Review of Is This A Zombie?

Is this a Zombie? Funimation.

Is this a Zombie is an anime with a comedic take on the zombie genre. The anime has romantic subplots, harem comedy, mystery, dark humor and some truly terrifying moment along with some truly moving drama. It also has a main male protagonist that's a zombie and is forced to wear a pink frilly dress. Two seasons have been dubbed by Funimation and today we take a look at season 1.

The world of Is this a zombie take place in a world exactly like our own, except there is an unseen element the viewer get's to explore. Ayumu is a normal high school boy when he runs into a necromancer and soon after is killed by a mysterious serial killer plaguing his town. The Necromancer known as Eucliwood Hellscythe, incredible name by the way, revives him as a zombie. Ayumu spends his nights in an attempt to hunt down his killer and that bring him into the dark side the world. He starts to encounter, magical garment girls, vampire ninjas, evil animal beings dressed in school uniforms and a few other supernatural forces.

Ayumu is the main character and newly made zombie. For a high school boy he tends to be rather philosophical. He's for the most part rather grounded but that doesn't stop him from day dreaming about the necromancer that's moved in with him.  Because of a certain accident he has absorbed the magic of a magical garment girl and now must take up her job and fight off monsters while in her pink dress. The only perk in that forced position is he gets to fight monsters with a chainsaw, yes a magical chainsaw. Ayumu spends most of the season trying to find the person who killed and unravel the mystery behind the killer.

Eucliwood Hellscythe, seriously an awesome name, is often just called to Eu or Yu. She's an extremely powerful necromancer who revived Ayumu. She's also adorable beyond words. She's one of the most visually interesting characters on the show wearing a unique armor all the time along with her long flowing silver hair. For the most part she seems like a cute girl in armor but there are mysteries and secret all around her. The biggest mystery is why she only communicates through written word and why she never shows a single emotion. The pay off that mystery is great and the answer to the mystery is one of the more emotional moments of the whole series. Eu is one of the more interesting character and in the series with an interesting back story that help move the plot along. Without saying so much a few words her actions will move the viewers to joy and to fits of sorrow.

Haruna is the a magical garment girl who loses her magic to Ayumu in the first episode. She's brash and a know it all. She has a tough exterior and there are only small hints to her past. She easily the most energetic character in the series and could remind one of a little sister. Haruna is rather strange and has problems remembering peoples names. Haruna happens to cook eggs better than anyone and won't let you forget it. Overall Haruna is a fun character with a childish demeanor that hides the fact that she does truly care about people.

Seraphim is the last of the main character and don't let the angelic name fool you, Seraphim is in fact a vampire ninja. Yes, you read that right, she is a vampire and ninja. She's very stern and overall stoic like you'd expect from a ninja. Still Seraphim has her soft spots but not really for Ayumu who she doesn't hesitate to berate and call harsh names. Overall a stunning beauty Seraphim wants to convince Eu to return to her village to revive her leaders and has decided to become her servant until the necromancer agrees. During the course of the season Seraphim has to confront a choice of which is more important, her mission or her new friends. Armed with her sword Seraphim will end up in major conflicts with other vampires and sometimes her friends. Still Seraphim besides being an action is rather well round as she has interest in cooking and is a talented violinist. Seraphim is a rather compelling character because of this, even if she is a bit of an ice queen.

Without giving too much away the bad guys for this season of Is this a Zombie come off as real threats. The lengths they will go to are extreme and somewhat terrifying if not heart breaking. Their motivations are often human and at certain points the viewer find themselves actually sympathizes with them despite all they have done.

The show is a comedy with touches of drama. The comedy parts are hilarious and will easily have you laughing. You might not like every joke but there will certainly be humor that makes you laugh, they do all types of jokes. Then there are the dramatic portions of the show, you might not think a comedy would be able to play off drama so well but this series does it. There are moments in this show that will grip your heart and have you holding your breath as you wait to see what happen next. What they do very well with these moments are that the moments are character moment, moments that show who characters really are, develop the characters and put them to the test. One cannot forget the exciting battles and actions scenes in the show. Often using swords, chainsaws, scythes versus monsters and magic the fights can become intense. The great thing about the fights scenes is that they get you to worry about the characters safety and hanging on every action.

The writing is rather wonderful and it lets the show be playful one moment and incredibly serious the next without it feeling so out of place. The overall mood is well balanced. The characterization is well done so by the end you can see where everyone stand and how they've changed since the start. The show overall is a lot of laughs and will have you falling in love with the characters. The series does everything right. It actual turns some anime tropes on it's end, such as the male magical girl. The show is clever and funny. The characters are well developed and endearing in their own ways. Some of the humor can be a little lacking and vulgar but on the overall there are no real complaints for the show. You might not be too happy with a panty shot from the male zombie but it's hard not to laugh at the scene where that happens. Out of Five the Season 1 of Is This A Zombie gets a 4.8.

Stay tune for the review of season 2.