Anime Pantry: Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka? Episode 1 Review

Let me just start by saying, moe is probably one of my least favorite parts of being an anime fan. Looking at the picture for this show I feared the worst. I've seen many moe shows and I can safely say that I haven't enjoyed it once. They're manipulative and don’t have much to offer plotwise. I wasn't looking forward to Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?

With a heart full of dread, I pressed play and waited to begin pulling out my hair in frustration.

At first, I was surprised by the mature arty flare it had. I thought this would turn into a more serious moe moe, such as Air or Kanon. It was very pretty to look at and the main character seemed the serious sort. I was thinking this was going to be one of the boring type shows that made me want to kill every character off by the end, because the characters themselves had no real way to endear themselves to me.

Oh how wrong I was.

After a certain point, the main character tries to save a cat, gets hit by a bus and is sent reeling through the trees... knocking off all his clothes, of course.

This would normally kill anybody, of course, however...

So, after those antics were through I started to become mildly amused with this show. Instead of cashing in as a completely moe trope filled horror, it started to have a slight promise of a comedic moe show (This would give the show a 50/50 chance of me being able to stand it.)

The opening, I must say, is completely generic.The song, Ma Ka Se Te Tonight by Iori Nomizu, is the standard high pitched Japanese with a beat electro intro you would expect for a moe comedy. Even if I were to listen to this intro a multitude of times, I can’t see it growing on me. The art for the show, although interestingly colored doesn’t hold my interest. Basically, the art is used as a device to introduce the characters. When I see an anime opening, I want it to be a symbol of the best the show has to offer. The music should be catchy and get stuck in my head, and the art should be really eye catching and memorable. Over all, this opening left me lacking on so many levels.

Anywho... moving on.

We meet our first female moe character. I personally like her construct (but I have a thing for white haired characters.) During the scene where we meet her, I was surprised by the main characters outright moe classification of her. In these types of shows, they tend to try and pretend that they are not moe, while adhering strictly to the moe stereotypes. The main character, Aikawa, outright calls her a tsun.

For those who don’t know here is a quick moe lesson 101: Tsun and Tsundere
These are both terms to describe the characters who appear to be bitches (excuse the language.) They are outwardly mean to the main character, but deep down inside they are really love-dovey with them. Basically like a person with an outwardly hard appearance and soft chewy center.

Eventually Aikawa ends up at a graveyard. Boy, a zombie at a graveyard. How original right? Well enter the next character, Haruna. A magical girl, complete with a magical girl transformation. Antics ensue, in which Aikawa ends up chopped in half in a very graphic manner.

So basically those are the three characters who have been introduced. Though for any moe harem show to be complete there needs to be 3 or more females for every male lead. Knowing that to be the case, I’m sure there will be more characters introduced in the next few episodes. All of whom can be neatly classified into their respective moe tropes and groups.

PedoBear was just trying to enjoy his Lolis! WHY?!

I know I make it a point not to cover plot to much, but there is one part of the episode that I have to cover. It was towards the end, so if you don’t want spoilers I suggest you stop here--

Like I said, this show was supposed to be like an everyday moe, however after laughing so hard at this scene, I can only say that I have never enjoyed a moe show so much. It was a hysterical scene in which Haruna and Aikawa are attacked by a giant crayfish. Scratch that... more like...

Yep. So, to save the day, Aikawa ends up making a magical girl transformation. Complete with the sparkling lights and ribbon wrap around clothes. It was pretty funny and I wasn’t expecting it at all.

-- end of spoilers

Now as for the ending. It’s very much a moe ending, with the characters dancing in chibi forms andincredibly generic music. Personally though, I prefer the ending. It does a much better job of matching the show and I get the right feeling from it. Also, the part at the very end is kinda cute.

So here are the final scores:

Story: 8/10 (the hightest rated moe EVER for me)
Art: 6/10 (really generic)
OP: 5/10
ED: 7/10
Characters: 8/10

That about wraps it up for me. “Take easy, gang.” (that’s right Hieronymus Bosch, I stole it~ you scrub.)
Ha ha, no, just kidding, Bosch is literally the best human being~~~~!
(HB: don't make fun of someone who can edit your article, you muppet)