Story: 5
Like I said, the story isn't a hundred percent original. Still, It's quite rare to find it in anime. I actually think this is the only anime about a zombie outbreak. Still, the good thing about these kinds of stories, is that you're able to manipulate it into anything you want. Personally, I find a fast paced survival story to be the best route.Highschool of the Dead did do this, but the whole apocalyptic setting and turmoil of possibly being turned into a zombie snack seems to wear down as the plot continues. Was there action? Yes. Was there horrific flesh eating? Of course. Did it happen to anybody important? Anyone we even care about? No, no, and no. The main flaw within the plot is that nobody we truly get to know gets killed. Nobody in the main cast really gets that close to dying. For me, that made the story a little too predictable to have the characters always be in the right place at the right time while their poor background characters are doomed. I feel that the story would be better developed if the writers were willing to sacrifice their cast a little. It makes the whole outbreak a lot more terrifying to the viewer.
Art: 8
I admit, this anime did have some great artwork. All of the characters have unique and attractive appearances. The scenery is even better. One scene in particular are the characters in a truck, driving through the city. There are plenty of blossom petals and shots of the sky throughout and it does get you involved in the peaceful moment. The lighting is very well done as well and the animation surely is brilliant. Every bit of action is animated at its best through each splash of blood and sword swipe. The only downfall of course is the fanserivce. Fanserive is everywhere in this anime. No matter how well drawn, all the girls having humongous breasts and incredibly airy skirts that lift at the slightest movement takes away from whatever scenery there is. I'm going to go back on the truck scene again because this scene is pretty but is mildly ruined by the small panty shot given by Rei as she sits on the truck. There's also a very important scene between Takashi and Saeko that allows a bit of character development and is also intense. Still, this scene is riddled with fanserivce as well (one scene involving Takashi grabbing her breast for no reason at all).
Sound: 7
The VA isn't anything fantastic, but they at least did a good job on emotion. The script wasn't pure gold or anything with great dialogue (cough, cough, Bakemonogtari). At most, it was okay.Still, the opening and ending music is pretty good. The opening is fast pace and really gets you into the action-adventure mood of the series. My only complaint is that the guitars gets a little too crazy at times and just sounds messy. The ending themes aren't much but are appropriately calming and slow paced.
Character: 5
There's honestly not much to the characters. Most are dull at best, not having that much of a personality or even likeable traits. The best character was probably Kouta who was a gun specialist. He had a lot more personality and was a major help to the group. Takashi is the usual leader/sane man/chick magnet. He's not bad, just not that memorable. Rei is overall pretty whiny, usual ending up in bad situations when she needs to be saved, though she does prove herself sometimes. Saya is pretty annoying, being a complete smartass throughout most of the story and not really changing as it goes. Saeko was the most complex of the girl characters, having an interesting back story of intense sadism. She was at least the most helpful and used her abilities for the best. Alice, was average though I admit you kind of have to feel bad for her. Then there's characters like Shizuka who you wonder why hasn't died since the first episode. This woman is useless and pretty much a walking pair of breasts for the animators to obsessively exploit any time they can. Besides her occasional nursing and driving, nothing she does really effects the story.
Enjoyment: 8
If there's one thing Highschool of the Dead does, it entertains you. It doesn't leave you hanging very long on climatic moments and each action scene is interesting even if it is filled with bouncing breasts and panty shots.
Overall: 6
This anime isn't anything fantastic but it's not bad. It certainly will never be a must see or anything I'll consider re watching. It's a shame the sequel I skimmed over isn't even used to develop the plot. That entire OVA is to remind us once again of how big the girls boobs are...again. Highschool of the Dead is given a simple plot but instead of the willingness to sacrifice characters and delve deeper into the issue of how the zombie outbreak even started, they give you boobs, butts, and exploding heads.
