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High School of the Dead: Complete Series AKA Gakuen mokushiroku (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Manga Entertainment Ltd Review written by and copyright: Neil Bray (17th August 2011). |
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The Film
 I came to anime very late in film watching life; it wasn’t until watching Kill Bill Vol. 1 and seeing the O-Ren back-story segment that I suddenly got the urge to sample some anime. That first series I watched was the absolutely incredible Wolf’s Rain (a series I still love to this day). I couldn’t believe the depth of the series from its intricate storyline to is stunning visuals. I was well and truly hooked – at least for a while. I rapidly watched every anime I could get my hands on and what I discovered is that there is a lot of really great stuff on the market; and a lot of utter crap. For me I want to see a strong story, great characterisation, stunning animation and a brilliant soundtrack. What I don’t want is comedy, fanservice (lots of tits and ass to the uninitiated). So, why am I telling you this? Because High School of the Dead fits into both categories. I have just sat through the entire series in one sitting; something I would not do if I thought it was rubbish. But, as the episodes flew by I did find myself raising my eyebrows in exasperation and impatience at various points because I got really tired of seeing never ending shots of animated boobs bouncing up and down and sleazy shots up young girls’ shorts showing their teeny-weeny panties. I’m sure this sort of thing really appeals to some people (admittedly the kind of person who gets their rocks off to animated characters really needs to get out more); but I’m just not one of them. The story starts with a bang as the dead rise and begin munching on the living. Our central characters are all schoolchildren who are stuck on their school grounds. That pretty much covers the plot of the first few episodes. After a while they decide they need to get out of the school and go look for their families. Petty rivalries, jealousies, fantasies and lots of panties follow and all of this is mixed up with a lot of blood, swearing and zombie mayhem. As for the zombies themselves: they’re great and exactly what you would expect to see. The series’ even managed to interject a small sliver of originality into the zombie-mythos: they’re blind. A plot device which was severely underutilised in my opinion – after all, if you know that the zombies only react to sound would you really spend most of your time shouting at your friends? Each episode is fast paced and absorbing with only the occasional blip in quality. Why do most anime series have a ‘recap’ episode chucked in? Episode 4 spends the first half showing you what happened in the previous three episodes, which I felt was a waste of time on a short series (only twelve episodes). For lovers of nudity then Episode 5 is for you (personally I think it should be renamed to ‘Zombies, Tits, Guns, Tits, Blood, Tits and Panties’). Overall the series definitely deserves its 15 rating due to the levels of sexualised nudity, bad language and violence. I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It’s brutal and ruthless (most notably in a couple of scenes: one young schoolgirl sacrificing her best friend to the zombies when they’re cornered and another example of a teacher kicking a student with a sprained ankle in the face and leaving him to be feasted upon). There’s lots of blood and violence and the pace rarely lets up...oh, and did I mention that there’s lots of boobies? I have seen better anime series (the aforementioned Wolf’s Rain, the excellent Witch Hunter Robin in addition to Hellsing, Gunslinger Girl, Last Exile and Trinity Blood to name a few), and I don’t think this would be a series that would convert any anime-virgins into fans; but even so there is a lot to enjoy here and I would recommend this series to any lover of anime or animation in general.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1, 1080p, this picture is quite simply superb. The colours are stunning, the blacks are inky and the picture is crystal clear; to the point where some scenes are almost 3D in quality. This is a beautifully animated series anyway which is only enhanced by the picture quality here.
Audio
There are two audio tracks available on this set. The first (and default) is the original Japanese DTS-HD Master 2.0 Stereo track which is great quality for those purists who prefer to watch their anime in the original language. The second is a DTS-HD Master 5.1 English track which is absolutely incredible. The bass nearly shook my house apart and I had to turn my speakers right down. Lots of surround usage and very clear. An excellent track and, in my opinion, a reference track to show off your sound system. Optional English subtitles are included.
Extras
Clean Opening Animation (1.33) – exactly what it says: the opening title sequence without the overlaying text. Clean Closing Animation (21.16) – see comment above, but, in this case, this segment contains the various songs used over the closing credits of the entire season. Also Available on Blu-ray Trailer (4.43) – a compilation of other anime titles available.
Overall
Absorbing, gory, exciting with well-rounded characters and beautiful animation make for an excellent anime series that should be warmly welcomed by any anime fan. Don’t be surprised if there is a second series because there were definitely enough plot points left hanging for a second series to be on the horizon. Highly recommended.
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