Is this a Zombie? Of the Dead

Gzerble Mar 15, 2015

4.5

Really, when a guy being a crossdressing zombie magical girl just stops being funny, then a series should end. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead beats the humor from the first season into the ground. It makes up for it with the easy solution of even more fan service. So here we are, with a much more standard ecchi show. Now, how could I truly complain? Well, easily. The writing is crap and the art somewhat above standard but on a subject that has been done to death. There is no rational reason for a second season of this, and it manages to ruin the fresh and cute feel of the first season by removing what little special there was. Watching Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead is a waste of time. Not only that, it may very well make you dumber just for experiencing it. Well, at least it is mediocre masturbation material for people who don't want to watch porn. What is particularly painful is the horrible "plot" that manages to be stupid and noticeable, because the humor goes stale. Whereas the first season was funny in the dumbest way, Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead isn't really funny anymore and is just dumb. It becomes a very standard parody, and loses what little unique feeling it had and the self-aware side it had. You can still enjoy the egregious fan service, but at this point there is nothing more to the series. Writing (Story and Characters): Totally terrible for most of the ten episodes. The writing of Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead is so horribly bad that it stops being funny. There are some good ideas, but in the end, the crossdressing protagonist just stops being funny, and nothing else is as funny as that otherwise. Really though, it wasn't completely garbage, because the writing just expects you to shut up and enjoy the fan service. When the premise gets tired, the story has nothing to stand on. The story becomes completely irrelevant except for an excuse for more butts and recycled humor. Unfortunately, there is a real plot that takes over near the end of the series, which manages to have a few gaping holes despite being simple and practically nonexistant. Still, as far as it goes, it is an effective setup for fan service and low brow humor. The characters are the same cast as the last season. There is no improvement, added depth, nor anything really to improve over the last season. Still, there is the variety of cup sizes personalities you'd expect from a parody/ecchi show. Where the first season had bad writing, the second season has worse writing. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead is an exercise of stretching out something that should have ended and nothing more. Really though, it's just standard for the genre, only without the charm. Art (Animation and Sound): The exact same as last season. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead changes nothing. Overall: Don't watch Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of the Dead, especially if you enjoyed the first season. If you liked the first season, this will do nothing other than take away from the experience. Still, fan service is awesome.

ThatAnimeSnob Jul 19, 2012

3.5

Animated by that piece of shit Studio DEEN, which automatically means you will get nothing but mediocre fap material. Directed by Kanasaki Takaomi, who also did a season of School Rumble and Macademi Wasshoi. Clearly a guy who does only goofy storyless shows and indeed that is all you get.This is a comedy/parody of mahou shoujo and superpowers, heavily based on the clichés of series such as Shakugan no Shana or Fate/Stay Night. Past the mockery of the premise which may or may not make you laugh from time to time, it is otherwise a done-on-the-run farce with bold but tired fan service and anime stereotypes that offers nothing beyond a few ephemeral laughs before it is swallowed up by obscurity. The reason is simple; it is a show that can’t stand on its own feet without being a mockery of stereotypes, and just like any anecdote it may be funny only the first time you hear it... or it may not even be funny the first time.The story begins with the archetypical highschool male being a zombie… and a mahou shoujo at the same time… while being constantly surrounded by half or completely naked girls in a way that resembles fantasy date-sims. Plus, there is gore during the action scenes and it’s done in both comical and interesting way in terms of strategy. I did laugh with the stupidity of this blend in the pilot episode but it would surely not work a second time; the joke will grow old fast if it keeps repeating in a similar fashion. So I am then watching the second episode which has to do with school lunch quality, home cooking and ninjas… No, make that VAMPIRE NINJAS! It’s making ridiculous combinations of clichés in order to bring a chuckle out, like a lawyer mailman or an archeologist beautician. I laughed for the second time but I also wondered for how long this joke would keep working. But anyways, both these two episodes were different, provided an insight to the setting in a stereotypical albeit nice way. The flashback where the lead meets the necromancer knight cooldere girl (yes, there is one of that too) was actually very touchy and the fact this played out as a silly comedy up to that point made the sad and dramatic feeling of that scene to have a ten-fold emotional effect. The show was great up to then. But hey, most mediocre series have a few good first episodes before they show their true colors. The rest of the show turns fast, as I predicted, from action/mystery/drama into a mediocre random ecchi/comedy and not even any further attempts at introducing more characters or weird situations manages to bring anything further to the lot. They do occasionally throw in dramatic moments to colorize the characters but all that are quickly lost and ruined by endless tired ero-jokes and slices-of-life moments. The only thing that really changes is the lead’s harem getting bigger and him still being beaten around… and remaining a virgin. There goes the initial feeling of the show. The finale is nothing but retarded ecchi comedy, devoid of any attempt at even trying to be serious or even respectful to the characters’ dignity, thus dropping deep further into mediocrity and boredom and destroying the last chance it had to be something slightly different.But I will be honest; the show tries somewhat to offer a continual plot and character insight. It is not anything much, it is random/superficial/done-to-death but at least it is not aimless/storyless/randomness all the way. The visuals are good, the BGM is rather cheery, and the characters stereotypical but rather developed and rather colorized further than the normal ecchi comedy out there. Nothing much to deem this a good show but at least it tried. Not hard but it did.

Thrawn Jun 21, 2012

8

Story: The first episode starts off as nothing spectacular, until the second half kicks in and the rethread of the first episode of the first season brings it up there. Way up there. The similarities and differences really sell it and as for the comedy, it keeps on coming. Every episode has "That one moment", from .gifs of dancing to more dancing and hilarious subs, to gratuitous English and "That's not a kick!", it rocks as a comedy, just like the first season. Unlike the first, it doesn't slow down with serious moments that may feel like they drag. If something serious/plotty is going on, it'll make it funny. It may feel like slow progression, and it is, it's less on plot and more on comedy and hijinks, while keeping a few minutes for plots. I like it for that, and it has a fight every now and then to remind you there's violence and crap. So comedy, comedic action, dramedy... and the after-credits, easily one of the best changes. One of the best. The ending was kinda... anticlimatic though, nothing special but it was funny. A pity it was cut short, but it leaves room for more volumes of the manga/light novel/original source to be translated into a third season. Animation: Solid. Got the bounce, got the so adorable Eu and while hardly anything changed (If I can recall), it retains it's good looks. Props for facial expressions, glowy stuff, imagination spots and fan-service. The OP/EP recycle loads from the first season though, which is a bit of a bummer. Sound: Per the norm, Eu has a different VO every episode, and it's still great. The addition of the Fairy is an ear full of rape when she's drunk, and she's drunk most of the time. Dreadful, absolutely dreadful. The OP/EP, can't complain, might have some deja vu, maybe, but still good. Characters: We get more on Sarasvati and her... development... was well worth it. She has some of the best moments in the season. The others don't change too much, but we still get to see a bit more about them. This was just more of having them in fun situations working what they do best. Good stuff, and feels like the imagination spots have more impact this time around, working for Ayumu. Overall: As a second season, it maintains just enough plot (Barely) for it to not warrant it being filler overall. While it may be short and not plotty, it's fun, funny and fan service abound. Just come for the comedy, that's why you watched the first season, right?