Gainax lives.

Zom 100 is a couple of pretty big “firsts” this season.  It’s the first series that’s dramatically exceeded my expectations (Undead Girl Murder Farce did to an extent, but because of the director I expected more there).  It’s also this season’s “more Gainax than Gainax” entry.  Many seasons have those, though they aren’t as common as they were a few years ago.  The first thing I do after one of those premieres is check the staff list for Gainax expats.  And I usually find some, though none of the big names here seem to be connected.  Director Kawagoe Kazuki is a disciple of Watanabe Ayumu and writer Seko Hiroshi one of the best in the industry, but no direct Gainax links to be found.

Clearly, then, these are fans –  and an awful lot of Gainax influence in the industry comes through that channel to be sure.  A lot of animators grew up on Gainax, and that runs deep, but you don’t often see it expressed so overtly as here.  The studio, BUG FILMS, is a relative newcomer and seems never to have been a lead studio before, but they make one hell of a splash here.  This is a great-looking premiere – not just because it’s packed with style (which it is) but because it’s really well-animated too.

The core premise here is refreshingly straightforward.  What if your life was so miserable that a zombie apocalypse was the best thing that ever happened to you?  That’s how it is for Tendou Akira (Umeda Shuuichirou), three years into a job at the blackest of black companies.  On his very first “day” he works two days straight without going home.  No one ever takes their PTO, hundreds of hours of overtime are logged every month, his supervisor is a sociopathic gorilla.  And the CEO is having sex with the co-worker Tendou falls in love with behind closed doors.

The depiction of the black company here is brutal and unsparing – it has to be for this to work.  And while it’s not an animation studio (they could never get away with this episode if it was) it’s hard not to draw the connection.  The fact is black companies like this exist in Japan, and are far more common than you’d imagine.  “Why don’t you just quit?” you ask – but a Japanese person would never ask that.  The societal pressure, the guilt (again, beautifully depicted here).  And you’re effectively blacklisted if you leave a job at age 24, which Tendou-san is.  So you just work until you die of stress and exhaustion – or take matters into your own hands.  It’s a national shame, and far too tolerated in this day and age.

We’ve certainly seen zombie comedies before – Shaun of the Dead was the real trailblazer there, and anime has dipped its toes in with the likes of Zombieland Saga (which stated off promisingly but whose appeal waned quickly for me).  But Zom 100 feels fresh and smart.  The sheer visceral misery of those first 15 minutes is crucial to setting the stage – you can totally buy that Tendou (who’s actively contemplated suicide) would welcome a zombie apocalypse.  His first thought as he’s fleeing is “if this keeps up I’ll be late for work” – before he realizes he doesn’t need to worry about it, and exults.

Indeed, the only downside for Akira is that his work crush, Ohtori-san, has already turned by the time he arrives at her place to rescue her (and the CEO is there too, which Tendou deals with).  In fact he’s more nervous about appearing creepy for coming over uninvited than about the zombie hordes, evidence of just how disconnected Tendou is.  The fact is, even as horrific as his life was a guy would have to be a bit unhinged to welcome a zombie apocalypse with open arms, which invites the intriguing possibility that his nightmare three years have actually driven him insane.

The first thing Tendou does after fleeing (but not destroying) Ohtori is to “buy” a notebook and pen and start the titular bucket list – all the things he wants to do now that he’s free.  We’re certainly entering a new phase of the story here, so I don’t feel totally confident that Zom 100 (a live-action Netflix movie is also coming this summer) will be able to sustain the gripping charisma of the first episode.  But I’m sure as hell anxious to find out – the mangaka Aso Haro (Alice in Borderland) has a pretty good track record, and it’s obvious that the team behind the anime is extremely talented.  For one week at least, Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto is right up there with the big guns at the top of the table.

OP: “Song of the Dead (ソングオブザデッド)” by KANA-BOON