Highschool of the Dead

So finally I have decided to do the final review for Highschool of the Dead or also known as H.O.T.D. for convenience. As I'm writing this I'm also listening to the two albums from H.O.T.D. so I get into the mood (thats how I see it anyway)

The world is in a state of apocalypse a biological outbreak turns civilians into flesh hungry walking dead. Several students and a nurse escape Fujimi High as it becomes overrun with the 'them'. They fight through the streets to safety as the apocalypse surrounds them. The story is told trough the eyes of Takashi Komuro one of the students and one of the survivors of the initial outbreak. Throughout their campaign for safety they witness more then they ever wanted, civilians killing civilians for survival, betrayal and the declaration of armageddon. Through the outbreak they acquire transport in the form of a hummer, weapons and make it safely to Takagi Saya's mansion, one of the students, picking up along the way Maresato Alice who witnesses the death of her father at the hands of terrified civilians. In the mansion they help Takagi's father as he conducts rescue operations and from there they follow their original plans to find their parents. The ending episode sees our group of survivors leave Takagi's house in search of their parents, and the possible threat of nuclear warfare around the world seems likely at this stage.

My ratings:
Characters: 7.5/10
Visuals: 9.5/10
Music: 7.5/10
Plot: 8.5/10

Characters are rated 7.5 for various reasons. It is true that the series is only 12 episode but I felt that the characters were not brought into their full potential, it may be because the producers did not have enough episodes to do so but I believe they could have made the characters something more. Although the ending does suggest a second series. All in all though the characters do play their role properly and everytime they engage in a fight with 'them' they maintain their humanity, such as Taskashi keeping a cool head as he is forced to kill his best friend as he turns into one of 'them'. 

Visuals I find are superb and really top notch. The character design and art is not one that is found often and it brings a nice change to the animation scene. The sharpness of their faces brings out a face of determination and at the same time does not let go of their human nature. The way different zombies are drawn and are created gives us the sense that they are truly abominations. H.O.T.D. does contain a lot of gore and blood splatter is one of the main features shown throughout the series. The camera angles and the effects given to the characters as they swing a bat into one of the zombies heads and the way the blood splatter flies and spreads across the wall gives off a sense of exhilaration and satisfaction. I wish to see this kind of art more in the anime scene.

Music was given the same rating as characters because I believed they could be worked on a bit more. Through the soundtrack I found some spectacular songs, songs that fit perfectly into the anime and I also found some that did not quite suit although it is nice to have a softer change once in a while. I didn't quite approve of the more soft and slow music but I don't find that much wrong about them In my opinion I believe the music should have kept strong and constant. The two albums that were released for H.O.T.D. did keep me entertained however and they still are as I mentioned before that I'm listening to them now as I'm typing this. We will have to see how the OST goes when it releases.

The plot was interesting and although it was standard for a zombie movie it did provide some twists. I loved the way human beings turned on each other for survival and although it seems like an obvious thing to do in situation like that it was nice to see how much panic can be caused, and I think more people killed each other trying to escape than the zombies killing them. There was also the section of the story where the group met a blockade from the police separating the two sides of the city and how the commander of the force finally could not take it all and committed suicide. Both these parts I found very realistic and making it so makes you wonder what would happen if an outbreak like that happened in your neighborhood or even around the world.

I really suggest this anime, although it is heavily intended for the male audience as many of themes seem to be directly intended for them but Kayla-sama has watched the series as well so I don't think a girl will have a hard time enjoying this series, unless of course they're extremely girly and afraid of blood then I wouldn't suggest you watch this series. I hope to also be seeing a second series to this anime as it seems very likely there will be a continuation.
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Kayla's notes.
woo I got a mention in this. Just let me say, I'm um. fairly manly for a girl. Not that I'm like muscly and stuff LOL but I like guy stuff. So yeh. Anyway, it's still really good. I'd probably give it a 9ish/10 too.