5 Reasons to Watch Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead anime
Netflix recently released the anime Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead and I’m here to tell you why you need to watch it. Here are 5 reasons actually not 100 because as of writing this, it’s only got 4 episodes available.
The anime is based on the Japanese manga series written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata. The anime was made by Bug Studio and directed by Kazuki Kawagoe.
So here are 5 reasons to watch Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead
1. It’s animation is quirky and fun
It’s still a zombie anime and filled with the usual tropes but the animation style here is top notch. Blood and guts aren’t always in the color you’re used to as it gets a splash of neon on them. And key moments really pop out thanks to Studio Bug’s / BUG FILMs animation quality. I actually thought this was done by MAPPA because of the consistency of the animation quality.
The violence tends to get stylized a lot of times especially in the first few episodes particularly when following series protagonist Akira Tendo.
The backgrounds are also interesting as it sometimes gives clues or visual references. There’s one scene in episode one where Akira mulls over killing himself and we see him in the center of the frame, there’s a salaryman zombie shambling in the background of the train station. Blink and you’ll miss it moments like this certainly makes you want to rewatch the series probably when the first season is complete.
On a side note, Akira with his goggles on looks a lot like Simon from Gurren Lagann or maybe that’s a reach.
Akira Tendo Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead
2. It’s a great introspection to living
The series reminds us that there’s more to life than what gets us money. It took a zombie apocalypse to give life to this timid guy who has been pinned down by his career.
At its core, the series (manga and anime) is convincing us to live rather than be stuck on our normal stuff. Risk a little, love a little, do whatever makes us feel alive before it’s too late and I am 100% for this.
3. It’s a crazy crazy series
I’m going in blind on Zom 100 but it feels like a slice of life series rather than an epic. I could be wrong though so I beg forgiveness if I might have missed the mark.
But what I am sure about here is the fact that it’s fun. Whether it’s the fact that Akira has tremendous luck or that the zombies are more of plot devices it still makes for interesting decisions.
I’m a little peeved too that Akira and later on Shizuka and Kencho seem to get the same effect that Akira has surviving stuff that normally would get people killed in other horror films and anime. The dude is casually riding around this motorcycle that could have attracted a large horde but he clearly gets from point A to point B.
4. Exploitative Nature of the World
I liked how they got everything about corporate world and salarymen in Japan gets explored, nailed and exposed here. There could be some “hugot” from the creators but its well executed. Akira’s work for three years has turned him into the Walking Dead barely living and continuously feeling dead inside.
Even when running for his life from the zombie horde, he’s so embedded in his work that he worries about being marked late rather than actually caring that the world has turned to hell and zombies are all around.
Even Kencho’s life through dialogue also shows how he is a “zombie” figuratively more dead than alive and he’s already a successful guy when we meet him. But he just wants to strip and do comedy
5. Grim reminder that life is short
One of the most prevalent themes of Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead is about life and living and it’s explorer surprisingly well within the background of a zombie apocalypse in Japan.
In episode 1, there was a moment when Akira meets his neighbors who are worried that they might run out of supplies and it just so happens that Akira’s going on a beer run so he offers to get them supplies. Unfortunately for these neighbors by the time Akira returns from his adventure, they are no more with the animation implying that the zombies had gotten inside and had attacked the couple.
In episode 4, Akira and his college buddy Kencho go shopping for a wide screen TV and end up in an underground mall where they bunk down with three flight attendants. During this brief time Akira bonds with one of the attendants, Maki who makes him realize that he should follow his childhood dream. And it also looks like Akira and Maki could go on and do things together but then the zombified member of their team attacks and bites Maki. It also looks like you really can’t invest in other side characters here because they’re fodder for the zombies in one form or another. Just like Game of Thrones if you think about it.
So there you go, 5 reasons to catch Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead. Catch it on Netflix with new episodes coming every week. Expect a total of 12 episodes for this season too fam.
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