up to the ratings and perhaps sales in novels/mangas, anyone know how high the tv ratings is for this show?

    X
    Reply

  52. I just hope that TAKAII knows that EP.12 has already aired on TV & for a while it has been uploaded on the .net and subbed. Anyways, the last episode was very lulz, a lot of fanservice, but still a good finale for this great anime show. I hope there’s a 2nd season *shrugs*.

    A final note, which is that I wonder whatever happened to that crazy chick *Kyoko* (who killed our main hero)? lol, since the King of Night asked to be let go and to be finally put to rest in peace. If some of you recall, he took control over her, disappeared to nowhere and she just simply never came back (I guess Dai-sensei somehow rescued her/found out her whereabouts?). I guess I gotta do some research on the novels or someone enlighten me. 🙂

    Zeta
    Reply

    2. Surprisingly enough, King of Night just offered her power and she accepted the opportunity. She had no problem killing people at all. Anime was bad at showing this and made it seem like it was KoN possessing her or something.

      Ys10
      Reply

  57. Thanks for the spoiler. I bet the novel was a lot of better since one will fill the right details with our imaginations. What screwed this series most was the wrong character action that was animated on the wrong lines. Too bad i can’t read Kanji otherwise i would be reading this series. >.>

    banzmanga
    Reply

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