Anime: Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a tightly paced, well-directed comedy anime with a fun and energetic cast of characters. All the episodes are beautifully animated and are directed with a fast, energetic style, similar to if Edgar Wright were to direct an anime. However, what really brings this show to life are the charismatic cast of main characters. Each of the characters has their own motivations and dreams that they are constantly aiming to accomplish, which goes along with the theme of the show, which is to follow your dreams and do what you really want. The characters all have great personalities that work well with the comedy. This is because Zom100’s comedy is focused on funny characters doing amusing things rather than comedy based on references to pop culture like in Gintama or forced chibi comedy in many battle shounen anime.

Since the anime is a comedy, one important thing to mention is that you definitely shouldn’t expect this anime to be a psychological horror zombie apocalypse. In fact, the zombie stuff is mostly background decoration for the most part, with the main focus being the adventure in a world where you are free to choose what you really want to do. Overall, the story isn't anything amazing since it's a comedy anime with a focus on putting the characters in funny situations. However, the pacing works wonders at never letting it feel like they're overstaying their welcome at any area the characters visit, and as a result, it never makes you feel bored. This season even has a decent conclusion for a first season, as it ends with the main characters taking a significant step towards their dreams.

I’ve seen some people criticizing this anime for being escapism for people who hate their jobs; however, there is a difference between the messages of Zom100 and your average isekai power fantasy. Zom100 encourages you to work for your dreams and make time to help people in need, as well as to give back to the people who’ve supported you, while isekai power fantasies preach the idea that you should give up on your own life and jump in front of a bus.

As a comedy anime, Zom100 is one of the best I’ve watched as it constantly entertains you with great animation and directing, as well as a fun cast of characters to follow from start to finish. It truly is a shame that this anime has already been forgotten about due to its terrible release schedule.

Don’t make the mistake of going in expecting a typical zombie apocalypse. Just like Highschool of the Dead before it, it is not really a psychological horror type of show, as it is a comical power fantasy. The first episode exists solely to make you root for a guy who is finding joy in billions of innocent people dying horribly, just so he doesn’t have to go to work. In the alternative reality of this show, it’s easier to skip work if there are rainbow-colored bloodied zombies in the streets, than it is resigning from your job.

Anyways, this is a comedy about the silly antics of a collar worker who is defined only by how much he hates his job, thus becoming a self-insert for all depressed collar workers out there who don’t want to leave their horrible jobs for something better. As soon as he is free from wage slavery, he writes a bucket list of all the things he wants to do before he dies. Sounds noble until you realize they are silly first world type of stuff you are supposed to do in a peaceful first world society and not during a zombie apocalypse. So, why does he want to do such things during the most inappropriate time? Because the show is a comedy. Make that a sick comedy that borders revengeporn, since it’s based heavily on laughing at, and taking revenge on everyone you don’t like. I hate the world! Seeing it burn brings me joy! I hate my boss! Pushing him out a window makes me feel great! I hate the girl I love, cheating me with someone else! It’s excused if I dump her now that she’s an undead! And so on, and so on.

Anyways, as I said it is a revengeporn power fantasy, first and foremost. You are not supposed to think anything he says or thinks is morally acceptable. You are only supposed to laugh at how all sane people are screaming and running for their lives, while he only cares about drinking beer. And when he casually avoids all the rainbow-colored bloodied zombies by simply cycling through them, he finds a hot babe at the supermarket. Barricade your place and secure food for months? Nah, get a few cans of beer and travel around the city on your slow and fully exposed bicycle, accompanied by a waifu that somehow doesn’t look like crap now that cosmetics and bathing water are not a given. Haha, so funny!

Anyways, as long as you manage to shut your brain and stare at the pretty good animation of this show, you will have a good casual fun, consuming a b-grade anime that has nothing positive to teach you. For Pete’s sake, it’s about a self insert, running away naked from a brothel full of cosplay zombies! Watch as he, his muscular pal, and two hot babes have silly adventures that end with them smiling as they rush towards the next rainbow-colored bloodied zombie-infested area, like it’s some party videogame.

Oh, and RIP to the hype and posterity of this show that got a head-shot from bad planning and turning its animators to zombies. They had to release the second half of the series very erratically and killed the interest of the people in it. It was, in a sick way, a power fantasy for the animators who are working themselves to death, just to create schlock that nobody cares about by the time it’s over.

When it comes to media, zombies are dime-a-dozen. With so many mediocre films featuring the man-eating living dead as central antagonists, there often isn’t any further creativity involved in creating these flicks any longer. Flesh munchers sell and they sell excruciatingly well, there’s no doubt about it. When reading the synopsis for 'Zom 100', I was rather skeptical but also intrigued. A zombie road trip anime seems like something incredibly generic, but given its first outing, I’m elated to say that I’m pretty committed to try this out even further.

Much of 'Zom 100’s' main draw comes directly from the notion that its an animated version of the movie 'Zombieland'. You know that one movie starring Jessie Eisenburg and Woody Harrelson and featuring a downright hilarious Bill Murray cameo? Yup, that one. And guess what? 'Zombieland' was a really exhilarating and humorous comedy. Luckily, there’s enough in 'Zom 100' to set it apart from 'Zombieland' that it avoids being a blatant rip-off. And much of this is present from the outset in the very first episode.

There are shades of realism and relatability in 'Zom 100'. The main character, Akira, is ecstatic to be hired at his dream company and fulfill his lifelong dream of working in the marketing department. He’s a depressed, overworked individual who suddenly finds solace in a global crisis because he no longer has to cope with being mentally pounded by long work hours, a nasty boss, and the idea that he’s treated as a commodity rather than a human being pretty much everyday. Understanding that he most likely doesn’t have much time left before he’s eaten by the horde, he sets out to do what most reasonable individuals would surely set out to do – create a bucketlist. So begins the tale of an overworked nobody who aspires to do nothing more than fulfill all the items on his bucketlist before he winds up dead, on a road trip to gosh knows where.

Right off the bat, 'Zom 100' captivated me with its lavish visual style. Its use of color really helps to give its production some identity and the animation is simply breathtaking. The direction is implemented in such a way that it makes the anime feel more cinematic, and less like some generic tv anime. For a tv anime production, it is impressive to see such high quality and consistent animation, especially in a medium where most anime isn’t known for this level of effort. Even more impressive considering it’s also the studio’s first major production. BUG Films made this anime as their debut after some of their staff members and animators branched away from OLM.

The main character feels like a representation of all the hellish workplace scenarios that Japanese workers often go through on a daily basis. Akira begins the series as an optimistic, hardworking adult in his early 20s, having finished university and now starting his first ever big-boy job in marketing. He’s excited about the role initially, until all hope is lost when he realizes that working at the company is a literal hellscape. Akira constantly has to keep up a façade everyday to prevent getting canned by his boss on sight, pretending to enjoy representing the company he’s a part of and sticking up to its bs. Once he’s home, that all fades away and he’s back to being a lazy, worn down and battered survivor, constantly having dreams of quitting his job and getting the peace he should very well deserve. There seems to be a growing trend in anime these days with protagonists that are harboring very human desires and facing very real dilemmas, such as Thorfinn, Denji, and Bocchi. Akira is yet another addition to that; a carefree man who has his entire worldview shattered and his entire mental willpower crush by the brutal hardships of the Japanese work culture. He’s kind, resourceful and always willing to lend a helping hand, regardless if it’s a coworker, his awful boss, or some stranger he just met. While he doesn’t seem terrified or worried that there is a zombie apocalypse going on, he has shown to express grief when witnessing someone get killed or turned into a zombie; the anime just chooses not to linger on it because it’s not that kind of show (if you really wanna see people crying all the time in a zombie apocalypse or outright miseryporn, just watch 'The Walking Dead'). He also expresses slight concern that he’ll eventually be eaten leading to the bucketlist in the first place. Another character worth mentioning is Shizuku. Not much is known about her so far other than she has her own list, this time a survival list with information on how to survive the zombie apocalypse. Unlike Akira’s approach which appears to be more hedonistic, Shizuka’s is more practical. In a way you could say she’s watched way too much 'Zombieland'. There’s also a foreign weeaboo character who dresses up in traditional samurai armor. Hoping she’ll get introduced shortly.

Right off the bat the first episode presents a very real scenario that is a major problem not only in Japan, but throughout all countries across the globe. Working environments often are more favorable towards the higher ups than they are towards lower ranking employees. There is unpaid overtime everywhere, salary deductions, office politics and many more. In 'Zom 100', Akira’s manager views all his staff as expendable, employees are sometimes forced to work overtime for no pay, some are even forced to sleep in the office overnight, and some can’t even go home to their families. I for one have been through a very toxic work environment earlier this year. And this completely wrecked my mental health. These are issues multitudes of people across the globe are facing everyday; it’s no wonder that so many people have desires to want to actually quit their job. Yeah, contributing to society is great, but you want to know what else is great? Having a stable and healthy mindset. Karoshi, also known as “overworked death” is a real problem in Japan and has led to so many deaths and suicides throughout the years. This awful work culture has also contributed to a rising number of hikkimoris and is one of the reasons why modern anime is so heavily infested with trashy isekais and harems. Given how karoshi seems to infest the anime industry and many studios have been accused to working their employees to the brink of death, it is such a ballsy move to have an anime actually go this far to critique Japan’s work culture and capitalism in general. Even more audacious considering that the company Akira works for actually is meant to be a dead ringer for OLM, the studio that BUG FILMS branched off from. Thanks guys, you showed us yet another awful anime studio that’s guilty of having these terrible work practices.

Unlike your typical isekai or power fantasy, 'Zom 100' doesn’t necessarily glorify escapism like so many critics seem to believe. In fact, there’s no need to because Akira literally does not have a choice here; its not like people still need to go to work during a zombie apocalypse. His joy and happiness towards this situation stem from just how awful his role as an employee were and the fact that there’s currently a crisis going on that causes his entire workplace to shut down, leads him to pump his fist in the air in happiness as a major stressor in his life has been resolved. To him its like finally leaving an incredibly toxic relationship and finally experiencing freedom after two years of being enslaved to some corporation that treats him like dirt.

'Zom 100' isn’t without its problems however. There are moments where suspension of disbelief is in full effect. In the first episode for instance, the main character, upon realizing that he’s finally free from employment, suddenly appears to develop literal super strength for whatever reason. Somehow, I’m supposed to believe that this guy is able to leap from a massive skyscraper and crash through a roof without sustaining any injuries. Or that he’s able to push a really strong and bloated zombie out of a window despite it weighing probably well over 500 pounds. And don’t give me the excuse that its because he’s a rugby player – rugby players aren’t that strong. The guy isn’t built like The Rock or John Cena, ok? But hey, at least its better than what 'Super Mario' did by having a guy literally become overpowered by eating a mushroom.

I also have concerns given how some of the female characters are designed here. They’re given very shapely bodies with voluptuous breasts and form fitting clothing. Characters like Saori, Beatrix, and to a less extent, Shizuka all fit the bill here. They feel like they were designed by horny otakus or 12-year-old preteens, and it shows. I’m hoping the series does not tap into any annoying ecchi moments that often plague many anime of its ilk. I’ve really grown tired of the unnecessary oversexualization in anime these days; I’ve had enough of it in 'Heavenly Delusion' and 'Summertime Rendering' and I don’t need it here. And I’m pretty certain a lot of viewers don’t either. People want to see zombies getting the everlasting crap beaten out of them, not bouncing boobs everywhere. That’s what we have ecchi harems, trashy isekais, and hentai for. That being said, the show isn’t at that point yet, but its definitely a cause for concern.

The humor also seems to be the standard “anime” humor. You know what I mean – its when characters suddenly say things in the most over the top and bolsterous manner or start explaining the joke and so on. Its typical anime humor. The third episode also gets a little “cringe” when a character strips naked for no good reason at all. Cmon 'Zom 100', leave that for something like 'Golden Kamuy' instead.

'Zom 100' has gotten a lot of traction as of late, even eclipsing Bleach in the rankings at one point. And its not hard to see why – the incredible animation along with the bombastic soundtrack, quirky characters, and social critiques is bound to get most viewers on board. Call it overhyped, but at least it has some substance. At least it’s not like the 'Super Mario Bros' movie where people constantly tell me its superior to modern anime only to just be another mediocre power fantasy where the main character literally saves the world and beats the bad guy by eating a mushroom. Wow riveting amiright.

Will it get worse the longer it goes on? If recent discussions on the manga are anything to keep track of, then yes there’s a chance its quality will continue to dwindle. But, as of now, what viewers are going to get is a very wacky, enjoyable romp with nary a dull moment to spare and incredible animation with a heaping dash of existentialism to boot. Many may find a lot of enjoyment in its humor, action, and fun-loving characters. Only time will tell whether this ends up a blunder or continues to be a hit.

And I think the first episode alone teaches a very important lesson; work to live, not live to work.