Review of High School of the Dead

It wasn't until most of the way through this series that I realized I'd been tricked into watching a Ecchi Harem. Fanservice, masturbatory fantasy, Harem, whatever it's called. All the biggest cliches, tropes and stereotypes are there. You've got the Main, average dude who becomes the hero. Of course Main has 0 personality so the viewer can more easily insert himself into this fantasy world. Theres the angry Tsundere chick who yells at him a lot but has feelings for him (b-bakaaaa!). Blob moe chick with the massive jugs, nerd with glasses guy who's really shy, it's all there. Just some vaguely zombie stuff going on inthe background that nobody really seems to worry about.

Badasss Killer Samurai/Aikido Club President chick and Main end up having some of the most complex interactions, with her showing some surprising vulnerability and insight in her character that marked the only time in the series I was actually interested in the way a character thought or felt. Actual character development that didn't involve any cliches. Her demeanour seemed the most like how actual human people conduct themselves in the real world, she never had any shrieking breakdowns or sobbing on Main's shoulder that typically plagues the female members of any anime cast. It's probably no coincidence that, as the solely level-headed cast member she is the only one who doesn't show any affection for Main.

I can't make up my mind if this whole deal was just a big satire of most animes. There are too many flailing DDD tits, naked splash fights and spontaneous nose-bleeds to not think so. On the other hand the sheer mind-boggling number of tropes and cliches that are crammed into this show screams lack of imagination. When the action heats up, and the body count climbs, the show is great fun, but when the blood leaves the screen and they start babbling about their feelings and pressing their boobs in main's face, I can't help but feel I'm just watching some greasy otaku's latest wank fantasy.

Props for being the only Harem I have watched all the way though.

See: Kill la Kill for a hilarious satire of animes of this sort, which simultaneously embraces and mocks a lot of genre tropes, as well as drawing attention to the problem of fetishizing young girls in skimpy clothes, the impact society's pressures have on a woman's image of herself, as well as a strong, independent female character with more important things in her life than fawning over teenage boys.