While the series is a rarity for anime in being a zombie survival title, it doesn't have much to offer in terms of depth with the plot and characters to High School of the Dead are rather paper-thin. The plot is mostly repetitive as our group of high schoolers have to regularly fight through zombie hordes, find shelter for a period of time, wind up fleeing when their shelter is breached and repeat. It also often disregards proper logic for the sake of its spectacle as characters are known to not make smart decisions regularly in this series and details such as proper government action and ammo supply are often disregarded.
The characters are not much better as they are mostly archetypal and get little in the way of development, most notable of these characters being an otaku who is seemingly a representation of a stereotypical otaku with his enjoyment of shooting his way through zombies and usually relishing in the women that are within his group. Speaking of the women, High School of the Dead has them purposely designed to be well-endowed and sporting a good number of fan service/ ecchi moments with panty shots, breast jiggling, revealing attire, clothes changing scenes, a bath scene and an orgy. The mentioned fan service is mixed in at many points during the zombie battle scenes, with the series clearly aimed at fans of gory action and ecchi titles.
Overall, High School of the Dead mostly gets by with the style it emphasizes with its presentation and premise, while lacking quite a bit on the end of substance. If you don't mind some mindless entertainment, this would make for a decent rental. But if you are looking for more substance or are not a big fan of gore and ecchi content, then this isn't a title worth picking up.
