Is This a Zombie?

So what is 'Is This A Zombie?' aka 'Koreha Zombie Desu ka?' Zombie Desu ka (as I'll refer to it from now on) is an anime that abuses genre cliches, it's horrendously inconsistent, shockingly violent and has some of the most uncomfortable shots of a guy's ass on several occasions...and it's easily one of the funniest animes I've ever seen. YES. Zombie Desuka is the BUSINESS. I honestly couldn't contain my laughter ever since the dynamic and hysterical first episode. What makes this anime so special is, as I've mentioned, how it abuses genre cliches such as harem, shonen, fantasy, fanservice and even a bit of heavilyimplied yaoi. There's an ample amount of fanservice in this anime, ranging from your typical 'pantsu' shots to bouncing cleavage, but there's also a surprising amount of fujoshi bait (and by that I mean moments that would make girl fans cream themselves) which is a nice balance. So while it was uncomfortable to see the main character's ass every so often, I can take it as fair since modern animes try more to appeal to both perverse fanbases. Speaking of the main character, Ayumu is your typical, lazy-eyed, dangling spiky hair protagonist. You can draw comparisons between him and Tomoya from Clannad and Ichika from infinite Stratos, but I believe that he is a lot like Sato from the anime Ben-To. They're both energetic guys who don't go out of their way to be perverted but are definitely guys who wouldn't pass a chance to take a look, nor do they act all bashful when they're caught. In fact, there's a lot of similarities between Ben-To and Zombie Desu ka, from the absurd plot devices, the pacing and tone as well as the random comedy. And like Ben-To, I found myself surprised by wacky elements popping up every so often and it was great how it managed to blend with the semi-serious story. I've grown fond of animes like this; the whole 'comedy action fanservice' genre, cause it manages to not take itself too seriously but delivers a hilarious plot with some great action and fanservice shots. It's a delicate balance that few animes manage to achieve properly, but these few are pretty amazing. Animes such as Heaven's Lost Property and Highschool DxD have much 'darker' stories and heavy ecchi/ fanservice, whereas animes like Ben-To and Zombie Desuka are lite on the fanservice but emphasize the wacky side more often. So as the title implies, the anime revolves around Ayumu being a zombie, resurrected by a quiet, moe necromancer named 'Eu' who treats him as a servant and friend. He uses his newfound life, and surprisingly superhuman powers, to find his killer. If this all sounds awfully serious and deep, trust me the first episode derails that by the end. The dramatic air that the first few minutes of the first episode give off is immediately dispelled by a hilarious moment when Ayumu gets hit by a car in a wacky fashion. By the end of the episode, I shit you not, he becomes a magical garment girl on top of being a zombie, doing a whole long-ass magical girl transformation and everything, with PANTY SHOTS AND EVERYTHING *shudders*. The weird train doesn't end there, as he ends up having a 'masou-shoujo' in this house, then later a vampire ninja girl (with big boobs, cause why not) and eventually has another vampire ninja girl (also well endowed) end up falling in love with him, under ridiculous, parody-cliche circumstances. While this all sounds like a cluster of absurd plot devices, it's exactly what makes this anime so hilarious. One of the defining features of Zombie Desu ka is the aforementioned moe necromancer, Eu. Her full name is 'Eucliwood Hellscythe' and she takes the quiet moe girl cliche to a whole new level. What I found very creative is how, while she doesn't speak at all and prefers to write down what she wants to say, the main character imagines her voice in his head, saying perverted things in place of the normal request she asked. This is done each episode by a different voice actress (both in the sub and dub) so you're never sure which voice is her real one, and it's probably one of the most creative things about her character. While there's a lot of cliches in her design, her reason for not speaking are actually quite dramatic. The explanation comes off as a load of over-complicated fantasy mumbo-jumbo, but it fits in with the semi-serious tone of the show and it's a major plot device. I won't ruin too much but there's a lot of surprises in store regarding her reasons for not speaking, and trust me you'll wanna see what those reasons are. The antagonists in this anime are unexpected but manage to be entertaining in their own ways, and the overarching main bad guy delivers one of THE funniest lines in the second to last episode. The final episode decides to take all the cliches it hadn't touched upon and abuse them to a comedic end as well, and so does the OVA episode. While this can be considered a harem anime at its base level it surprisingly manages to dodge a ton of genre cliches or use them in moderation; strange for an anime that parodies cliches. It almost never uses the typical 'walk in on girl naked' cliche and 'fall on and grope girl' cliche that animes like To Love Ru are infamous for, and when it does the result is violent retribution (as usual) which is balanced by the fact that Ayumu is a zombie so any physical damage is real but doesn't last. The main character however does go through a ton of physical and verbal abuse from start to finish, being called 'pervert' and 'maggot' for a ton of different reasons, a lot of which is funny. However the vampire ninja girl Sera does weigh on your patience with her persistent insults and she's not even a tsundere or love interest waiting to happen, she's more of the freeloader who has her own motives and shits on the main character all the time. While she is hot and her insults are funny for the most part, it can become annoying after a while. Despite that, every character manages to be goofy and funny in a variety of ways so small things like that don't get in the way. That isn't to say that Zombie Desu Ka is perfect, far from it. There's a lot of plot holes, inconsistencies and moments that go unanswered. There's characters that get introduced but disappear just as quickly or aren't seen often. There's plot devices that are mentioned or implied, but never expanded upon. And there's a lot of issues regarding the depth of Ayumu's powers and why he's able to steal someone else's powers. However, I don't believe that any of these are an issue since the animes M.O. from the start was to abuse plot devices and cliches, so you tend to go with the flow rather than look for answers in a semi-serious anime. A lot of the occurrences in animes like Excel Saga go unexplained and we accept them purely because it's wacky fun, and whilst a lot of comedy animes have a decent amount of wacky elements I'd say that Zombie Desu Ka is one of the few animes that fully embraces the wacky side. Despite the inconsistencies, there's a lot of subtle things that this anime does well. The animation is solid and the fight scenes are fluid and epic. The music is upbeat and can be mellow when dramatic things occur. The plot device of Ayumu hating the sun since it dries him up (strange plot device for a zombie, I know) is interestingly accentuated by how blinding the light is during the day and each character has one or two defining quirks just like this, including the main bad guy. So while it was the kind of anime you don't have to think too deeply about, it was easy on the eyes too. In the end, what can I say about Zombie Desu Ka? It's absurd, it's violent, it's random and it's just plain weird sometimes. But it's also hilarious, epic, touching at times and surprising at other times. I don't usually give numbered scores but if I could give this anime a score i'd give it a 9/10. I've only watched the first season so far so I have big hopes for the second. I watched the dub of it, and the cast did a phenomenal job, especially with the many voices that portrayed Eu in Ayumu's thoughts. Both the japanese and english versions manage to be funny for their own reasons in both the delivery of jokes and contexts of funny situations, so each is a unique watch. I look forward to watching the dub of the second season and I really hope it doesn't derail itself like too many second seasons do. However if it's like Heaven's Lost Property or Highschool DxD, it can only get better and funnier. Despite all the physical violence, verbal abuse, weird situations and world ending events that come across Ayumu's way, he can take it. Why? Cause he's a zombie.

Have you ever seen an anime you were convinced was going to be really cool and interesting and only just to have it let you down to no end? Welcome to my experience with Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka. After two episodes which presented a genuinely interesting and refreshing take on the harem genre (interesting takes on mythological creatures, nobody particularly interested in each other romantically, basically just putting up with each other simply because they have to), this series succumbs to the harem tropes it actively avoids and just becomes ultimately a very lazy series. The initial concept for this show is actuallypretty interesting, with Ayumu who has just recently become a zombie living with the necromancer who resurrected him because, well what else is he going to do realistically. After his transformation, they meet other mythological creatures and beings such as a magical school girl and a vampire ninja. They fight creatures called megalos which are evil spirits that actually have some really creative and inspired designs to them. In one episode, they fight a giant whale in a school uniform that would put Sin from Final Fantasy X to shame. In another, they fight a giant enemy crab and attack its weak point for massive damage. One of the big points of humor in these fights is how as a zombie Ayumu basically has no powers, so he has to use magical girl powers a la Sailor Moon, which include gratuitous transformation sequences (it’s actually pretty funny in practice.) In this regard, the first half of the series is the best because it focuses on the sheer lunacy of the entire situation and the creatures they have to fight. But then something terrible happens, Zombie No Desu Ka starts to take itself seriously. This show, about a zombie living who uses magical girl powers and lives with a necromancer, another magical girl and a vampire ninja, starts to take itself incredibly seriously for some reason right around episode 4 or 5 and it absolutely kills the momentum. When the show isn’t having fun with its ridiculous premise, its bogged down by pointless drama about Ayumu’s killer or a story arc later in the series that is so ridiculous that I can’t believe they even animated it. On top of all this, after episode 6 the show just starts to become a victim of the same tired harem/ecchi anime tropes that we’ve seen a million times before. The jokes start to get really lazy, the girls start to get interested in Ayumu, a new tsundere vampire ninja is introduced, and the entire show just becomes a drag. It just drags itself through the motions up until the final episode, which is almost unwatchable. It’s a pool episode featuring some terrible J-Pop performances from the cast of girls that I’m convinced almost made my ears bleed. How in the hell did we get to this point? This is what happens when you completely forget why your show works and just start pulling stuff out of thin air to kill time. This show could have been really cool by sticking to having fun with its absurd initial set up and following it through to the end. I was completely on board to enjoy this show thoroughly. Please don’t waste your time on this show. It’s a crime that a show like this ended up getting better ratings across Japan than a masterpiece like Fractale, despite this being a wasted opportunity. If you want a real comedy series, look elsewhere; this will just leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Oh boy... This show. I find myself torn while writing this, on one hand there were some extremely funny and enjoyable moments where I could not stop laughing. But on the other hand there were some downright terrible moments where I was raising my head to the ceiling praying for the scene to end. Is this a Zombie is an anime that makes it's mark by throwing in every genre, every character type, every trope, just everything really. If you can think of it there is a high probability you'll find it in this show. But despite throwing everything under the sun into this anime,I would never dream of calling it cliche, and actually say it is extraordinarily unique. Story: 7 Guy meets girl, they kind of like each other, plot ensues, girl now lives with guy, more girls live with guy, etc, etc. While some of the specifics may be new, the overall concept is nothing we have not seen. The Zombie and Necromancer (a.k.a servant and master) relationship was well done. Tack onto that the school life setting with a guy just trying to pass through along with his nerdy best friend; it was all well done, though a bit unoriginal. The eccentricities and unique nature of this show come in when we meet a chain-saw wielding Magical Girl (though she uses her magic a whole lot less than Ayumu...) and a busty Vampire Ninja with a leaf sword. Not gonna lie, her concept is fucking amazing. This show throws in every concept you can think of but somehow manages to make it work. I would be remiss if I did not mention my largest gripe with the show, the fact that Ayumu is more or less our magical girl... Maybe I am alone, but I do not find cross-dressing to be a very funny plot point, I just don't. But even then I can sometimes see how it could work in a story if well done. But sadly, I did not find this to be one of those times. You see, Ayumu doesn't like it, first time, first episode, he dislikes transforming into a magical girl with a pink frilly outfit complete with panties and a bow. Hates it may be a more accurate statement. But every time he is forced to do so, he gets an unbelievable amount of shit from the other characters for doing it. Forced to cross dress in pink to save them all, and they insult him for doing so. Sorry, not a scenario I found even remotely amusing or entertaining. Art: 7 I can't really say much here, it felt exceedingly average. But since the average these days (for 2011) is still good, it gets a 7. Though I should mention I really liked the character designs. I can't say anything on their artistic value, just a specific aspect I found really nice. Sound: 8 I found that the OST really just did it's job. Set the scene, nothing more. But what I absolutely loved was the voice acting. I came into this show long after it aired, long enough that there was in fact an English Dub, and that is what I watched. Stone me, go ahead. Spout your insults and hate for the one who neglected to watch it subbed but had the audacity to write a review. Ignoring the hate though, I loved the English Dub. I thought the voices were perfect and added to the hilarity of the scenes, while also capturing some of the more emotional moments fairly well. Character: 8 This was a rather fun cast of characters. They all seemed to fall into archetypes, but were extremely memorable despite that. Ayumu Aikawa- Our zombie protagonist who is a nice enough guy but with that laid back, bored disposition. I rather liked Ayumu, he was fairly similar to other harem leads in that he isn't the most popular, isn't extremely capable physically or intellectually, but still sits in the back right side of the classroom next to a window. He gets a lot of abuse in this show, verbal and physical. Being immortal the characters feel no guilt in stabbing him. Being the nice guy he takes it all with a bit of disbelief but really just goes along with it. Eucliwood Hellscythe- I thought I had seen the quiet character exhibited perfectly in Yuki Nagato. Boy was I wrong. Eucliwood (though everyone calls her Eu) is the character that I consider to be the ultimate moe blob of adorable. She takes the quiet nature to a whole new level by literally not saying a word, but writing everything on little notepads. Though giving off an uncaring persona, she is actually extremely kind hearted. Where I truly applaud the creators is the way Eu had a different voice actress for every episode. Now for a character that doesn't speak it may seem difficult to have a voice actress; luckily our perverted main is here to imagine Eu complimenting him in a suggestive format. It was well done and extremely enjoyable. Haruna- The resident Tsundere Magical Girl who is a self proclaimed genius and makes great eggs. She really is just a fun character with a ton of energy. She doesn't have the best memory and freeloads at Ayumu's home eating more food than anyone else. Seraphim- The busty Vampire Ninja, she is extremely cold towards our main character but gets along with others well enough. My issue with Seraphim is that she is accurately summed up by the word bitch. Obviously there is a bit more to her than that attribute alone, but that forms the crux of her character and it left liking her a very arduous task... My biggest issue with the characters is that they all seem to give Ayumu a bit too much crap. Don't get me wrong, at times it was hilarious to watch them all insult Ayumu. But in my not-so-professional opinion this show needed a character that Ayumu could get along with. In my head this equated to a character that acted in a more playful manner rather than a degrading one. Sexual innuendo or playfully teasing, just someone that alleviated the constant barrage of shit Ayumu received. Enjoyment: 7 My enjoyment overall is limited to a 7. When this show was good, it was GREAT, but when it wasn't great I honestly considered it be rather bad. My opinion in this facet is probably rather polarized from the majority, but for every scene I loved I found one I disliked as well. My enjoyment did swing in a positive manner on the whole, but nevertheless I had my issues. Overall: 7 This show takes every thought that could pop into a writer's brain and throws it into an oddly coherent plot. Combined with a fun cast and good voice acting, comedy, some action, and even the occasional emotional moment, you get a genuinely good show. This show is definitely good for a laugh. Even if you are like me and dislike main characters who get a ton of shit, I would still recommend this show. If you're on the fence about the show than I would recommend watching the first two episodes as they perfectly exhibit what this show is: A fun 12 episodes that is even complimented by a second season. Is This a Zombie is a good anime that combines every cliche into something unique.

Looking back on this show I question myself how I enjoyed this show. Riddled with fanservice, a harem which means no actual romance, and a cast of invincible characters. Our good male lead Ayumu is a zombie, taking an arm or two is but a flesh wound, and our female lead has enough magic power that the universe is changed at her emotions and words. The action scenes are enjoyable and occur frequently but nothing extraordinary. They aren't afraid to show a bit of blood though! Nevertheless, there is something about the comedy in this set up that makes every episode worth watching. Of coursebeing undead gives the genre slapstick a new meaning, and by the end of the first episode Ayumu gains the power of Masou Shoujo. Yes that’s right - he is a magical zombie cross dresser wielding a pink chainsaw. If you don't find it funny the first time he transforms well you will definitely get sick of it by the end of the show. Now I did look down on the show earlier for the fanservice. However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the female cast. Eu is our mute armored necromancer who doesn't get much of an appearance in the show till later because, well, she is mute. I liked her appearances but story wise she made a lot of decisions that didn't make sense. Haruna is the masou shoujo who has lost her powers and is the pain in the ass tsundere that lives in Ayumu's house. The fanservice target, she is the most prominent female character. Another person who can be a break or make on your takeaway from the show. Sera is a vampire, whose story of origin was horrible. Yet, voiced by Youko Hisaka, one of the more fun characters. She has a running gag of how horribly she can verbally abuse the main character, but is also a ninja at the same time. She is never prominent in the story, but makes steady appearances throughout. Yuki, another vampire, acts as the wife or Ayumu, reasons to be left to your imagination, and is the only character that's dere was actually enjoyable. Despite being a strong comedy, it attempts to have a serious plot at times. At these times it fails to be serious, and you are left wondering if they intended to make the plot a joke (in more ways than one). It starts out with how Ayumu wants to get revenge on his murderer, but despite how mysterious it seems like it will be at the start the intensity vanishes until he easily finds them a few episodes in. From there the plot switches to Eu's past mistake and the whole situation is rather ridiculous. If you enjoy a mix of peculiar comedy and have a tolerance for harem settings this could be the show for you. The atmosphere is typically bright except for those random serious moments they throw at the viewer.