Gakkou Gurashi is surely not your typical Slice of Life anime. The first thing that you can think after seeing its genres will be: "Slice of Life + Horror? What's that troll?", and it's here that you are wrong, my friend; Gurashi Gakkou is probably the second anime (Puella Magi Madoka Magica the first one) that manages to use 2 genres completely different so well. It could be called Slice of Horror. The new generation of anime has begun! ╰༼=ಠਊಠ=༽╯
That is why i like this anime so much, unique genres and characters. Don't get fooled by the first 20 minutes of the anime, You will see only a group of girls who live at school and look for a dog dispersed in the school with moe moments/reactions, In any case i definitely do not recommend dropping the anime before the real story starts (at the end of the first episode you'll understand what i am talking about).
Go to watch the first episode because from now on there will be spoilers.
-Story: 9/10
The story of the anime is great. The first thing you notice is this "School-living club", and here comes the mindfuck. The main character is mentally unstable, does not see what she has in front of her eyes. The anime is set in a post-apocalyptic world, oh wait, most of the characters "are" in a post-apocalypric world, Our Yuki is in a world friendly with her, where all are her friends and the school is perfectly normal. Obviously nothing of what she sees is true, yes, the school is surrounded by zombies. Here starts the adventures of our protagonists in a cruel world, Where errors are not allowed, only courage. Obviously, there's some mystery here and there that makes the anime more interesting.
-Art: 8/10
Not a lot to say here. The art is great, it works very well with the atmosphere of the anime. It's moe when there's the Slice of Life and scary when the horror scenes arrive. The zombies have a unique art, seem to be more shadows than zombies sometimes, but don't worry, there is a reason
Tho the animation is not really great, just normal. It has a lot of issues, and you can see the frames sometimes but it doesn't matter, because it fits perfectly with the anime's atmosphere. Don't expect something Ufotable-like animation, Lerche had 3 shows this season so you can imagine...
-Sound: 10/10
Absolutely perfect. The OST fits perfectly with the anime. Outstanding in the horror moment, it's not your usual sound that you hear. The OP sequence is genial, cheerful music with zombies in the background, you don't see it everyday (i think). The ED sequence is more quiet, it could have been better, i don't deny it. The OST...reminds me sometimes a film, really great the concept, what you are watching: an anime; what you are hearing: a soundtrack of a film. It does a great job again because it shows the state of mind of the protagonist. It makes you feel anxious, happy, etc...
-Character: 10/10
This group of girls is perfect. There's the leader "Yuuri" that thinks about cooking, giving orders And the remaining resources, she has some interesting clothes that she puts on the uniform. Then there's the courageous "Kurumi" that kills zombies and rescues her friends. There's the quiet "Miki" that loves reading post-apocalyptic stories (especially of Stephen King), why not? And lastly we have our cheerful Yuki that lives in her world. Then there's Taroumaru...Taroumaru is a dog who cheers up the girls, play with them and has a great development with Yuki and Kurumi. He is not a character that you will love for sure but i think i like him...
Oh wait! how could i forget about Megu-nee! i-i mean, Sakura-sensei. She is the closest person to Yuki and a good teacher that gives advices to students. Megu-nee is a character that everyone love.
-Enjoyment: 8/10
Fun and cute moments followed by scary moments. Even if there are zombies, in a dead city, this show sometimes makes you forget there are all these scary things, because nothing is better than a good comedy. IMO, the comedy/moeblob doesn't have always a good tempism, but...Oh well, in poor words, you'll have fun watching this show.
-Overall: 9/10
If you like Slice of Life, go to watch it, if you like Zombies and mysterious circumstances go to watch it, if you like both, why are you reading this review? Run! You will not regret watching this show. Gakkou Gurashi is an anime that has a new whole concept of a post-apocalyptic world.
This show makes you smile and scares you at the same time, unique setting, don't you find it unique? I do.
I am definitely enjoying Gakkou Gurashi a lot. AOTS (summer 2015) IMO.
I hope you found this review helpful 〜(^∇^〜）
