Review of: Is This A Zombie? Of The Dead

Is This A Zombie? Of The Dead. Funimation.

Funimation brings in another dubbed season of the zombie turned magical garment girl comedy. I have already reviewed the first season so if you want to check that out feel free to look back on past reviews. Since I have gone into the main cast before I'll do a quick review of some of the other characters before I go into the plot and what's good and bad about this season.

Yuki or Tomonori or Maelstrom or whatever you want to call her this vampire ninja from the last season is back. Still the lovable tom boy with a crush for Ayumu, who she still sees as her husband, is a fun character.  In this season we see her develop her relationship with our favorite zombie and really show off some depth. We get to see some of her own insecurities about the relationship and how she tries to use a trip to the mountains not solely for all time with Ayumu but to actually help him. I really felt this season rounded out her character while still getting laughs from the blushing would be ninja bride.

Sarasvati is kinda scary. The chief of the vampire ninja clan she is tough as nails and she chooses to be a pop idol. Yes, I did say she was a ninja and a vampire and an idol. Her idea of hiding in plain sight and fighting other idols to get stronger, it seems crazy but it has its value. She gets a lot more screen time and develops her own feeling for Ayumu that was started off at the end of last season. One of the funniest moments in the series is when she reveals why she has fallen for Ayumu because of his lovely rear end. I can't do it justice as how funny the scene is, you should just watch it. One of the episodes gave her a lot of screen time developing her from more than just a hard as nails girl with a tush fetish. This episode shows of her tender side and her pursuits of Ayumu. It's actually a very touching episode because of her scenes. The writers manage to show of her emotional tender side without making it seem out of character for the tough as nails girl.

Chris is a party girl and a loli goth chick. Also she's the bad guy of this season and a drunk. Trust me it makes sense when you watch the show. I'll try not to give any spoilers out but there is a reason for her being a drunk and everything. She's a very fun character whose actually giving Ayumu great advice through the season. She's complicated as even people around her understand why she has taken the actions she has taken. At some point you feel sorry for her. She's cute and not someone easy to take on in a fight.  Despite all the silliness to her character there are moments of hidden depth to watch out for.

Nene is an Underworlder like Eucliwood and someone the little necromancer trusts. Nene is a fun character with some subtle depth. She helps fill in some gaps about the Underworld and how Eucliwood ended up in the world we know. It also goes to show that a war in the underworld left people like herself and Eucliwood affected by the events. She handles the events in a very human way, just trying to focus on the good part and make up a story of how she wishes things went. Still Nene doesn't let the bad stuff weight her down and a character that makes people smile.

Kyouko from last season returns. The magical garment girl that killed Ayumu returns to help against Chris but seems more eager to mess with Ayumu. Her episode is a delight that not only makes one laugh but gives you a heart warming ending. Kyouko has a lot of growth and shows off what being imprisoned has done to her. Also great job on her voice actress and her skill to switch from crazy scary girl to cute girl without skipping a beat.

The season deals with Ayumu's secrets cross dressing becoming public knowledge and him trying to deal with it and have a normal life. All while in the background a new force arrises that could tear up that life he wishes to protect. In the end he's got to battle for those he cares about and himself.

This season does see a lot of new world building elements and fills gaps in the history of this world. A lot of character development happened not only for the main characters but also for a lot of background cast. There were certainly a lot of fun stories along with some that pulled at your heart strings. Story telling wise this season felt pretty solid, it felt a little opened ended but that seems to be more about catching up to the light novels the show is based on than a proper ending. In time there might be more stories to continue on the series but it still leaves the ending a little open. There were a lot of new characters who were all fun and I enjoyed meeting them. The old characters grew and I think we've all learned more about them.

There were some problems, it seemed that some of details were cut out from the translation of the original Japanese. There nothing major but it doesn't explain some details which leaves a viewer wanting a little. The scene before the final battle seemed a lot harsher than the original Japanese version, it seemed to be the reaction that the writers were going for but it was a little distracting for anyone who saw the Japanese version. Still the final scene with Ayumu and Eucliwood were a nice and tender moment to leave the series on.

So what does that leave us with. This season wasn't as tight as the first season and there were some jokes that were a little forced. The real shine of this season was the development of the world and characters which made it a delight to watch. All the acting was well done and their voice fit the characters truly bringing them to life. Out of Five the Second of Is this a Zombie gets a 4.5 out of 5. It's a good anime to watch and its fun and I'm sure you'll enjoy watching a few more time after that.