Akira, Shizuka and Kencho’s road trip hits a snag when
Akira once again finds himself at the mercy of the man who tormented him for
three years. But Akira isnt the same man
he was during that time and now he must face his past head on with the help of
his friends…and some Zombies for good measure.
Once free, there’s sushi, hot springs and a gorgeous German Otaku girl
waiting on the road to Gunma where Akria’s home awaits…along with a new threat
more deadly than any Zombie walking the Earth.
This weeks Zom 100 episode set felt, for lack of a better
term, a bit overstuffed.
But is that a
good or a bad thing?
I guess it depends
on the episode in question but each of these three episodes felt longer than
their usual lengths and I sometimes wondered if these were all two parters
merged into one.
This might have
something to do with a production tidbit that has greater bearing on next weeks
finale.
Sticking with these episodes for
the time being though, Zom 100 continued it’s successful fun and genre defying
streak though not without some downsides for once (no I’m not just talking
about the episodes feeling a little overlong).
We got Sushi, Akira fulfilling more dreams and a gorgeous new lady
joining the adventure as well.
Anyways,
let’s get to it.
I’m happy that Akira and company’s stay with Kosugi
wasn’t more than two episodes but at the way things were progressing on that
front, it almost didn’t feel that way.
Much of the conclusion to this two part episode focused on Shizuka’s
upbringing by her demented, power hungry father who wouldn’t let her keep a
puppy and actually had it put down to prevent it from distracting her…just to
show how much of a detestable asshat he truly was.
She never got a chance to tell her father off
so Shizuka fully gave herself to Team Akira by adding that to Akira’s list and
inspiring him to do the same with Kosugi.
It didn’t result in a full blown uprising but the resolution was still a
lot of fun involving Akira’s quick thinking rallying the survivors and Kosugi
getting a fate arguably worse than getting Zombified…being left alone with no
one to rule over.
Also good on Akira for
saving the guys life even after all torment he put him through.
Kids got a good heart, hell even his two
weeks notice speech was pretty polite.
Possibly the best part of this weeks episode set was the
introduction of Beatrix Amerhauser: a blonde, busty, Japanese Otaku Samurai
Girl (now that’s a package).
At first
glance, Beatrix looks to be filling the super sexy Zombie slaying void that
High School of the Dead had filled by Saeko Busujima.
But Beatrix isnt the cold lone wolf, no she’s
the exact opposite, almost the femme version of Akira (but with better combat
skills).
She’s eccentric, cheerful,
excited to explore a country she’s spent her entire life learning about and
wants to protect said country from Zombies as she feels its her duty since they
ruined her dream vacation after so much hard work to get there.
Thanks to Beatrix’s arrival we got two hilarious
and fun adventures in one episode: getting supplies to a Sushi vendor and
enjoying an actual hotsprings…complete with legions of Undead rising from the
water.
The gang cant catch a break
though it did result in some nice and colorful Zombie slaying from Beatrix, the
return of AkiRanger and a nice moment for Akira and Shizuka to kind of let on
they are into each other.
However, the last episode of this set is where things not
only slowed down, they kind of got dull and a little head scratching.
Look I know Akira wants to check off his
Bucket List where he can.
But if he’s so
dead set on making sure his Parents are alive, was there really time to stop
and help a guy build his treehouse and chill there?
Time is of the essence here and the treehouse
subplot felt like an unnecessary detour.
Honestly, getting to Akira’s home village wasn’t much better.
It’s a beautiful haven but I think we all
know what that probably means.
Plus
there’s nothing stand out about Akira’s parents beyond their cliché characters
at first glance: Moms nice, Dads a hardass and is hiding a potential Zombie bite.
I’m all for Akira and the others getting a
breather but the most interesting aspect of Gunma Arc is the rise of who I’m
calling the Anti Akira (until I get his real name).
I guess we were bound to get a guy like this
who is more traditionally broken by the apocalypse.
But whereas Akira has learned to embrace life
anew, this guy is all about pure anarchy and taking revenge on a society he
feels has shunned him.
This guys a major
problem and while I’m fine with Kosugi getting spared, Anti Akira is in
desperate need of a few Zombie bites of his own and shouldn’t be allowed to
finish his own Bucket List.
With an apocalyptic onslaught on the horizon, I hope Zom
100 can finish strong with the same heart, humor and subverting expectations
that have made it such a breath of fresh air for the Zombie Genre in
general.
Just hope it’s a more memorable
finale than the “so-so” one of High School of the Dead (the set up is even
similar).
See you Next Monday for the
Finale of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner.
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