High School of the Dead – 03



Here’s one thing that I’m a bit afraid of: this series falling into the formula in which the main characters find survivors, who all just get killed off anyway in favour of the lead characters. I mean, the first half of this episode was really predictable in the way that you just knew that these kids they picked up would just end up getting eaten. I guess that that’s why it’s a good thing that this series will only have 12 episodes.

In any case, this episode tried a bit too hard in my opinion to introduce an asshole. For this guy to work, the creators really need to give more attention to the groupies around him, and give them personalities just like the main characters. The guy himself also needs to get a bit more of those normal scenes in which he isn’t acting like a total snob.

On the bright side though, the fanservice was pretty much toned down in this episode compared to the previous ones, which is a good sign. If anything, the lead characters are all likable despite their flaws, and I like how at the end of this episode the creators tried to break up the two lead characters from the rest, in order to avoid the formula from getting stale. Zombie killing can only remain interesting for so many episodes, so I’m glad that the creators have spent their time to at least give us some solid 12 episodes here.
Rating: * (Good)

14 thoughts on “High School of the Dead – 03

  1. didn’t watch this yet but, the second was already a little repetitive. After the first, they should have just put both 3 and 2 into one.
    Instead of adding some minor filler, they could have removed some material to fit it better.

    Anyway, things pickup from here, I hope the “animators” do a good work.

  2. There was no filer in this or the previous episode, Darknives. If anything, they are following the manga pretty closely but skipping minor details and changing some other things around a bit.

    psgels, actually some of those kids in the beginning survived – you can see them on the bus. Also, this isn’t really a spoiler but HOTD is not going to be following that redshirt-of-the-week formula like you are afraid of, although many people are still gonna die. As for the fanservice, going by what the director said I’m assuming there will be as much of it as possible coming up, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. So far it’s only had a somewhat comic effect 😀

  3. I thought this episode was better than the previous ones, but I completely agree. The random student just conveniently hates the protagonist (for no reason, apparently) and tries to attack him, allowing the asshole teacher to… prove some clearly logically flawed point, which the protagonists (even the genius) somehow cannot rebut.

  4. It’s not solid and formalized yet, but the main cast comes to consider Takashi a leader. You saw some of that in this episode. This ‘moral leader’ position is what that random student is so pissed off at.

  5. HSotD is a yo-yo for me. Despite the fan service, I enjoyed Episode 1 but then HATED episode 2 for it’s boob-noises and IMHO lack of plot advancement. Here we have Ep 3 and again I enjoyed it. No, it’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread but it’s fun and we actually learned more about the world and the characters are going somewhere. If the pattern continues, I’ll totally hate Ep4 for some completely out of place cutesy injection…

  6. Agree with lightbringer, this anime is following the manga almost exactly. Even though there was not as much fanservice there will be since the main artist for the manga does hentai as well so expect it. Its a pretty good story as for zombie/apocalypse type animes. Hopefully they continue with more than 12 episodes in a second season since the manga has reached 26.
    I have decent hopes for this and it reaches my expectations so far.

  7. I still think it’s funny that the author made the zombies blind, but never adequately considered the consequences of this design choice.

    The characters are devices, sort of like the victims of the first two seasons of Jigoku Shoujo. It’s not exactly a genre renowned for its rich characters, though.

    I think Madhouse does a good job of maintaining the sense of urgency in the action scenes with just a few tricks. I also thought bus scene was pretty good. Pretty much anything dealing with the characters is insufferable, but at least the water balloons were sans jiggling noises this time.

  8. This episode was much better than the first 2… Now they just need to get rid of the stupid nurse and her boob shots, and we have a pretty good zombie series (even though the female character designs are still horrible lol)

  9. That’s what I like, action as good as the first episode.
    The fan service is unnecessary and Marina Inoue – Rei’s seiyuu is awesome.

  10. Olá, alguem sabe me dizer se o anime do hight school of the dead vai ter ter mais episodios ou termina mesme no episodio 12,é q no final desse episodio ele fica em aberto mostrando q tem mais coisas por vim. Alguem tem noticias se vai aver continuação ou não doanime?
    Obrigado pela atanção.

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