High School of the Dead is about a group of breasts trying to avoid getting eaten by zombies in whatever way possible. Tagging along with these breasts are 2 of our heroes, Kouta and Takashi. A couple pairs of breasts are even in on the action part when they're not bouncing across the screen like jello filled balloons hiding behind incomplete articles of clothing.
But in all seriousness, High School of the Dead has actually been very enjoyable overall. And I'm not a fan of fan service.
Story: Here are some breasts, here are some zombies, and here are 2 guys to enjoy and protect the breasts pretty much sums it up. With a show like this, do you really need a complex plot? Do you watch The Simpsons in the hopes that the characters will change and mature as time goes by? God no. Homer's still an ignoramous (all be it tainted by the Family Guy brand of humour) and Bart's still causing trouble. High School of the Dead operates in a similar fashion. You don't really expect much in terms of character development or plot. You expect a lot of fan service, and some action whilst fighting zombies. HOTD delivers on both. It's the "how" that sets it apart though.
Art: So HOTD is well animated. Just putting that out there. The animation is clear, it's well done, and it's eye-catching. The way they animate action scenes is high quality stuff. And they made sure that boobs would jiggle at every opportunity. So there's a good framerate going, and crisp clean artwork.
Sound: I like to think of the sound section as more than just opening and ending tracks. When we're talking about sound, we're talking about background music, sound bytes and effects, voice casting etc... HOTD has no characters whose voices don't suit them, and the voice acting is well performed. The drone of zombies does it's job. To be honest, I haven't really noticed background music in the episodes during action scenes. I can't tell you if the background music fits well or not, cause there may not be much. But what I can tell you is that what they're doing sound-wise in the show works. Where they choose to put music blends so well you won't be able to distinguish it from the animation. Where there is no music, it adds a suspenseful effect to help bring you the realization that we're in a zombie-infested wasteland of a city. So the sound department is definitely solid.
Character: Here are some boobs, sometimes they show butts too. Honestly, character is underdeveloped in HOTD. We've got a ditzy nurse, an egotistical girl, a somewhat selfish and reliant girl, a strong girl displaying leadership qualities, a macgyver who can work with any scenario, and the male leader. But most of that can be summed up as such. " We have 4 pairs of breasts, one is useful, a Macgyver and a typical male lead. I don't mean to demean it or anything, but the other characters get so bogged down in fan service that you could seriously give them any archetype and the show wouldn't be much different. HOTD revolves around only 3 of the 6 main characters, and the only thing bringing it up from mediocre to fair (5 to 6) is our Macgyver. Kouta is not only epic and awesome in his practical knowledge, he's wonderfully written, funny, and someone our inner otaku can relate to.
Enjoyment: I really, really dislike fan service anime. You have to give me more than some panties and bras to make me want to watch a show. Thankfully, HOTD realized this. There is enough action to make it enjoyable on that aspect alone, but I really feel like Kouta saves the show from being a big flop. He's not the main character, nor is he the most important, but he's there as some comic relief, as well as an integral part of the main cast. You'll find yourself enjoying this show overall, and when you look back, you'll find most of the best parts involved Kouta getting a nosebleed, getting all excited over a weapon, or shooting zombies in the head with a nail gun. That's not to say you can't enjoy anyone else, Kouta just elevates it to be really enjoyable.
Overall: Amidst the incredibly overwhelming fan service, there's a lot of great stuff going on in HOTD. There's good action, there's some small romance, there's comedy, there's suspense and there's the reality of the situation in that the characters portrayed aren't really all that special outside their role in the group. We've got an assembly of people who rely on each other for survival, in a world crawling with danger. And overall, it's a pretty good show.
And a final note: Really, I don't mean to try and simplify a show beyond what it is, but HOTD is already pretty simple. Here are some Zombies, here are some boobs, enjoy. (
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