A worker at a black company finally finds freedom in a zombie apocalypse. That premise is interesting, it promises to subvert the zombie genre’s typical dark tone, and brings to mind the fun-filled zombie survival scenarios everyone thinks about constantly.
Or maybe that’s just me. It’s my Roman Empire, basically…
Like, I could wield a spear (I don’t own a spear), kill zombie after zombie on my way to a car (I can’t drive), drive to my friends’ houses (I would get lost), gather them then just have a fun time killing zombies and shooting the sh*t and such (we would all die). Then, years later (by then we'd be a band of seasoned veterans), we guard a researcher who’s just about to finish a vaccine as he undertakes a cross-country journey and then vaccinate the remaining population and cull the remaining zombies and lead the new world to unparalleled levels of freedom and prosperity!!
Uh, anyway. The idea of a zombie anime that fully leans into the fun of post-apocalypse is compelling. What worried me was the black company angle, which could easily be taken in a safe, thoughtless direction.
It’s easy to be vaguely anti-corporate without saying anything meaningful about the larger systems that allow corporate abuses. It’s even easier to be anti-black company without saying anything about those systems.
Most shows only touch on this issue to provide comfort to people stuck at those jobs (that’s the purpose of all those karoshi isekai). That’s a valid thing to do (we all need to be pandered to sometimes), but such an escapist approach limits how much a work can say about the issue. Those don’t even hint at solutions (aside from “die and hope to get isekaied” I guess).
If Zom 100’s themes ended at “black corporations are bad”, it couldn’t be much more than a fun romp. Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there.
Zom 100’s basic position is: our current society is so oppressive, survivors of a zombie outbreak could live freer lives post-apocalypse than they do now. Our former wage slave protagonist is a prime example, going from near suicide to an absolute ray of sunshine, as he’s finally able to act freely. Our other main characters include aspiring comedian (and all around cool guy) Kencho, recovering finance bro Shizuka, and German Japanophile Beatrix.
That’s right, weebs are included in that freedom loving message. If you want to move to Japan: do it, says this anime (although Beatrix did technically only come on vacation, maybe I’m extrapolating too much).
While its core message has some “follow your dreams” flavor, it doesn’t stop there. There are material reasons people can’t just do what they want. Akira was held down by working at a black company, Shizuka was held down by the expectations of her family and class. This show is well aware of the systematic barriers that prevent people from following their dreams. For our main characters, the apocalypse breaks those barriers, and (temporarily at least) allows them true freedom.
Of course, in typical zombie story fashion, new systems of oppression crop up to replace the old ones, but they’re far from universal. Most who the crew encounter are good people just trying to survive. That’s the strength of the bucket list premise, it allows our heroes to move freely, embodying the series’ themes, while exploring various angles on post-apocalypse society.
On top of that, the show is well made. The editing and direction are great throughout, and it consistently employs creative visuals. The multicolored blood, symbolizing the silver lining of freedom amongst apocalypse, stands out in particular.
All of that stays great throughout the entire series, though some aspects of the visuals deteriorate slightly. We get a number of shots of cg zombies, which look about as bad as your typical cg crowd shot (maybe worse). The characters are sometimes drawn messily, though it’s usually limited to a few shots per episode.
For having suffered a historic production collapse, the visuals hold up shockingly well. They even updated the show footage drenched opening with fully animated dance sequences. I was hype the day that dropped on YouTube, the song really deserved it. The ending is good too.
And, a note on the production delay. Yes, it was annoying. I was annoyed by it too. But from here on out, for the rest of history, it will not matter to people who pick up the show. New viewers might not even notice the moderate decline in quality. I am not considering the delay as a negative here.
I’m rating this as a finished work, and as that, Zom 100 is great. It’s visually and cinematically creative, has good characters and plotlines, and is packed with thematic depth. It’s absolutely worth a watch.
