Highschool of the Dead starts out in a normal private school somewhere in Japan. But things don't stay "normal" for long. Soon enough, someone gets bitten by a man standing outside the school gates, and all hell is let loose. The man apparently has some sort of epidemic (at least that's what they think at first) which literally causes the host to die and come back to life as a mindless zombie who's only goal is to spread the epidemic they have across the entire earth.
Of course, the school goes into a mass panic, chaos ensues, best friends use eachother as human shields for the zombies, blah, blah, blah. Most of the school is bitten and infected, but a small group of two boys and four girls (including the school nurse) manage to escape, and somehow acquire mad zombie-pwning skills and insane weapons in the process. Now, it's up to these six people to fight their way through the city, busting heads, exhibiting LOTS of fanservice, and jacking a heap of cool stuff in the process.
--Animation--
I was quite satisfied with the animation quality of Highschool of the Dead. Being a small series, the artists probably had more time to put effort into the animation, because it is rarely ever subpar. The character designs are unique, and it's easy to tell the characters apart. Fight scenes, as often as they occur, are done quite spectacularly. Backgrounds are given the attention they deserve, and turn out nicely. The blood does seem a bit too dark, but that's hardly something to complain about. However, several characters ARE drawn quite disproportionally. Well, their boobs are, at least. But hey, during the Zombie Apocalypse, I guess everyone needs some ginormous boobs to brighten things up.
--Character Cast--
Highschool of the Dead includes your stereotypical group of Zombie Apocalypse survivors: Komuro Takashi, your average highschool punk and hero of the story; Rei Miyamoto, Takashi's childhood friend, crush, and HOTD's main heroine; Saeko Busujima, the hot, badass, zombie-pwning chick; Saya Takagi--rich, smart, and snobby; Kouta Hirano, the Military Otaku; Arisu Marisato, a seven year old that the group rescues; and Shizuka Marikawa, the ditsy, big-boobed nurse. Occasionally, Rei can get a little annoying, but other than that, I wasn't strongly opposed to any characters.
--Voice Cast--
HOTD has in fact been dubbed in english quite recently, so I was one of the first to hear the dub. I'm impressed, I must admit, and that's quite something coming from a Sub-preferring otaku. This is an anime that is very dramatic and action-packed, and the VA's do a good job keeping up with the pace of the story (meaning they don't sound like they're trying not to fall asleep in a Sunday sermon while their character is killing zombies) unlike SOME animes *cough*BLEACH*coughcough*. Would I recommend watching the dub? Yes, yes I would.
--Soundtrack--
Being only twelve episodes, Highschool of the Dead has the same opening all the way through. I never found the introduction boring, however, or got tired of seeing it at the beginning of each episode. The rest of the soundtrack was not notably good, nor was it notably bad.
--Rating--
I'll go along with videogame ratings and give this one an 'M' for Mature. HOTD displays some suggestive content, lots of violence, some blood but not too much gore, one scene of nudity (apparently not in the sub, though), a lot of cussing (particularly in the dub), and the fanservice--oh, the fanservice!--let's just say that a certain, er, physical attribute of the female anatomy is put into the spotlight quite often. Kids 12 and under, stay away from HOTD in order to preserve your innocence.
--Final Review--
Highschool of the Dead was a pretty good anime. It was fast paced and action packed; something that keeps you awake, and is rarely ever boring. The characters were easy to get used to and altogether likable. The plot was understandable and you could easily keep up with it. One of the only problems with the anime is the lack of questions left unanswered; How did this disease start? How can it be stopped? AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, WILL THERE BE A SECOND SEASON SO WE CAN SEE IF SHIZUKA AND HER GIANT BOOBS MADE IT OUT ALIVE?!? Another common problem (which I didn't really mind) is the overused amount of fanservice. If you're not big into fanservice, you'll hate HOTD. Nonetheless, I'd say it's made it into my Top 20 list, if not Top 15 or even Top 10.
