Gakkougurashi!

~Gakkougurashi!~
- Story - 5 [Something Unique but not that much]
The story is very simple, MOE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, though majority of the story is Slice of life with Philosophical Values. But its combination is rare, a Dark Slice of Life anime.
The story introduced themselves as a Little Light in the Dark, at least it's not the typical Slice of Life Moe, but the psychological trauma, and their emotional support to each other makes this anime better than most of the Slice of Life Moe series.
The story is very predictable, the setting is light, with few action and psychological scene, but the only thing that I can't ... predict is the realization of Delusions
The pacing is really good, they were able adapt it well to fit the anime timeline.
Though I thought it was dark, but it's 70% Light and 30% dark. And the slice of life will make you smile, but that smile will disappear when the trouble comes, with few suspense, action, psychological action(the use of sound to evade zombies)
So far, I've only seen Flashback, Deus ex machina(only once for Miki Naoki), Foreshadowing, Plot twist, First-person Narration and the best Ticking clock scenario, as their literary techniques(from wiki).
The ending is not the Best, but it was able to close the anime(with the Front 13, Back 9[just search it on google]) To be Honest, I watched the last episode on RAW, but that will not hinder the Last episode review. Honestly It ended like Angel Beats, but the most interesting in the last episode, They Have used their Feeling and Emotions to Drive out the Zombies(which is illogical) and there's also an Epic Scene where A Hero will die not as a Zombie, but as a Hero(just decipher it in your own) If you're fond of Philosophical(if you can grasp it, then you're with me.) Slice of Life(moe) with a Zombie(I can't call it horror nor dark, it's really light) then you will love this.

- Art - 5 [they hold back on its gore and dark aspects]
The art is Moe, a child like anime characters despite of their age.
But I think the Mangaka tried to express Cute little characters in dangerous situation with horrified faces, but was able to Smile and to be Happy even in the amidst of the Effects and dangers the Chaos
At least the art was able to make it GORE, but it's still lacking, and the Anime focused on the Cute side of it.
There's a mixed CGI on it, the cars, but nothing more.
The anime was able to adapt better in terms of Art Quality, but in terms of Dark Originality of it, they were able to produce the 70% in the anime.
Throughout the episode 1-11, they were able to maintain smooth art.
The background is really GOOD, that's one of the best art in this series, it's really bloody, they didn't hold back in the background.
The character design is MOE, They were able to meet the standard of it, but the irony of this production, they are the ones who makes
Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace and made Danganronpa which is the same as Horror but the opposite of MOE.
The Character Design is not unique, they are MOE, or child like character but the age is different, though it's common in our country(it's full of lolis here)

- Sound - 3 [there's nothing Horror at All, it's just for MOE]
The Voice Actress were able to make the Cutest voice in this anime.
And they don't need to adapt for the role they were given.
But I think the Voice Actress have Improved, but a little in this anime.
But it would be fun, if the non-japanese VA can play this with a cute voice.
But the background music is not the best in this anime, it was good in Slice of Life scenes, but not on Horror or Thrilling scenes, they've used Diminished chords or the Devil Chords but the Infra Sound, or the Feel sound is not used, and One Punch Man BGM is way better in terms of Horror.
I always try to catch the music and hears its expression, but for this one, it still lacks, it's more like a Deep Thought Provoking Sound rather than Horror.
I think I will used their OST or BGM for Thought Provoking Mangas.
I like the opening, it's light and Fluffy, and The ending is Dramatic which fits the mood after watching a Light mixed Dark element in an episode.
And in terms of OP/ED, Though I can Listen to it, it's not catchy, if you want to repeat the op, but the ed is ok to add in my phone. But as a Musician, the op and the ed are not catchy, or it's not worth for playing it for a Cover. I would love to make an AMV for this using Rock with Dark and Metal Elements on it.

- Characters - 5 [MOE girls are Developed, but only on the last 2 EP]
The Characters are very well done, they have strengths and Resolves to live, their only weakness is Flashbacks of Tragedy and Psychological Disorder or Delusional disorder. But the normal weakness for the people, Zombie Trauma, is not present here.
The characters were able to portray realistic actions in the zombie apocalypse situation, but at the same time, they were able to Smile and Laugh, which is not Present for the many people who lives in this world.
I can relate to the characters, Unlike Games and Manga that Uses Guns, Bats, and other tools to kill zombies, They have used the Sound to evade Zombies, which is the best when it comes to Survival Tactic. They were able to Support their Emotional Needs, which is one of the Best message in this series, which lacks in many people that lives in reality. And the best so far: Be Happy in times of Chaos, which is illogical. But also my personality in real life.
The characters did improved, but it's just a small factor in terms of Character Development, but they can adapt in the situation very fast.
Only Four people are currently present in this Anime.
And their enemies, of coarse the Zombies, which made the Clock Ticking Scenario.
There's no supporting character that lives, but for a single Girl.
They've only used First Person Narration, or the characters shown in the screen in the scene that are present are the ones who narrate themselves.
I disliked the taste of the majority of japanese boys, which is MOE[cute girls], But for the Characters in this anime, I liked them so much, that they were able to show the Philosophical Value of Happiness in times of Trouble, which is the situation they lived in.
Though I think I will forget about them, because I'm not into MOE

- Enjoyment - 4 [not into light if it has dark elements on it]
Those people who loves Cute Girls with an Aspect of School, Slice of Life, will love this. But for the people who Loves Horror, Mystery, Psychological, will not love this, They can watch this, but not as a their taste, and most of them Will hate this anime. But for a Person who watches Anime that Loves to apply things from an anime in Real Life situations, then this is a masterpiece, they were able to show LIGHT in the DARK, and there's only one "Deus ex Machina" present here(ex. One Punch Man)
This is anime is good for newbies in both Horror and Anime, but not for Horror lovers.
I think I will not re-watch the whole anime, but for the sake of its Philosophical Values, I will watch some scenes that has epic lines and quotes.
I think it is still enjoyable to re-watch the whole anime, but for me, I have to look for another anime.
It's better to remember it as a LIGHT MOE ANIME. than DARK MOE ANIME, it's good but It's still lacks in many ways to call this a Great Anime.
It's good as a cup of tea for Horror, Mystery, Psychological lovers and it's intense for School, Slice of Life lovers. but As a person who watches anime for Real Life situation, then this is really good in terms Lessons that can be applied in Real Life Situations, like when you have to Adapt quickly in times of trouble, Psychological Recovery, if you're not really happy in your current life, because of many problems, and Lastly, is to SMILE in the times of Disaster and its effect.

- Overall - 4 [decent show with few philosophical values yet...]
This anime was able to its four elements in a Decent Way, but it should have been Better if the ART and the SOUND was able to portray the mood. The Horror aspects is Missing that could Have Been better because of the ART and SOUND that were underestimated. I Judge According to How it was Done, not Story and Characters Only. This is a Decent Anime which I rate 4/10 or not BAD on how it was DONE.

- Worth - 4 [worth for being cute, that's all]
This is an Over Rated Anime, because of its surprise that it brought to us, but I think we have to lessen that Deserving praise. In terms of Logical rating, I would give this 4/10, which was able to bring some thing new yet unsatisfied results for me. But in terms of Real Life Lessons and Application(treat the zombies as your problems) then I would give this a High Rating, I would give it an 6/10 which deserves it. It's up to you if you want to watch it. It's an Anime for those who has soft spots for cute girls.

My Real Thoughts are the ones on the [ words input ] I Don't want to change it any longer, It's gonna take long before I changed It...

i got my eyes on this anime after my friend suggested it. at the first time i had my eye on it on myanimelist it seems like "moe anime" with tag mystery on it. i tried to watch one eps, in first 15 min i was like "this is really mystery anime" sure that was a sarcastic coming from my mouth. and then in the place where you don't expected it, this anime hits you hard with the reality of post-apocalypse

this anime itself tells us what makes human great. the will of surviving, great mind, and self-defense. but, what if the human greatness itself makes ... somehole while protecting oneself? it happens in this anime where your mind decide to protect you with averting your eyes from reality. first 8 eps is introduction, the core story comes after. hard to say this but the introduction had stronger feeling than the core story. some of art losing from the sound of voice actor making it seems weird when watching it. the enjoyment of this anime comes from the surprise it gave, the music and the origins of character are good, but the character development is lame. character is pretty usual, i'm hoping for some better development in the end but it end up predicted

in the end, the anime is worth to watch, not to say this is a masterpiece but it's enough for some mystery anime lover. not recommended to be rewatched since the enjoyment comes from the surprise it gives. still, it worth 7.7/10

Gakkougurashi (aka School-Live!) is a moeblob slice-of-life anime with cute girls doing cute things, it was pretty moe! Too moe that I got a nosebleed!


Well...



Until you see the end of the first episode.

It may seem like a moeblob anime, but actually, it's a horror anime with cute girls fighting against zombies... Except for one girl. Her name is Yuki Takeya. She sees school as a normal school with students... No zombies... No dangerous thingies! So basically, she's a happy-go-lucky girl with no problems with life. While she go imagine the school as a happy thing, her friends play along with her while they're fighting off ... zombies. She totally does nothing. Except for the last episode I guess.

The story is pretty good, it had many good cliffhangers and plot twists.

Art is good because it's made in 2015. Obviously.

Opening was one of the things that I kept my eyes on as it changes after something interesting happen!

Ending was good too. However.

The characters are pretty interesting, their traits are pretty different than any anime since it's horror.

I enjoyed it a lot. But still,

I gave it a 8 for Yuki.

In almost any form of art, the use of contrast can be a very powerful tool to enhance the appeal of your work. By taking two different items and setting them against each other, it can multiply the overall value and effect of the product versus those two items being standalone. It can make paintings have a captivating appearance, give food a memorable flavor, and, in the case of movies and television, give a unique experience that makes it stick to the minds of the audiences watching. There is, however, a catch to this: the right amount of each item must be balanced against each ... other lest one overpower the other or it turn away potential customers/viewers/etc. So how does the use of contrast affect the anime School-Live? The answer is important - after all, it's what the entire show hinges on.

School-Live is an anime that wishes to contrast two different atmospheres, cute and creepy, in its 12 episode runtime. It combines a cute high-school slice of life show with that of a zombie apocalypse. The reveal that there's horror in something charming is sometimes hidden from the viewer to make the turn of events more shocking, but in the case of School-Live, it's its worst kept secret. The show's synopsis, poster, and tags all give away what's happening. Even before the big reveal, it's pretty clear that something's wrong inside the show's world. That said, the show's use of zombies isn't really where the main focus lies. Instead, it uses this as a tool to test the survival, and psychological skills, of our main protagonists.

Each character is given a slight role to the group. Kurumi is the twin-tailed fighter of the group and uses her trusty shovel to fight off the occasional zombie rush. Yuuri serves as an organization leader of the group and is shown keeping down a list of supplies as well as "approve" of certain events. Miki is the newcomer and though she is the youngest of the group of girls, she is the smartest and most practical of the group. Finally, there's Yuki, the chipper voice of morale and mascot of the show. A black hat with cat ears is worn over her head filled with ideas of what to do during the group's downtime. Together they make the "School-Life" club, a club dedicated to doing what they can to "help" other groups and make school the best place to be. The price for this dedication is to stay on school grounds at all times, but considering what's going on outside, it can hardly be considered a downside.

Of course, the club the 4 girls form isn't really an official club - rather, it's the way that they help keep their sanity in check. The supernatural fear outside combined with the claustrophobic environment inside can get to a person, so pretending to have ever-popular school events such as a sports day and field trips can break the monotony of survival. This is where the show wishes to use its contrast. It shows a typical school life setting against the fear of a horrific death. Every event is limited not by a school budget or time, but rather what the girls have on hand. Throw in the chance of something horrific happening during each day in their fortress and you've got a show that certainly finds a place for itself.

Those looking for a chance to see some intense girl-on-zombie fighting will be sorely disappointed. Sure, Kurumi swings a shovel a few times but it never focuses on the action. Instead, it offers two alternatives: goofing off and twisted tales. The former is to deliver the "cute" half of the show's contrast (as well as attract the audience who enjoy idle, silly fun). The latter is the core strength of the show, as we get to see how these girls truly feel about the events that have occurred and the fears of what the future may bring. Yuki is the obvious choice for this category, as she simply pretends nothing went wrong and thinks every day is another fun and fantastic day at school. I do find her to be a bit immature, though. She's a senior in high school, and yet I feel like I'm watching a kids show when she performs her antics. Miki is for my money the best of the cast. Her story is a personal one, much like the others, but the emotions feel amplified as a result of the lack of interactions she gets as well as the isolation she has from the rest of the world. The main cast get a school and make up fun activities - during Miki's origins, we get none of that and instead get a greater fear of the unknown. It's arguably the greatest moment of the show.

With these details in mind, does School-Live find a balance between its two genres? For some viewers it does, but I can't say it did for me. The show has a habit of pointing out a few flaws in their own show but ultimately struggle to answer them. The biggest example of this include part of the field trip episode. There's danger looming all around and, especially later in the show, a fear of supply management as resources start to dwindle down. Yet there's enough time for swimsuits to be tried on. The excuse "We are girls, after all" doesn't really work here and suggests that the show is also trying to attract an audience via alternative means. A better strategy would be to stock up on more of the zombie's weaknesses (sound and light based items, such as glowsticks and child alarms). Another example stems from how coincidental everything is. With the school's vast amount of natural resources, it definitely feels apt for survival. This seems to be hinted at something greater, but not enough detail is given. A good question to answer would be how long do the zombies live for? Right now, I am to believe they are immortal unless they are explicitly killed. In the end, it's a supernatural story so anything the author wants can be put into place. This latter point is only minor, since this is the first part of the story. However, a little enticement for the future can go a long way with keeping people interested - it comes off as more credible than trying on swimsuits.

The ultimate issue will lie with the audience. I enjoy some slice-of-life but it's not a genre I can say is my favorite. Sure, it's cute watching the girls run around and make stupid jokes, but I really don't gain too much from it. I'd much rather see a form of progress across the city or more of what's happened with the world rather than be confined in the halls of the school. Considering that's half of the show's appeal, it's quite clear that I'm not meant for the show's audience. That said, it'd be foolish for me not to admit it's a necessary evil. Had the show entirely be focused on the mystery and horror, it probably would've received more criticisms of shock value and wouldn't have found as large a fanbase. That's really the takeaway of using the contrast strategy - the balance in the creator's eye may be imbalanced in the eye's of the viewer. That's why we all have different likes and dislikes, after all.

The animation studio behind School-Live is Lerche. There are a few shortcuts here and there (the CG zombies in one scene being the #1 shortcut) but they do a fairly good job. Bright, cutesy colors for when everything's fine and shades of purple, black and dull gray for when zombies are involved. Arguably the scariest thing about this show may be the character's eyes - their irises are a bright ring that contains a dark colored pupil. They're sort of unsettling to look at. The music for the show consists of goofy, lighthearted pieces and some dramatic tones - mood music, mainly. It sports a catchy OP "Friend Shitai" and a relaxed ED "Harmonize Clover" to end episodes on a lighter note (with the tongue-in-cheek "Good Night" displayed after the end of early episodes). The real grab would be the moody piano piece "We took each other's hand", used perfectly for Miki's scenes and again amplifying her backstory. The voice acting is also good. The seiyuus know how to deliver a dramatic scene or a scream when needed. Yuki's is a bit too "bubbly" for me, but it's appropriate for her character.

Overall, I give School-Live a 6/10. It's a show that's not for everyone - again, this is a show for people who want a slice-of-life AND a bit of psychological horror. If you're more in the former camp and don't mind a darker show, this will probably be the anime for you. If you're more in the latter camp, I'd advise to pass on this one unless you need something a bit lighter, as strange as that sounds. School-Live is a short and interesting watch that shows that even a strange contrast can give a show staying power.

Do you like or dislike this anime? If you haven't watched it, are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

I recently re-watched school-live, and honestly I enjoyed it just as much as I did the fist time and thought I might as well make a review on it. This is my first review so please bear with me lol, and this review will contain spoilers for the end of episode 1.

Story- 8

Zombie apocalypse is a premise that has been done many times before, but school-live differs from the standard ordeal by presenting itself to just be a cute school slice of life at first. I think that the way this twist was done was very effective, leaving only tiny hints in the majority of ... the first episode to the true nature of the series, before revealing it all at the end. There are several more plot twists throughout the series, and although upon re-watch they are more predictable, the execution of them is fantastic. The show also has very good foreshadowing, which is again more noticeable upon re-watch.
However, there are some parts of the show that may seem filler like to some, for example there's one episode where most of it is just the main cast going swimming. In my opinion, it strengthened the viewers attachment to the characters, making the following episodes more emotional, but overall there were only a few minutes that contributed to the actual plot. There are also some moments that can be seen as plot convenience, especially part of the ending was underwhelming as the solution to the problem at hand was so simple.
I do have a problem with Miki being introduced in the first episode instead of later on, I think it would've been better paced if it started with Yuki, Kurumi, Yuuri and Megumi at first, then introduce Miki in a future episode.

Art/Animation- 7

Although nothing stellar, I believe that cute, "moe" art style worked really well and juxtaposed the dark theme of the show. The character designs are very nice and suited each characters personality. When the show got darker in tone, the art reflected that which was appreciated, and the visuals for the opening gradually got darker which made for a nice touch. There really isn't much to say about the animation, nothing amazing but not bad either, just standard, and fortunately it was consistent.

Sound-9

I really loved the soundtrack for this anime, it had both upbeat but also mellow tunes, used accurately which contributed to the atmosphere the show was going for. Personally, my favourite track was "We took each other's hand". It's a beautiful track that was also used in one of the credits, and was first used during Miki's backstory. The vocals are soothing and the lyrics have a meaning behind them, also relating to some themes of the anime. In contrast to this, you have "Mezame no Waltz", an upbeat track used throughout the series, usually in the more slice-of-life parts. This track to me is a nice change of pace from the overall grim tone of the anime. The soundtrack uses a range of different instruments, played together cohesively to create music I really love.

Characters- 8

At first the main cast seem to be your typical school slice of life characters, such as Yuuri being the mother of the group and Yuki being the cheerful one who is always full of energy. For the most part this is true, but each character goes through their own internal struggle, making them more three dimensional and causing the viewer to feel more attached to the characters. In my opinion, Yuki is the most well written out of the four, with her being too traumatised to realise the reality of the situation, but she has a strong resolve and is incredibly brave, which is what makes her more admirable. Their personalities together make a lovable main cast. There's also the side characters; I loved Megumi so much, knowing that she'd always care for the girls and would do anything to keep them safe was really heartwarming. Kei was also great, deciding to take action instead of just sitting back and watch everything unfold. Furthermore, she contributed a lot to Miki's development- they were such a great duo.

Enjoyment- 9

This is honestly such a great anime to watch, having its fair share of both cheerful and grim moments. I was hesitant to watch it at first as I usually don't like horror, but I'm glad I did and episode 1 still remains as one of my favourite episodes out of all of the anime I've watched. I'm invested enough in the story line and characters to want to buy the manga and see how the story ends.

Overall- 8
Overall I believe school-live to be an enjoyable take on the zombie apocalypse genre, and I highly recommend to people who are looking for a twist on cute girls doing cute things, or just someone looking for a good psychological drama in general.

This anime was a pleasant surprise, I started it after hearing somewhere that the first episode was an amazing watch if you jumped right in without knowing anything about this anime. So I stopped right there, and watched the first episode with little to no prior knowledge. If you are reading this review prior to watching this anime trying to decide if it is worth your time, I would advise you not look too much into it, but simply stop reading now and watch the first episode and make you decision based on that.

With that out of the way I'll get on with the review.

Is ... something unenjoyable simply due to it being too predictable? I think that this is something that will be the difference between really enjoying this show and becoming frustrated with it for some. I've definitely been frustrated with it in the past in some shows, like every twist in turn I saw coming a mile away. However for this anime, where I'll say I saw most of the twists coming (aside from that first one, dayuuum). I think that this was a conscious decision by the writers of the show. There was lots of foreshadowing floating around just begging to be noticed. And I think in some ways, that actually added to the show for me. Just like when you read a book, or poetry, foreshadowing within a piece of work can really enhance its effect. Long story short, I think that a predictable story still has the potential to be a good one.

Story: 6

The story in this show was, not the most intricate I've ever seen, nor the most original. However it was certainly enjoyable. Some of the finer points of what the hell is going on are left unanswered at the end of this series, but that was never really the focus of this show to begin with, and the story really isn't where this show shines. Much of the time the story doesn't focus on the impending zombie apocalypse outside their doorstep, but more on the day to day living, struggles, and psychological issues that have ensued in the aftermath, and how they learn to move on and live a happy life regardless. Not to say that there isn't any zombie killing and drama, because you will have your fill of that I assure you. I won't say much else about what happens other than that the ending doesn't really leave you hanging, but it could definitely use a little bit more work or direction as to what comes next.

Art: 8

The art in this show was consistent and well animated. There is also one or two scenes that stick out in my mind where they really went out of their way to leave an impression.

Sound: 6

I honestly can't say I noticed the soundtrack in very many scenes during this anime aside from a few, but I think it suited it well in the scenes I did notice it. Also I must say the OP was very enjoyable, I normally skip OPs but this one I watched almost every time.

Character: 9

Now this I think is where the show really leaves its mark. The show has a rather small cast of characters, ranging from the airhead (and mentally unstable) Yuki, Kurumi (Shovel-chan), Yuuri (Responsible big sister type), Megu-nee (Teacher), and Mii-kun (Intellectual). They balance each other out quite well. And I must say that their interactions were all very enjoyable to watch. Now Yuki in particular will either drive you nuts or you will adore her. I certainly enjoyed watching her bubbly, ridiculous, and at times, downright crazy statements and interactions with others. There was more than one time where I fully expected her to go full psycho mode and just start kicking some zombie ass, despite her rather small size and friendly nature. Yuki was the character that I think really made this show excellent.

Overall I think that this show was a good watch, but the ending could've used a bit more work, or closure.

Gakkou Gurashi Review:

First time review

Here’s what I think about Gakkou Gurashi, Gakkou Gurashi is amazing but it could’ve been done better.

At first I didn’t pay much attention to this series, so I just put it on my watch list. When I finally watched the first episode, I crapped my pants. I watched this show without knowing anything about it, I didn’t know the genre, I didn’t watch the trailer, and I never see any screenshot (the summary is misleading), so it was a real shock for me and it makes me wanting more.

Now here’s the problem with the following episodes, they aren’t consistent. The episodes ... jumping back and forth between flashback and present times, throwing us off from the main plot (“is this still flashback episode?”, “is this present time?”, “wait, this is present time but still in a flashback”, like that). But it doesn’t mean that they’re bad episodes instead they are all great.

The flashback shows the event before it all happens, with Megumi’s and Miki’s point of view, and I loved the way they handle these episodes with a great pacing building up to the climax while introducing us to the characters and how does the climax hit them real hard. The rest of the episodes are the typical moe slice of life show, where some of them are pretty boring but it’s still gives you a few laugh and smiles while deepening the characters.

Now for the characters there’s Kurumi she’s the muscle in the group, there’s Yuri she’s the leader of the group but her character is bland in the anime compared to the manga version (which unfortunate because she’s an interesting character), Miki is the newest member of the group (she’s the only character that doesn’t comes to an agreement with Yuki’s condition at first but as the story progresses she’s starting to accept and tries to help her in a way), Megumi she’s the teacher in the group and I say that she’s the best teacher I’ve ever seen, her love to the students are really admirable willing to sacrifice herself for her student safety, Taroumaru is a dog, at first he’s annoying and act as a liability in the group but later we see that he helped the group several times.

Now for me Yuki is the strongest character in this show her delivery in episode 1 proves that, her insanity doesn’t just affect the group but it also affects the audience who watch this show. It makes the audience on edge and having trust issues throughout the episodes. We also learnt that her insanity is what keeps the group sane (explained in another flashback episode), when they put it like that it makes sense, are you willing to live in a world where the only thing you can think of is to survive? Or are you willing to live in a world where you can smile even if the world is ruined? These reason is what makes Yuki’s character meaningful. At episode 11 & 12 is where her character shines, where she finally overcomes her delusion, we would expect her to breakdown and becoming more of a liability but instead it’s the opposite. She managed to save all of her friends (kind of), she’s willing to fight, she helps her friends overcome their sadness and she even gives us the audience a wonderful message.

but here’s the problem that I have with the final episode, it took the whole episode 11 to build up the climaxes and it ends in a satisfying cliffhanger but later in episode 12 all problems were solved in just around 5 minutes with a solution that are to convenient.

The music in this show are great especially the OP, the OP is catchy and upbeat with a very cheerful visual style but as the show progresses the visuals getting darker, darker and darker accompanied with the same upbeat and catchy song this OP works well. The ED is just there nothing really special only in a couple of episodes where the ED stands out. In episode 1 where they reveal the dark secret of this show it uses a music box as the theme song which is very fitting giving us the audience a sense of dread, confusion, relaxing, and depression all in one that was well done. For the slice of life part, the music doesn’t stand up at all it’s just there to serve some scenes but when the show become darker that’s where the music really hits the nail.

The art style of this show really fits the atmosphere, when it’s dark the color pellet are grayish and dark but when it’s not the color pellet are all bright and colorful. Now for the zombie design is a bit questionable, it’s because they cover the zombies with a purple aura to restrict the violence and gore in the show, which confuses me why since this show needs that aspect. (because the manga is really gory)

So overall Gakkou Gurashi is a great show, that has a great characters, great story, and great execution. I watched the anime first and when the anime finished I read the manga but I didn’t read it too far I just read it to the same point as the show, I want to watch the anime first. The manga for me is better but it has a really bad execution and the anime managed to fix this by adding lots of changes which is great but it also loses its consistency. I recommend people to watch this show, it is a must. it's just that this anime doesn't have enough recognition which i find it really unfortunate (like a few of my favorite YouTube anime reviewer didn't even review this show or mention anything about this show which is disappointing to me)

PREMISE
Putting horror into anime has always proven itself to be a difficult task. Many studios have tried, often to little avail. Instead of moments that instill dread into our hearts, we’re left with predictable setups, uninspired monsters, or an over-dependence on gore. It appears that anime is just not a good medium to really freak people out.

As such, Gakkou Gurashi is trying a different angle. Reminiscent of Madoka Magika, it isn’t trying to unsettle viewers by being incredibly scary. Instead, it tries to be only somewhat scary, but within an otherwise completely unscary setting. And so we have one of the more unusual matchups in ... recent years: typical moe schoolgirl fluff... and zombies.

EXECUTION
Gakkou Gurashi has been an incredibly polarizing show. I feel that the crux of the controversy is due to the fact that, despite its twist, Gakkou Gurashi is still a show where “cute girls do cute things” at heart.

To understand why some people really like Gakkou-- and why others really dislike it-- we need to look at the show’s main theme: denial of reality. While it is shown early on that Yuki takes the theme to an extreme extent, all of the other main characters are guilty of it as well. For instance, the girls could break Yuki away from her fantasies-- they even admit that they would be able to. But they don’t. Why? Because Yuki’s cheery demeanor would vanish. So let’s make sure Yuki stays happy instead, because if she’s so happy, then things can’t possible be that bad, right?

To further this delusion, the girls try to live life as usual. They’re not sleeping at school because it’s a safe haven, but because they’re part of a School-Life Club. They’re not foraging for supplies, they’re going on a field trip. Hey, I have an idea! Let’s write messages and tie them to balloons! Let’s have a fight with water guns! Let’s have races in the hallway! If anything, they’re acting even more upbeat and bubbly than usual, because that’s all that’s keeping away reality.

And this is where, for many, the show falters. There is a large chunk of screentime given to these schoolgirls acting like, well, schoolgirls. This leads to a whole lot of moe fluff that, while it advances the setting, does absolutely nothing to advance the plot. And for those who cannot stand the genre, or the show’s stagnant story, there are many valid complaints to be had against Gakkou Gurashi.

But for those who don’t mind the set-up as much, it definitely does a lot to make the horror hit harder. I don’t want to delve into spoilers, but I will say this: Gakkou Gurashi is really, really dire. With every episode, things are looking more and more helpless. And no matter how much you may want to go along with the cast’s beliefs that everything is going to turn out alright, you won’t be able to get away from the feeling that every bit of happiness is just another sign that things are going to go horribly wrong. And that’s not something you come across in an anime very often.

First of all, I'll start by assuming that you've read the synopsis on MAL for it and know what the series is about. However, if you didn't, you might have the opportunity of going into this series without having the first episode's twist revealed. So you might want to head in and check that out first. Like, you might like the whole twist, despite the rate I've given this series and knowing the theme is relevant to what I'll continue with.

If you're reading this paragraph then I'll assume that you did. Do you like the theme that the anime has presented? Yes? Then you should ... give this adaptation's manga instead a try. I'll explain why, as I've done a check up on the differences between the manga series and the anime series.

The anime's story tried to strengthen the cutsey/moe-ish factor of the show by a fuckton. To do that the show has done certain changes which left out a bunch of scenes where the conflict between some characters has been underwhelmed or totally removed, some events were changed to be more lighthearted or simply replaced with some more slice of life-ish moments. Some moments that define the mental state of the main character better as well as some mental breakdowns were removed from the show. Some events were rearranged to fit the cutsey aspect of the show better and make it be more lighthearted. And on top of all that since they thought the cutsey factor will sell and because we've got girls in the show, you like girls right???, they also added a beach (a pool episode but not really) to it. And due to all of these factors this, the anime will feel lacking and kinda skewered.

In order to succeed in selling a character that lives in a certain state of mind, you've gotta detail their state of mind as much as possible and the anime's description of the main character's state of mind is simply... accepted by her peers. It is never really explained properly why. The explanation given to us is really, it cheers us up. But in the manga it actually is a little more complex than that. I can't go into more detail because of spoilers here, but note that the manga has given more important details to make her state easier to understand and accept. Her state of mind fuels the tragedy in the series and her struggles. All these things to give depth to her character, and even the characters around her since the effect and the impact her state has on them is also more explored in the manga, all of that, replaced with cutsey moments.

The pacing of the series is all damaged, in order for the anime to get serious due to all the changes they've done to the source material it had for a good while to appeal to flashbacks in order to describe the current state of how things are, making it seem as the worst has passed and they're making the best out of a bad situation and living somewhat casually at the current time. In the manga, the pacing is better. And the worst part is that the pacing makes the final events of the series feel completely convenient, from a casual watcher of zombie series' standpoint. There are some things will feel awfully convenient happening. Like, no, stupidly convenient. Like, shoplifting something, being caught, and you asking "Can I steal this PLEASE?". And they're like, yeah sure. Then you leave, yay, free shit. I again obviously can't give details on this, because spoilers.

So what can you expect from the anime itself? A story that doesn't describe its characters and the struggles they went through properly, banking on the fact it's cute and hoping that it's cuteness will be a catalyst to an impactful ending, banking on a couple things that are very likely to market. Is that the same case from the manga? Well, I can say the story takes itself more seriously, and things won't feel nearly as convenient there. There's some skipped content in the anime. (a bunch of chapters actually, consecutive even for a bunch of them) There's a character in the series (The dog) that is merely an episodic chapter in the manga series which in the anime is pretty much part of the main cast. The dog is anything but an integral part of the group. And something that will happen to the dog is explained way better rather than not at all.

To put it quite frankly, the things the anime has done quite well are its intro that gets progressively more fucked up as the series progressed, which I thought was a nifty touch, but I can't say I am a fan of the moe artstyle, or the slice of life-ish moments that took away development from the characters and the group as a whole the manga had. Anything else? The serious moments were done mostly well, but the series is mostly killed by its pacing. As I've said, when it's not in flashbacks, it seems like they're living somewhat of a peaceful life and the worst has already passed, making it all the more ridiculous how by its end, everything that will happen will simply feel convenient. And while the manga also tries to look cute, it does not do it at the cost of telling a more complete story about the characters.

If you want a more solid story with better characterization and better focus on the characters and of the theme this anime has, just go for the manga. The manga is decent, it explores the impact someone delusional and why they're delusional overall impacts the group, and the view of everyone on it and the impact this has on them. The anime tries to exploit this mental state as a tool towards building slice of life-ish moments that took away from the story. The manga tells a more natural, better paced, not nearly banking as much on the "please notice me I'm cute" factor. The problems of the group and characters are solved with less convenience even though there's some of that inside of the manga too. The world will be described better than in the show and in this particular type of setting, knowing the dangers of the world is very important. Overall I'd say the anime adaptation was an adaptation mostly ruined by marketing tactics. The manga series while not incredible, it still does a decent job with its theme and it uses its strengths mostly right.

However, if you're not interested in the theme or just don't want to bother with the manga, you could just avoid this series entirely. The reason I compared it with the manga so much is to explain why the adaptation was bad and if you are really into the theme, you have a far better alternative. I can't recommend you going into the anime for any reason, in good faith, when you have a better alternative for the same story in a different format.

If you like cute girls and horror, this series is perfect for you. Megurigaoka High School has become overrun with zombies after being hit by a biological weapon created by the Randall Corporation and covered up by the government who uses the school and it’s unique resources as a shelter. Four girls, their teacher, and their dog are at some point, the last living survivors and strive to find a way out alive. Personally, I’ve never had a show create such a lasting impact on me like this has. I hate horror but the cute art style gave me the nerve to watch it. The ... gory imagery, psychological twist and turns, and the raw emotion of the characters are second to none. The protagonist Yuki is at the center of the series as the beacon of hope to the rest of the girls however, she is still living in the past. After a certain event that took place during the zombie plague, Yuri started to envision her life as it was prior to the outbreak. The others are planning their survival and fending off zombies while Yuki continues to go to class in a torn up and bloodied room with no teachers and no students under the impression that none of this ever happened. She believes they’re all just in a school living club with their teacher and pet but school living means more than just camping on campus- they’re literally the only living people in their school and potentially the whole town.

With a very strong start, gakkougurashi turns more and more dissapointing at every episode that passes.

!!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!

The characters really are not much more than moe cute girls, and when the show has any opportunity to explore them more, just wastes it. For example, the decision to make Miki confront zombie Megumi not only is the less interesting option to make; but also goes against the supposed message of "moving on" from the show. has none of the girls have or even seem to acknowledge the need to kill Megumi zombie.

Actually, the show contradicting its own message also happens when Yuuri refuses to kill Kurumi and ... that's completely okay having no consequences at all. This could be an option to be made and even be interpreted as the "right choice", but brushing it off with just some cliff hanger of Yuuri almost killing her and then one or two scenes of her crying does not explore any theme and would be better off NOT PUT on the show at all if you're not going to do anything with it.

The final monologues about "how we need to move on and everything has to come to an end" really misses to hit due to this repeated refusal of the show to show us that.

Yuki refusal to believe on what happened was also a very VERY cool concept, but it was so poorly and I mean REALLY POORLY executed, it never builded the tension that the show so desperatly tired to create.

I also felt that there was a loss of focus on what character should be the main one. While I understand the need to make Miki an outsider so she can confront Yuki and we can get more context without a full info dump; it was too stretched out for us to see, know more and even process Yuki as the actual main character.

Overall, there were really good and cool ideas, but left more to be desired for.

I just want to say that my writing can be really "corny" some times and I'm not good with words. So just a heads up, and I'll try not to spoil as much as I can.

This anime took me on a roller coaster of emotions. Laughter, sorrow, and utter fear. Gakkou Gurashi (School-Live) is a slice-of-life, moe-filled anime with a dark twist. It is the first anime that made me feel actually connect/relate to the characters while enjoying the story at the same time. For me, School-Live will always have an impact on me as a great anime, I guess I can say that it ... gave me back a heart, and then ripped it out again. Also, you know how people who love reading books say that a book gives them an experience of an entire different world? Gakkou Gurashi is a perfect example of that, for me at least. This might sound weird but I was knocked with a refreshing sense of reality while at the same time feeling as if I was in a different world with the characters in this anime.

Like all things, nothing is perfect. This anime has both pros and cons, an example for a con is that there are some parts that aren't very well thought out and just don't make any sense, as well as them not including some very important scenes in the anime from the manga that would've helped us better understand the story. Though there are many pros as well! Some of the scenes are portrayed better here than in the manga imo, the characters are lovable, and an art style that is so cute I just cannot take it.

I don't know if this review helped convince you in anyway at all but I hope it did. It hurts to see this anime not getting the recognition it deserves, so if you can please share it with other people. I think I'm getting off topic-
Anyway, you should definitely watch this anime! While you are at it, after watching this anime you should read the manga. The translated version is free, just search "Gakkougurashi manga."

If you somehow managed to read this without knowing what this anime is about, do yourself a favor and stop reading, because I won't be able to talk about Gakkou Gurashi without revealing the big plot twist of episode one.

Story:
The great thing about this is, it surprises you either way. If you expect a moe slice of life anime, you will be surprised at the survival horror. If you expect it to be a full-blown horror show, you will be surprised that it is a moe slice of life show nonetheless. When not being threatened by zombies, the girls do their best to enjoy the ... life they have with whatever possibilities they have. Gakkou Gurashi does not work on twists alone, it also has story progress, which is something even many "normal" slice of life anime miss out on.
10/10

Art:
Moe is not everyones cup of tea, I don't have a problem with that though. Here it is used as heavy contrast to the horror elements, not unlike the way Madoka was planned out. But since it's still a slice of life anime, it also works the usual way. As a very nice bonus, there are several hints thrown into episode one towards the big reveal as well as a constantly changing opening.
9/10

Sound:
I really liked the background music in Gakkou Gurashi, as well as the voice acting (though I have to admit they did play into stereotypes). The bubbly happy opening theme stuck ot more and more as the visuals for it changed and the tone got more serious towards the end. It actually ended up being more disturbing than cute, which is probably a good thing. The ending songs were very touchy, though nothing that stuck inside my head for long.
8/10

Characters:
The girls started out as stock slice of life characters, but over the course of the show, they were able to show more facets than what they seemed to be at first glance. I wouldn't go so far saying they have hidden depths (except maybe Yuki), but they were enjoyably not the fixed stereotypes they could have been. The most important thing however, is that I cared about their well-being. Everytime something bad happened to them, I felt really sad. This includes the dog.
9/10

Enjoyment:
I loved this anime. I laughed and cried, sometimes within minutes of each other and I hoped that everything would turn out okay. It is not often that an anime grabs me like this one did. Maybe my rating is influenced by my emotional involvement while watching, but can this really be an argument against it? You may be put off by the mixture of two so different genres, but if you don't have a problem with that, Gakkou Gurashi is an anime you won't regret watching. If you've read the manga and are a purist, you will also find changes you may not like, but this review is about the anime, not how it was adapted.
10/10

Overall:
9.2/10

Story & Writing:

The author of Gakkou Gurashi probably hit upon one extremely interesting idea and decided to write an entire series based on that one brainwave. However, he probably didn't realize that an interesting idea ain't worth jack shit if you don't develop and expand upon it. As a result, we get Gakkou Gurashi.

While interesting at first, this show ended up feeling half-assed and lazy. Its more unique aspects are introduced solely as a gimmicky selling point and was never capitalized on as the show waddles awkwardly between cutesy moe and edgy horror. I don't think the show itself even knows what it wants to ... be. It's neither dark, gritty nor realistic enough to be a compelling horror, but neither is it fun and lighthearted enough to be a slice-of-life either. By the end, this entire show feels like one big sloppy mess of somewhat interesting ideas loosely strung together with blood, spit and moe. Absolutely no cohesion nor depth - just novelty and shock factor.

But the depth and development - or lack thereof - is not the only subpar thing about this show. It genuinely could have thrived off of its barebones premise alone if only the characters weren't so goddamn boring and generic.
Even if a show's writing fails to develop on its own premise, it can still be decent provided that its characters are decently interesting and entertaining to watch.

But in Gakkou Gurashi, I do not give a single fuck about any one of the characters.

Not Yuki. Not Yuuri. Not Miki. Not Kurumi. Not even the fucking dog.

They can all go die for all I care because they do not have a single shred of individuality nor charisma about them. I really think that these characters are the ultimate symbol of Gakkou Gurashi's identity crisis, of its internal conflict and indecisiveness towards whether it wants to be a moe slice of life or a post-apocalyptic horror. Even Yuki, the most promising character, was never really properly explored nor developed. Her unique "trait" ends up being just another one-hit-wonder gimmick swept along in the sea of gimmicks that makes up this show. When you boil these characters down, they're all just generic moe tropes who got shoehorned into an oh-so-dark-and-tragic setting. That's it. They don't really do anything. They don't abandon their humanity to butcher zombies nor develop baser human desires for sex nor do they betray one another nor sacrifice themselves or any of that juicy stuff. Not in Gakkou Gurashi. These boring-ass characters are only there just to bitch, cry and whine. It never feels like they're making any kind of radical or substantial decisions, nor are they plunged into any extreme scenarios that would force them to step outside their comfort zones and make decisions they would usually not make. Instead, they just act really laid-back, fucking around on top of the school rooftop like nothing's happening. At the end of the day, no matter how this show tries to fucking hide it, these characters are ultimately just cute girls doing cute things, with maybe a bit of edginess, angst, and melodrama sprinkled on top. This is not really innovative or anything. Angst and melodrama are already ubiquitous enough among slice-of-life shows. What's your excuse, Gakkou Gurashi?

Oh and btw, a certain character acted like a complete retard towards the end, causing contrived angst and melodrama to ensue.
What's worse is that all of this tension and conflict are resolved in one fell swoop through one convenient plot device. This solution wasn't really mind-blowing or anything, and the show could have done it way earlier and save the audience the anguish of sitting through 12 episodes of trashy moe and pseudo-horror clusterfuck. Up to that point, the show has been barely passable with its writing - neither too dumb nor too smart. I was willing to give the show a 6 but because of this dipshit plot development, down to a 5 you go you piece of shit.

TLDR: This show's lazy writing plays it too safe and never wants to push anything, to make anything extreme or interesting. The characters and their emotions; the plot developments; the setting - all of them are ultimately bland and pointless, not worth giving a damn about.

Art:

The art design is slightly above average, boasting a vibrant color palette but bland character design and visual style. Also, it really toned down the more gory aspects of its story, soft-censoring or completely omitting scenes showing blood and violence. In other words, the artstyle is an awkward cross between visceral and cute, neither fully embracing one nor the other. Once again, this just goes to show how half-assed Gakkou Gurashi is, with no real identity or substance to add flavor to its premise.

Sound:

The sound design is surprisingly good. Many of the background tracks are extremely creepy and manages to perfectly set the tone every time. It's a shame, though, that it's wasted on the mediocre writing.

Enjoyment:

5/10

You know what? I just had more fun typing up this review than I ever had in my 4 hours of watching this anime.

Overall:

5/10

Warning! Long read! Scroll down to last paragraph for summary.

As a fan of dark, psychological anime, I initially despaired upon completion of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica that I’d never find anything quite up to par. These worries evaporated when I completed the first episode of Gakkou Gurashi.

Although it may seem initially just like cute girls doing cute things, don’t let the cover or the first 20 minutes of the first episode fool you. Gakkou Gurashi is in fact an express train to the dark and sometimes horrifying with plenty of feel stops along the way.

From the first episode, Gakkou Gurashi seemed like ... a great anime. With cutesy art, characters and theme songs, despite knowing that there was a ‘dark twist’ to the story didn’t prepare me for the last scene. It’s a pity that nothing is completely perfect. Gakkou Gurashi has it’s share of flaws and it disappointed me at times, however it remains an anime I would recommend to my peers nonetheless.

Firstly, aesthetic value is high. Although the art isn’t particularly mind-blowing, it’s very cutesy and visually pleasing. One downside is that even the teacher, Megumi “Megu-nee” Sakura looks hardly older than her students, however this is easily forgiven. The colours are bright and vivid, the lines are clean and cute and the contrast is big when we view the world as it really is versus Yuki’s delusionary P-O-V. There are a few minor but annoying hiccups, such as the illogical orientation of the ears on Yuki’s hat when her head is turned, however animation is otherwise smooth and pleasant. The zombies are also well animated, gory and disturbing without being graphic at all. In fact, I would even say that Gakkou Gurashi makes good use of the idea that the unseen is scarier than the seen, leaving the viewer to imagine what truly lies behind those ominous shadows.As a whole, the anime manages to remain disturbing on a psychological level without any particularly graphic scenes, which I greatly appreciated. And let’s just also mention that despite the characters all appearing like lolis, they actually had chests, something more gratifying than I thought it would be.
Gakkou Gurashi’s art, somewhat simple yet still very pleasing and enjoyable, is well deserving of an 7/10.

In terms of sound, Gakkou Gurashi is also a job well-done. Although the OP and ED weren’t quite my taste, I found that they complemented the anime quite well. Just like in the infamous Madoka, the cutesy OP has a great impact during later episodes that greatly contributes to the dark, psychological nature of the anime. Think someone giggling during a particularly violent scene of a horror movie.
Voice actors were also high tier. Without overdoing the sugary moe aspect of the anime, each VA’s voice suits her character perfectly. Except for, well, poor Megu-nee, who once again sounds way too young.
I was, however, disappointed with the background music. Though not lacking, I found the background tracks just as unnoticeable as Megu-nee (something akin to a "running gag" in the anime) and was even under the impression that Gakkou Gurashi had none. Background tracks are a tricky thing to get right, and tracks that draw away from the dialogue are undesirable, however to have them so unnoticeable is not right either.
Somewhat weaker than the aspect of art, 6.5/10 is a reasonable score for the sound. Although it’s not something about which I say “wow!” like I have in some other anime, it’s still rather satisfying.

The story is, in my opinion, the strongest part of Gakkou Gurashi. Although the premise is rather simple, the story-telling is superb. Admittedly, the pace got a little slow during some of the middle episodes, mostly during some more moe-type events, however this is well balanced out when the anime returns to the story at hand. Foreshadowing was mixed in perfectly: small elements are hidden into each episode without being too hard to notice - perfect for the amateur detective within.
The first episodes were certainly the best in terms of pacing, and it is disappointing that the rest of the anime couldn’t quite keep up the excellent standards. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed every episode, and the psychological horror factor was pleasantly strong and unique. For once, we have a dark anime involving high school girls that doesn’t rely on bouncing breasts, graphic murders, a harem or a revised script of Madoka Magica.
All in all, despite it’s flaws, I find Gakkou Gurashi to be an incredibly fresh-feeling anime. With twists, plenty of “oh my god, what?!” moments and some moe thrown in to the mix, Gakkou Gurashi’s plot is certainly a prime example of simple excellence. One does not need a huge, 100% original plot with confusing twists and turns to earn a good 8/10.

However, Gakkou Gurashi disappoints in the aspect of characters, which is, in my opinion, the most important element in any anime. Although the characters are in no way boring, annoying or overly stereotyped, they retain a “I’ve seen this so many times before" feel. You have the cute and clumsy type A protagonist, the strong ‘fighter’ one, the motherly one, the serious one and the one whose lack of presence is their main, some might even argue only, defining feature. In terms of twists, the biggest twist one can find in any character of Gakkou Gurashi is that they are actually a lot less mentally stable than other characters assume, which isn’t exactly shocking or particularly valuable to the plot as far as I know. Perhaps its for this reason that I found the moe episodes a bit of a bore. Although Yuki’s hallucinations are an interesting element, she, along with the rest of the cast, bring little to the anime as a whole. This anime would have earned a much higher score if it wasn’t for the bland characters, which earns only 5/10 for me.

Despite all it’s flaws, I still enjoyed Gakkou Gurashi and it was one of the more interesting anime of this season that I think everyone who likes dark, psychological anime with a bit of horror mixed in should definitely give a go. The characters, background tracks, pacing in later episodes and moe moments were on the disappointing side, however as a whole the plot, execution, voice work and art were very much satisfying and up to par of what I expect of, well, any anime. In terms of enjoyment alone, I would award this anime a 7/10. Although as the anime progressed, it did not remain as ‘wow!’ as I found it during the first two episodes, I don’t regret ranting on to my friends about this amazing new anime that I had started watching the night before, fiercely recommending it to them.

Overall, this anime is well worth a watch.

Average score: 6.7/10 (rounded to a 7)

This series was beautiful.

The way it tricked me into believing certain things with its psychological elements was perfect and to see how disjointed the world was very unique. I liked the way that we saw the world from Yuki's perspective and that created an interesting dynamic to introduce more plot twists which genuinely surprised me, and dam the plot twists are surprising as hell.

I adored the soundtrack for this anime as it greatly made scenes more emotional. The OP's and ED's were amazing with great attention to detail within each one. Also, the way the OP changed based on where you were in the story ... was a really nice touch. The OP also has tons of symbolism with the items displayed around the characters when they pop up showing their personal characters and Yuki's being particularly deep.

The characters were lovable from the start and become increasable likable further on in the series. There's Yuki the airhead carefree one, Kurumi the tomboy, Miki the reserved one and Yuuri the reliable older sister. There is a type of character for most people so there will hopefully be at least one character you'll get attached to in the series. Yuki is by far my favourite. Not only is she the most interesting character in the series with her delusions but she's also the one who has the most foreshadowing, depth, symbolism surrounding her. In the OP, in the designs, in the series, Yuki is always the one who has something to her that shows she's different and I love her so much more because of it.

I loved this anime over other animes such as High school of the Dead because it felt more realistic, not in art style but in which the way the girls react in the situation, as they don't have unrealistic resources like army weapons and so on. The art style helped keep a perfect balance between cute anime girls and horror apocalypse. Its visually appealing while also being horrifying when it needs to be. Big props to the animators.

Of course, I can't talk about this anime without gushing over how symbolic and deep it is. School Live has sooooo many deep meanings behind the stuff in it that after finishing it I searched it all up and absolutely loved the series even more because of it. Learning about all the subtle symbolism such as how Yuki's outfit is a different colour to everyone else to show she's different from them or how Yuki's hat is a symbolism of how she cuts herself off from the real world and how she's stuck in her delusion (Which is perfectly used in a way at the very end making School Live have one of the most satisfying ends in all of anime.) Yuki has by far the most symbolism to her and it makes her all the more my best girl. She's this cute generic girl on the outside but a pretty complicated girl when you get to know her better. I love how they use Yuki as the POV for most of the series and use her pov to contrast it with the other's pov to reveal plot twists. Because you genuinely get the sense that everything is ok when you're with Yuki and you get sucked into her world of happiness only to be forcefully reminded of what the world is really like when the scene switches to the girls without Yuki. Absolutely love how Yuki is a great pillar of moral support for the group and is essential to their survival. Enough to make Yuuri insanely pissed when someone even utters the suggestion of telling Yuki the truth. I can't stop gushing over these characters and this series.

Honestly, the masterful crafting of this series is amazing and makes it my favourite anime series of all time. I've read some of the manga and how they differ and every single change and decision made to change it into the anime was an amazing one. The anime has so much more symbolism than the manga and makes decisions to change events such as the very final arc to masterful success. It felt so much more impactful towards the end of the anime than it did in the manga and I can say with confidence that whoever was in charge of making the manga to anime adaptation deserves humungous praise and respect.

The ending for the anime was unforgettable and left me in tears with a smile on my face for a long time afterward. I bought the series on DVD the second I finished watching it.

I would re-watch this in a heartbeat. 10/10 genuine masterpiece.

This is a SPOILER FREE review!


Okay,now that I assured you that nothing will be spoiled in this review let's start out with the first episode.We are being introduced to the main girl from the bunch,Yuki.
Yuki is a funny high school girl,who loves all her friends,has no care in the world and enjoys her time in school.Although she doesn't like to study that much,and solve math problems in her classes,she still likes her teacher Megune who really tries to teach the uninterested Yuki.We get to meet the school live club,and their members Kurumi,Miki and Yuuri.We follow their lives in this 12 episode anime.Sadly MAL screwed up ... and already spoiled the setting of the anime,I swear this anime had one of the best first episodes of the first year if you went in blindly..

Story: 7/10
A generic trapped in the zombie apocalypse scenario,but featuring 4 cute girls and a dog.I read the manga and the anime did a really really good job of following it and added some amazing details to the adaptation.Good story but a bit too generic I'd say.

Art:8/10
One of the strongest parts is the well done animation and art.You will see a lot of foreshadowing during the episodes,also great addition of details in lots of scenes.Really well done except I don't like moe girls and that art style,but for some reason it went well.

Sound:8/10
The sound really added up to the whole experience,and made the anime more uncomfortable for the viewers(in a good way)to show the situation in which the girls are right now.Great voice acting,and I loved the background music used through the anime.Also catchy opening and a melancholy infused ending paired really well.By the way the op and ed change almost every ep so I recommend watching them every time

Character: 7/10
I think some of the characters needed more development and that's why I didn't rate it too high.Except the main girl Yuki and Miki,the other two girls didn't show any progress.Kurumi is probably the most popular from the cast because of how badass she is with her shovel,aka the shove knight of the group,but I'm dissapointed a bit that she was just the muscle of the group and nothing more.I could talk a lot about the mental progress of Yuki and Miki but since this is a spoiler free review I'd like for you people to enjoy the show without knowing much.

Enjoyment:Between 6-7

To be honest I couldn't enjoy the show.I liked it a lot,but it was just too much for me because the show is a bit heavy for the feels.Young teenagers shouldn't go through this..I'm sorry Yuki,Miki,Kurumi,Yuuri.You didn't deserve this.I wouldn't recommend you this show if you're feeling depressed,or feeling sad from other reasons because for me the show felt a bit like the movie The Road,it just isnt good for your health and your mood.It is a good anime ,but watch it if you have a prepared comedy after each episode.

Thanks for reading,
Dark.

I don't really know why I didn't seem to be as captivated as others were by this anime. It's nice to see a zombie show that isn't just entirely rolling in despair and horror but predictable plot twists, gimmicky devices and being over-hyped left me feeling like it was trying too hard to be different and overly emotional.

You get a pretty good sense of what you're in for after the first episode which lleaves off with a good amount of tension and excitement but it feels like that fell short in the following episodes as we see more of the same without any real forward ... momentum. A good chunk of the drama and conflict comes from flashbacks that explain how we got to the current events but serve more to make future plot twists predictable. It's not bad, it's actually pretty enjoyable but I think there was room for so much more.

Sometimes the art felt like it relied too heavily on darkened filters and the contrast between cute and dark to force emotion. However, there were some pretty incredible things thrown in with subtle changes to the openings and endings each week as well as small, hidden gems tucked away into scenes that made the art interesting in it's own way.

The characters do grow, they do face hardship and they do have to overcome something in themselves. I'm likely in the minority here but, even with that, I didn't find them enjoyable. It felt like they were too stereotypical to me and I didn't really find myself worrying about what could possibly happen to any of them.

I am glad I caught this and I think it's likely one of the only zombie shows I'll watch all the way through. It's a good anime and it's worth picking up. I just wish they would trade in some of the gimmicks for a little more polish.

-CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS-

Okay first of all let me make it perfectly clear that I have never ever read the manga and just recently heard about this anime from a Top Horror Anime List on Youtube. On this list it was depicted as something more cutesy like K-on or even God may I say it, Lucky Star (no offence to the people that like that show of course). So this made me very, very, VERY curious of why a show with enough moe to officially kill off Fuko from Clannad, would be on such a list. Though when I watched it I was completely astounded ... by how much a show can trick you!

12 EPISODES

Story: 9

At first glance this show seems to have a story any other slice of life comedy. Usually in many comedies like this the characters are put into weird situations in order to appeal to their audience, and in this case they use a very unrealistic club. Enter the School Living club where 4 lucky girls live their days completely and utterly at school, along with their advising teacher. In this club they go through their daily lives just like they do at home and even to the point that they do literally sleep at school. This club is also in charge of helping out other clubs as well as taking care of the school's dog, if thats what you wanna call that fur ball. Though by the end of episode one your whole take of this breath of fresh air is turned completely upside down, one word, ZOMBIES. Here's the kicker, their is a major twist to how they actually introduce this.

Art: 9
The art itself is very vibrant and well moe. The art reminds me of a cross between Rolling Girls, and Charlotte. The characters are especially well drawn with fluid animation. One of my favorite things about it would probably be the way they do both the comedy scenes between all the main characters, and then the fighting scenes where all the tones become much darker. The anime itself is directed by Masaomi Ando who was involved with the storyboards of both Accel World and Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse, which you can definitely see the similarities in visuals, animation, and art style. One of the other things I need to mention is you probably need to watch the opening every time, because with each episode the opening slightly changes due to the events of the last episode and even gives you hints on what will happen in the current episode.

Sound: 7

The music itself is decent nothing magnificent. The opening is a very catchy song. One of the other tracks that also stands out would probably be the soundtrack that translates over as "Day Good Night," which is a soft music box melody and sometimes piano. Its usually played during more of the dramatic and more dark scenes.

Character: 8
Here I will summarize the 5 main characters of the show.

Yuki Takeya- She's the shows main protagonist as well as the comic relief. She's very naive and even looks the youngest out of the group with her black kitty hat and pink socks. She's the baby of the group as well as the anchor that holds down all hope of stability among her and her friends even though she doesnt know it. She loves school and cares deeply for all of her friends.

Kurumi Ebisuzawa- Is the typical tsundere of the group. I guess you could say she's the brawn of the group who is constantly tasked with the harder jobs among her and her friends. Her weapon of choice though is a shovel. lol

Yūri Wakasa- The big sister of the group who is also the president of the club. She is usually the most mature and level headed of the group but can be scary when provoked, especially by the dog.

Miki Naoki- The brains of the group who acts more distant due to the fact she hasnt known the other girls as long. Shes kind and well mannered, but doesn't agree with the other girls decisions. She is in the grade below the other girls.

Megumi Sakura- The advising teacher and founder of the School Living Club. She is very friendly with her students and tends to get closer to them more then other teachers due to the fact that she is young. She would do anything to insure that her students are safe.

Taromaru- The club pet and trouble maker.

Enjoyment/Overall: 9.5

This anime is probably in my official top ten list. It combines horror, comedy, slice of life, and moe in a way that I don't think has ever been done. It's so funny and so sad at the same time and can even make you laugh and send shivers down your spine in one episode. If you like a combination of HighSchool of the Dead and Madoka Magica this anime is for you, without the unneeded fan service though. So yeah I highly recommend this show and give in a solid 9 overall. I'd probably give it a 10 if they make a season 2 that builds off the first season and makes the show even better

I give up. I can't do it. When you start to watch a show that's supposed to be about the twists and turns and you're just sitting there predicting what's about to happen and getting it right, the show has failed to entertain me. I'm about to get some messages telling me how I'm wrong and how this show was "ZOMG so dark and deceiving and KEWL and TOO DEEP FOR U TO UNDERSTAND", but I don't care. Sorry not sorry.

Look, I liked the first episode. But I wish I had stopped right after the first episode. That episode on its own would've left me ... satisfied, but it just kept going and getting more and more hard to watch. And not because of blood and guts.

I adore slice of life anime. "Azumanga Daioh", "Nichijou", and "Strawberry Marshmallow" are some of my favorite series. Heck, I even tolerated "Lucky Star" well enough (except Patty. I hate Patty. Fuck Patty), so I'm not here to complain about the slice of life elements. I'm also not here to complain about the dead horse known as "zombie media". If it's well-written and clever, I can watch a zombie show or movie just fine.

I AM here to complain about the show's predictability and the characters. You can immediately guess what was going to happen throughout the show, and that almost ruined it for me. But even worse was how the other characters treated Yuki. They keep saying how she is their ray of hope and how they can't possibly tell her anything that happens, but allowing someone to stay in denial in such a serious situation is NOT GOING TO HELP, IT IS GOING TO HARM.

And you might be thinking of arguing with, "yeah, Gingy, but when serious stuff happens, we can't let kids know. We have to distract them and keep them from knowing the darkness of the world". Yeah, because they're kids. Yuki is the same age as the other girls, so why they keep putting her in denial makes little to no sense. She's not a child.

I really tried to like this show. I really did. There were some moments that were fine, and the first episode did a great job of catching the eyes of a lot of anime fans. However, I wasn't pleased.

I probably made someone mad with this review. Sorry. I'm not going to argue back and forth about why you liked the show and I didn't. I'm just going to sip my Calpico and watch some "Azumanga Daioh" to regenerate myself.