This was a much more conventional episode that last week’s total wig-out with the giant flying whale, but still entertaining. So far Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka? seems to be managing the delicate tightrope of humor and extremely violent action pretty well.
As with last week, the focus was on slice-of-life in the first half, with Haruka at the center. We finally heard from her instructor Dai, who seems almost as daffy as Haruka herself. Apparently Haruka is pretty far off track – even in the wrong city. Her “artifact” is actually Kyoto Tofu. Mostly the first half is about Haruka running around the house half(or all) naked and generally acting like a genki elementary schooler. She also takes time to get bitten by Sera, who kisses her first – but only because the kissing is an anesthetic (yeah, right). Sera can’t drink Ayumu’s blood apparently, though she won’t say why.
The second half, again like last week, is pure action – though nowhere near as silly. Kyoko isn’t dead after all, apparently. Not only that, but she’s Magical Kyoko – a masou shoujo, and apparently a vampire of some sort and oh by the way, she was Ayumu’s killer as well. The whole Kyoko thing is an act – she’s been collecting souls in pursuit of immortality. Orito only thinks she’s an osananajimi because of her Jedi mind tricks. Since they don’t work on Ayumu she decides to eliminate him, which results in the usual gore-fest before Sera and Haruka show up and Ayumu reluctantly transforms. A three-on-one battle ends in Kyoko’s death – except she’s not dead, and apparently has ten more lives to burn. She’s about to toast Ayumu and Sera when Yuu finally arrives – which seems to have been Kyoko’s aim all along.
This is pretty good stuff – the comedy mostly works, and the action is pretty solid. There’s enough intrigue to the plot and enough chemistry among the characters to make both aspects interesting. It’s a show that demands not to be taken seriously, then throws some serious shit at the audience, which is an intriguing tactic. It’s not going to change the way you think about anime as a medium or anything, but as a series with a little bit of everything it serves its purpose admirably.
