Review of High School of the Dead
What can I say? A fantastic series... -[Warning - Some Spoilersl]- The story revolves around a number of highschool pupils that find themselves in the middle of a worldwide zombie apocalypse without any word of its cause. The highschoolers group together and bond with each-other's differences and share each one of their specialities to each other in their bid for survival. Takashi Komuro is the main protagonist who is projected to be a 'dropout' in the future however when the zombie up rise he starts to gradually change for the better. He shows natural talent to be a looked up 'leader' of the groupdisplaying an 'all-round' style of combat particularly with the bat and eventually a shotgun. The other characters Rei Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima, Kouta Hirano, Saya Takagi and Shizuka Marihawa all show their talent in the group varying from swords, staffs, guns, intellect and medical care.
The antagonist (besides the zombies) is Shidou Koichi, a creepy teacher obsessed with creating a 'new world' by intimidating followers into 'religous cult' like group. Despite is overpowering prowess over most of the characters , the main characters can see right through him and show no mercy when pushed. Since we know what the others have been through in terms of surviving he personally avoids it as much as possible, which explains his scare when Hirano turns on him.
The initial objective in the series to go to each of the main character's houses to check on their family and along the way we meet some interesting characters; some psychopaths and some good willed individuals that want help even if they are prone to losing their life. As it progresses to its conclusion it leaves you in a position that greatly shows its encouragement to show much more. I think its story is definitely a refreshing idea compared to the conventional idea of a world gone upside down. Even adding ecchi and comedy moments in a world where all is lost.
My Review: I gotta say this series got me by the end of the seat. The first few episodes are pretty serious showing alot of graphic gore of the apocalypse of students from zombies biting them, students hurting others to escape and even betrayal of supposedly solid friendships. Overtime the series loosens up despite the chao's to show some hinted romance and even comedy moments while maintaining the serious atmosphere from the undead. The music I thought was a masterpiece, face paced industrial music combined with errie suspense underscores to really drives the story
Verdict: 10/10
I am not a horror fan (in fact I don't like it), but this series was fantastic and well structured to be an enjoyable series to watch and I pray that a 2nd season will be made. ++MUST WATCH!++