Review of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Out of every anime to air this year, Zom 100 is probably the most vibrant and creative anime of the lot. Unlike typical post-apocalyptic zombie stories, this anime takes this genre in a very unique direction by having the characters trying to make the most of a very bleak situation via their absurd goals and desires, which in this case is a bucket list. This show follows four characters as they travel across a zombie-infested Japan and check off things that they always wanted to do. What makes both the story and the tone of Zom 100 work is by showcasing each character’s depressing everydaylives prior to the zombie outbreak. One of the main selling points behind this show is shedding light on the very abusive and predatory work culture in Japan and the effect that it has on many people in that environment. The twist on this is that the characters who are victims of this abusive setting have their lives uprooted seemingly for the better once something like a pandemic hits them, with one of the protagonists, Akira, feeling and acting more vibrant than he’s ever been in his life. I really like how this show balances out the darker aspects of work culture with the goofy and over-the-top things the characters do throughout the season. Fleshing out each character’s traumatic backstory adds a lot of depth and reasoning behind why almost everyone is so ecstatic during a zombie pandemic, which makes the writing here both airtight and vibrant. To further breathe even more life to this anime, the artstyle is literally colorful and the animation makes the fun action sequences even more enjoyable to look at. There is so much going on visually that if you rewatch an episode, you’ll start noticing things that you probably didn’t catch during your first viewing. That might sound like a bad thing, but in this case, it works really well as Zom 100 serves as a massive breath of fresh air to the zombie apocalypse genre by being both narratively and visually upbeat and ecstatic. Honestly, we need more shows like this because as a 22 year old who has watched a ton of movies and shows, I’m kinda tired of the typical overly depressing zombie stories, so for something like Zom 100 to exist makes me appreciate it even more in that kind of context.