Ranked #1169

Zombie-Loan

Zombie-Loan has an interesting premise: when you die, if you're chosen, you have a chance to live on, literally, 'loaned time'. You are given life once again, but you have to pay for it. And like any loan, there are stipulations that go along with it.

I will admit, I thought it was great idea for a storyline. However, after watching the anime itself, I realise that it was potential wasted. Which is why the story gets only 8 from me. It has interesting concepts which would have easily merited it a much higher grading, but the execution was flawed.

The art of Zombie-Loan looks good as still-art. Colourful, interesting style with a lot of bishounen and bishoujo prettiness to go around. However, I was seriously disappointed with the animation. A lot of times, it looked as though the animators just used cut-outs of the characters and pasted them over a moving, coloured background--you know, the type of thing that was popular with fighting anime back in the nineties.

If you want a clearer view of what I'm talking about, remember how in Pokemon, Pikachu would launch into the air, yet its limbs didn't move at all, and a bright pink background would flash behind giving the illusion that Pikachu was indeed moving? That's what the animation of Zombie-Loan is like. A lot of poses with only the seiyuus' battlecries and a flashing background to indicate that they weren't frozen in some time space continuum and were actually running/jumping/attacking/alive.

The sound was instantly forgettable. I don't remember anything about it, but I suppose that's better than me remembering it and wincing in pain. The OP theme was all right, though. Unless you're not into J-Rock or death metal-ish music.

We have the regular character set-up: loud-mouthed brash hot-headed boy has to work with the cool, competent, aloof guy while an unexceptional girl with some exterior value tags along. This isn't new. It seemed like they were given the traits of better anime characters; it looked to me that they took Kyo, Tohru and Yuki of Fruits Basket and smashed them together with Zero, Yuki and Kaname of Vampire Knight.

However, they managed to strip away all the charm and intrigue of those character concepts leaving behind shells, which then became the main cast of Zombie-Loan. The only salvation is that we can at least not mind these characters, or some may even like them. (Personally, they were of little consequence.) It may be argued that for such a short series, it is expected that character development be little or none, but I argue that there are anime that were equally short and had amazing character development.

Even with all its shortcomings, I still managed to get through all the episodes of this show. Did I enjoy it? I was amused at times, interested at some points, but there was nothing in the show that made me go 'Ugh' and stop watching it, so that must account for something.

I would recommend Zombie-Loan for those who just want an anime to pass the time with. It is by no means revolutionary, but it is decent enough and it IS the only anime I've seen so far where the zombies are protagonists and they don't actually want to kill/eat people (although there are some major plot holes, such as they mentioned that zombies eat human flesh to live, but how come we don't ever see the zombies in the main cast munching away at people's fingers?? In fact, I've seen them eat potato chips and curry. They don't even address the issue.)

Zombie-Loan is like the fast-food of anime; it's quick, maybe not so good for you, but you'll eat it anyway and maybe even like it. If you come in wanting a full course, you're eating at the wrong restaurant, mate. read more

Story
Quite a unique storyline, much different than most out there. Although the story could have probably developed even more and a lot better if there were more than 11 episodes. That just cut the story too short, which was kinda disappointing.

Art
Personally, I don't like this type of art style that was used in Z-Loan too much. Usually I'd prefer artwork more like that of Death Note. However, I think the art fit this particular series well, however it isn't the best art out there.

Sound
Usually I like loud songs and metal songs, but the opening song was just horrendous. I couldn't stand listening to it. The ending theme was fine though. The background music fit the scenes it was used in well, so they did that good. Nothing else really so say about the music work. It was overall good.

Character
Very good characters. The tension between Chika and Shito was great for the story, especially because no matter what, they were stuck together because of their hands. All of the characters were pretty interesting themselves. Michiru had a good background story. Koyomi was my probably favorite, with her energetic normal self, and then becoming the lesbian Yomi, her alter-ego. Then there's all the others like Yuuta, with her "talking" hands, Bekkou (or ferryman), who's the leader of Z-loan, even though he appears like somebody you wouldn't really expect to be in charge, Chika's father, who looks like a girl, Chika's sister, who does nothing but text message on her phone, Shimotsuki, who's a younger girl, yet a chairsperson, Shiba, who at first appears to be a good guy, and the Shinigami, who becomes a like a small creature after losing his core.
The cast is all very interesting, however, since the series is too short, it didn't allow for too much development, so that's why I give a 8, and not 9.

Enjoyment
Definitely a great series if you're bored one day and just wanna watch a whole series, packed with parts of action, comedy, and horror. I watched it all in one day, since it's only 11 episodes, and I think it's best viewed like that. Very enjoyable series overall, even if it is very short.

Overall
Overall, as you can see, I give it a 7. For reasons I've already explained above. I'm pretty sure an OVA will be coming out, so at least maybe we'll get to see a better ending in that. read more

Zombie-Loan was quite a fun anime even though it was too short for my liking. Eleven episodes is just too short for a series, considering most have at least 12 episodes.

Story
It's an interesting story, very original if you ask me, and it has it's good and bad parts. It's somewhat predictable from time to time and there aren't many plot-twists that could surprise you. Plus, I really would have liked more action in it, sometimes it just takes too long for the fighting to start even though it would look like an action anime first. Aside from that, it was pretty good. The worst part is that it ended abruptly in episode 11, just when the REAL action seemed like it would start. Just the producer's way to say "read the manga if you wanna know what happens".

Art
I really liked the art, it was quite new to my eyes. The characters are each drawn in their own style and it was interesting to see how the male leads were tall and athletic, with almost no muscles on them and so on. Considering their "status" it suits them well. For the fans, it has some chibi scenes and stick-art scenes some fo the time to add to the fun. The art for the combat scenes was good but not the best, I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Sound
Well, the soundtrack was good, nothing much to say about it, each song was fit for the scene. The only thing that bothered my ears was the opening song. Sure, the off-vocal was totally awesome, I really liked the guitar sounds, but when the singer started "screaming" in I would immediately skip forward. Ending song was fine, though not the best, with a great off-vocal.

Character
The characters were very well made, though most didn't have such a detailed background. Each had it's own unique personality and you could easily start liking one of them. Too bad some characters didn't have enough screen time (even though I liked them more than the main characters) and some had more than they really needed.

Overall I enjoyed this (too) short series. I'd give it a 7.8 as a grand total (but I rounded up to 8).
If you're into action, comedy, zombie related things and some drama here and there, watch Zombie Loan. Even though it's not one of the greatest anime out there, it's not a waste of time either. read more

Everything that you've borrowed must be paid back properly; that includes human life. If you loaned your life to extend it, then you have to pay for it, no matter how long it takes. And that's what Zombie-Loan is about.

Story: (8/10)
Not a lot of people see it, but this anime has a thick plot and has a lot of substantial themes. It's really interesting. It tackles upon complex issues such as the value of human life, the nature of life and death, the circle of life and even the value of friendship. Those aside, the story development wasn't so bad either. It's downfall lies on the fast paced episodes and the shortness of the series itself. Viewers were not able to enjoy this series long enough. Though I have to say, the cliff hanger ending was good. Makes viewers thirsting for some more. It would be a lot better if this had a sequel.

Art: (8/10)
Graphics is fine. Blood scenes are realistic enough. Female characters were cute. Male characters were bishies. I'm not picky when it comes to art. Their proportions were more than decent. But then again, there was really nothing special about the art.

Sound: (6/10)
The sounds are so-so. The dubbing was done well. But that aside, the OP and ED weren't that enjoyable. The first time I heard the OP, my head began to throb in pain. I have nothing against rock, but I think that was too much. The sounds are decent enough, but wasn't really special.

Characters: (10/10)
Each of the characters has their own characteristics, their own attitudes, their own past and are capable of standing as an individual character. I think that this is the most important trait that each characters should have. That aside, each characters are interesting in their own way. They have their own story to tell. It's really fun watching them develop as the series goes on.

Enjoyment: (9/10)
This anime is really enjoyable. While dealing with serious themes, the anime has a light and comical atmosphere. The action scenes were also decent enough. It also gives off some mysterious aura that leaves the viewers wanting for more. I would have given it a 10 if the series wasn't so short.

Overall: (8/10)
A thick plot, good art, interesting characters... this anime would have been better if only it had a longer series. But despite that, the story development was fine and they tackled about interesting issues. read more

First,this anime is way better than I thought.It's very funny and bloody (good combination) but it's too short 11 episodes.So it's seems that the manga is needed to read.

Story
It has a good story.Zombies having they're organization for chasing an killing other bad zombies.A spooky story with zombies,death gods,reapers other related things.For this too short it had a nice plot but it changed a lot it rather seemed like the episode were all mini stories.But it's tooo funny really it had some awesome moments on which I laughed a lot.It didn't failed action beside the last episode where the producers clearly wanted to stop the anime.Just when I thought the action was going to start they bet the ''final boss'' in a simple and not long way.8/10

Animation
Really awesome everything was well animated.Especially the character I liked they're style the male character are drown a bit in a shoujo anime style.So it's a unique style and it also didn't lacked in the fighting scenes.The funny scenes are also good made with some simple drawings but it was original.9/10

Sound
It was good,nice rock songs with a lot of instrumental which I liked.The ending song is one of my favorites really nice and it suits it well.The opening was a good instrumental with some nice guitar playing but the vocals weren't too good a screaming voice.I'm just sick of them I'm remembering Maximum the Hormone.It was like a bad copy.The ost is awesome you should check it out.So in the end the songs were good.All rock/metal songs during fights.9/10

Character
This surely the best aspect of the anime.Every one is unique and they have good personalities.You will one of them probably.They had were good personalities and had a lot of funny scenes with them.There were some minor characters that I liked but they hadn't have any screen time.Anyway they were all funny a well drawn.It would be better if some had more screen time but I hope that they have better roles in the manga.9/10

Enjoyment
It enjoyed this toooo short anime.It had some awesome moments.There were some too boring episodes but also some really awesome (like the hot spring ep.).So all in all it's a awesome anime but too short.Everyone should watch it but possible read the manga.8/10

read more

I have noticed that I haven't written any reviews on bad anime lately so I'm definitely going to try.

Zombie Loan is quite a lame excuse for a zombie anime that contains more plot holes and inconsistencies than a George Romero movie (look him up)




Story (Poor)
The story is quite laughable in every sense of the word. It is a mix of fan service, action, and comedy. Of course there are ways to execute a combo like this well, but it doesn't pull it off at all. They do well to suck you into the show with the first few episodes, but further down the road, you will notice it gets more and more ridiculous to even an open-minded person such as me to accept. The enemies are also pretty unimpressive. When I expect brutal zombie fights, the least I would expect would be puppies, nuns, and otakus. To give the story some credit though, it does get fairly decent towards the end after all the characters have established themselves. Also, don't forget the fan service as they try to hit all points of fan service from bishoujo to loli to bishonen. It's all there.

Art (Mediocre)
Theres nothing wrong with the art, but theres nothing great about it either. It's obvious from the start that the main aspect of the characters are their sex appeal and their HAIR. Yes their hair, its noticeably more detailed than an average anime, and pointy. I'm surprised no ones eyes gets poked out from all the pointy hair flying around. Suffice to say, they drew most of the men in a bishounen style whereas the women were drawn with a cute moe style (again with the fan service). Girls who love that style will like the boys and the same goes to the boys who love the girls. As for me (being a guy), I loved how all the girls were drawn and even their characteristics weren't bad at all. Aside from favoritism, everything else from backgrounds to static objects and stand ins were just average in my book. Nothing to write home about.

Sound (Decent)
The sound is also not very stellar for such a short anime. A lot of MAL users didn't seem to appreciate the opening theme song (ref: MAL forums). As for me, the OP was average it seems like they were trying to steal a page from Death Note with a hard j-rock theme with no real relevance to the show. The sound effects throughout the show are also average. You'll encounter more comedy sounds than anything else. Also, theres a lot of music in the show, but in the same token, theres a lot of 'dead air' (like a faint wind blowing). But for the most part you will wish they lightened up on the background music. It's only saving grace from a "Pathetic" score (1 point), is the voice casting. Well you can tell the girls are all voiced in a cute or 'typical' manner but some of the guys didn't sound too good in my opinion. One of the main characters even has a nasally tone to his ranting and raving which was quite irritating at times.

Characters (Decent)
Although it's very hard to take an anime like this serious when ALL THREE main characters special abilities are horrible from the start. One can see a band on their neck showing if that person is alive or dead. That ability is fine, but the other two have to switch hands with each other in order to call forth a sword or gun. Which begs the question... why not just keep your own hands to yourself (the reason is also pretty lame IMO). Now I could understand if there was a decent explanation, but its lame. Theres holes like this throughout this show as you would expect from an 11 episode show. Some of the holes are big, like how did they get so good at fighting, or why even bother going to school when your dead and broke. I'm sure you'll find your own issues to pick on throughout your viewing. A good point of the characters though is the fan service aspect as they again cover as many aspects as they can, but even that can help the score that much.


Overall, it's an all right anime that looks like it tries too hard to please a broad audience in such a small time. Even the manga felt to ambitious as well. I believed if Peach-Pit focused more on the story rather than the fan service, it would have been a much better show. Its a shame that such a bad story came from the same person that made Rozen Maiden, Shugo Chara, and Di Gi Charat.


Verdict (4.4) read more

Zombie Loan is the first zombie anime I've seen and I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I highly doubt it is though. I overall liked this anime but it did lack some good qualities.

For starters, Zombie Loan is only 11 episodes long so the storyline lacks depth and moves way too fast. The concept is a good but really you need more episodes in order for it to work.

The animation was good. I'm a sucker for hot anime guys and this anime gave me 2 more. XD I also like that they brought a little humor to the anime with the characters when they were irritated or happy and their heads and eyes would get big and they'd start waving their arms around. I do think that the colors could have been brighter and the zombies could have been more rotted and gross looking.

The music I have mixed feelings about. The opening music I liked up until the singing. The background music was sometimes good but I did notice that sometimes it was saxaphones and that made me go wth?? Zombies + Saxaphones= Epic Fail.

I liked the characters a lot and the voice actors did a very good job I think. And I love how the same guy that did the voice of Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club was Chika because in a way, those 2 characters are similar.

I did enjoy watching this anime for the most part but when I got down to the last few episodes I got bored with it because as I said before, the storyline moved way to fast. I give this a low rewatch value.

So overall, it was a good anime. Not the best I've seen but good. Now if they came out with a second season, I might be happier because I really didn't want it to end so fast. read more

Anyone out there like horror, comedy and action? If so, I believe you'll enjoy this series.

Story:
Zombie-Loan's story... well, to be honest, I haven't seen any animes that really focus on zombies, so this was definitely a first for me, so if anyone says this is a rip-off, don't believe them. The story centers mainly around 3 people, Michiru, who has Shinigami eyes, and can see if someone will do soon by seeing a black ring around their neck; and then Chika and Shito. I won't go into detail about their story, because it could spoil everyone, but let's just say that they hunt for zombies for a living... in the meantime. The goal is to hunt down zombies, or those that should have passed on but did not, and destroy them and give them a proper funeral. But that;s just the beginning. The story gets much better near the end.

Art:
Well, the art is good, if you ask me. Especially when it goes into those comedic moments. It made me laugh countless times, that's for sure. The art is suitable.

Sound:
The sound was GREAT! I heard everything crystal clear and the music and score was great also. Awesome ending theme, eh?

Overall:
Just watch this series. It is good, I had to keep watching it because I just had to see what happened. It's a shame that the studio cut this series short, because it was scheduled for 20+ episodes. But hey, there's a 2 episode OVA afterward and who knows, there may be more in the future.

I recommend this series to any hardcore anime fan. read more

Zombie Loan was a very short anime, but partly I think that's a good thing. If it had continued for an extra 50 episodes it probably would have become a series full of fillers and other rubbish things still managing to cut a lot of things from the manga. But as the manga is still ongoing I think hope for a second series is good, but it will probably be short too (a lot like Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty).

Overall it is a good anime and you should watch it if you have a day spare.

Zombie Loan is a fantastic, albeit short, anime that revolves around Tachibana Shito (Boy A) and Akatsuki Chika (Boy B) who were rumoured to have died in an accident six months before the story begins. Thanks to one of seven ferrymen (Bekko) from the World Fate Organization, the boys have been "brought back to life" through a contract known as a Zombie-Loan. Bekko runs a business (also known as Zombie-Loan, or Z-Loan for short) based on these contracts. Tachibana and Shito are now indebted to the ferryman and they must hunt zombies to earn the funds to pay off their debt within a year, or it's game over, and there will be no coming back a second time.
A great series with lots of action and supernatural references. I love how different mythologies and religious ideas were infused in this anime, allowing a wide audience to be able to enjoy it without to offensive feeling that some animes invoke when they play the religion card. The character development in this series was absolutely great and the overall animation was pretty good, too. I have to rate the sound low, though, for one reason: the opening theme song was utterly horrific. I listened to maybe thirty seconds of it, determined to give it a chance, before quickly skipping ahead to the actual episode. I found this series to be a little too short, but I think the original plan was to have it go for over twenty episodes, so I can't complain about it too much. The action sequences and storyline made this anime one of the greatest I've seen in a while, and I most certainly do recommend it to anyone who likes a good taste of action. Character relationships were well balanced in this particular series, including the surly Tachibana and the reckless Akatsuki (our main zombie-hunting boys). The bit characters were also pretty interesting in their own ways, though some of the lesser characters could have been brought out a bit more, such as the Chairperson of the Academy and her "pet," Lyca. This series doesn't put too much out there for the shojou crowds, but it came across to me as something rather refreshing; finally there is an anime that includes guys, girls, action, sharp-tongues, a little taste of yuri, but not a whole lot of gushy confessions and lovey-dovey smooching. Actually, there were virtually no confessions or smooching. :D
All in all, an excellent series that left me begging for more.
read more