Now up to episode 4, High School of the Dead is a superb anime that follows its source material closely, while adding new things to enhance the experience. The story follows a group of high school kids as they battle their way across a town now filled with zombies, referred to as “Them”. Filled with violence and fanservice galore, it packs quite the punch. Each episode follows one chapter of the manga, and since each chapter is around 30 pages long, it deals the story great justice, with nothing being skipped over so far.  With likable characters and excellent art, zombies, pantsu, beautiful girls, and awesome action, High School of the Dead is one of the top, if not the top, anime this season.

Up to episode six we’ve followed Takashi and the gang as they fought their way through the city to a safe house. Takashi is a likeable and relatable main character, not a reluctant or timid hero. He beats things with a bat if need be, and his qualities can easily show why he is the unspoken leader. (This may also have to do with most, if not all, the girls wanting him. Lucky bastard.) Rei is the childhood friend who was once in love with Takashi, then dated someone else, then fell back in love with him after the outbreak started. She can be emotionally weak, but she is also handling a zombie apocalypse really well. Busujima-sempai is the sword wielding expert, and probably the best fighter in the group. She is strong willed, and doesn’t show any of the usual anime character set backs, (lacking physical strength, indecisiveness or nervous around men). In short, she’s a badass. Also, she’s hot. Tagaki is the genious of the group, usually planning and staying out of direct combat. An interesting plot point comes out of her. While theories are all well and good, not everything works out perfectly, and in a actually emotionally involving moment she cracks after her plans begin to falter and she is forced to kill one of them with a drill to the face. One of my personal favorites is Hirano, the gun-loving chubby kid. He has a docile demeanor that falls awesomely when he has a gun in his hand. He also may be related to MacGuvyer, as he makes a gun out of a nail gun and some wood. He functions as the long range expert. And lastly, there is Marikawa-sensai, the school nurse with huge *cough* assets to the group. She is the cutesy nurse, with a voice to match. They even have a “boing” noise for a minute when she is first introduced, to make sure everyone noticed that she had nice boobs. (As if I noticed anything else).

With a storyline that makes sense, and only pushing the limits of reality once (I’m looking at you fight scene on the bridge) High School of the Dead has a nice and original story about the zombie invasion, and throws in references like Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days later, while still making sense which is no small feat and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. It is a stellar show, and I recommend it to anyone with any interest in anime. Plus, there are four hot girls, a bath scene, fanservice, and zombies. It’s a pretty damn good show.