Anime 54112 Zom 100 Zombie Ni Naru Made Ni Shitai 100 No Koto Reviews Filter Check 3

Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto has taught me that people don’t know what “dystopia” means anymore. For the last 5ish years, I’ve seen a lot of complains on why the generic isekai we get by the dozens are popular, but I find the answer to that question very obvious: escapism, as they provide an outlet for MC-kun to get free from the burdens of the real world, and enter a fantasy world where he can do whatever he wants, while the high school age viewers places themselves in his place. Zom 100 offers the same idea but for the ... working age viewer, with the zombie apocalypse replacing the travel to another world, showing our working-class MC-kun being able to do whatever he wants now that he’s free from his work so the overworked viewer can self-insert on him.

As a direct result of its escapism angle, the series isn’t actually horror, having a lot of light hearted moments and comedy to make it look like this is a superior lifestyle, which backfires on it hard because the comedy in this series is atrocious, I’m talking about “going naked is funny” and “fart jokes” levels of bad comedy, I wanted to slam my head on a wall when they unironically showed a zombie farting as if it was a punchline. This same light tone also undermines all the serious moments, not helped by the fact the series suffers from “getting character development means you’ll die” syndrome, so you get a scene painted as tragic because a character we barely knew is a zombie followed by the cast laughing at silly jokes. I’m a big fan of the style of Hiroyuki Imaishi, and one thing his series manage is to strike a balance between the serious character moments and the absolute batshit insanity going on around them, but this series clearly has no idea how to do that, as the tonal whiplash here is so jarring even Code Geass and its constant back and forth between racial politics and waifus eating pizza feels more balanced.

MC-kun, named Akira this time, is a self-insert character, as unlike any other person or even the other characters in the same show, he shows absolutely no horror or regret at the idea of the world ending in a zombie apocalypse, instead being happy that he doesn’t have to work anymore, obviously a tool to enable the escapism aspect of the premise. This behavior is just downright nonsensical, as we have no explanation or thematic point made by Akira acting like the death of most of humanity is his comfort catalyst, and in fact makes him come across as a sociopath rather than the sympathetic character the narrative tries to paint him as, something that’s very notorious in episode 3 where contrasted against his friend who has a far more logical reaction to seeing everyone around him turning into murderous monsters. A character acting in an extreme way CAN be done well, as shown by Shirou in Fate/stay night and Shu in Ima Soko ni Iru Boku, but only if said behavior is done to make a thematic or moral point, something that’s not the case here, as there’s really no clear reason for him to act like that beyond making it #SoRelatable to the viewers who also feel overworked. Also, what’s up with the fact he doesn’t even look like an adult? If you showed me his design with no context, I’d say he’s 15, and even watching the show he acts just like I’d expect an anime teen to do it.

The other characters aren’t really much better. Kencho has no character at all beyond being the comic relief, and by that I mean that he’s an obnoxiously loud idiot who clearly doesn’t know how to deliver jokes, with getting naked seriously being the best he can come up with in terms of comedy, just to put into perspective how poor the overall comedy of this series is. While I think that Shizuka was passable, given she seems to be the only sensible person here, she’s mostly used as a strawman damsel in distress despite her supposed capabilities to highlight how cool our MC-kun is, leading her to be a fanservice source at best. Bea is a westerner obssessed with Japanese culture - that's her entire character, everything around her revolves around being a weeb, and once again she's just a tool to provide some extra fanservice.

An aspect for which I wanted to give this series points, however, is the visuals. We live in an age of seasonal shows that all are filled with so much cost cutting like CloverWorks works being filled with blurriness, and the idea of what good animation is has been reduced to just “flashy visuals” rather than having any appreciation for the technical aspects with MAPPA churning out disaster after disaster that isn’t well animated to anyone who knows of animation but looks flashy so it gets called “good animation” by those who don’t know, making Zom 100 a show that stands out in this landscape because it actually tried. The first episode didn't have the generic simple shots made to save money, it had an actual visual identity, something that’s such a rarity in modern anime that I can see why people act as if this was groundbreaking, even if in reality it’s more of a minimum to look good, at least when they don’t use CGI, that still looks bad even here. However, this “carried by the animation” angle was only at first, as each episode got uglier and uglier to the point it got rid of much of the praise points I could give it, as it looked like any other anime by its later half, which very likely relates to its now infamous troubled production and grueling working crunch. Given that from what I read, this new studio BUG FILMS was created by people who felt overworked on their previous work at OLM, and the evils of overwork being the main theme of the series, the fact this new studio now perfectly reflects the very type of company the anime criticizes is incredibly hypocritical.

Overall, this series is just a failure all around, it fails at being entertaining, it feels at giving social commentary on Japanese work culture, it fails at being funny, it fails at building actual characters, and most importantly, it fails as an anime production, with its terrible development hell that postponed the last batch of episodes for months being a perfect example of the terrible state the anime industry is in nowadays.

Thank you for reading

Zom 100: A Bucket of Disappointment?

While Zom 100 has its fans, it's certainly not without its flaws.

One-dimensional protagonist: Akira's obsession with his bucket list overshadows any real character development. He comes across as childish and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with him.

Generic supporting cast: Other characters feel like tropes rather than individuals. Their motivations and backstories are underdeveloped, leaving them forgettable.

Predictable plot: The story often takes predictable turns, relying on tired zombie apocalypse cliches instead of offering something fresh.

Cringey attempts at comedy: The show's attempts at humor can often fall flat, resorting to juvenile slapstick and awkward jokes. Some find it grating ... and unfunny.

Repetitive gags: Certain jokes are milked to death, losing their appeal quickly.

Logic lapses: The show can be riddled with illogical choices and plot holes, leaving viewers scratching their heads.

Unrealistic survival tactics: Characters often make questionable decisions, ignoring basic survival instincts and logic.

Missed potential: The premise of a lighthearted zombie apocalypse comedy seemed promising, but ultimately feels squandered.

if you're looking for a deep and engaging story with well-developed characters, you might want to look elsewhere.

The first episode of this show was absolutely phenomenal. It's about the MC feeling overworked, exhausted and stressed out to the brink of feeling suicidal, all of this because he sees himself trapped in a toxic unfulfilling working environment. So when a world-ending event such as a zombie apocalypse proves to be a golden opportunity for our protagonist to free himself from the shackles of his workplace and start doing the things he always wanted to do, you know you're in for something special. This goofy idea combined with the silliness of the scenes where the protagonist comes out unscathed while he rides his bike ... all giddy with excitement seemingly ignoring the hordes of zombies following him makes you expect a light-hearted comedy akin to Shaun of the Dead. The great visuals and animation combined with a nice soundtrack only increase the expectations for the following episodes.

Well, I'm disappointed to say that the show manages to shatter most of the expectations by the time you reach the fourth episode. Frankly, this anime loses its identity because it tries to do many things (sometimes contradictory things) while doing none of them well enough. It still tries to be "funny" but less than the initial expectations lead you to believe and the humor doesn't land most of the time, at least for me. It's still plagued by this thing where anime creators think their audiences are comprised of toddlers who think comedy is loud screaming and goofy faces. But to the show's credit, this thing doesn't even come close to being as obnoxious as in other shows like Demon Slayer.

Something I don't understand is the fact that this show sprinkle in moments that are supposed to be sad, dramatic or wholesome, which absolutely ruin the overall light-heartedness of the anime. Isn't this supposed to be a comedy? This moments alongside some scenes where characters talk about their view on life aren't even something particularly amazing if you consider them in a vacuum. They're done as well as any generic anime does it when it tries to be emotional.

The characters are serviceable except for a weeb who's introduced later in the show and can't shut up about how much she loves Japan and its culture, which really grinds my gears. Sometimes I wonder if anime was to be invented in some obscure country instead of Japan, like Moldova, would we have as many weebs that are obsessed with Moldovan culture?

This show sets the bar very high in the first episode only to subsequently deliver a mediocre experience that doesn't have a solid grasp on what main point it wants to accomplish while being often unfunny and straight-up boring to watch.

This show had a really strong start with an interesting premise and a very neat outlook on the "what if" scenario of a zombie apocalypse... but the longer it went on, the worse it seemed to get, and the huge hiatus that delayed the last few episodes did some major damage for those watching as it released. Overall, I liked this show, don't get me wrong, but the last 3 episodes (while trying to excuse the hiatus) took my score from a 6 to a 1. I'm desperately trying to avoid spoilers, but the story was pretty much mediocre, the comedy (which really doesn't match ... the serious tone this show seems to be going for) never got a laugh out of me, and overall most of the characters seemed flimsy and delusional at best.

This is pretty bad. It's about an eternally grinning idiot kid stumbling his way through a zombie apocalypse just thanks to convenient writing and plot armor. It has NTR in episode 1, it has a blooming naked bromance while every potential female love interest that's not in the OP song is killed off along with all episodic characters, sometimes inches from the mc without him doing anything and worst of all, him forgetting about it 5 minutes later and going on to grin and spout bs like he'll save people from zombies as if what just happened no longer counts because it was in the ... last episode and not the current one. It is all just utter nonsense. If you want some timewaster show it's got you covered, just don't ever take anything in it seriously.

Is there anything good about this show? Other than good animation, what can be said positively about it? It's just straight up garbage. First off is the whole flashback and pilot episode that we get. Yes, I understand that the show is kind of just going through the motions, but that doesn't make it any more bearable how predictably garbage and boring everything is. What's the point of fabricating a backstory for a main character when it's the most soulless and generic backstory ever? Shocking I know, but I kind of figured what was going to happen for the next 15 minutes in the first ... minute. How crazy, right?

Of course, this is permissible if the show delivers on what it tries to create: comedy. Is this show funny? Absolutely not. Our main character Akira Tendou "lacking common sense" isn't funny. Just because someone does some random crap doesn't make it funny. It's just cringe. Him confessing to his crush when she's zombified as a bucket list isn't cute, funny, or relatable. It just...happened. Why? What was the purpose? To show him that he's unhinged?
But...we just had a flashback arc that completely contradicts his character. He doesn't quit the company because he doesn't want his coworkers to pick up his work when he's gone. He doesn't want to become homeless so he keeps his job. And he's too weak-willed to just quit and look for another. In fact, he needs a damn zombie apocalypse for him to "become free." You know you could basically just walk out the damn door and quit your job if you wanted that to happen. It just doesn't make sense. Not only is his backstory boring, generic, and garbage, it also just doesn't fit with his character profile later on. But somehow, we're supposed to believe that Akira Tendou is a cool guy that is unhinged, lacks common sense, and "funny." Yeah....no.

=====TL;DR=====

STORY (Review adjusted based on show length)

Complexity: 2
World-Building: 2
Pace: 5
Direction: 4

CHARACTERS (Review adjusted based on show length)
...
Quantity vs Quality Ratio: 5
Development: 5
Depth: 4

Art, Animation & Music (Review adjusted based on air date)

Art Style: 7
Art Quality: 8
Animation Quality: 7
Soundtrack & SFX Quality: 5

ENJOYMENT LEVEL: 4

=====Introduction=====
This show had a pretty weird release schedule, bogged down by delays. I don't understand why since it's not like they achieved something of brilliance. The only odd aesthetic is the paintball-like colorful display of blood. The show is also weird in ways that I understood the angle they wanted to go for, but the execution is abysmally awful. The idea of using a zombie apocalypse, not to survive but to finally 'live' since his job treated him as a zombie, is a fine idea. But there are so many issues with its presentation that I can say this show was one of the biggest disappointments of the current season.

=====Story===== 2/10
There isn't a story here. The entire zombie apocalypse only exists to change the MC's life at the start, and then there is no progress. Picture changing this zombie outbreak to any other dystopian outbreak. It will make no difference in the story. The entire setting is worthless, if anything, it narrates that the whole world has to go berserk for the MC to grow some balls to live his life. What sense does that make? It somehow tries to bring a 'don't think too hard, just play' approach but then shields the MC with plot armor and convenience that removes any thrill. There is no portrayal of sadness or loss since they don't want to sully the mood. There is no linearity, sentimentality, regret, or anything similar. Even the comedy is a hit or miss. There isn't anything to enjoy since everything seems forced and unrealistic.

=====Characters===== 4/10
My expectation of the MC is not to be seen struggling and suffering through the zombie apocalypse. It's plain to me that the show wants to move in the opposite direction. And that's great for him. But what about me? The person watching this show, what entertainment do I get from watching someone act like a monkey in the zombie outbreak and somehow still live through it? If I want to see animals, I'd go to the zoo. Since the setting is so pointless, plot armor is at an all-time high, and the show is unrealistic, the chain reaction causes a character's actions to be meaningless. There's no risk to his safety and no limit to what can happen (I wouldn't be surprised if one of them starts shooting fireballs). By casting the safety net too wide, they've removed everything this show strives to be. The characters exist, but they don't matter at all. And, of course, every generic anime needs a generic hot girl for the MC to ogle at and act all heroic in front of. For her to be impressed with his stupidity, this whole show is a total joke thought from the mind of a 12-year-old.

=====Art, animation & sound===== 7/10
Paintball colors of blood since this is not a sad/gory show. To be honest, the idea itself is cute. I welcome anything that makes an anime stand out. But that's the only good point of this show. Even the animation fell worse as the show went on, and the soundtrack and FX weren't memorable to me in any way. Unfortunately, this entire section doesn't matter since the previous two don't. It's like adding a fresh coat of paint to a car that doesn't run.

=====Reasons NOT to watch=====
Don't bother watching unless you're someone who enjoys those trash movies Marvel releases these days. All power to ya, as long as you understand throwaway shows like these are genuine trash.

=====Overall===== 4/10
Terrible show. The worst thing you can feel while watching a show/movie is to feel nothing.

it should have been a one-episode OVA. The first episode was pretty good and set up an interesting premise. It quickly went downhill after that. All the character are thin and underdeveloped. They all get one or two traits and that's it. I couldn't tell you much about the main character besides the fact that he hated his job. The story is predictable and ends on schmaltzy bullshit about connections with other people being good and following your dreams, as if you haven't heard that a million times before. There were some good action scenes and creative moments, but the premise and characters are too ... thin to carry an entire series. You'd be better off simply watching a bunch of zombie movies (the good ones, I mean).

Nothing ever happens. The relationship between Akira and Kencho is where the comedy and story peak. The "villains" are unfathomably evil. The could've easily weaved them into the story but instead they wait till episode 10 to introduce the dreadful antagonist. The main protag and antag have a good dynamic but that is due to my imagining of how someone with talent would make it not what transpires in the show.
The theme is so boring "freedom is good" really? I'm hearing this for the first time. The idea of freedom leading to evil prospering and how someone who values individual freedom would account for ... evil/bad outcomes could be a really fantastic theme however in this show it's freedom good evil bad. BORING
Beatrix letting her weapons be destroyed and not caring ruined any investment i had left.
The animation is fantastic. The humor is hit or miss. I enjoy that they made blood different colours it kept my attention and lead to some good visuals.

To long didn't read: Style over substance but not enough to keep me entertained for 4 hours.

This anime had such wasted potential. Ads for this were everywhere. I took a photo with the fucking shark. I read the manga before it came out and was excited it has such an effective first chapter. But the anime fucking ruined all horror and tension with rainbow blood. All the gore and death is covered in fucking finger paint. The most embarrassing scene is when Akira fights his boss and he explodes into a blood puddle ofblue goo. The rely to much on the comedy aspect in which sure the manga gets silly later but the first couple volumes were suppose to be bloody ... and deary. Also this anime got fucking cancelled after introducing the big boobed german even though she was in the opening and ending for every episode. This was such a sad fuck up that could have been so much more.

Another show that got hyped into the stratosphere. This time, the big secret is a classic trick that all creatives consider at some point called "put your best foot forward". Even if the rest of your work is completely worthless, as long as the beginning can hold people, your success becomes almost guaranteed (sunken cost fallacy and all that). I am a bit ashamed of myself, but even I am not immune to this trick and so, after finishing this mess, I can safely say that ZOM 100 is a very strong contender for the worst show that I have actually finished. It's a bit ... depressing that there are so many better shows out there, yet I spent my time watching a turd, hoping against hope that it will get better. It doesnt.

As I already stated, the first episode of this show is absolutely phenomenal. It's one of those rare things that everyone agrees with and nobody feels the need to contest. A story about a guy getting exploited by an uncaring company that most people today can very much relate to. The zombie apocalypse can be seen as a metaphor for him finally growing a spine (or not, I don't have a literature degree) and the episode ends with him finally standing up to his boss and moving on with his life. It's a very self-contained story and while you have probably seen this exact premise many times over the years, the beautiful animation elevates it to a new height. Much has been said about the great animation, use of colour and direction, yet the contrarian in me wants to disagree. While the first episode is certainly technically impressive, its not like I haven't seen all of this before. Look, I am not telling you that the first episode is bad or that you shouldn't like it or anything like that, but people really need to stop acting like it's the second coming when it's just a good looking episode. That's it, nothing more and nothing less. Either way, the first episode is great and if it was just a one and done deal, it would be a strong contender for the best short of the year. Sadly, the rest of the show exists.

The second episode immediately runs into a bit of a problem. The story is done. Akira grew a spine and moved on. What else is he supposed to do now? Well, the answer they came up with is random shit. Akira writes down a list of things he wants to do and that's what the story is about. As you can probably imagine, a story about a guy trying to live his best life doesnt exactly gel with a post-apocalyptic world where people struggle to survive. Not that our hero has to struggle for anything, everything just gets handed to him with the world twisting around his whims. This, combined with the unbelievable amount of plot armor Akira has really stretched my suspension of disbelief. Seriously, this guy has more plot armor than Gotrek and Felix combined and the show doesnt even attempt to hide it. Akira rushes into danger like he knows that he is in a fictional work and so he just flaunts his immortality over us. And as if that wasn't bad enough, you might have already noticed another problem with this setup. It is obviously unsustainable. After a few days there will be only a few survivors left. Well, worry not because there is a solution, the entire world is stuck in stasis. You know how in shitty RPG games, all NPC quest givers are stuck at one point in time until you finally accept their guest so they can shut the fuck up and stop bothering you? That's pretty much the entire show in a nutshell. Pretty much every single episode has something that makes no sense with how much time has passed. By far, the best and most egregious example of this would be episode four. By that point, the apocalypse has been going on for at least a week when our heroes come across a group of survivors. These people haven't eaten, slept, moved or even just closed the fucking door to their hideout in a week. Then they actually start to speak and they act like the outbreak started an hour ago. Does the author not understand how linear time works or what? Was this show written by Doctor Manhattan?

And now for the plot itself. To put it bluntly, the episodic approach really doesn't work and after the first few episodes, it becomes painfully obvious that the author didn't know what to do with it. Most of the episodes manage to be both inconsequential and boring at the same time. The show also manages to feel bloated with characters and plotlines that lead absolutely nowhere (the whole hostess bar last stand) which for a show this short, is an impressive feat. And when they completely ran out of material, they decided to retread the first episode. Plagiarizing your own work is another tried and tested trick mainly used by shitty shonen, but those shows at least have the decency to wait a year or two so you don't immediately catch on to what they are doing. ZOM 100 doesnt even pretend to give a shit and just puts it out there, zero fucks given. The retread is not only an infinitely worse version of the story, it also shits all over the first episode's conclusion, since Akira walks back on his decision and immediately rejoins his exploitative boss at the first chance he gets. I would call it a character assassination, but for that, Akira would need to be an actual character.

So, what are we left with? A whole bunch of shock value and 'cool' moments. The shocking moments aren't really shocking, since you can see them from a mile away and the main cast is immortal, so you already know who is going to die. The reaction Akira has to many of these moments is also completely baffling. Akira acts completely indifferent to the deaths of people around him and forgets about them in a few minutes. Once again, episode four would be the best example of this. Akira emotionally connected with a girl, only for her to get murdered right in front of him. Not even a minute later, you can see him crying with joy because he found the TV he always wanted. It makes him look like a complete sociopath, which I don't think was the author's intention. The action/'cool' moments don't fare much better. They really try to paint Akira as this Gigachad Thundercock, the greatest guy to have ever lived. Not only does this severely undercut the whole point of the first episode, it is also completely laughable, since he is only allowed to adopt this personality during action scenes. Most of the shit Akira pulls in this mode is so nonsensical that it feels like it was written by a three year old. The best example of this would be his motorcycle skills. For a guy with absolutely no prior experience, Akira performs stunts that would put Luke Glanton and Evel Knievel to shame.

Another problem ZOM 100 suffers from is the good old teleporting zombies. The zombies are always exactly wherever the plot needs them to be without a second thought about how they got there or why they weren't there ten seconds ago and when they are no longer needed they will just disappear without a trace. This mostly happens when the show wants to have a slower moment. It's like Akira triggered a cutscene and so all the mobs around him despawned. Take the aquarium episode. When they first enter, there are no zombies, then they go out for a few minutes and when they return there are zombies now and I am not just talking about the ones coming behind them. Then they fight the boss and after that the horde that was after them is nowhere to be seen. And let's talk about that boss fight for a second. I am not gonna spoil what it is, but you can rest assured that it is one of the stupidest enemies I have ever seen in a zombie show. They even try to explain how it came about, which surprised me at first since they don't really bother with explaining anything, but the explanation we are given only raises more questions than I had when I first saw the thing.

And last but not least, we have the production itself. To put it bluntly, the show wasn't ready to air. The obvious decline in quality after the first episode as well as the myriad of missing things seems to suggest that the show needed at least a year more to be finished. As if to prove me right, the show unceremoniously ends with the ninth episode. So far there has been no official release date for the missing episodes, so I doubt we will see them any time soon. I wonder who is gonna bother watching them when they finally get released. Not me, that's for sure.

This is one of the most stunning wastes of time I have ever seen hyped up to the level that it was.

It was absolutely painful trying to get through each episode of "I hated my job but now I love my life." Not sure if there's any more depth beyond this concept later on, but it was nauseatingly predictable by episode 4. The characters are unlikable and annoying to the point that I question why I even watched this show.

Is it for the funny gore? No because it's not funny, nor gory. Is it for the animation? Not really, it kind of fell off ... after the big blockbuster episode 1. Is it for the music? Not that either. I cannot for the life of me understand why there is any success to this show. It is such a disappointment.

Maybe it's because I actually enjoy what I do for a living, but seeing the same "this is what I was like when I worked a job" flashback every single episode was borderline disrespectful to me as a viewer. Yes, of course I remember how he was when he worked his job. It was the very first episode of the show, and it was the most memorable one at that.

Massive waste of time.

'Zom 100' attempts to achieve with zombies what 'Spy Family' achieved with spies: a fairly enjoyable season of well-animated action-comedy filler. Unfortunately, against a backdrop of mass death, its comedy appears callously stupid. The show has little to say and it says it all in episode one; what's left is an idiotic protagonist frolicking through a zombie-themed spring break like a late, third-rate, tone-deaf 'Shaun of the Dead'.

Let's get this out of the way: for the purposes of satire and other social commentary, monsters and disasters can stand for other things. Pollution awakens Godzilla, and he goes on a rampage: Godzilla stands for the cost ... of industrialization. Similarly, a zombie, being an unnatural, decaying mockery of a human being, can stand for an office worker: too much office work might turn a man into a zombie, or something like that. Indeed, 'Zom 100' opens on an exhausted, zombie-like office worker, which is at least somewhat relatable: in a way, each of us has our own zombies to overcome in life. For some of us, long work hours might be our zombies; for others, social anxiety or addiction to pornography. But the device on its own doesn't get us very far: you can kill a zombie with an axe; you can't kill the economy with an axe, so what have we learned?

In 'Zom 100', the zombies our hero has to overcome in life are actual zombies, which have actually relieved him from office work. I appreciate that it took an extraordinary threat to catapult him out of his ennui, but to make an exhausted office worker look like a zombie, and then to attack him with unrelated zombies, is a bit undercooked as a parable; frankly, it's more of a shower thought than it is a theme or a motif. You could have attacked him with Godzilla or even Mothra, so again, what have we learned?

I'm not really asking for didactic fiction: what I mean is, apart from some initial amusement or thrill, monsters and disasters, whether or not they stand for other things, sustain our interest only insofar as they provoke interesting developments in relatable characters. It's why survival scenarios bringing out the best and the worst in people is an evergreen theme. It's less about cool moves for killing zombies and more about the human condition: who gets to share the hero's zombie-proof bunker?

In 'Zom 100', the character development is about as thin as the social commentary. In episode one, the end of civilization and the prospect of a gruesome death inspire one man, Akira, to pursue a list of childish ambitions with a reckless disregard for safety. He proceeds to do exactly that for eleven more episodes — instead of, say, dying immediately to zombies, like anyone else probably would and almost everyone else actually does. As far as Akira is concerned, the apocalypse, for all its impressive spectacle, is about as dangerous as the haunted house ride at an amusement park.

The child-safe nature of the apocalypse is a contradiction: near-certain death prompts Akira to change; he changes in the direction of even more nearly-certain death; and the action-comedy plot protects him from the consequences of that choice, which invalidates his growth, if you can even call it growth. Either the zombies aren't that deadly, and he might as well have had his epiphany without an apocalyptic backdrop; or he isn't living for the present in a meaningful way, and he might as well pick up food and water while he's looting home electronics and tequila on his motorcycle.

Either way, further character development is unnecessary: Akira wins at the end of episode one, with nothing left to do apart from having fun. Characters may question his new outlook, events may temporarily reverse it, but his new outlook never made sense to begin with, so he can just change back at the end of the episode. So much for the human condition. Feeling bad? Feel good instead, baka! Quit your job and drink a case of beer. Maybe you really can kill the economy with an axe; at least, I've heard the power grid is vulnerable — by the way, 'Fight Club' handled this material quite well. Again, Akira could have died immediately to zombies with a smile on his face: at least that would represent a meaningful choice to live for the present with no regrets.

Instead, through filler action-comedy, we get to watch an office worker enjoying a zombie-themed spring break, drinking beer and meeting girls. Of course, the premise of his happiness is the end of civilization and the gruesome deaths of nearly everyone, which is another contradiction. No, a zombie apocalypse wouldn't improve your state of mind: just think of the smell. And no, it's not a black comedy: it's just a heartless and thoughtless comedy. It hands him a cute girl and, once she's served her purpose, feeds her to a zombie. I guess he doesn't need to loot condoms! Her faceless corpse in a pool of bloody slime can be set dressing for the wacky antics of our lovable goofballs.

Mercifully, the show rarely draws that much attention to the callous stupidity of its comedy, and the end result is often watchable and occasionally even fun, especially when Beatrix is involved, although I don’t remember laughing once. For some, the aforementioned qualities, plus a few well-animated action scenes, may be enough to secure a high rating and hope for a second season. For this reviewer, however, occasional fun is an insufficient return on investment from four hours of screen time, and the animation and other technical niceties are always secondary to characters, conflicts, and themes. Simply put, I would not watch another episode of 'Zom 100'.

It is not to die that makes a man wretched, said Carlyle: it is to live miserable and not know why; to work sore and yet gain nothing; to die slowly all our life long. But he also said that a man perfects himself by working; that there is endless hope in work; and that idleness alone is without hope. As it turns out, there is more than one thing to say about this evergreen theme — by the way, 'Full Dive' handled this material quite well. But in the end, 'Zom 100' has too little to say about its theme and too little to do with its characters. I mean, fine: zombies can stand for office workers; they can stand for industrialism, or free trade, or fiat currency, or the managerial state, and the hero can kill them with an axe or something. In a way, each of us has our own zombies to overcome in life, but you can't kill regret with an axe, so what have we learned?

Honestly I am really disappointened with this anime. Its first episodeo was awesome; it was really well made when it showed how dark and shitty the protagonist's life was because of his job and suddenly a zombie apocalypse starts to happen. Even though his life was really shitty before the zombie outbreak, he is kinda a psycopath who keeps only thinking about funny things to do when literally multiples people around him are getting killed and literally getting eaten alive.For me,most of his jokes and "funny" moments are really forced and kinda cringe.
The protagonist and his friend are pretty annoying, they keep acting like the ... entire zombie outbreak is some kind of joke and they don't even bother on carrying weapons to defend themselves, they are basically protected every time by the plot.
I was expectating a zombie anime like Highschool of dead without that much of fanservice, an anime which explores how dark and creepy a zombie outbreak would be,exploring the dramatics of the characters and their relationship.
Zom 100 is not exactly a bad anime; but for those who are expectating an anime which is similar to zombie series like Highschool of Dead, you will probably get really disappointened. It has some good dramatic momments,however sadly they are literally destroyed by some kind of joke or "funny" momment.