HOTD is yet another one of Japan's attempts to take on the "zombie fighting" scene, this time following six survivors as they try to... well... survive through the apocalypse. Does it remind you of something? I don't know about you but it sure does remind me...
It all starts when one day an infected person (which we don't know how it got infected) knocks (literally) the door of a highschool and bites a teacher. Then, guess what... An apocalypse breaks and in about an hour or so half the city has gotten infected!
Story:
In terms of story, the whole series is nothing out of the ordinary. 6 survivors trying to survive as the whole virus spreads and more and more people become zombies. While it is good at the first half (till the sixth episode), it then starts to get more and more (and more) of a high-end ecchi rather than an apocalypse. This killed the mood for me, as the story at that point suddenly got into the ecchi side, without leaving room for the apocalypse to really shine, as a zombie fan would expect.
While the story is good till the first half, then it starts having many plot holes and twists, with many characters breaking out of nowhere and joining (and later leaving) the group of the initial 6 survivors and helping them. All of this happens in only 6 episodes (the second half), which makes the story REALLY undeveloped with no room for any development character wise, but I'll get into that later... If the whole high-end ecchi thing got tossed then it would be a great anime action-wise.
Score: 5/10
Characters:
In terms of main characters, the whole group of the six survivors consists of 2 guys and 4 girls. While the initial cast was interesting in terms of personalities, then (at the second half) becomes what you would expect of a high-end ecchi, where more and more (and more) skin is showed. All of that happens within an episode and thus lacks of proper development. While some characters do develop, it is still not enough.
In all that, let's add the sudden appearence of side-characters who "help" (and some even go against) the group, which again lacks of proper development and leaves way too many holes.
Score: 4/10
Art:
The animation is one of the pros if you want to watch the show. It is smooth and detailed, and covers all the action in a good way. The shading is done well and the whole atmosphere is good enough for the whole apocalypse. Nothing more, nothing less!
Score: 8/10
Soundtrack:
The soundtrack is the second pro of the whole show and it adds perfectly to the action and the atmosphere of the apocalypse. The opening and the many endings are well done and fit perfectly into the show. If I was expecting something whenever an episode would end, that was one of the many ending songs.
Score: 9/10
Recap:
While HOTD has a really strong promise as an anime, it then fails to achieve the title of "Great", simply because of the whole twist into a high end ecchi. It IS good if you want to watch some zombie slaying, all with a great atmosphere and a great soundtrack (and if you want to take a look at some boobs...), but if you expect a story well developed and a good cast, you will be disappointed eventually.
Score: 6/10
