The Video Review is up on my Channel, but here is the written Review.
Story - 9/10
Our story starts as 4 generic moe school girls are spending their time at school. There is an airhead, tomboy, serious girl and a big sister, also there is a dog. Sounds pretty generic so far, here is the twist, they form the School Living Club meaning they live at their school. Wait why do they live at their school? Everything seems fine at the start, but then reality kicks and it turns out these girls are living in a zombie apocalypse. How’s that for a twist. The story tells the beautiful and hopeful story of 4 girls trying to enjoy their last days of school. What I mean is despite, the circumstances the girls live in, they try to go on about their lives as normal as possible as if nothing happens, and it tells this beautiful story that no matter how bad things are, there is always hope. The reason why the girls try to act normal as possible, is because Yuki has pretty much lost it, and decides to not to see the reality of all the bad things, however, because of her joyous personality, the other girls play along with her, as it also gives them that needed break from the horrors.
Now the story is not told exactly in order, so the pacing feels off, but at the same time it felt like it was done on purpose to really throw us off. There is a mixture of light hearted plots to more serious intense plots, but during the light hearted moments, it really feels like it was dragging on, because the interesting parts of the plot are during the dark and serious times. Also the ending felt too convenient, and there is quite a bit of plot holes in the ending, but overall the story is executed very well, with twists and turns.
Characters - 9/10
The main character is Yuki Takeya, a cheerful, airheaded childish girl. Funny enough she is oldest out all the main girls, and she is an upperclassmen, while the others a underclassmen. The biggest difference about her character is that she doesn’t see the world for it is, and still thinks everything is normal in her eyes, and the first episode pulled this off perfectly, as we got to see what Yuki sees before we the reality of the world. She doesn’t possess any particular talent, but her presence is much needed for the rest of the group, as she provides the them with relief, as they take a break from the apocalypse. And I love her character development, because as the show goes on, she starts to notice reality as we draw closer to the conclusion, and it’s plainly visible how strong she grows, after her initial appearance.
Kurumi Ebisuzawa, aka best girl, is the tomboy of the group. While also being the dedicated badass. She is usually sent on doing the more dangerous stuff, because she is quickest to adapt to the situation. With her trusty shovel, she protects the group from the zombies. I love how she is shown to be the strongest one of the group, which she is, but she is also at the same time vulnerable, because deep down, she is still just a young girl, and we get to see what breaks her.
Yuuri Wakasa plays the big sister role of the School Living Club, while also the club’s president. She acts as all motherly towards everyone, as she is usually very calm and mature. She cooks for everyone and keeps all their supplies and resources in check. Even though she puts up a strong and resilient front, when she breaks down, she really breaks down mentally; she is probably, surprisingly the most unstable member of group.
Miki Naoki, is the last member of the School Living club, as she joined last. Her past is revealed later along the line. She plays the role of the straight girl, she doesn’t understand Yuki’s situation entirely and is confused whenever around her. When the group first picks up Miki, she is initially shy and fragile, however over the course, she gains more confidence around her, as she finds something to fight for, and realises what she has.
The other supporting characters are Taomaru a dog, the group picked up along with Miki. And Megumi Sakura, their teacher, who suggested the idea of forming the club in the first place. I love the fact that all the characters play a role of helping each other out, and it’s those interactions really bring out the best of each character, and it shows how their relationship affects their decisions and personalities. I love the fact we get to see what breaks the characters, because these girl’s put on a deceiving cute, cheerful front.
Animation and Sound - 8/10, 7/10
If there is one thing that is very noticeable about the art style is that it’s really deceiving and clever. The characters and world is drawn in a very cutesy and moe art. The characters all look moe, and it’s very contradicting to the whole apocalypse atmosphere. What I love about the art is how it separates Yuki, from everything else. Something noticeable is Yuki’s outfit, which bright pink whereas the others a green, and if you were to index them, the green outfits become pink, while the pink becomes green, it’s so cleverly done and hidden. Unfortunately there is not a lot of zombie action, in fact the majority of the time, you don’t see the zombie clearly. Again this also done cleverly, the zombies are covered in black clouds at first, but as the anime goes on towards the end, they become clearer, indicating that Yuki, is drawing closer to reality, and it’s amazing how they did that with the art. There are simple animations, but the art style in general, is all they really need to give impact. The only thing I don’t like what the animation decides to do from time to time is show fan service, especially if it’s either supposed to be an emotion scene or just for the sake of doing it, because, the art style does not benefit from fan service.
The score of anime is ok, and it does its job, there is some nice soothing music along the line, but nothing really stands out and adds to the atmosphere of scenes. The opening is quite enjoyable if you like upbeat music, it’s very cute and upbeat which is a contrast to the show in general, however, I do like how the opening animation changes each time as we draw closer to the finale. The endings are a much slower paced and fits very well with the show. Both song have this sad vibe towards them, but at the same time it lifts your hopes up, and somewhat becomes a happy song about hope. And I love that about endings, giving signs of hope.
Enjoyment - 9/10
At first I did not care that this anime looked cute and moe, because I don’t mind the art style at all. But the fact that they were able to surprise me from the very first episode with that twist, I was all in to watch every episode as soon as it came out. Because I really want to know how these girls are surviving. And at the same time it tells a beautiful story of hope. There is quite a bit of slice of life moments, which can drag on, leaving you waiting for the more interesting serious parts of the show. But I would consider the genre a slice of life first, before it’s a supernatural horror. The characters are really entertaining to watch, and it’s good to see how each one of them develop over the course of the anime, by trying to survive in their dire situation. Even though the slice of life moments drag on sometimes, they are much needed to show us that their still hope, even facing dangerous situation. And I love this anime for that.
Verdict - 8.5
As we draw closer to the end of the review, I give the story a 9. Because the story is beautiful and I love stories about hope. The fact the twist at episode 1 pulled me into the show immediately. It’s definitely an interesting and unique concept, that pulls off their twists very cleverly. There are moments that drag, and the ending felt a bit overly convenient, but it’s still a good story in general.
For the animation and sound, I give it a 8 and 7. The animation and art style is cleverly done, contrasting the moe art style to the horror theme. The way they show Yuki’s vision is done so cleverly as well. The animation is simple and there is a quite a bit of unnecessary fan service. The soundtrack is nothing special, and nothing really stands out. But I love the upbeat opening, and the sad to happy endings of the anime.
The characters get a 9 from me. Every character is shown a soft side, but they are also shown a weak side. And they all play part in each other’s lives and given plenty of development of the course, by showing all their strengths and weaknesses.
For my own personal enjoyment, I give it a 9. From the very episode twist, I was hooked onto the show. I like my moe once in a while, but when they throw this wrench in my face, I couldn’t keep my eyes of screen and was excited for every episode every week. I love stories about hope, and the characters development was very interesting.
So for the overall score after rounding it up, I give School-Live! an awesome score 8.5/10. It was my favourite anime of the Summer 2015 season. I recommend this anime to any fans of the moe genre, because despite the twist, it has enough elements from that genre to be enjoyable. I recommend this anime fans who are looking for a story of hope and supernatural fans at the same time. It’s not necessarily a horror, but it has elements to it which adds to the atmosphere.
