Review of High School of the Dead

This show was introduced to me via a drinking game. It's one of THOSE shows. Basically imagine if Tenchi Muyo and Zombieland got their storyboards shuffled together. High School of the Dead is not a deep show nor is it particularly unique. It's just meant to be a sit down and enjoy fun time and it accomplishes being exactly what it wants to be and doesn't bother trying to be more. It's your run of the mill zombie apocalypse shoot-em-up romp heaped up with fanservice and runs with it shamelessly all the way through. As you might expect out of any zombie show worth its salt made inthe last ten years, the actual people, how they're coping with their situation, and their changing dynamics are the focus over the zombies itself. The zombies are not a threat. They are something that the main characters get to badass their way through in a way that feels surprisingly plausible given the context of the setting. These are untrained high school students really unprepared for what's going on and yet their antics didn't feel separated from the show's tone.

The other notable thing is the utterly shameless levels of fanservice that are tossed about on a whim. While it'll become commonplace quickly enough, it it only really goes full into harem comedy territory for an episode or two purely because it wants to and moves on. I'm still pretty sure Episode 5 is 90% responsible for the show's ecchi-level nudity. (I remember it was episode five because my friends and I had to replace our drinks twice that episode.)

The show as a whole is memorable for the amusement it'll provide on a watch through but don't expect any of your favorite characters or moments in anime to come out of this show. But it sure as hell made for a great drinking game.

OUR RULES (edit at will):
1 drink for every boob jiggle.
1 drink for every panty shot
1 drink for every time a zombie is killed with a headshot
2 drinks every time someone gets eaten by a zombie on screen