A seventeen-year-old boy who is among the first to notice that things at the school have gone very very wrong. While he and Rei promised to marry each other, it's been several years, and with his apparent growing disinterest in her, she is now involved with his best friend, Hisashi. Things only get more complicated between the two as "they" spread, and Hisashi became one of "them", forcing him to Mercy Kill his best friend.Takashi quickly takes a leadership role with the group, through his decisive nature and desire to protect others.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: At first. Seems to finally be breaking out of it after the clinic raid goes horribly wrong.
Determinator: When rescuing Alice, as well as in basically everything else he does.
Failed Attempt at Drama: When Takashi announces intent to leave for Shintoko Third Elementary, the rest of the gang appropriately react except for Zeke who responds by peeing on Takashi's leg.
Idiot Hero: Good with a baseball bat. Not so good with actually thinking through the consequences of his actions.
Love Triangle: Is one awkward situation from being literally fought over by Saeko and Rei.
Missing Mom: Hasn't seen his mother since the outbreak; not that he isn't extremely worried about her.
Moral Event Horizon: Invoked when he used a live human as zombie bait as punishment for threatening to rape Rei and kill him. He's the only one who thinks he's crossed the line at that point; in fact, he's still redeemable by the rest of his team's standards. He also notes to himself that he may have killed Hisashi (and not regretted killing him) partly out of jealousy over Rei.
Morality Chain: Or rather Sanity Chain, especially to Saeko. He also realizes that most of the team plays this role to one another.
Only Sane Man: While everyone is at least moderately sane, Takashi’s main advantage is that he’s fully conscious of his grip on the Sanity Ball and can keep the others in line. He does constantly worry that his grip may end up slipping, and worse, knows very well that any freakout would have a domino effect on the team and get everyone killed.
The Plan: Does one against the gas station nutjob by throwing his bat onto the ground and shooting him. He and Rei then leave the nutjob to die, having made enough noise to attract the zombies.
Sociopathic Hero: Arguably. He acknowledges that a part of him actually likes the lawlessness brought about by the Zombie Apocalypse when he enjoys smashing a cash register at a gas station. Earlier on he notes to himself that he may have crossed the Moral Event Horizon when he killed Hisashi without being too bothered about it. He's able to relate to Saeko's Ax Crazy impulses because of this.
Standardized Leader: Played with. Takashi himself worries that he’s got no real outstanding skills compared to the rest of the (useful) members of the team, yet given the flaky cohesion and variable sanity of the group, his ability to keep everyone on a leash is quite invaluable. The kicker is that while he may be the most centred of the group, he’s not completely stable either and he knows it.
Stripperiffic: In the OVA, he wears a very-tight fitting pair of speedos that tend to slightly show off his cheeks, along with a pair of boots.
Thanks for the Mammary: Intentional or not, Takashi grabs Saeko brutally by the breast in the park, probably to keep her from contemplating Suicide By Zombie again.
Takashi's former Love Interest and classmate, as well as a member of the lance fighting club. Frustrated with his apparent disinterest, Rei started dating his best friend Hisashi, though she still harbored feelings for him. When Hisashi is bitten, Rei faces the question of whether it is right to act on her maintained feelings for Takashi so soon after he was forced to kill his best friend. Headstrong and courageous, Rei is a strong combatant and valuable asset to the group.
Action Girl: Takes some time to adapt with the sudden Zombie Apocalypse, but once she learns to cope, she can kill zombies with the best of them.
Blade on a Stick: Her first weapon before she upgraded. Nowadays she carries a rifle with a bayonet, but uses the latter more than the former.
Clingy Jealous Girl: How she chooses to express the mandatory post-apocalyptic mental breakdown. Saeko lampshades this when she remarks how annoying it is compared to her calm maturity.
Secret Test of Character: Mr. Takagi gives her permission to personally execute Shidou in front of everyone at the mansion; however, she decides he's Not Worth Killing, leading Mr. Takagi to laugh and bellow, "Well put!"
"Shut Up" Kiss: Takashi gives her one to get her to get over Hisashi's death.
Sins of Our Fathers: Her father just happened to investigate the wrong man for corruption (one that was desperate to keep his post amidst the investigation). Unfortunately, the man was powerful, and his son happened to teach at Rei's school. Oops.
Small Girl, Big Gun: Rei isn't much shorter than any of the other survivors, but everyone looks small next to a Springfield M1A1 rifle.
Tights With A Skirt: Looks like she's wearing this in one shot in episode 3, probably due to a minor and hard-to-spot continuity snarl.
Calm and collected, Saeko is a high school senior and president of the Kendo Club. She is one of the few survivors of the initial outbreak, and after meeting up with Takashi and the others, she lends her considerable skills with the sword to the team. Reliable in the extreme, she takes great pride in her abilities and in the abilities of her comrades.
Anti-Hero: Seems like Type III (while she'll gladly euthanize zombie victims out of a sense of honor, she is pretty curt toward Shizuka on more than a few occasions), but she can curve into a type IV or V in combat.
Born in the Wrong Century: A warrior of her caliber is an anachroism in the technologically-advanced 21st century; more fitting for the battlefields of the Tokugawa Era.
Cool Big Sis: Was this role to the party of heroes until Shizuka grew up and took her rightful responsibility as an adult.
Cute and Psycho: Chapter 17 of the manga and its anime counterpart's episode 9 revealed she has some such characteristics, especially in her flashback scene.
Gainaxing: In the anime, her breasts dodge bullets.
Heroic BSOD: Briefly contemplated letting "them" take her while thinking that she is no better than they are, but is instead inspired to accept her bloodlust by Takashi, to live on and seek redemption.
Hime Cut: Although her bangs are longer than the standard.
Hot Chick in a Badass Suit: Yes, there's artwork of her drawn in this manner. And yes, she does look hot with her dress shirt completely open.
Katanas Are Just Better: The sword that Don Takagi gives her is an example despite Hirano's annoyed explanation that an average katana would be rendered useless after beheading, at most, four of "them". Saeko has been going strong with her sword for more than ten chapters now, and doesn't seem to be slowing down. Also, swords may be more practical than guns since "they" only hear and our heroes have to travel through hordes of "them".
Funnily enough, it's the resident Gun Nut that talks her into keeping and using the sword, and he specifically points out that it's of superior craftsmanship to most modern or mass-produced-infantry-quality swords, and in the right hands (which it definitely is) can maintain its killing potential with very little maintenance. Eventually Saeko does ask to be shown how to use a gun along with her sword.
Sociopathic Hero: Under Saeko's calm Heir to the Dojo exterior is a sadist who only recently publicly acknowledged her enjoyment of becoming stronger and deadlier. She was arrested as a young girl for being "overly enthusiastic" in her self-defense against a would-be molester. Though she had her regrets at one point.
What the Hell, Hero?: Shizuka yells at her early on when she rips her Prada skirt after she trips while fleeing "them".
Saeko: Brand name clothing or your life? Which do you value? Shizuka: ...BOTH!
Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Subverted. It can't be denied that Saeko kicks a lot of ass with a bokken, but the vintage katana supplied by Don Takagi is a significant upgrade.
Yamato Nadeshiko: Though she has a dark side. Its what happens when you plug one into a Zombie Apocalypse. She doesn't exactly have time for cooking or flower arranging when "They" are out for blood. Luckily part of this trope involves knowing your way around traditional japanese weaponry.
Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (JP), Maggie Flecknoe (EN)
The smartest student of Fujimi Private Academy, Saya isn't afraid to speak her mind and say exactly what she thinks of others. She is also the daughter of a ultra-nationalist politician. Her deductive nature has allowed her to realize several facts about how they work and her intelligence has saved the group many times.
Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Saya very often is hard on Kohta, especially when calling him names regarding his weight. However, Saya hadblushedprofusely when, on a whim, Kohta asked her out.
Sixteen-year-old Kohta was a school loser and bully magnet. "Their" appearance changed everything — his secret obsession with firearms prepared him well for his big break as the gang's resident marksman. Because of this, he winds up teaching the others how to use guns.
Beware the Nice Ones: An easygoing, kind-hearted, and generally placid soul... who carries enough firepower to depopulate a medium-sized South American republic, and can deploy all of it to deadly effect at a moment's notice. After finding out that Kohta got training from a Blackwater mercenary, Takashi states that he is so glad that Kohta is on their side.
Crazy-Prepared: Being extremely knowledgeable about guns in Japan automatically puts him in this category. He also never misses a chance to loads up on as many guns as he can hold on to.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Can switch between "bumbling geek" and "walking instrument of death" with frankly worrying rapidity.
Cute and Psycho: Switches between a loser-ish Otaku and a psycho when a gun is involved.
Honor Before Reason: Though he is one of the first to accept the notion that not everyone can be saved, he immediately swings into action to protect Alice, knowing that the gunfire will draw more of "them" and compromise their hideout.
Improbable Aiming Skills: It's his ability to line up headshots with terrifying speed, precision and regularity that makes this short, chubby Otaku one of the group's most effective combatants. Justified in that he did get a few lessons from a former Delta Force operative at a Blackwater firing range.
Improvised Weapon User: Within pages of his introduction, he MacGyver'd a nail gun and a length of wood into a semi-automatic carbine, which kept him in good stead until he got an actual gun. Later he defused a tense situation by assembling a garrote from materials lying around and stranglingone of the hostile parties.
Kavorka Man: A short, fat, bespectacled otaku, yet still manages to earn the attentions of Saya and Asami. A sweet disposition and the ability to rapidly sift heads seems to count for a lot in a Zombie Apocalypse.
Yank the Dog's Chain: Even after Asami freaks out and calls Hirano some hurtful stuff, she actually does like him. And they seem to get along very well. Yay for Hirano. Then Asami pulls a Heroic Sacrifice, and Hirano has to shoot her in the head so she won't turn into one of "them".
A 27-year-old spinster who served as Fujimi High's School Nurse. While ditzy, Shizuka is naturally very calm, and little fazes her. She is often the group's driver and, being good at her profession, she tends the other character's wounds.
Beware the Silly Ones: When some of the students on the bus bitch about Shizuka's driving and Takashi's group plan to escape by heading into the city, she hits the brake and practically tells them all to shut the fuck up. Cue students shutting the fuck up.
Bright Slap: Looks all set to deliver a bike-powered one to Kohta during his BSOD, but instead she gives him a pep talk. It works out the same way.
Car Fu: Despite not having handled any weapons per se, Marikawa-sensei has the highest body count of all the survivors due to her, ahem, forceful driving.
Gag Boobs: Shizuka can use her own breasts as pillows and a water gun. Even more so after watching Zeke getting caught in and then launched out of them.
Hidden Depths: She was the one to snap Kohta out of his short PTSD-esque period when Takashi, Alice, and Saya failed.
The Load: Isn't very helpful most of the time thanks to her cluelessness and even her medic skills are of no use if someone is bitten. However, she turns out to be one hell of a Badass Driver should she be put behind the wheel.
Marshmallow Hell: When ever she's scared/startled there is a very good chance someone's going to end up with her breasts in their face.
Seven-year-old Alice was rescued from "them" by Takashi after a group of hideaways killed her father and closed the door on her. Being an innocent ray of sunshine amidst the bleakness of their situation, the group quickly took a liking to her and has since adopted her as a little sister figure.
Beauty Mark: She has a small mole under her left eye.
Class 3-A's teacher. Rei had a beef on him since he flunked her out because of their fathers' radically differing political beliefs. He doesn't care much for the lives of others, and even at the midst of the zombie apocalypse, is apparently planning to build a cult centered on himself.
Devil in Plain Sight: The fact that the protagonists don't see him for the psychopathic asshole he is right from the get-go is just ridiculous. From his first appearance onward, it's taken Up to Eleven.
Not Worth Killing: The only thing that prevents Rei from executing him in episode 11.
Social Darwinist: His defining moment occurs when he stomps the face of a pleading student with a broken ankle, cackling that "the weak no longer deserve to survive in this new era".
Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred: Taunts Rei as she held him up at gunpoint, practically goading to be done in. However, sweat rolling down his face reveals his cowardice and fear at the thought of actually being killed.
A special ops police officer who happened to be Shizuka's roommate. Cold sniper at heart, or not so cold. She had been held up in the airport along with other special forces, clearing zombies so that the airport can be used by survivors to escape.
Rei's new boyfriend and Takashi's best friend. He's shown to be calm and cool-headed, and was even willing to believe Takashi when told about a murder in front of the school, even arming them with makeshift weapons. By these characteristics, one could be forgiven for thinking he would be the protagonist.Unfortunately, despite boasting hand-to-hand combat abilities, he was bitten by a zombie teacher and asked Takashi to mercy kill him. However, Takashi hesitated and Hisashi became a zombie before finally being killed. Rei was haunted by his death and as a result distrusted Takashi for a while.
A female police officer that Takashi's group had met in the mall. She has a kind heart and a rather timid personality, often referring to herself as "this officer". As an inexperienced rookie officer, she tends to overcompensate when helping civilians.When her superior officer left the mall to go for help, she was left in charge of overseeing the other mall survivors. Keeping the survivors in check proved to be a difficult task until Hirano and the others came to her aid. She and Hirano quickly develop feelings for each other, creating an uncomfortable love triangle between them and Saya.
Moe: Initially seemed completely helpless, but even when she's pointing a gun at someone, Asami is so moe that it hurts.
Mercy Kill: Wound up on both ends of this trope on separate occasions.
New Meat: Asami gives off the sense that she has just graduated from the police academy and has never really had a serious assignment before all hell broke loose.
Shoot the Dog: Used after Hirano turns her down, to make the rejection hurt less.
Third-Person Person: Japanese police officers are specifically trained to never use first-person pronouns when speaking to other people and instead refer to themselves as "this officer". Asami, being the nervous rookie she is, slips between this and the regular Third-Person Person, mainly because she is so inexperienced. She only addresses herself as "I" right before she dies.
Soichirou and Yuriko Takagi
Voiced by: Joji Nakata (Soichirou) and Yoshiko Sakakibara (Yuriko) (JP), Andrew Love (Soichirou) and Shelley Calene-Black (Yuriko) (EN)
Parents of Saya Takagi. Soichirou is a Japanese ultranationalist who married Yuriko, a woman who had connections with the New York Stock Exchange and therefore their family fortunes increased.After the initial stages of the outbreak their mansion was converted to a stronghold and refuge for survivors within the area. They take a liking to Takashi, Saya's childhood friend. Soichirou also expresses interest in Saeko, daughter of the Busujima family, and presented his sword to her.
Bolivian Army Ending: They're last seen fighting "them" at their own mansion. We haven't heard from them since.
Born in the Wrong Century: If this was not the twenty first century, Soichirou would have been the paragon of what it means to be a Japanese Warrior, in martial skill AND nobility of soul.
Crazy-Prepared: Live in an extremely fortified, semi-self sufficient compound. Even though it's temporary, it proves to be one of the safest shelters against the zombies.
Fourth Date Marriage: They got married the day after they met, according to Saya.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Yuriko, who plays the quiet, demure wife in public, is singlehandedly responsible for a hundredfold increase in the Takagi family fortune.
Large Ham: Soichirou. It helps that Joji Nakata is PERFECTLY cast for this role.
Last Stand: Both choose to hold off "them" while Saya and her friends escape to safety. Exactly how this ended remains unknown.
Reasonable Authority Figure: "What's that, little girl, you say this man, the son of my political ally, flunked you because your father was investigating his for corruption? Well, okay then, you have my permission to kill him." So basically, to Soichirou, if you avenge your ne'er-do-well father on his well-meaning antagonist's daughter, it's a Moral Event Horizon and grounds for a summary execution by your victim.
Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Saya's mother carries herself with a calm grace, especially when dealing with Saya.
Yamato Nadeshiko Whenever her husband is speaking, Yuriko can be seen maintaining a demure composure... Until "They" break into the complex and she and her husband have to fight for their lives.
Miku Yuuki
One of the Fujimi High School Students who had escaped and joined Shidou's group. She helped Shidou enter the Takagi compound using her sex appeal.
Distracted by the Sexy: Shidou and his group are able to enter the Takagi compound by using Yuuki's ample bust size to distract the guards.
Really Gets Around: There was apparently some, "interesting rumors" about her at school...
Zeke
Alice's pet dog. He and Alice were almost killed but for Takashi's intervention. He accompanies the gang as Alice companion and can differentiate who are the living and who are the undead.
Beware the Nice Ones: In the OVA Beach Episode, Zeke gathered some leaves for the people to start a camp fire, which turned out to be hydrangea leaves. This resulted in the hilarious and very absurd Mushroom Samba of the rest of the episode. After the credits, Zeke is shown gathering the leaves again, with an evil smirk on his face.
A leader of his own survival party who briefly joins Takashi's group. His own group scatters after he dies, except for his girlfriend Naomi, who chooses to die with him.
