hisashiburi!

I wrote my first impressions on Highshool of the Dead some time ago and after reading 12 chapters, I think it’s living up to my expectations. Things are getting complicated and sexier.

George Romero fans would definitely love this manga. It basically works on the same elements - a survival horror with zombies roaming around the town looking for fresh flesh. What makes this manga different, though, are the pretty and hot female protagonists. I wouldn’t mind having zombies around if I get to tag along with them.

Much of the story is being fleshed out but the origin of the pandemic is still vague to me. Characters start to interact with one another, coming up with plans and making compromises. As new friends are found, conflicts also arise. Lots of things are being revealed about the characters, their past and their intents. It’s also interesting to see how a childhood-sweethearts story (as in the case of Komuro and Rei) is integrated in this series as well as a possible love triangle. And yes all of this happening while slicing and dicing zombie butts.

Artwork on characters is really good and fight scenes are getting bloodier as the story progresses. The story is interesting enough for me and I hope I’ll have time to catch up on the next chapters. It would be cool if this gets animated.

So anyone reading this?

Zombies you say? Exactly, HOTD is your Dawn of the Dead manga version. Not so original for a storyline but I really like these kind of stories. To me they’re not just a kill-all-the-zombies type of movie but more of a psychological thriller toying with human instincts and behavior. The surviving characters are placed in some sticky situation and they eventually interact, decide to act alone or help each other out, learn to solve problems bit by bit and with their reasoning skills and emotions put to test at all times.

HOTD starts out on the rooftop of the school with the main characters Takashi, the soujutsu club member Rei, and Karate black-belter Hishashi. Armed with a baseball bat and metal pole, they wacked the heads of other students who had turned into zombies. There was some love triangle issue among them but was somehow decided instantly. A flashback of the events followed but there are no clues yet as to how the pandemic started.

Great artwork and the paneling is one of the best I’ve seen. Zombies biting necks, blood gushing from limbs, students bashing Zombie heads - all are very detailed.  The other survivors are also unique and interesting. You have Saeko, the president of the Kendo Club who is really skillful with her wooden sword; Saya, the intelligent spoiled brat with homicidal tendencies; Kouta, the nerdy guy who is good with guns (nail guns); Marikawa, the clueless school nurse; and Shidou, the self-centered sensei.

This may be just another Dawn of the Dead but I have the impression that HOTD packs great graphics, unique characters and better storyline as it goes on.