Review of High School of the Dead

High School of the Dead... Where to begin but at the obvious... Fan service out the ass. Seriously, so much fan-service by the end you're completely immune. Honestly, at times the fan-service is almost insulting, I don't ever need to see a panty shot of a girl being eaten alive. Yet, I still give this show a 9. Why? Because almost every moment of this anime was pure enjoyment for me. There was some unrealistic but kick-ass action. Some of the funniest dialogue I have ever had the pleasure to hear (well, English Dub at least). And quite frankly, I enjoyed the hordes of zombiesvs. our hero, his nerdy friend, and a cast of girls there mostly to provide titillating imagery (Note: I do say mostly). This show is a popcorn flick guys, plain and simple. But for a bit more in-depth analysis, here you go:

Story: 8
A cliched story? Yeah, but it was still very well done. I liked how the general panic was displayed, as well as the moral collapse, and that drive to survive. Was it masterfully done? No, but it was surprisingly a well done zombie story.

Art: 9
What can I say but that Madhouse came through once again. Top notch animation, truly. The action scenes though unrealistic, were a definite high-point.

Sound: 8
A very enjoyable OST. I thought the tracks were very fitting and helped to set the tone and atmosphere of a scene. I really enjoyed the opening, listened to it for most of the episodes. The variety of ending themes were good, but I honestly skipped them first time through this show, more intent on seeing the after-credits scenes.

Characters: 6
The weakest part of this show. They're fairly generic with little real development between them.
We have Takashi Kumoro, a rather common spiky haired male protagonist with a slightly dour disposition. He is better than most however as he is decisive and has a spine.

We then have Rei... Damn this girl was annoying. She is the childhood friend who bounces back and forth between being kind and in need of a protector, to a stuck up little brat.

Saeko, my personal favorite character. She is strong willed, kind, respectable, and loyal. She also has fun throwing innuendo into her dialogue, so that's a plus in my book at least.

Saya Takagi... She's an intelligent bitch... Nothing else to say here...

Then there's Kouta Hirano, the one and only bad-ass nerd who makes every moment he is on screen enjoyable. Holy hell I loved this guy.

Oh, then there's the busty ditz. I believe her name was... Oh let me see... Shizuka! She really is bland enough as a character to be remembered not by her name, but rather the role she served, that being a busty ditz.

Enjoyment: 10
I really did love every minute of this show. The dialogue had me laughing my ass off one minute, and I was enthralled the next by the hordes of zombies getting annihilated. And yes, the fan-service was at times enjoyable. Did it go way over the top with it? Hell yes it did, but as I said, you sort of develop an immunity to it. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it never hindered my enjoyment, though I know it did for many others.

Overall: 9
Yes, I am saying this was a great anime. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do. This is a popcorn flick and should be watched as such. I went into the show expecting nothing but zombies, breasts, and action; but I surprisingly got a decent zombie story with characters that I enjoyed watching. Take this show for what it is and you may just like it, though it is understandable if the fan-service is a turn off. But honestly, I considered this to be an excellent 4 hours spent.