31 Days of Halloween - High School of the Dead - Episode 3 "Democracy Under the Dead"

Times Square on typical Saturday night.

When last we left our intrepid band, they had a plan: get to a school bus, find their families, and then find someplace safe. This ep opens with everyone watching the news, getting bits and pieces of what's happening outside the walls of the school. Japan has mobilized its military, the White House has been evacuated, Moscow has gone dark...the zombie plague is everywhere and order is breaking down rapidly, just as it did in the school. Hey, I see what the writer did there.

Saya grasps the enormity of what is happening (she is a genius, after all) and that things are not going to be brought under control. We get a short history of plagues, then Saeko gets everyone back on track. Get out, find the families, get to safety.

How not to accessorize for a zombie apocalypse.

As they fight their way to the bus, they pick up other survivors - some who don't last that long - including Mister Shido, a creepy teacher. Rei has an intense dislike for Shido. This is justified, as he uses one of his students for zombie bait. He also tries to take over as leader of the group. The students he was leading slavishly agree, while Rei storms off the bus.

Takashi follows, to convince her to re-board. While they are arguing, a city bus full of zombies comes careening down the road. It flips and explodes, separating Rei and Takashi from the rest of the group. Takashi tells Saeko when and where to meet. After killing a zomibe wearing a motorcycle helmet, Rey and Takashi find his bike and roar off, heading into the city. The end.

Shizuka's boobs invalidate all arguments.

A pretty good episode. The plague discussion is a little clunky; do high school students really know that much about the history of pandemics? Well, maybe they do in Japan. The confirmation that the zombies hunt by sound, that they are essentially blind, is well done and a nice touch. However, it does lead to a slight problem. It is not clear how much sound it takes to set them off. Takashi tosses a shoe down a hallway to distract them. Okay, I'll buy that. However, our group then runs down some stairs and out a door. Unless they are all ninja about it, that should create some sound.

I guess, if I can accept walking corpses, I can live with some ambiguity.

The characters are all developing nicely with everyone getting a moment to stand out, although Kohta's moment mainly has to do with his scarey proficiency with the super-zombie-killing-nail gun. Shido looks and sounds like a sleaze. Illich Guardiola who does the English voice work for the character captures the slime-ball tone just right.

Best lines of the episode: (After a random student has run off to be with her boyfriend who is in the process of being torn apart) Shizuka: "If the entire world turned into this, I'd rather die with the person that I love." Saya: "Oh shut up doctor bleeding heart." Ah, Saya, never change. Runner-up also goes to Saya referring to Shizuka as "Doctor Boobs." Now, that's a show I'd watch.

Would you actually trust this guy?

Best kill: This goes to Mister Shido. In order to reach the bus, he bashes in the face of an already injured student in order to completely immobilize him, leaving him to draw the attention of the zombies. It is graphically rendered and, while a cliche (bad guy sacrifices someone who thought they could depend on him to survive), it effectively conveys all we need to know about Shido.

Fan service of the episode: Shizuka's swaying boobs serving to diffuse a tense situation on the bus. Because boobs have that power...oh yes, they do...

Random oddity: A convenience story clerk, who looks a lot like Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead, staring blankly off into space as zombie gets tun down by the bus right outside his door. I'm assuming this is an homage to that movie.

Bonus! Found this Youtube video of a HSOTD cosplay show in Germany. I have no idea what they are saying...enjoy!