By Sarah Miles
The zombie genre is one that appears to have nothing new at this point. We seem to have seen every possible variation through various movies, books, and games. Which is why the manga “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata quickly became known as a fun and fresh take on the old zombie apocalypse setup when first printed in 2018 in the magazine “Monthly Sunday Gene-X”. Last year saw two adaptations; the Netflix movie directed by Yusuke Ishida and the 12-episode anime series directed by Kazuki Kawagoe and produced by studio Bug Films. Whilst the film was an enjoyable romp, it never felt like it was able to make the most of the manga's premise. The anime, however, was one of the most enjoyable shows of 2023 and had something truly special about it. And I'm not talking about the zombie shark.
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Akira Tendo joined the workforce full of optimism and enthusiasm. After three years in the toxic environment of a soul-crushing and exploitive company under tyrannical manager Kosugi he is just drifting along in a fog of depression. One day he wakes to a world changed; the zombie apocalypse has begun. The city is in chaos, the ravenous dead storm the streets, and death lurks everywhere, but to Akira one thing truly matters: he finally gets to enjoy a day off from work.
Seeing the end of the world as the perfect opportunity to get back all the time he lost to his job Akira sets out to fulfil all the goals and dreams he has been neglecting before he loses his life to the zombies. Along his journey he's joined by his old college buddy Kencho, the sensible and uptight Shizuka, and foreign tourist Beatrix, and the group seek out new ways to live life to the fullest in an undead world.
The heart of “Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead”, or simply “Zom 100”, is its central character. When we first meet Akira Tendo, we briefly see a bright and happy guy before he gets sucked down into despair by his abusive workplace. As he is beaten down physically and emotionally the colour begins draining out of everything, until the frame much like his life is this bleak fog. There is a very deliberate comparison between Akira in this state and one who is undead, that society has made him into a zombie. Then when the realisation sets in that the apocalypse means that he doesn't have to go into work the colours come alive again and he rips the letterboxing from the screen to open up his world, now full of possibility again. It's a glorious moment that sets the tone for the rest of the show. You would wonder if he's lost his mind, and maybe he has, but he purely wants to enjoy life and help people, something that's beautifully refreshing in a protagonist in a zombie story.
It's an approach to the new world that also proves infectious, and Kencho happily joins his cause after being rescued and sets his own goal of becoming a stand-up comic (his brand of comedy mostly involving sudden nudity). Shizuka's initial mindset in the apocalypse is one of hardcore survivalism; she doesn't do anything unless it benefits her chances of staying alive. Akira and Kencho help her open up and see that living like that and never doing anything for pure enjoyment isn't really living, it's just existing. Beatrix, as a large-chested foreigner and super fan of Japanese culture is an immediate comical figure but she quickly proves herself as a strong fighter in a set of genuine samurai armour, and her positive attitude and enthusiasm could almost match Akira's. An approach to life of “I'd rather be eaten by zombies than not do that” is an oddly motivating one. After many episodes you can't help but feel a positive buzz of motivation to go out and get things done. Sure, there are many times where coincidence reigns supreme or allows the group to cross something else off their list, but it's easy to let go and once or twice is even made light of in the show itself.
Yet we can't forget that despite our lead's irreverent attitude, this is still a zombie apocalypse with danger and potential death always lurking. One of the best earlier reminders is when Akira, joyfully returning home after his successful beer run, goes to greet his survivor neighbours only to be met with an empty, trashed, and blood covered apartment. It's like a sudden gut punch of a moment that is effective and reminds you just how serious this situation is and it's this that pushes him into making the titular bucket list.
Another challenge comes around the midpoint of the series, just before the introduction of Beatrix, when they encounter a group of survivors led by Akira's former boss Kosugi. The way that Akira reverts to the mindset of a downtrodden employee even after everything he's accomplished is both heartbreaking to see and upsettingly realistic. Those who have gone through extended periods of abuse can backtrack in their progress if forced back into similar environments. It also turns out that it's something Shizuka understands all too well from her own past with a controlling and abusive father, and her attempts to help him out of this relapse makes for an interesting turning point in their relationship.
As the anime moves into its final act the group reach Akira's hometown and we meet the final antagonist of the series; Higurashi. He is the antithesis of the protagonist, someone who has become so bitter towards life and society that his reaction to the end of the world is to enjoy doing terrible things with no consequences and cause as much misery for others as possible. He's something that Akira himself could have become if he'd lost that positive and outgoing personality that drives him.
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Zombies in anime have been done before, most notably in “High School of the Dead” (2010), which was more of a blood and boobs gorefest, and “School Live!” (2015) which took the usual “cute girls doing cute things” formula and added a dose of psychological torment. Whilst both shows have their moments, I think that the particular style of “Zom 100” and the way it looks at how people can neglect their dreams to live according to society's expectations is very relevant today.
The art is enjoyable throughout and bursting with life, with wild little flourishes that keeps things visually exciting. Colourful gore on the zombies acts as both a censorship workaround, because the amount of blood necessary would have been difficult to show and adds to expressing the oddball quality of the story's main character and how he now sees the world. It reminds me of the original “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) and how its blue zombies came about due to an accidental combination of makeup and lighting but ends up adding to the film's pulpy aesthetic.
The show's production suffered several delays across its airing, with episode one airing in July and the series not concluding until December. One area where the production issues did affect the show was the OP, set to “Song of the Dead” by band Kana-Boon. For the first 7 episodes there's an unpolished quality to the OP, mostly using recycled animation from the previous episodes. After that we gradually get the full OP with proper distinct animation that really shows off the characters and matches the tone of the show better. It even has a Thriller-esque zombie dance sequence. The ED is “Happiness of the Dead” performed by Shiyui and helps ends episodes on a positive note.
Whilst it maybe didn't have the hype of shows like “Oshi no Ko” or the second season of “Jujutsu Kaisen”, “Zom 100:Bucket List of the Dead” is my top anime of 2023. It's got grotesque zombies, the action is solid, and the comedy is silly and fast throughout. Overall, it's just great fun. Yet when it matters it's capable of taking a moment to remind us of what it means to live and encourages us to take a moment to wonder what that means in our own lives. It's about making each day count, and you shouldn't have to wait for the zombie apocalypse to make that happen.
