Zombie anime are relatively few and far between, with only a handful of series tackling the genre in a way that resonates with audiences around to globe. New age hits, like Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, have been bringing the infamous horror genre back into the mainstream, which has had anime fans reflecting on other series that handled the concept well.
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One such series, Highschool of the Dead, is a very unique entry into this list of titles and despite its many eccentricities and content, was actually one of the best zombie anime to release during the 2010s. Tragically, both the original manga and Madhouse’s anime adaptation of the series have been forced to stay unfinished, but the show has more than earned its legacy.
Highschool Of The Dead Is a Fever Dream of Zombie Action
Based on the original manga written by the late Daisuke Sato with art by Shoji Sato, Highschool of the Dead takes place in Japan just as the world gets struck by a horrific pandemic that begins turning people into zombies. True to its title, the series begins in a large high school, centralized on a group of students and the school nurse as they fight there way through campus in an effort to survive and escape a growing zombie hoard that begins to surround them. Produced by Madhouse, the anime gained popularity quickly for its high octane fight scenes and also garnered a decent amount of infamy for the ridiculously over-the-top ecchi content that Highschool of the Dead is most fondly remembered for.
As the story progresses, Highschool of the Dead follows a much greater societal collapse in Japan as the main cast navigate a ravaged city and try to maintain shelter amidst a hopeless scenario. While the series is mostly mindless fun, the character writing and handling of the zombie apocalypse within the series is almost shockingly well written, a testament to the source material from Daisuke Sato, who had a history in board game design, writing novels, and creating ecchi manga. While the series goes out of its way to play up its ecchi roots, it still maintains its core as an action horror anime, which ultimately creates an infectiously entertaining wildfire of a series.
Why Highschool Of The Dead Will Never Return For a Second Season
Despite its breakout success, Highschool of the Dead tragically came to an end when its author, Daisuke Sato, passed away in 2017 at age 52 due to ischemic heart disease. The artist working alongside Sato on the series, Shoji Sato, has stated in the past that it didn’t feel right to continue the series without the original writer, and decided to end Highschool of the Dead. Daisuke Sato’s unexpected passing is deeply tragic, but his memory lives on through his legacy. While it was still in serialization, the original Highschool of the Dead became a massive success and had over 3 million copies in circulation by the time the manga ended.
Highschool of the Dead performed remarkably well in the west, too, making its way onto the New York Times Best-Selling Manga List, peaking at fourth place in 2011 — which makes the tragedy surrounding its author and cancellation all the more heartbreaking. Despite the fact that the series will never return in honor of its creator, Daisuke Sato’s Highschool of the Dead will always be iconic for its perfect blend of horror, ecchi, and action content that made it one of the most memorable anime to come out of the 2010s. Highschool of the Dead is still available to be streamed on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
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