high school of the dead 3

“Ready to rock and roll!”

Alright, it’s like falling in love again. I’m remember why I enjoyed High School of the Dead originally. Campy zombie drama with tons of fanservice? Awesome. But I’m also remembering what pissed me off about the manga. The dumb characters! They’re all so stupid! They’re so stupid, they’re a rival for the Keroro Platoon in stupidness!

Let’s start with this dude and his brainwashed minions. I’m surprised that they made it this far, considering none of them can fight worth a lick, and Shido enjoys sacrificing his lambs way too much. (Talk about a dysfunctional relationship… hey, he just tossed my friend to the wolves… no way is he going to do that to me!) Though we’ll enjoy their demise in the orgy bus a few chapters from now. Though I think Rei should have told him off before she left with the sane people who could actually fight.

(Madhouse is doing a literal scene-by-scene line-by-line adaptation. It’s both great and horrible. Great in the cheese, fanservice, and campiness oozes out in the proper doses. It’s horrible in that I know what’s going to happen. All in all… I enjoy my anime more when they throw some twists at me, like when Kyoto went above-and-beyond the call of duty in repeating Endless Eight. Wait, I hated it. Nevermind.)

(Or am I confused and the orgy bus is actually from Amagami?)

And, you know, if there’s anything Durarara!! and Let’s Lagoon taught us, when an attractive student hates a teacher like that so much, it means something important. I’m surprised Takashi hasn’t picked up on it yet.

What an asshole. No, seriously, if you just saw that, how could you let him on the bus? Let alone not punish him for what he did?

(I notice there’s some zombie fanservice shots. Can they still be considered fanservice? Because they’re dead… unless necrophilia is a moe mode now?)

Takagi is just noisy and useless. I would have tossed her to the zombies, but that’s just me.

Jacob: The Zombies in HotD are attracted by sound. Cellphones today have rather loud ringtones, some even make highpitched beeping sounds while autodialing. So the idea that you might get attacked shortly after making/receiving a call actually makes some sense. Conclusion: during zombie invasions, one should speed dial all ones enemies “to warn them”. Just mute your own phone first.

Just out of curiosity, how many enemies do you have on your speed dial? I think I would have done more of what Takashi did and try to divert the zombies. iPods, cell phones, and Nintendo DSes would be great. Turn them on, make some noise, and then toss them as far as you can. Tossing cans probably would work to. I’m going to ask Santa Claus for a boatload of flash-bang grenades for Christmas this year. They’ll also work great against the rioters and looters after the Raiders win the Super Bowl.

Sound Effect-sensei… she’s annoying too. If I didn’t need a medic in my party, she’d be zombie chow as well. Though I question the need for a medic when there’s no possible zombie cure. You’re just completely screwed when bitten.

(Really wondering how this zombie disease is transmitted. If it’s only via bite, is the infection mechanism the teeth? I’d assume if they have zombie virus or something, that the blood would be more a transmit-friendly medium than teeth or saliva. Or does the virus need to break the skin to infect? I have no clue why I’m so fascinated by this.)

The Red Shirt Ensign was annoying too. “This boy that I’ve been dating for three months is now zombie chow! Let me die with him!” That’s just stupid. Reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica episode that dealt with abortion. Seriously? There’s only 32,000 humans left, and this is a hot topic issue?

(Priority one: keep people alive. I would have broken her ankles and dragged on onto the bus. Then talked some sense into her. Only to have Shido kill her during the orgy bus scenario. Okay, maybe it was for the best she died with the boy who she made it to second base with.)

I like how the art vacillates form slick CGI action to speed lines with static images. Oh wait, I don’t. Madhouse, come on, don’t cheap out on us now! High School of the Dead is your time to shine! This series was made for you much like how K-On! was made for Kyoto.

See, now there’s a supportive girlfriend. She takes out people who piss you off and show some fanservice while doing it. And that pisses me off about Takashi… why did he pass up Rei when she was practically throwing herself at him? I want to know. Did he secretly want to bag Saeko? Is Rei hiding a Yuno-like past? Is she an Android fangirl, and he’s a die-hard iPhone fanatic? (Nokia must be sad facing that I’m not mentioning Symbian in this scenario.)

(Concerning the endings to zombie apocalypse scenarios, I think I would like to see Lost-type scenario where the survivors go revisit their past mistakes, make amends [or not make amends], with the zombie apocalypse as the backdrop for purgatory. I would so absolutely watch Lost meets High School of the Dead with some Halo ODST for peppering.)

(Rei’s growing on me. Especially the hot bath scene. Oh wait, we’re still about three episodes away from that one…)

I have nothing against Saeko. She’s made to be the cool character, but she gets out-classed by the men of this show. Seriously? Too cool for school katana-wielding schoolgirl? This is actually a common trope. Only in anime.

Fascinating thing about this show… Hirano is the most likable character. He rises to the occasion, does what he needs to do, and isn’t a dumb ass. He’s also got that MacGuyver gene. Good times. Takashi and Hirano making the men the best part of this cast? Egads. Haven’t seen anything like this since Gurran Lagann… and that wasn’t because Nia was insecure or Yoko was the black widow… Simon and Kamina were just too gar. Amazing that a show that’s basically brains and boobs can generate such variety in thought and plot dissection. What happens to pets in this world? Can they be zombie-fied too like in Resident Evil?

(Speaking on inexplicable… how can these teams in the NHL throw around 12 and 17 year contracts? Just a horrible idea. Ask the NBA, which is doing its best to restrict contract length. Long term contracts in a salary cap league are like hooking up with Yuno. Sure, it might be nice after consummating the deal, but the next morning, you’ll have the Yuki “OMFG WHAT HAVE I DONE?” face.)

So if you had to pick which school anime cast would best survive a zombie apocalypse, which one would you pick? Obviously, the least prepared would be Afterschool Tea Time. Ritsu would become a zombie, and Mugi would beg her to bite her. Cast of Tengou Tenge? Negima’s class? Bamboo Blade?

(I would go Mirai Nikki except, well, Yuno, who’ll kill everyone irregardless of zombies. Without Yuno, this is an excellent cast. Akise would do well.)

(Hayate is solid too, just because Nagi can evacuate everyone to a private, secluded island.)

(I might have to go with Bakemonogatari‘s cast. Koyomi is a resourceful leader, and Hanekawa/Kanbaru/Senjougahara/Shinobu can all fight. Plus, Koyomi and Shinobu are vampires… can we have zombie vampires? Or is that just too awesome and just gilding the lily, like sharks with lasers?)

Deus ex machina bus! What are the odds that, after no seeing another moving car for miles, that they’d run into a flaming bus filled with hungry for brains zombies and that bus would separate Rei and Takashi from the orgy bus? At just the right time?

This anime got me thinking… what would I do during a zombie apocalypse? Grabbing weapons, food, water, supplies, and the cutest, non-infected, black belt-level girl near you and then heading towards the mountains seem like a solid plan.

39 Responses to “high school of the dead 3”

  1. The problem with some of those classes is that zombies overwhelm noisy groups. To this end, I think the Lillian Girls’ Academy of Maria-sama ga Miteru might do well, very quietly.

  2. If you read World War Z, you’d know that’s one of the worst things to do! Gridlock on the freeways = buffet for zombies. Once you get there, expect deforestation, out of control fires, contaminated rivers and streams, etc in a few weeks.

  3. Obviously the Angel Beats cast would be best equipped to survive a zombie apocalypse. Though, thats more like cheating.

    I’m sure the Occult Academy cast MIGHT be able to handle a few zombies. I wonder how the HoLiC cast would do in a zombie invasion?

    Also interesting thought: Do all of these people end up in the Angel Beats purgatory?

  4. And there are plenty of other things in a zombie apocalypse that might require medical attention: illness from spoiled food or water; being cut by debris; and injuries after a fight amongst party members come to mind. So I’d keep Sound Effect-sensei around, at least for the moment.
    Generic zombification microbe involves altering the brain; in actuality, due to the blood-brain barrier, most things are too large to get to it directly. It’d have to be either a prion (think mad cow/Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease) which are small enough to slip through, or the virus would have to travel by way of nerve endings. The latter case would explain how variable “turning” seems to take.
    As for the best school anime cast to ride out a zombie apocalypse with, I would say… Gantz. BOOM – headshot. “Stick with Kurono!”

  5. …and by nerve endings I mean nervous system of course.

  6. No no no no, you got it all wrong the class… no the whole school from full metal panic would have locked down, secured a perimeter around the school, and killed people who have been infect in a heart beat.

    Sagara probably would have hidden military equipment all over the school. If not his doraemon 4th dimension pocket would have solved any problem.

    Not to mention Tsubaki, the 3 karate fighters, the ruby team, and the crazy chainsaw janitor.

  7. Plus Sagara can call in an airstrike/mecha attack from his orginization’s isolated submarine base of operations. (If he as access to his Bonta-kun suits all the better.)

  8. Well of course it would have to be the SOS-dan. They have God and a godly alien. Bring Ryouko back from Canada and you’re set. Plus you have Mikuru as sacrifice fodder when you’re in a pinch.

  9. The School Rumble cast have had practice dealing with in-school warfare before so they’d be pretty handy. Mind you, they certainly don’t have Sagara. Having Sagara on your side pretty much guarantees your survival

  10. It’d have to be the Negima class, wouldn’t it? It’s the only one where every character has some ridiculously overpowered ability.

    I hate psycho teacher, too. The funny part is that he serves absolutely zero purpose in the show – he literally serves as an antagonist for like one chapter and then starts an orgy bus that leads to his death. At least, I think (hope) he died.

    Hirano is badass, until the mallcop anyways. There’s so many annoying characters in this show, if it wasn’t for Busujima-senpai I’d never watch/read this.

    What’s with all the Yuno hate? Girl killed HERSELF just to be with the guy she likes (though I guess that’s technically after murdering him the first time). That’s what you call a dedicated woman. Not exactly sure what her overall plan was, so you can’t call her smart, but at least she scores high on the crazy/hot scale.

    Yes, I’m also the kind of guy who falls for girls like Sonozaki Mion… That’s not the point! I forget the point! I’m gonna stop typing now.

  11. I’m not sure if they’re the most likely school group to survive a zombie apocalypse, but the student cast of “Shuffle” would definitely be in the top ten.

    SPOILER WARNING

    The group has three of the most powerful magical beings in the three worlds (Nerine, Primula and Asa) and at least four healers (Nerine, Primula, Asa and Kareha). Also, I bet that Forbeshi, Eustoma and Ama wouldn’t take their children surrounded by zombies very well.

  12. Which class would best survive a zombie apocalypse? FMP! Sousuke would be his in element. Chidori wouldn’t be far behind in armed combat and would beat anyone in force-of-will. Just think about it: FMP cast + zombies + fanservice. Hard to beat that.

  13. The first things you need are ready access to food and water, in a situation where meat is going to be suspect for the duration of the crisis. A grain elevator adjacent to a river makes obvious sense here — fresh water, several years’ supply of bread and grains for your band of survivors, and good fishing to get some variety in the diet. The top of the elevator also provides excellent sight-lines, so you’ll see any shambling zombie horde well in advance of its arrival. The next order of business would be to secure a supply of gasoline — not for vehicles, which might be handy, but because nothing kills a zombie so effectively as fire. A tanker truck and a contractor’s supply warehouse should provide all you’d need to make simple napalm bombs to protect your perimeter with. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting out the crisis with your hand-picked band of survivors.

    I’m not going to argue with FMP’s cast being the most likely to survive, but as for least likely I think that Afternoon Tea Time loses out to the original low-cal-slice-of-life show. Azumanga Daioh’s cast might last, I dunno, thirty seconds?

  14. Higurashi. I weep for the zombies.

  15. Sosuke Sagara’s class might make it. Negi Springfield’s SCHOOL might make it due to heavy Mage support. Kogarashi could rescue Naeka but expose her chest in the process resulting in Fubuki braining him, then they’d all die. Hina and Isumi could probably save a good part of Hakuou especially as Nagi’s no longer rich and her grandpa’s a a soulless bastard who probably started the apocalypse trying to bring his daughter back, who promptly eats his brains.

  16. Zombie apocalypse survivors? The SOS brigade. Either Yuki or Haruhi would just rewrite reality to prevent it from happening. Not as much fun as the FMP scenario, but what the hell…

  17. Mermaids vs zombies anyone? NaGARsumi and his school would make it easily.And San will just put all the zombies to sleep with the La Li Oh song.It can even put missiles to sleep why it wouldn’t work on zombies? Also don’t forget Luna’s Papa aka Terminator in a sailorfuku.

  18. I really hate that glasses teacher

  19. Zombie apocalypse survivors? The SOS brigade. Either Yuki or Haruhi would just rewrite reality to prevent it from happening. Not as much fun as the FMP scenario, but what the hell…

    But zombies are out of the ordinary (unless you’re really jaded) so Haruhi would probably enjoy a zombie attack. Let’s hope nobody takes her to a horror movie….

  20. @Wonderduck: That entirely depends on whether the cast doesn’t kill each other first. Higurashi of the Dead sounds like an awesome idea!

  21. Hmmmm. Niles has a point. Ok, Tenchi Muyo and his harem. Between two of the three goddesses, Washu, Tenchi himself, Ryo-okhi, and Ryoko, the zombies are in deep trouble. Then Mihoshi would accidentally trip and, in falling, activate the ultimate zombie killing device: Magical Girl Pretty Sammy!

    For backup, they could always call on Seina and his harem; his weird luck would result in all the zombies in the world chasing him. Being collected in one place, Fuku could finish them easily, given that she’s a Washu-built battleship that could theoretically call on the the power of two Jurai trees (2nd and 1st generation), and Seina’s artifact, and is advised by a 2,000 year old loli.

  22. A Certain Scientific Railgun/A Certain Magical Index. Either Biri Biri can destroy them all or touma can just touch them and the zombies with turn human again.

  23. The way I see it, this is completely the perfect anime rendition of all those amazingly bad yet amazingly awesome horror B-movies in America. Dumb hot teenagers and dumber adults. Extreme characterizations. We watched so many of those flicks in college, High School of the Dead is pure nostalgia for me, and that Stupid Gene that horror movie heroes possess is just as important to the equation as the fanservice. If the characters weren’t stupid, it wouldn’t be as fun, in my book!

  24. @thrashy

    i would go with a Hydro electric dam. Just block off the access ways and you have a secure perimeter You have access to large amount of fresh water where you grow water veggies and fish for food. it also gives you electricity as well.

  25. K.K.: Yes, I’m also the kind of guy who falls for girls like Sonozaki Mion… That’s not the point! I forget the point!

    Take a look downwards. It’s probably stuck in you.

    Sagara’s class has a good chance…well those classmates that haven’t been infected themselves at least. Haruhi’s too – they’ll either win against the zombies in an unreasonable fashion, or Haruhi will reset reality after the novelty of zombie Kyon/Mikuru wears off.

  26. .hack
    no wait….. power and internet would go down so my plan of just hiding in my room playing The World wouldn’t last forever.

    Full Metal Panic’s school should be a pretty good place to be.

  27. crazydave: You don’t even need Mikoto. This type of zombie shouldn’t be much of a problem for any class with a hand full of combat capable espers.

    Negi’s class, at least the way people are in the latest chapters, should do quite well too. Sure, they might be noisy enough to attract every zombie within 10 miles, but that’s more of a problem for the zombies I think.

  28. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s class does even better than Negima’s.

    Death (or undeath) just won’t take Itoshiki. Usui will never be noticed by the zombies at all. And pretty much everyone IS far scarier than the zombies. Hell, the zombies will be RUNNING AWAY from Chiri.

  29. Am I a bastard for liking the idea of a world where all the loud, noisy jerks would get their comeuppance?

  30. I think most people do hate the male teacher for being such a bastard, myself included… though I kind of want his suit.

  31. School Rumble: Start off okay, but a series of comical misunderstandings would quickly ruin the group cohesion.
    Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei or Higurashi: Sure they’d be fine, but everyone else would probably be better off with the zombies.
    Shakugan no Shana: The central characters are probably used to that sort of thing.
    School Days: Everyone would probably just end up trying to sleep with the zombies.
    Evangelion: Hmm… Can Eva Units be zombified?
    HaruhiNyoro~n Churuya-san: Ne ne Kyon-kun Kyon-kun! Do you have any BRAAAAAAINS?

  32. This reminds me of the time I read Battle Royale and spent the rest of highschool devising how I would survive against all of my classmates in such a situation.

  33. I go with Clannad because Tomoya’s family can rewrite reality lol. But seriously, Tomoyo got the kicks, Kyou got the books and Kotomi have the smarts. I think she can outdone Takagi any day. Sunohara will be the comic relief while his sister will be there for the moeblob moment.

  34. Are NHL contracts guaranteed? If not, length of contract is irrelevant, to some degree.

  35. Great Teacher Onizuka’s class will guarantee survival.

  36. I agree with Clannad, if only cause it’d be entertaining. Though after FMP, Haruhi Suzumiya has the best chance of survival – she’d have a blast with it.

  37. I’ve almost figured this out, it’s muscle tissue; the zombification bacteria only attacks muscle tissue cutting off sensation (nerve connections) and drops the brains response to a rudimentary level. That’s why you need to be bitten, or have an open wound that gets into contact with the zombie fluids, it doesn’t affect you if it’s just on the skin or in your mouth, nose, eye socket because the bacteria is blocked by membranes. Otherwise at the level of infestation here, the zombies bleed all over the place, and that goes into water which goes into the earth, oceans ergo plants and animals eventually contaminating everything; humans could survive on canned food and bottled water but those will be scares and eventually expire. So this world’s doomed.

    Also you mentioned zombie/vampire crossovers, you should know that zombies are derived from ghouls (see Tsukihime, Hellsing, Wiki), they only branched out into their own thing towards the middle of the XXth century.

  38. People REALLY need to learn the definition of Deus ex Machina.

    A deus ex machina (pronounced /ˈdeɪ.É™s É›ks ˈmɑːkiːnÉ™/ or /ˈdiː.É™s É›ks ˈmækɨnÉ™/,[1], DAY-É™s eks MAH-kee-nÉ™) (Latin for “god from the machine”; plural: dei ex machina) is a plot device whereby a seemingly INEXTRICABLE PROBLEM is suddenly and abruptly SOLVED with the CONTRIVED AND UNEXPECTED intervention of some new character, ability, or object. See: Avatar: The Last Airbender; Lion Turtles and spirit bending.

    The run away vehicle is a common occurrence in Zombie fiction. Dawn of the Dead (2004) car hits gas station. Resident Evil 2 big rig truck separates the two protagonist. Dead Rising opening another run away big rig. So already “contrived and unexpected” seems a common trope, in fact zombie truckers seem to be more deadly then any other zombie type!. This and no problem was solved, in fact a problem is created in the fact that the main heroic group is now split up.

  39. LOL. Love it when people are so totally wrong. Mutumbo finger wag time again! http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmw.....sExMachina

Leave a Reply