History Main / AttractiveZombie

While vampires represent the archetype of [[AristocratsAreEvil a corrupt aristocrat]], zombies, with their tattered clothes, [[UndeadBarefooter bare feet]], wild desires, and freedom from social conventions, can be associated with [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]] and similar "alternative lifestyle" subcultures. For this reason, such characters often have nonconformist and taboo-breaking (sometimes sexually nonconformist) overtones. Their attitude to their undead status may vary: some of them dream of becoming human or of resting in peace, while others are perfectly happy being the way they are, and [[CursedWithAwesome find advantages in it]] (sometimes they would even [[KeepingTheHandicap refuse to become living humans again when given such a possibility]]).

* Zombina the MON close-quarters specialist from ''Manga/MonsterMusume''. She's an attractive redhead with mismatched eyes and patchwork skin (since her body doesn't heal naturally, she has to attach new body parts to herself by sewing them on). Her FriendlyEnemy, the {{Jiangshi}} Shiishii, also qualifies; practicing Tai Chi every day to stave off rigor mortis left her looking quite toned.

* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has resident {{jiangshi}} Yoshika Miyako. Supplementary materials reveal that her mistress, Seiga, has an extensive regiment in place to keep her face cute and her body flexible since rigor mortis poses as big an issue to Yoshika as the biological breakdown of her body does.

* Series 9 of ''Series/DoctorWho'' ends with [[spoiler: companion Clara Oswald KilledOffForReal, but she receives a temporary delay in her death which renders her technically undead with no life functions, though with her personality and soul still intact]]. This has no impact on her attractiveness; in fact, it is stated that due to her new state, she will never age, therefore remaining as a beautiful woman in her late 20s effectively forever.
** ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': A minor case when [[Characters/{{Torchwood}} Owen]] is resurrected as a zombie midway through Season 2. It doesn't do nearly enough to stop a girl in a bar from finding him gorgeous. Too bad for Owen that no bodily function means no more blood flow downstairs.

* On ''Series/{{iZombie}}'', zombies in general (as long as they're able to eat enough brains to sustain themselves) look like ordinary people with pale skin and hair. Most choose to disguise themselves with cosmetics. Liv doesn't, but once she gets over being a zombie, it hasn't really affected her dating life (beyond having to take extra precautions to prevent infecting human partners, although she mostly dates other zombies); one of her boyfriends tells her she pulls off the zombie look.

* Teased and subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Tourist Trapped". Mabel gets a crush on a local named Norman, and Dipper suspects he's a zombie from his unusual behavior. He turns out to be a bunch of gnomes instead.

* Ayumu from ''LightNovel/IsThisAZombie'' has at least five girls in love with him (only one of which doesn't know that he's a member of the undead).

While vampires represent the archetype of [[AristocratsAreEvil a corrupt aristocrat]], zombies, with their tattered clothes, [[UndeadBarefooter bare feet]], wild desires and freedom from social conventions, can be associated with [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]] and similar "alternative lifestyle" subcultures. For this reason, such characters often have nonconformist and taboo-breaking (sometimes sexually nonconformist) overtones. Their attitude to their undead status may vary: some of them dream of becoming human or of resting in peace, while others are perfectly happy being the way they are, and [[CursedWithAwesome find advantages in it]] (sometimes they would even [[KeepingTheHandicap refuse to become living humans again when given such a possibility]]).

While vampires represent the archetype of a [[AristocratsAreEvil corrupt aristocrat]], zombies, with their tattered clothes, [[UndeadBarefooter bare feet]], wild desires and freedom from social conventions, can be associated with [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]] and similar "alternative lifestyle" subcultures. For this reason, such characters often have nonconformist and taboo-breaking (sometimes sexually nonconformist) overtones. Their attitude to their undead status may vary: some of them dream of becoming human or of resting in peace, while others are perfectly happy being the way they are, and [[CursedWithAwesome find advantages in it]] (sometimes they would even [[KeepingTheHandicap refuse to become living humans again when given such a possibility]]).

Such a character may have nonconformist and taboo-breaking overtones (sometimes sexually nonconformist), since zombies are seen as subject to wild desires and free of social conventions. Their attitude to their undead status may vary: some of them dream of becoming human or of resting in peace, while others are perfectly happy being the way they are, and [[CursedWithAwesome find advantages in it]] (sometimes they would even [[KeepingTheHandicap refuse to become living humans again when given such a possibility]]).

SisterTrope to SeductiveMummy and CuteGhostGirl, and frequently overlaps with BoyMeetsGhoul. Compare with VampiresAreSexGods, HotAsHell, SuccubiAndIncubi, CuteMonsterGirl, YouSexyBeast, IncongruouslyDressedZombie. Often overlaps with FriendlyZombie, due to BeautyEqualsGoodness, and RevenantZombie, due to the fact that such characters often retain the personality they had in life.

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[[folder:Literature]]

* Dead Girl, the RevenantZombie superhero from ''ComicBook/XForce'', initially looks a little mummified, but quickly becomes ProgressivelyPrettier to the point that she becomes a sex symbol in-universe, and has a sexual relationship with living teammate Anarchist.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Several characters in ''Cinderalla'' qualify. Cinderalla's father becomes a zombie and marries another zombie who has two zombie daughters. And Cinderalla herself falls in love with a zombie singer, and needs a spell to transform herself into a zombie in order to be allowed to attend one of his performances.

For more examples of this trope, check out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Human-zombie_romance_in_fiction a thematic page]] on Website/TheOtherWiki.

* [=VTuber=] Kureiji Ollie from ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'' Indonesia is a zombie virtual idol whose good looks haven't been tainted by undeath. While more conservative than the outfits worn by other hololive members, her dress draws a lot of attention to her attractive legs, and her [[GenkiGirl adorably energetic demeanor]] further bumps up her cuteness factor. She's also known to be a notorious HaremSeeker and has 'married' many of her fellow idols.

* Ayumi, the eponymous zombie little sister in ''LightNovel/MyVampireOlderSisterAndZombieLittleSister''. Unlike most zombies who decay naturally, Ayumi injects herself with preservatives, so she looks identical to a human save for stitches all over her body.

SisterTrope to SeductiveMummy and CuteGhostGirl, and frequently overlaps with BoyMeetsGhoul. Compare with VampiresAreSexGods, HornyDevils, CuteMonsterGirl, YouSexyBeast, IncongruouslyDressedZombie. Often overlaps with FriendlyZombie, due to BeautyEqualsGoodness, and RevenantZombie, due to the fact that such characters often retain the personality they had in life.

* ''Film/ArmyOfTheDead'' has the "Queen" zombie, a [[IncongruouslyDressedZombie former showgirl]] who, even with her NightmareFace, still looks attractive, especially with an outfit that shows off her cleavage and [[ShesGotLegs her legs]]. There's also a bunch of topless showgirls chasing a guy and rabidly devouring him in a jacuzzi in the opening credits.

* [=VTuber=] Kureiji Ollie from ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'' Indonesia is a zombie virtual idol whose good looks haven't been tainted by undeath. While more conservative than the outfits worn by other hololive members, her dress draws a lot of attention to [[ShesGotLegs her attractive legs]], and her [[GenkiGirl adorably energetic demeanor]] further bumps up her cuteness factor. She's also known to be a notorious HaremSeeker and has 'married' many of her fellow idols.

For more examples of this trope, check out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Human-zombie_romance_in_fiction a thematic page]] on Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

* While Jiang Shi are considered [[ChineseVampire vampires]] rather than zombies, Hsien-Ko from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' is, nevertheless, quite attractive for a hopping corpse.
* One of the newly introduced character classes in ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'' is the [[{{Meido}} Maid]]. More specifically, they're zombie maids. ''Adorable'' zombie maids with GirlishPigtails and CuteLittleFangs. According to their bio, they're not actually very good at housework due to their brains rotting, but many in-universe find them endearing.
** Protagonist Zed from ''VideoGame/Disgaea6DefianceOfDestiny'' might be [[FantasticRacism hated in-universe]], but looks good for a zombie. His little sister, Bieko, is also undead but also [[{{Moe}} disgustingly adorable]].

* Rottytops from ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' is drawn in the same cute anime girl style as the rest of the female cast, albeit with green skin and a stapled on arm and leg. The games establish that zombies are divided between the traditional mindless undead, and those who are able to hold on to decent chunk of their humanity thanks to the power of coffee, with Rottytops and her family falling into the latter category. While Rotty's older brothers are more monstrous, Abner is still a bit of a looker, and there are other zombie [=NPCs=] (such as a pair of siblings in ''Seven Sirens'') who look completely normal aside from the green skin and stitches.
* Although too young and modest to qualify as "sexy", Squigly from ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' is an adorable CuteMonsterGirl of a zombie.
* Presumably the [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Escort]] and her EvilCounterpart the [[FemmeFatale Consort]] from ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' can be this after dying, since the {{Necromancer}} can [[AnimateDead raise them]] to [[DistractedByTheSexy Roleblock]] live players.
* One of the characters from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', specifically [[spoiler:Shulk himself]], is revealed to have been DeadAllAlong and puppeteered by an ancient malevolent spirit. Despite this, [[spoiler:he]] enjoys a longstanding romance with [[spoiler:Fiora]], who also becomes this partway through the game.

Like ghosts and vampires who were only recently romanticised and portrayed as humanlike in many aspects, zombies were traditionally depicted as horrifying, creepy, ugly, mindless and carnivorous. The reason for this lies in the concept of zombie originating from [[HollywoodVoodoo Caribbean voodoo]], in which they were corpses reanimated by a magician and subjected to his will, devoid of their own will and personality. Moreover, the idea of a zombie horde threatening the existence of human civilization is rooted in the European colonists' perception of the Haitian revolution; therefore the modern zombie genre cliches have colonial origins.

* The card game ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' has a series of Vampire-themed monsters that are classified under the Zombie-typing and as typical of vampires in fiction, the majority are depicted as finely-dressed with flawless good looks.

** The female zombie Angela Mason in "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" is quite attractive, apart from the "homicidally jealous" part.

* Rottytops from ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' is drawn in the same cute anime girl style as the rest of the female cast (albeit with green skin and a stapled on arm and leg). More recent games in the series show that Rottytops isn't the only attractive zombie, either. In ''Shantae and the Seven Sirens'' you see a zombie girl with her younger brother as [=NPCs=], and both look relatively normal aside from green skin and a few stitches.