Review of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

I really wanted to give this anime a positive review. The first episode skillfully blended narrative and performance. It was like a breath of fresh air waking up my drowsy senses. The portrayal of the "black" company life in the first half was both humorous and despairing: obscured angles in the cramped office, or dimly-lit horror vibe outside the office. The visuals even gradually shifted to black and white without me realizing. When the protagonist, Tendou Akira, started the zombie chase, the animation exhibited astonishing expressiveness while transitioning to color – it was truly remarkable. On top of that, there were so many splendid momentsthat it's impossible to list them all.

Starting off on such a high note, no wonder my expectations exploded on this exaggerated comedy + road movie. I thought it was an exaggerated comedy road trip movie, and patiently watched the ep.2-3 with all the "character introductions". Starting from ep.4, it began to feel somewhat tedious. While there were still exhilarating action scenes (such as the ones at the aquarium in episode 5), the clichéd plot and lackluster content began to surface. The story veered between being humorous (though it gradually became less funny), action-packed, emotional, exaggerated, and realistic – it left me feeling disjointed. The only consistent factor was that the characters gradually became one-dimensional, turning into mere "labels"; I could no longer empathized with any characters.

I guess the delay in airing the anime made things worse. The last three episodes were so bad, with shallow character motivations and a faltering story. Such an ending actually left a bad taste in my mouth. If it weren't for the incredibly captivating first episode, I would have rated this anime a 5 out of 10.