High School of Pantsu...
Wed 2010/07/07 21:47 JST
Yesterday, I got hold of episode 1, High School of the Dead (HTOD). surprisingly, it was shown on the Anime Network on its release date, June 5th.
The story follows one Takashi Komuro, 17 year old student who (while being upset about being dumped) sees a stranger at the school gates, bite into the P.E. teacher…and thus zombies ensue. The series is 13 episodes long, and will follow the few surviving students and an impossibly melon bussomed school nurse as they fight to survive the apocalypse! So, you’re basic zombie formula.[/center]
OK! LET ME GET THIS RANT OVER FOR YOU QUICKLY. What the feck is with the fanservice? Yeah yeah I’m a girl I obviously don’t like fanservice, I’ll tolerate the most obvious panty shot like the best of anime fans, but my sweet sugar of lyle it took a lot to sit through 25 minutes of this. As pointed out by several other blogs, when a zombie is biting through flesh, I wanna see the blood and gore thank you, not a one shot of barely-classes-as-a-rag-skirts tightening u so we can watch their squeaming crotch.
*cough* Rant over.
OK so in all fairness, it’s illustrated by occasional hentai artist Shouji Sato, so if you’re gonna brave this anime just know, you’re gonna be seeing a lot of boobs. And, I will add, very well animated boobs. I was definitely taken in by the art style, fluid and it works well with the zombie fight scenes. And the gore is, well as you’d want it. Gory. So thumbs up for that…
To give the episode due credit, I was interested in the story line! IKR??? What should just be a simple zombie storyline, was made a little more interesting by the 3 main characters, (well, one isn’t quite so main after the 20th~minute…) where Takashi actually gets spurned by CHILDHOOD GIRLFRIEND. Yes you read correctly! I was in awe. In fairness this love interest (Rei) is a biatch. And I’m not sure if I’ll like how the story develops…but, it’s interesting.
Lastly, I liked how the background characters reacted. As simple as that seems, the picture on the right for example, students stamping on others to get out, and then the short scene with two best friends running, one gets dragged (see panty shot above) and the other kicks away her hand to run off. Maybe I’m just evil, but I liked that. *snigger*
So. Not the most comprehensive review ever, but the 2010 summer season has kicked off and I wanna get the others watched :P Also look out (listen out?) for the iconic 28 Days Later song towards the end….cheap sons of bitchez stealing songs that don’t belong to them and thinking it will make them-sorry. It actually worked quite nicely.
Bai Bai x
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I think when they get attacked, obviously panties would show, etc
I don't think the fan service is that heavy
I think the series had enough gore for the episode, after all, it's the first episode
just my opinion, don't be offended^^"
xD Not offended! I think maybe I'm really not used to fanservice, and am put off by it more than most. Though I'm suprised you didn't think it was heavy, and I liked the gore :D
I think I'm a prude ;-;
Nothing wrong with this.... I love this anime!!!
I get the feeling I may need to watch this ^^
me too ^-^
Yeah, I'll bitch about the fanservice but I've marked down the date of the second episode... :P
pantsu misete kudasai xD
iiyadaaaa~
cheap sons of bitchez stealing songs that don’t belong
*facepalm.jpg*
madhouse bought the rights to use the song
Yeah I didn't mean literally steal...'cause that would be kinda illegal xD I just meant it's an iconic song from an iconic film..sorry if I offended you.
no no no im not offended =)
I can also do away with the fan service, but im a guy so i enjoy it:), overall really impressed the music production is i would say top notch even though they may barrow a few things it just fits so well show. Animation is pretty good nothing much to say there. Voice's fit very well, Overall it was great, prob my fav of the summer season.
Yeah it's definetly promising. The music fit really well, and unlike some people I've spoken to I really liked the op and ed!
Occult Academy is also airing as same horror genre as this, although it's more fantasy setting you might want to check that out as well.
Watched it yesterday as well :) Am currently writing about it for someone's site. Did you like it? It was more my thing than HOTD I think. Can't wait for the next episode ^^
Zombie films, and especially the Dawn of the Dead type film that Highschool of the Dead is referencing were made during what my film professor called, "Hollywood's Nervous Breakdown". Cinema was failing, and something had to be done to get people back into the movie theaters. This is when the blaxploitation and sexploitation films really came into prominence as well as horror films and gore fests. They were all cheap and dirty ways to get sales back up and it worked. Cinema changed forever as a result. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty.
Highschool of the Dead is a direct reference to those type of films. Sex and violence went hand in hand. In many ways I see HotD as a criticism on how even though this beautiful girl is being eaten, otaku will still get their jollies off when they see her panties. Same was true for back then. A girl could get raped and murdered on screen but if you got to see some bush during the process it was a win. The fanservice in Highschool of the Dead might just have more of a cultural point than any other anime on the air now.
Right now, where anime is kind of all over the place, this type of work is a brilliant move because it heralds back to the days of Hollywood trying to find it's footing, which is exactly where we are with anime right now. It isn't as big as it once was, and there are a ton of shows saying, "me too me too" with no original content or ideas. Sometimes we have to go down into the crevasse, to come back out as something new and better.
It's really interesting what you say about the cinema references, I don't understand enough about the genre to know all that. And I think you're right, people do get a kick out of seeing it. I probably get more creepd out than anything from a personal, female view (though I'm sure not all women are that bothered by it).
Also on your note of tons of shows with no original content, I think that's why I did like HOTD, it was almost...stylish the way they put in the fanservice....OK maybe wrong word? Like, the animation was good enough, and the plot etc, that the fan service felt part of it-whereas a lot of anime it's more something shoved on top to make sure there's an audience.
Be interesting to read the manga...
The manga seems a lot faster paced, which is strange because the anime follows it panel for panel. Maybe it is just because when you read, you set your own pace. But just based on the first episodes I like it.
Also I want to say that I'm not really defending the overt use of fanservice, and I'm probably just making excuses for this show because I like the manga, but I think in this case it is a little more justifiable because of the roots of show (70s zombie/horror films). I'm also probably looking too deep into it, but I do think you are meant to be slightly disturbed by the fact that the fanservice is interlaced with such cruel acts of violence.
The scene where the girl who just kicked her best friend down the stairs to be eaten by zombies, when her head is grabbed by the zombies, it gave me a slight fraction of that feeling I got from the Devilman manga/film where Miki sees her dead brother and realizes she is next. It just feels you with this empty helpless feeling.
Again, I'm probably giving it too much credit.
"...but I do think you are meant to be slightly disturbed by the fact that the fanservice is interlaced with such cruel acts of violence."
That's a valid point I think. I also felt the same while watching the first episode - this combination of a fanservice shot and the disturbing feeling is quite unique and might just be a stylistic device. Or I'm too sensible to that stuff. Meh - either way, it works :)
Very interesting analysis of these genres. I never really thought about it, but what you write makes sense :)
However I still like suspense/horror and (well-made or stylish) splatter (there's a clear distinction between the two for me), so HOTD is one of the shows I'm going to watch this summer.
I'll also give Shiki and Occult Academy a try though.
Can't wait for Shiki :) And Occult academy was really good I thought, the spirits were kinda scary too :)
And I think you're both right about it meaning to shock, and in fairness, it does just that :P And it is odd how they seem to make the fan service...fit?
I loved the battle royale manga, and some of that is very...very disturbing. But it just helps with the grittiness.
To be honest I started reading HotD because I thought it would be like Battle Royal, and it kind of starts that way, and they do all these flashbacks with characters who you know are zombies in the present day, and it sort of evokes that same "Battle Royal" feeling, but then it just becomes kids on the run from zombies.
In other words I wanted a bigger cast list so there would be a higher body count that made you feel that, "damn that sucks they died" feeling you get from Battle Royal, but it is still effective.
I'm yet to watch the 1st eps. but I read a number of chapters from the manga and that originally had a lot of fanservice if I'm not mistaken. So don't be too surprised. This show was basically geared towards men. Pretty girls, zombies, action, fanservice. It's just an unfortunate part of the anime society. Just try to enjoy it for the romance that develops between certain characters. I'm looking forward to this. Watching tonight
Yeah, I didn't find out till after I watched it that it was based on a fan servicey manga, and that the artist had done a lot of hentai. I think I would've approached it much differently otherwise.
I'm not sure if I'll enjoy the romance, as I don't like Rei, but the other characters seem interesting, and I did like how they've approached the childhood friend thing-seemed alot more realistic!!
I know I'll watch the next episode, but if rei and takashi get it on I don't think the plot will be good enough to get me through the fan service.
Oh the joys of being a female otaku :P
"I know I'll watch the next episode, but if rei and takashi get it on I don't think the plot will be good enough to get me through the fan service."
Without spoiling too much (i hope): If the anime stays true to the manga, I see a triangle in the future :)
;-; but rei is so horrible!!!! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I assume you meant RxT? The couples I want never happen ;-;
She gets better. I felt the same way, I hated her so much at first, but something happens that improves her character drastically and quickly. She is still my least favorite of the girls, but I don't hate her at all like I used to.
RxTxS
S should be introduced pretty soon and you can already spot her in the OP and in EP1.
S as in saeko? She is HAWT
Exactly :)
I agree with you on the fanservice and I suspect I watched a censored ver of this episode. As a girl also, I'd prefer more violence/gore over boobs and panty shots lol
Was the one on anime44.com censored?
Not sure to be honest, I didn't realise they ever censored. I got mine from anime-access.com, which I think is basically the one they showed on the anime network. Gore ftw. :P
Zombies ftw.
Don't mind all these big bouncing boobs and short skirts which seem to be flailing up alot lol.
But at some point its like, just show some already or stop trying to :d lol.
You pervert.. lol
ECCHI-MAN! RUN NYAHOSHI RUN!!!!!
*bites* >:E
>.>
*shows incredible amount of boob while being bitten*
"Iiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
nuuuu, im biteing NyaHoshi, ima turn her and we will unlive(p.p) happily ever after feasting the living :3
=_=
Er...do I hear 28 Days/Weeks Later music? O_o
HuHuuu! Quite a reaction. Maybe I should take a look see. *rubs hands together*
It was oddly fun ^_^;
I watch for the zombies. Bouncing oppai and pantsu come in second :D
Been waiting a long time for this day. For me, that long hiatus on the manga has been fully paid with this anime. Keep them zombies coming!!!
Did the manga not properly end? I kinda like the animation of the zombies...you know, considering they're just essentially zombies :)
The manga hasn't ended yet. But if you were reading it before the anime came out, you would have been very frustrated. The author makes new volumes after months of hiatus -_-