First Impressions / Gakkou Gurashi!

「きずあと」 (Kizuato)
“Scar”

Game over, man.

Good Bye, Megu-Nee

I’m not sure what it is, but I can’t help and get super emotional whenever Megu-nee sneaks her way back into the show. Long gone before the first episode even started to roll, her impact on the show and our girls is so big you can’t even quantify it. From the moment the outbreak started to her noble sacrifice during her last moments, I can just start to feel this overwhelming sense of dread build up in my chest whenever I think about all the things she’s done. But then to see that even after she became a zombie she continued to wish for her girls’ safety? A feeling so strong that it literally bound her to the place where she hoped her girls would find since it was the perfect location to utilize as a base of operations? If you ever questioned what Megu-nee’s priorities were, I think those few moments Miki had before the zombies started flooding into the basement should have put any concerns to rest. Rest in peace Megu-nee.

Falling Apart From The Seams

Besides the school literally getting destroyed, all of our girls had their fair share of problems to deal with this week. Starting with Rii-san, I truly thought for a second there we were going to have an anime original moment where she straight up killed Kurumi. The constant shots of her strained face and the long delay between when she raised the knife to when we saw what happened were enough to get my nerves racing. Switching to Miki, it looks like she’s not fairing any better either. Stuck in the basement with both a crap ton of zombies and the cure that could save Kurumi, she’s going to need some sort of miracle to get out of there in one piece. Luckily, it looks like Yuki’s trials this week involved her facing reality and accepting that Megu-nee was truly gone. Something that I’ll admit got my emotions all riled up, but also had me grinning a bit since it’s nice to see her finally take the initiative in order to protect her friends.

Looking Forward

With everything falling apart around them, it looks like next week’s finale is going to be a doozy. Tensions are at an all time high, but it looks like the solution to everyone’s problem might come in the form of a newly awakened Yuki. Because from where things stand, no one else is really left to do anything. So as we wait for next week to roll around, let’s hope that whatever plan Yuki has in mind manages to do the impossible!

P.S.
Show Spoiler ▼

 

Preview

39 Comments

  3. I was wondering in this episode, why does some zombies headed straight to the rooftop if they are to storm into school to take shelter from rain. There aren’t any sound or living being on the rooftop that attract them either. Well, attracted to the pole maybe or there are hidden being plotting to take down power circuit first. 😛

    Aside from that, courtesy picture for Kurumi, Megu~nee, and Tanomaru. http://i.imgur.com/9T9X5TA.jpg

    Kuma Kuma
    Reply

    1. Same here. That would’ve had all the elements of a Greek tragedy – to have Miki come back with the vaccine, only to see that Kurumi’s has already been killed by Yuuri. It would be like despair central. Now at least there’s some hope…even though the school’s a goner now. Guess the ED of them venturing out on their own is going to be true pretty soon.

      Yuki’s build-up towards the realization that Megu-nee’s gone was well done too. Kinda sad to see Megu-nee go all Littlefoot’s mom on her to make her realize it. Though at least her suffering’s over – Megu-nee is finally freed from her fate worse than death. And her last word in that diary, probably written after she bit Kurumi, was “Live”…thinking about them till the end.

      Dvalinn
      Reply

  7. Made me sad to see Megu-nee again, and bittersweet to see her helping Yuki, but looks like Yuki is going to save the day,

    Poor Yuuri for having to be forced to make such a though decision. I’m glad she didn’t go through with it.

    And Miki grabs the vaccine, but gets trapped, I guess they needed Yuki to get her of that jam to complete her character arc, but whatevs, as long as Yuki saves the day, and its about time!

    And didn’t that hallway look incredibly evil once it turned red?!

    Frog? No. Hippo!
    Reply

    1. The red Light is there, because our Eyes can see better in the Dark with Red Light.

      Watch some Submarine Films, when they call “Red Alert”, the Light inside of the Submarine turns Red

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  8. As a manga reader, the ending of the last episode was unexpected. (Actually Taromaru being in the present was already unexpected)
    This episode is deviates from the manga even more.
    Can’t wait to see the next episode and see how the studio is planning to end this.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    ofislacker
    Reply

  9. Solutions for possible PlotHole:

    Problem:
    The entire School, except the Bunker Basement, have an Black out. How should the Broadcast room work?

    Solution:
    The Broadcast room, is connected with the Emergency Power of the Basement Generator or it have some sort of Batteries that guarantees 2-4 Work-hours current

    Show Visual:
    Some sort of an red Light lights up, with the Description “Backup Power. Broadcasting is Limited” or such

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    1. Problem:
      This Blood stained Hand prints on this Box. Megu-ne also wrote an little Diary. What was more important for he? Vaccine or still sane writing some lines?

      Solution:
      This Bloody hand prints are not from Megu-ne. She did not open this Top Secret Notebook after all. This hand print could be from Show Spoiler ▼

      , but already to late. So Megu-ne only know of the Basement, but not what secret it really holds. Thats why She choose to write some Lines, seeing no Hope of Cure

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      1. If she didn’t open the emergency manual how did she go to the shelter without knowledge of it?

        Show Spoiler ▼

        ofislacker
        Reply

  11. And here I was thinking the bioweapon had overriden Megu-nee’s love for the Club. Miki’s eulogy for her was so touching, even more so because she wouldn’t have been able to give it had she not realised what she had in the swimsuit episode a few weeks back – a mindset that Yuki echoed in her desire to go to the ocean, a step above the club’s previous triumph at clinging on to the ideal of high school life. Even during its climax, Gakkou Gurashi remains to keep making its slice-of-life elements more and more integral to the story.

    More of my thoughts here: https://unnecessaryexclamationmark.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/gakkou-gurashi-11/

    It doesn’t seem like Yuki’s had her biggest struggle yet though. Saying goodbye to Megu-nee was an incredible step, and the way it was handled redefined a lot of the thoughts I’d had about her delusion, and Megu-nee’s undead life, throughout the show. But I can’t help but think that the most emotional time for Yuki will be when the Club comes back together, with or without the medicine, as the show concludes on how they do or do not survive all together.

    JekoJeko
    Reply

    1. Persons turned into Zombies got Stronger, as if they use full force of their Muscles. Some kind of Berserk strength. If they can focus their Brain to use an alternative way, like here dodge under the Fence (normal Zombie would not have this idea) then they are Dangerous

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

      2. I read a bit into this Manga you mentioned, but there the Girl stayed Pretty and Young. As if she took an immortal Vaccine. later with time the manga-ka remembered the side effects of become an Zombie. i think i stop reading the manga with this Plot of this Old little guy remembered his Past

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

  15. As long as the finale is really goo I can definitely see this show being an 8/10 for me. I am just slightly disappointed because if this had been adapted closer, from what I’ve seen, it had the potential to be a 10.

    Gouka Ryuu
    Reply

  16. I think I’ve finally put my finger on the one thing that I’ve always felt was off about this adaptation – that a good number of the additions and changes are too typical. Specifically, as if the writers, looking for ways to flesh out and/or rearrange the script, went straight to the same kind of story constructs almost omnipresent in zombie stories.

    It’s most obvious from this episode and in the flashback sequence with Megumi just prior to the outbreak. I remember noting before about that previous episode that the whole sequence, while beautifully directed and very effective, contained elements that felt very typical of the genre, from the constant news reports to the cut-off phone call. The same can be said of this whole episode – the string of horrible coincidences, where suddenly everything that can go wrong goes wrong at once, is a almost ridiculously common occurrence in zombie stories, usually for the sake of some last action sequence and heroics by the main character. The problem with this story construct is simple – that it always carries the underlying implication that everything the characters had done to that point was merely buying time and ultimately useless. This is fine, of course, for building a hopeless, edgy, apocalyptic day-to-day survival feeling (sometimes punctuated with action-hero heroics), which is why I won’t call it bad. But it is incredibly typical, and additionally flies in the face of one of the central themes of the original story, which is that of looking beyond mere survival, that seeking to preserve something more is not a waste of time. Especially considering that one of the manga’s strengths is how atypically it approaches the typical zombie setting.

    Also, I kind of personally just prefer the manga’s sense of slow degradation even as they overcome one thing after another after another, as opposed to the ‘shock value’ of having everything crash down at once. As it is, right now, this is a very good zombie story – it’s just not really reaching beyond that, like the original story did.

    Corin
    Reply

    2. He did not even barfed. But i bet he is running to the Other Girls, perhaps to our Broadcasting Room one, she is not aware of his Transformation.. No i stop here, your imagination do the rest. TENSION RISE SKYROCKETED!!!

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  20. That was…weak, speaking as a manga reader. Like what was already mentioned, too many coincidences happened that made no sense.

    But the worst part was Yuki’s “getting better”. It was severely lacking in the nuance and subtlety present at the start of the show and in the manga. The whole point was that it WASN’T your average Hollywood version of trauma. And come on, they took away Yuki’s only cool pose!?

    I feel that they generally weren’t as on the ball as they were at the start of the show, including Rii’s own breakdown.

    cryum
    Reply

    1. With the Anime, there is a chance to redo some Manga scenes that did not work out in the mind of the Manga-ka. So you, no i see Adaption of an Manga with he Help of the Manga-ka, as an 2nd and improved Version of his Story in the Way he wanted. Some sort of Manga Director’s Cut version

      But this only work when the Original Manga-ka is involved and not “Money”. Thats why i love Sidonia, because our Original Manga-ka had his touch in this Anime

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

    2. You need to see the two things as different entities, rather than one being a copy of some sort from the other. Manga is manga, anime is anime. I understand that you, who is familiar with the original work, would like to see the anime play out exactly as in the manga, but I don’t see it as a bad thing if the anime deviates from the source, as long as the show can stand on its own and be entertaining, which I think it does.

      I haven’t read the manga (yet), but I’m quite content with how the show has progressed so far. The manga may help clear up a few loose ends, or shed more light on certain events, but I’m sure they can find a way to end this show on a high note.

      Firelord
      Reply

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