The story really isn't anything to write home about, it's your typical zombie plot where you have a group of survivors trying to stay alive in a world infested with zombies. It's something i'm sure we've all seen countless amount of times in a movie or TV show. However, like I said before, that isn't at all a bad thing, it's actually one of the things that makes HOTD shine. HOTD has such a basic and braindead plot(see what I did there, he he) that you can focus more on the action and comedic elements of the anime than instead having to focus on a uber complex plot. That's one of the best parts of this anime. Again, it's an anime that you cannot take seriously or else you'll hate it because of all the clear flaws it has when it comes to the story. HOTD does one thing really well when it comes to the story and setting, it has a great presentation of how the world would be if it became littered with zombies. HOTD shows the chaos that would erupt if a zombie apocalypse did occur. This is something that I love in HOTD.
The art and sound in High School Of The Dead is pretty well done, the animation is attractive and every scene involving the desolation of zombies is so awesome to watch. Out of everything in HOTD I enjoyed the action sequences the most just because they were so bad-ass and executed so well.
The only gripe I have with HOTD's action is the fact that in nearly every action scene there are huge, jiggly boobs flashed around everywhere like confetti on New Years Eve. However, I will say eventually you'll get accustomed to the crude amount of fan-service in this anime that is literally every where in High School Of The Dead. I also must say that HOTD has an amazing soundtrack that really compliments all of it's zombie killing. Not to mention that HOTD has a breathtaking Opening that got me excited for every episode.
The Characters in High School Of The Dead are a clear weak point in the anime. Unless of course you like every single one of your female protagonists to pack ginormous tits, than of course you might actually like the cast in HOTD. Our main character Takashi Komuro is at first the standard whiny main persona, Until later where he is forced to evolve into the honorable leader of his zombie survival squad. Takashi isn't really a cool character and is rather bland for the most part. Rei is the love interest of Takashi and is also the one person he vows to protect at all costs. Rei is unfortunately your run of the mill tsundere until they obviously end up together, at least somewhat.
Saeko has to be the second most bad ass character in HOTD, she's a super agile, sword wielding, freak who will tear anything that stands in her way.
She also has probably the most interesting back story of all the characters and has the most skill in slaying zombies. Kohta is the last person that is worth mentioning in this review. He's an otaku that has a wicked passion for guns and killing things. If the group didn't have Kohta, they'd honestly all be toast! Saya Takagi is a quite annoying character that stays like that from beginning to end.She's the smartest of the group but is the most bitchy and almost is a detriment to the ring of survivors. Shizuka rocks the biggest breasts in the anime and is there for pure fan-service. She's the worst character in the anime and I really did want her to eventually die. Alice is the little girl the whole squad valiantly rescues in order to protect her, sadly she isn't so important to the overall chances of survival within the whole group.
Finally, Did I enjoy High School Of The Dead? Yes! I enjoy this anime because it doesn't try to hard to succeed. As dumb as it sounds, the rashness of this anime and the pure recklessness should be enjoyable to anyone. This is the perfect anime if you just want to kick back and have a whole lot of fun.
