First Impressions / Gakkou Gurashi!

「きゅうじつ」 (Kyuujitsu)
“Holiday”

After the bombshell at the end of last week’s episode, it looks like we’ll have to wait one more week until we find out just what secrets are hiding down in the second basement.

It’s Pool Time!

Taking a step back from the huge reveal of some type of evacuation shelter in a hidden second basement, our girls instead headed straight to the roof for some fun times under the bright orange sun. Under the guise of cleaning the “school pool”, everyone got a chance to don their new swimsuits as they spent the day goofing around with all sorts of water based activities. Which in the grand scheme of things was probably just as important as discovering that emergency evacuation manual. Because even though our group is on the verge of finding answers to questions they’ve probably been wondering about since day one, it’s probably a blessing in disguise that they didn’t immediately leap into action.
Ignoring the fact that it’s deep in zombie territory, it probably wouldn’t help that they’d all be mentally and physically exhausted from the shock of it all. Toss in the fact that only two out of the four girls (Kurumi and Miki) are probably ready to “kill” a zombie and it should be clear as day that heading straight to the hidden area would have been a bad idea.

Megu-nee’s Intentions

That said, even I can’t help ponder just why Megu-nee would keep such an important thing a secret from everyone. And even with the cynic in me wanting to think bad thoughts, I think it boils down to something really simple – she probably just forgot about it. As a simple teacher, I doubt she was informed about any incoming pandemics and honestly how often do you remember your teacher back in primary and secondary school actually referring to the emergency manual? And let’s not forget that a freaking zombie apocalypse is currently surrounding them and the stress trying to imagine that reality would be enough to make anyone forget about anything that wasn’t immediately in front of them.

So even though it feels like Rii-san and to an extent Miki are erring on the cynical side, I want to believe that Megu-nee always had her girls’ best interest at heart.

Taroumaru and Miki

I don’t normally notice things like deathflags, but I can’t help but think that Taroumaru is going to end of becoming zombie chow soon. Besides the fact he’s constantly getting into sticky situations and even sometimes causing them, the last straw had to be him forgiving Miki for what happened at the mall. I mean, why would the show drop such a long running gag unless it had some specific reason to!? I hope nothing bad happens to Taroumaru.

Looking Ahead

With the story quickly progressing forward, I’m not sure I’m liking exactly where we’re headed. There’s talks of an experiment going awry, people second guessing the leader they had in-charge, and really depressing shots of someone who I’d wish was either completely alive or one hundred percent dead and not moving. In any case, here’s to hoping that next week’s episode isn’t completely depressing and/or sad.

Thanks for reading the post and I hope to catch you around for the rest of the season! On a side note, please refrain from posting spoilers in the comments. Not only are you ruining someone’s experiences, but because this is an adaptation, it’s possible you could be spreading misinformation! So, please abuse that spoiler tag and if you want to talk about anything related to this anime or if you wanted to ask me something specific, shoot me a tweet @rctakaii!

See you next week!

P.S. Did you notice that the ending reverted back to the previous one? And that Taroumaru was the only one walking along the shore? ;_;

P.P.S. I found it really, really funny that Yuuri / Rii-san knew exactly what it takes to become a sorceress. Haha.

 

Preview

31 Comments

  2. All the foreshadowing in the previous episodes for this. Getting swimsuits from the mall and Taromaru getting dirty from the pool. And that contract reference in a show with walking infected. Someone must have took all those soul gems away for far too long.

    ofislacker
    Reply

  4. Oh man.. after episode one I really wanted to like this anime..
    But it’s such a tease!!!

    Nothing ever happens and everytime it looks like something will, it’s postponed for 3 episodes.
    I still really want to know what happens but I’m slowly starting to get frustrated watching this xD

    Blood_X
    Reply

    1. I kind of have to agree with your sentiment, episode 1’s cliffhanger had me really intrigued and excited for the dark things to come. But the anime is so slow paced that the excitement I had from earlier just seems to have dissipated. I haven’t read the manga, but I know the anime rearranges the order of events a bit. Not that the anime is bad by any means, but I wish it wouldn’t take so long for things to escalate and for the feels to really happen. I mean, the first cour is already almost over.

      chromenova
      Reply

    2. Well, all I can tell you is that if you’ve been standing in the road waiting for the truck to hit you, with just three episodes left it’s time to clench up. Cause this is gonna hurt.

      Aex
      Reply

    3. just read the manga. there’s actually plot progression there and where shit hits the fan instead of just the girls having fun around.

      the anime is just decent, the anime may as well just be on the same level of your average SoL anime.

      amado
      Reply

    5. (weird, I swore I made a post, but I cant seem to find it)

      anyhow, I’ll just re-write it…

      I don’t think this show is slow paced as some commenters have mentioned, but it’s def stretching out a lot of the story. And for a zombie anime/show, there’s not as much zombie interaction as one would expect. This isn’t to say there needs to be zombie “action” in every episode, but this anime is more about how this crisis is affecting these 4 girls and the things they do to cope with it, and while that could be very compelling show, it’s not being executed as well as it could be, with the filler material being a prime culprit, and some viewers are being left frustrated and disappointed.

      Plus this is practically a “closed room” story in a lot of episodes, as they don’t leave their school much, as most of the drama takes place in their club room, the one classroom we see Yuki in a lot, and the roof, and as someone who’s never read the manga, you’re not exactly expecting that.

      I’ll def finish it up to see where it goes, but I’m def disappointed so far, though I am curious as to how a more faith adaption would be based on some of the comments mentioning the stark contrasts between the two.

      Impel Down Hippo
      Reply

  8. for the guys saying the anime is being slow in the developments… yes, the ANIME is being slow in the developments because something is wrong with the director. the anime is literally playing around instead of actually moving the plot.

    this anime is decent by itself, but as an adaptation of the manga, this one is a failure.

    -toning down dark and tense moments
    -dumping even more happy and relaxing scenes
    -changing the sequence and order of events
    -lots of filler
    -extremely slow pacing

    the show was pretty good in the first 6 eps. I especially liked ep 3, which while it wasnt really displayed in the manga, was implied and the anime expanded on it. there’s also giving more attention to megu-nee, which was pretty nice since she’s hardly “seen” ever since the reveal of her being dead in the manga. but after that, they have done a lot of unnecessary things that is really messing up with the atmosphere that gakkou gurashi is supposed to have.

    biggest offense is the dog… its seriously taking up space that could have been done to not only advance the plot but also to expand on the characters. like yeah, I get that they wanted to show more of the dog, but they could do this while leaving him up as a character in the background, not become such a major character that is changing and affecting the plot. I wont elaborate on this part since it might ruin the surprise, manga readers should know what I mean how he’s causing a big shift storywise.

    one of the other problems is that the pacing is fluctuating, sometimes they seem to be going fast but now they’re really slowing down. I was fine with the fast pace at first since they probably were trying to adapt most of the manga, but then they’re now adding unnecessary scenes as if there’s not enough content to animate? seriously?

    if they’re going to end the anime on THAT scene, they could have done a lot more important scenes that they skipped out on:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    they dont have excuse for adding filler, or THIS much filler at least. the anime has changed gakkou gurashi from a series that has a balance of happy/SoL and serious/horror with an advancing plot into just another typical SoL with just a bit of horror to trick remind you that its not a “pure” SoL anime.

    I would say to you guys who expect/want some proper plot to go read the manga. much more better and things make sense a lot more.

    amado
    Reply

    1. I could understand cutting the mall group since they probably just didn’t want to spend another episode on the outing, but the other cuts were strange and would’ve made this filler unnecessary. The manga is 50/50 horror/SoL, but the anime is more 40/60.

      I don’t mind the pacing so much, and Taroumaru doesn’t bother me since he doesn’t really lighten the show any more than Yuki does, but I do dislike that the anime makes Yuki a bit too delusional, to the point where she’s even goofier. Goofy is fine since she was also clever (the map, the outbursts, the instinct, the hints that she really knows), but that clever is almost gone in the anime. Someone said it before, but they made her too helpless. I liked how angry Miki was when she first got to the school in the manga because they used that to really connect her and Yuki while punctuating Yuki’s other side.

      It’s weird but as I’m writing this I kinda find the changes similar to Log Horizon’s: they took out extremes and made it fluffier to appeal to more people. Did this one not get the right network, either?

      All that being said, I still love what they did here. I wouldn’t consider it a failure, just an adaptation. It’s pretty bad that those two words keep getting closer to synonymous, though.

      Aex
      Reply

    2. forgot to add, but they’re also really messing up with the characterization in the anime:

      yuki is more stupid instead of just being oblivious.
      miki is now mellow instead of being head strong.
      yuri is less confident instead of being the most sure.

      only kurumi seems to be done correctly.

      also, this may seem weird coming from a yuri fan, but they’re pushing yukiXmiki way too much, and making miki a bit too gay. like seriously, yuki is not that touchy about miki nor does miki get that embarrassed with yuki or any of the other girls. they’re only a bit like that at their first meeting, but otherwise miki and yuki arent really close in any way.
      the anime makes them seem like the typical airhead + serious couple, when really its more like when yuki(or any of the other girls) does something silly, miki just says something sarcastic.

      amado
      Reply

      1. couple?

        If Yuri is the “Mother type” one, then it is Trust, what you searching for. She is the oldest there, can Cook, can be strict like a mother, also she can be an Big One-sama. She is playing her Role as Mother replace person. Give them the save feeling, for not have fear of starvation and such. She brings Order in their Chaos. Well, Yuki (with the Head) is someone like Moral caretaker

        Everybody has their little role. It is just you know the Manga that create these feelings you have

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

      2. yeah yuri is like the mother type and trusts the girls… then she goes and starts to doubt about yuki’s delusions like last episode.

        to bring into perspective, that was supposed to be miki’s role while yuri was adamant that its better off for yuki to stay happy.

        also as for the couple, the anime is pushing it way more than the manga. like the manga, its easily just some girls being close, maybe a bit yuri if you squint hard enough. but the anime, well, is close to heavy subtext.

        miki blushing a damn lot and yuki hugging her a lot. there was also her staring at yuki who didnt have her shirt on last ep, which had her be caught on and be flustered. and of course, a lot of her moments with kei in particular when kei first wanted to go out and miki said no, there was that angle where it looked like they’d kiss especially since both of their eyes were in shadows.

        amado
        Reply

  10. Gah, I won’t be having “sweet dreams” tonight after seeing this… That scene scared me the heck so much that I watched it in minimized form (as opposed to fullscreen).

    Hmm…an underground evacuation shelter… Perhaps it was a nuclear fallout shelter at one point?
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Incognito
    Reply

  11. I’m hearing a lot about how the manga is ‘better’, but it raises some concerns. I’m getting so much out of this show from things that other people are calling ‘filler’ – could reading the source material make you invest your focus in things that Lerche have left out, and won’t that then lead you to miss the additional artistic touches they’ve added? I’ve seen all sorts of windows into Miki and Yuki’s characters through what others see as nothing more substantial than K-On’s moe antics.

    More of my thoughts here: https://unnecessaryexclamationmark.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/gakkou-gurashi-09/

    I don’t think an adaptation has failed if it makes a lot of changes to character and tone. If it’s popular but the original really is ‘better’ (and granted, it usually is), then surely the show is doing what it’s supposed to do – draw people to the source material and boost it’s sales. I think Lerche are leaving some heavier feels out on purpose in order to make the manga shine on its own as well.

    JekoJeko
    Reply

    1. Seeing how this is a one-cour show, I already had a pretty good idea where things were going to stop and it makes sense how they’re pacing it to end in a great spot.

      That and I’m just really enjoying the adaptation even with all the prior knowledge of what’s going to happen.

      Takaii
      Reply

    2. One thing that has really helped for me is to look at anime adaptations and the manga/game/etc. source material as their own separate entities (at least for those whose source material I have experience with) rather than virtual cut/paste copies like fans of the source material tend to want from what I see. Although I can/will make connections to the source material if something in the adaption (assuming I’ve read/played/etc. it) is pretty grossly changed not for the better in one way or another.

      (Like, for example, how the ecchi of High School of the Dead was just thrown into so much more situations in the anime version while some that already existed at points in the manga was needlessly ramped up far more than it was in the manga, which killed a lot of the experiences I had gotten when reading the similar situations in the manga.)

      This is most likely why I didn’t have nearly the problem others seemed to with, for example, the anime adaptation of Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio compared to others who seem to hate it simply because it didn’t precisely follow the source material. While not perfect, I still did like the different focus it took with the mental models even though I do wish we got some more insight on what the humans were doing too.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

  12. I still think they have better not to waste 90% of this ep on SoL. Otherwise last 2 parts of the first manga arc could have gotten a better pacing but now they have to rush things.

    Nachtwandler
    Reply

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