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aka: Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka

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Each spoiler for Chris's entry are unmarked, and even knowing who the bad guys are is major spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

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Main Characters

     Ayumu Aikawa 

Ayumu Aikawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ayumu_aikawa.png
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (Drama CD), Junji Majima (Anime) [Japanese], and Austin Tindle [English]

The Protagonist of the series. An Ordinary High-School Student killed by a Serial Killer before the start of the series and revived as a zombie by Eucliwood Hellscythe. Technically he is now under her servitude, but more often than not he's the one running the household.


  • Accidental Marriage: Maelstrom believes she and Ayumu are married, after he accidentally kisses her due to vampire ninjas getting married when they kiss a member of the opposite sex.
  • Accidental Misnaming: Chris never gets his name right.
  • Accidental Pervert: There's a number of times where he sees the girls naked or gropes them by accident.
  • Alliterative Name: Ayumu Aikawa.
  • Amusing Injuries: Ayumu constantly suffers horrible, mutilating injuries, but since he's pretty much immortal, it's all Played for Laughs.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After Chris reveals herself as Ayumu's enemy, he asks her if she was the expert on magic that Haruna mentioned, the one behind yesterday's Megalo attack, which he somehow ends up asking if she was the reason summer is hot.
  • Ass Shove: In two of the OVAs, causing temporary invokedUkefication. He also gets one with a flower in the first ending theme and a bunch more in the Of the Dead's ending theme.
  • Attractive Zombie: He looks no different from what he did when he was alive, his flesh doesn't rot and there's at least five girls in love with him.
  • Bare-Handed Blade Block: Pulls one against Kyoko.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: He's an immortal zombie who is also the default servant of one of the most powerful existences in the story.
  • Butt-Monkey: Ayumu usually gets the short end of the stick at any given moment. At the end of Episode 1 of Of The Dead, he was forced to fight a Squid Megalo in broad daylight to save Taeko, where most of his schoolmates can see... they quickly take shots of him and his exploits even made headlines across the internet. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the Mystletainn broke up after the fight, rendering him naked and unable to wipe out his schoolmates' memories!
  • Chainsaw Good: When he summons his Magiclad Girl powers, he wields the magical, pink chainsaw, Mystletainn.
  • Chick Magnet: It's both his blessing and burden.
  • Conveniently Seated: Played for Laughs. Ayumu dehydrates when exposed to direct sunlight. So obviously, he gets the back seat next to the window in class.
  • Cooldown Hug: In Episode 9, he stops the rampage of Tomonori's fire spirit by hugging her.
  • Covert Pervert: If his Imagine Spots about Eu didn't leave you any clues. Also, she knows about them.
    • Another, far more subtle cue in the novels, when during gym class he is able to narrate a lot of details about his female classmates, but is completely ignorant of most of his male classmates including the school basketball star. Shows where Ayumu's priorities lie.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not exactly a moron per se, but Ayumu is mostly a servant to his ladies. But beware: given the chance, he can rip a Whale Megalo's head off, tear Kyoko to shreds with the Mystletainn, or punch the King of the Night out of immortality.
  • Cursed with Awesome: Being a zombie grants him functional immortality, regeneration and Super-Strength. Becoming a Magical Garment Girl gives him even more powers. However, he lacks a number of Required Secondary Powers, meaning his body will tear itself apart if he uses his super strength too much, and his Magical Garment Girl outfit is intensely humiliating (but thank God for that memory-wash ability taken from Haruna).
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Given that he is a Zombie.
  • The Dead Can Dance: By proxy since becoming a zombie hasn't affected his ability to breakdance.
  • Deadpan Snarker: His sarcastic comments about the insanity of his life could give Kyon a run for his money.
  • Death by Origin Story: He technically died months before the story begins.
  • Death is Cheap: Naturally comes with his new lease of (undead) life.
  • Detachment Combat: He defeated Seraphim by hurling his severed arm at her.
  • Dragged into Drag: Both as a Magical Garment Girl and as a Kisugi sister parody. The former mode puts him in a pink frilly dress, and the latter mode (seen in the first OVA) puts him in a unitard. Apart from those examples, Episode 6 of Season 2 has him crossdressing to advertise the tsundere cosplay cafe per popular demand.
  • Embarrassing but Empowering Outfit: He's not amused by having to wear Haruna's Magical Girl pink bow-covered dress in order to use her powers. Also, when he uses his own Limit Break abilities while wearing it, the costume proceeds to get even girlier. Complete with commentary on his rising cuteness from whoever's on the sidelines.
  • Explosive Overclocking: Ayumu can push his body past its human limits. This tends to leave him crippled afterwards, however.
  • Finagle's Law: Anything bad that can happen to Ayumu WILL happen to Ayumu.
  • First-Person Smartass: Most of his sarcastic comments are found in his narration and thoughts, likely because it'd be too dangerous to say them out loud considering the girls' tempers.
  • Friendly Zombie: Ayumu is a recently turned zombie, however being reanimated doesn't seem to have effected his personality in the slightest, where he remains a Nice Guy who is a slightly snarky Chick Magnet with his own Supporting Harem. He himself even questions whether it would be right to call himself a zombie as he's almost completely lacking in the stereotypical traits.
  • Frills of Justice: In his magical girl form, he wears a pink dress with lots of ruffles and bows.
  • Genre Savvy: During the tsundere challenge, he is well versed in classic tsundere stereotypes.
  • Good Thing You Can Heal: If he couldn't heal, he'd easily be dead several times over by the end of just the first novel.
  • Healing Factor: His zombie abilities allow him to heal at an extremely rapid pace. Also, severed limbs can be easily reattached if he manages to retrieve the parts.
  • Heroic BSoD: Episode 10 of the first season. He questions if he's just holding back Eu.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He always gets better (even from otherwise fatal injuries), but this is still played straight at the end of Episode 10, when he takes the time bomb the King of the Night placed on Haruna's head, allowing it to explode in midair, literally tearing himself apart. His Heroic BSoD at that moment also made his "death" a little bit longer. Haruna, Seraphim and Maelstrom reassemble him at the start of Episode 11, but it took Haruna's mind-dive to finally convince him to come back to life.
  • Hidden Depths: He can breakdance.
  • Imagine Spot: Once an Episode with Delusion Eu.
    "This is the fantasy of our weak-hearted protagonist, Aikawa Ayumu."
  • Immortality Hurts: As a zombie, Ayumu quickly regenerates, but he can still feel any injury he suffers, his non-Magical Girl power attacks break his body painfully, and he painfully dries out in the sun.
  • Immortal Life Is Cheap: He "dies" and takes fatal blows for others constantly since he knows he can survive.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: He was killed by a katana piercing through his body. Since he was turned into an immortal zombie afterwards, this isn't the last time that happens to him.
  • Iron Butt-Monkey: Thanks to being a zombie, Ayumu can endure all sorts of physical abuse that would normally kill a human because he's basically indestructible.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: Ayumu has always had this kind of personality, even before he gained his powers.
  • Love at First Sight: Towards Eu. He was captivated when he first saw her at a store shortly before he became a zombie thanks to her the night he was killed.
  • Magical Girl Warrior: Rare Male Example. Ayumu took Haruna's powers by accident when she tried to erase his memory. As a result, he's now got her magical girl costume and magical chainsaw.
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Maelstrom's Masculine Girl. During their summary marriage ceremony (which was purely accidental, never mind that Maelstrom continues to insist that it's legal), he was the one who had to wear the wedding dress.
  • Mistress and Servant Boy: He is technically Eu's servant.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Actually the subject of a number of shirtless scenes, pantyshots (entirely when in his magical girl garb), accidental nudity moments, NUMEROUS shots of his ass (especially when Sarasvati is concerned) and general ecchi antics for a male lead.
  • Navel Window: The Magical Girl costume has a cutout around the navel.
  • Nice Guy: He allows three Pretty Freeloaders in his household despite two of them treating him like crap and the other doing nothing to help him.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: He's a zombie Magical Garment Girl.
  • Ordinary High-School Student: Before the events of the story, and as far as his classmates know, Ayumu is perfectly normal.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: Despite being a zombie, he looks, acts and thinks like normal people and sunlight dries him out. He lampshades this trope in the second volume of the Light Novel when he tells Tomonori that he's not sure if "zombie" is the right word for what he is, but it's what he thinks of himself as.
  • Parental Abandonment: In his childhood, his parents tore him away from his friends and dragged him on a two-year overseas trip. Presently, his parents and younger brother are on another overseas trip that he didn't want to join in on. Sera and Haruna occupy his parents' and younger brother's rooms while they're conveniently away.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: He literally wears a pink, frilly dress when in his Magical Girl form.
  • Rocket Punch: Ayumu is not above throwing his own severed arm at an enemy if things get desperate.
  • Sensual Spandex: During the Cat's Eye parody in the first OVA. Of course, he gets them confused with leotards.
  • Stock Light-Novel Hero: Ayumu Aikawa was an Ordinary High-School Student until one day he died. But soon after he gets brought back to life as a zombie. Though he's not the stereotypical flesh-eating, mindless, rotting zombie. He's an intelligent, attractive Friendly Zombie who doesn't act any different to how he was back when he was alive. Really the only difference is being brought Back from the Dead he now boasts an assortment of powers such as a Healing Factor, Super-Strength, and being Nigh-Invulnerable. Also, he has his own Unwanted Harem of girls who are all supernatural creatures, including the very necromancer who brought him back to life.
  • Super-Strength: Because he is a zombie, Ayumu can exceed the physical strength caps the human body naturally has, allowing him to increase his strength based on percentages. However, because his body is still human, pushing his strength too far can shatter his bones.
  • Thanks for the Mammary: He learns Tomonori is a girl when Haruna pushes him and his hand falls on Tomonori's breast.
  • Tsurime Eyes: Despite his goofy attitude, he has sharp eyes.
  • Undying Loyalty: Swears to stay by Eu's side even after she tearfully confesses to her horrifying secret.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: He's basically outclassed by everyone around him in everything except sheer strength and stamina. Even those don't seem to matter when he's up against magical girls who can raise barriers to tank his punches, or ninja vampires who can chop him in half before he can even land a hit.
  • Weakened by the Light: As a zombie, direct sunlight dries out his body.
  • Whole Costume Reference: His jumpsuit during the Cat's Eye parody in the first OVA.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Scratch that — he would chainsaw a girl if they messed with his friends.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: Zigzagged, via a Chekhov's Gag through the first episodes of the first two seasons, where Ayumu was exposed as a Magical Garment Girl to his classmates after fighting a Megalo on the school grounds. Except he wasn't lucky the second time around: with Mystletainn broken and he unable to erase their memories, he ends up at the center of an In-Universe Memetic Mutation, much to his despair. And even when he thought he'd finally get over that incident once Mystletainn was fixed, his classmates later had him Dragged into Drag again afterwards anyway, this time to advertise the tsundere cosplay cafe.

     Eucliwood "Eu" Hellscythe 

Eucliwood "Eu" Hellscythe

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eucliwood_hellscythe.png
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Drama CD), Midori Tsukimiya (Anime) [Japanese], and Cherami Leigh [English]

A necromancer and possibly the most powerful Magical Garment Girl ever, able to both kill and revive a person with her voice alone. As a result, she only speaks through writing words on a notepad, and constantly wears plate armor just to prevent her powers from going out of control.


  • 24-Hour Armor: Justified, as her armor acts as a Power Limiter and if she takes it off, her powers will be a danger for everyone around her. For precaution, she never takes off the armor completely even when bathing.
  • Afraid of Their Own Strength: Her magical powers are so incredibly strong that she takes extreme measures to keep them in check, such as wearing a 24-Hour Armor that suppresses her powers and never speaking because her words alone can destroy anything and anyone even by accident.
  • Battle Ballgown: She always wears a purple dress equipped with an armor overdress that suppresses most of her powers.
  • Berserk Button: Never treat death casually around her. Fortunately for everyone nearby, it just gets her annoyed (like Haruna, who got a slap). You'd know if she got really angry (just ask Kyoko).
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: She avoids speaking as much as possible. If she does speak, she could make anyone and even the entire world disappear.
  • Blessed with Suck: Having the power to alter reality itself with just her words means she must almost never speak, wear a Power Limiter armor at all times, and keep her emotions repressed so she doesn't potentially destroy the world by accident.
  • Blood Magic: How she heals people.
  • Brought Down to Normal: For a few minutes in the final episode of Season 1 so she could sing.
  • But Now I Must Go: At the end of Episode 9, she decides to leave her friends behind, believing that she was bringing them ever closer to harm. Ayumu ultimately convinces her to come back for them.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Shows some signs of this, mostly showing it via pouting since any expressions of anger will trigger her power. She also refers to the other girls as "flies".
  • The Comically Serious: Especially in Of the Dead's Delusion Eu skits.

     Haruna 

Haruna

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haruna_4.png
Voiced by: Kaoru Mizuhara (Drama CD), Iori Nomizu (Anime) [Japanese] and Jad Saxton [English]

A self-described genius "Magical Garment Girl" from Villiers who fights Megalo, though her genius seems based in a whole different universe. Her weapon of choice is a pink chainsaw named Mystletainn, but she accidentally transferred most of her powers to Ayumu while trying to erase his memory. Now only he can wield Mystletainn against the Megalo while she regenerates her powers. In the meantime, she's squatting at his house and cooking fried egg in all its forms.


  • A-Cup Angst: She's bitter of the fact that she has the smallest bust out of the gang. Heck, even Eu is bigger, if only slightly, than her.
  • Attention Whore: At times, she gets annoyed when Ayumu doesn't pay attention to her. Although it's mostly when he's paying attention to someone else.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis:
    • Able to correctly predict the questions on Ayumu's math exam by looking at his problems.
    • When Kyouko and Ayumu fight in Volume 3, Haruna's able to correctly predict all of her attacks.
  • Ax-Crazy: When Haruna demands a fantasy from Ayumu, the last portion of the spot involves... using Mystletainn on the mythical tree for money.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: She is intelligent, but usually doesn't make the effort because she's not interested. This may be why she has... weird ideas about certain things.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Still has some of her magic, but Ayumu has her Magical Garment Girl abilities as well as the ability to wield the Mystletainn.
  • Chainsaw Good: As a magical girl, she wields a magical pink chainsaw.
  • Character Exaggeration: In the anime, she's a One-Note Cook that only makes egg rolls. In the light novels, she's much more a Supreme Chef with a tendency to produce whole meals of just one thing, or make something that looks... not unpleasant, but kind of weird.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: She gets jealous of Ayumu's marriage to Maelstrom, and asks him to kiss her in Episode 8. When he questions her as to why she wants a kiss, she responds by beating him up a little bit. Exaggerated in Episode 9 of the second season after seeing him get too friendly with the buxom Nene.
  • Cute Little Fang: She has a fang sticking out sometimes. It highlights her immature Tsundere personality.
  • Ditzy Genius: Despite being brilliant in a variety of academic and magical subjects, Haruna has no common sense (or at least of Japanese culture) and has very little to no restraint. Her antics often wind up getting Ayumu in trouble (such as causing him to sink into slime during his first test with Ariel) or are quite negligent (such as leaving potions in soda bottles lying around on the dining table).
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Her Japanese voice actress, Iori Nomizu, sang both opening themes, "Ma-Ka-Se-Te Tonight" ("Leave It to Magic Tonight") and "*** Passionato".
  • Empathic Weapon: Her Mystletainn, whose allegiance shifted to Ayumu after absorbing most of her powers. However, in Episode 11 it reaffirms Haruna's ownership of it, allowing her to transform full-time again and help Ayumu double-team the King of the Night.
  • First Kiss: With Ayumu during volume 10, and several of them at that, long story but it involved a bomb underwater and her needing "air".
  • First-Name Basis: With Ayumu. Kind of a big deal, cosidering her otherwise inability to remember names.
  • Genki Girl: Perhaps the most bombastic of the group.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: After blowing himself up, Ayumu blames himself for being too weak to protect Eu. Haruna (whom Ariel helped mind-dive into his subconscious) knocked some sense into him, convincing him to come back to life.
  • Idiot Hair: She sports a long strand of hair sticking out of her head, even though she calls herself a genius.
  • Idol Singer: And she took the world by storm.
  • Insufferable Genius: Haruna is a genius and keeps reminding people of that fact.
  • Lack of Empathy: When she sees Ayumu getting impaled by the claws of a bear Megalo, all she cares about is that she's going to lose points for letting an innocent die. Take note that this happens when she doesn't know Ayumu is an indestructible zombie yet.
  • Lens Flare Censor: Flat-out abused by her, with her penchant for attempting to transform into a Magical Garment Girl — a process which destroys her civilian clothes, leaving her naked once the magic wears off (which, thanks to losing most of her powers to Ayumu, now only lasts a few seconds).
  • Little Miss Badass: She was a fairly competent fighter for a girl of her size before she lost her magical girl powers.
  • Magical Girl Warrior: She was originally a magical girl who fought monsters with a chainsaw, but she transferred her powers to Ayumu by accident.
  • Malaproper: She's really bad at remembering names.
  • The Napoleon: She's one of the shortest girls in the main cast and is prone to subjecting Ayumu to comedic violence.
  • Never My Fault: Haruna doesn't acknowledge that it's her own actions that caused Ayumu to reveal Maelstrom's gender the way he did.
  • The Nicknamer: She's very bad at remembering names, so most of the time she refers to people either by a nickname ("Bayumu", "Yukinori"), or a title ("The Necromancer", "The Ninja").
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Magical Garment Girl Mad Scientist.
  • One-Note Cook: Her fried eggs are incredible, although putting them in water bottles is going too far. It gets hilariously subverted in Episode 8. Her boiled hijiki (seaweed) is a burnt black mess, but still manages to taste just as good as the eggs.
  • Pretty Freeloader: Averted, since on occasion she does cook for Ayumu (usually fried eggs).
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red oni to Eucliwood's blue oni.
  • Supreme Chef: The bento she makes for Ayumu is always amazing, even if there's no variety. As a result, Ayumu's classmates regularly pillage his bento and trade back from their own, which he's happy about and bemoans at the same time because there's often none of Haruna's cooking left.
  • Tiny Tyrannical Girl: She's small, full of herself, and bossy.
  • Tsundere: Harsh type. In just one scene, she demands Ayumu to kiss her and then just as suddenly starts punching him in the face.
  • Tsurime Eyes: She has eyes are slanted upwards as it's typical for Tsundere character types.
  • Victoria's Secret Compartment: Subverted due to her lack of chest.

     Seraphim 

Seraphim

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seraphim_4.png
Voiced by: Shizuka Itō (Drama CD), Yōko Hikasa (Anime) [Japanese] and Morgan Garrett [English]

A beautiful, skilled vampire ninja obsessed with her sword technique. She came to ask for Eu's help in a secret war her clan is fighting, but after losing a fight against Ayumu decided to stick around his house instead. She can make sharp objects out of leaves.


  • Action Girl: She regularly helps Ayumu in dealing with any stray Melgalo that appear.
  • Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's tall, beautiful, dark-haired, aloof and composed.
  • Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving
    "You're a crossdressing piece of shit festering in a bag of rotten garbage, but I believe in your strength."
  • Atomic F-Bomb: When she figures out Ayumu is the reason she and the rest of the girls at the indoor water park ended up wearing extremely stripperiffic swimsuits, she yells "You are the world's biggest scumbag!" as she smashes his face in with her foot.
  • Badass Cape: She wears a black cape like a classical vampire on occasion.
  • Becoming the Mask: The reason she couldn't bring herself to carry through with her mission of assasinating Eu - she came to like them all too much.
  • Brick Joke: Orito guesses that she wears white panties. He was right.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Slightly let down by her announcing the attack's a secret technique.
  • Cannot Tell a Lie: She herself admitted it.
  • Catchphrase:
    • Calling Ayumu "Kuso-mushi (Dung beetle)", or "Maggot" in the dub.
    • Swallow Return Strike ("Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi")!
    • How disgusting! (Kimochi warui) again to Ayumu, particularly after he transforms into a Magical Garment Girl.
  • Chekhov's Army: Leads the Ninja Maid Orchestra in closing the gates of the underworld.
  • Chekhov's Gift: Eu healed her using her blood and later it's shown to be the key in closing the gates to the Underworld.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: She may be a vampire ninja and an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl, but she is on the side of good.
  • Daywalking Vampire: Sunlight isn't a problem for Seraphim despite her being a vampire.
  • Disney Death: In Episode 10 she was impaled from behind by the King of the Night. Eu, who saw everything, pricks her own finger to supply blood for her, but Sera doesn't fully regain consciousness until she's brought back into Ayumu's house.
  • Family-Unfriendly Violence: Becomes a victim of the worst non-fatal in-series example of this in Episode 10 (never mind that deaths here are often bloody, her eventual Disney Death from a separate attack by Yoruno later on included, if not graphic). She reveals that her own comrades did this to her after Sarasvati had put a hit on her as punishment for abandoning her mission to assassinate Eu.
  • First-Name Basis: When not calling Aikawa a maggot, dung beetle, or otherwise leveling a new insult at him, she does call him by his first name on occasion. She does this more as the story progresses.
  • Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: You couldn't tell that Seraphim was a vampire at all if you didn't already know.
  • Friendly Rivalry: She invokes this with Ayumu from time to time. When it came time for Eucliwood's birthday, the two of them made it a private contest to see which one of their gifts Eucliwood would pick. The necromancer picks Orito's gift instead, much to their surprise/disbelief.
  • Funbag Airbag: Come Episode 5, after a hot energy charging session with Haruna.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Ayumu is usually on the receiving end.
  • Identity Amnesia: Suffers from this along with the world for a time. What makes hers interesting is the fact that she believed that her and Ayumu were a couple after seeing a photo of the two of them at an amusement park.
  • Idol Singer: Not by choice, but only to match up to Sarasvati.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite referring to Ayato as a maggot, Seraphim deeply cares for him as well as his friends.
  • Lady Swears-a-Lot: She really likes using the term "maggot" too much.
  • Lesbian Vampire: Comes across as this in Episode 5 by way of giving Haruna a mouth-to-mouth anesthetic before sucking some blood out of her.
  • Lethal Chef: She helps Haruna cook at the start of Episode 4, which results in something that only Ayumu can barely stomach. She gets slightly better in that the food will retain it's original shape if she tries hard enough.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Most definitely yes.
  • Musical Assassin: Uses her violin skills to close the gates of the underworld.
  • Nested Ownership: Downplayed. Seraphim offered to be Eucliwood's servant so she could kill her, but Eucliwood already had Ayumu and wasn't interested in having two servants. So she became Ayumu's servant. In reality, this is just an excuse to stay around and complete her mission and she treats Ayumu like a servant rather than the other way around.
  • Ninja: She comes from a village of vampires trained in ninjutsu.
  • Ninja Maid: She's a vampire ninja and a maid as a part-time job for Saras.
  • Only Sane Woman: Is this to a degree since she is the most socially normal out of the girls. Matters about vampire ninja or Ayumu's perceived perverseness aside, she will display the same dumbfounded expressions that he does when confronted with either Haruna's or Saras's crazy logic on certain things.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Able to grow bat-wings that let her fly and conjure weapons from leaves. Occasionally needs to drink blood, using her kiss as an anesthetic. Apart from that, indistinguishable from a normal human and can even walk under direct sunlight.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Tends to keep up this appearance in front of Ayumu, but it does slip from time to time.
  • Pretty Freeloader: Subverted, for she does clean the house and attempts to cook as well.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes glow red as a warning she's ready to kick ass (usually Ayumu's).
  • Sensual Spandex: During the Cat's Eye parody in the first OVA.
  • Sexy Backless Outfit: Her Stripperiffic idol outfit.
  • Squick: In-Universe — her reaction to sharing Ayumu's bathwater.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky: With emphasis on 'Snarky'.
  • To Be Lawful or Good: She was given orders to assassinate Eu in order to prevent more Megalo from appearing. Ayumu calls her out on it, forcing her to admit that she just doesn't have the heart to do it anymore.
  • Tomboyish Ponytail: She's a ninja swordswoman who wears her hair in a ponytail.
  • Town Girls: The Neither to Sarasvati's Femme and Maelstrom's Butch. She uses tough language toward Ayumu and wears slacks (usually dark blue jeans, which she's often, if not always, wearing in promotional material) more often than Sarasvati (if Sarasvati even wears any pants at all).
  • Tsundere: It becomes obvious that she doesn't hate Ayumu anymore after a while, but that doesn't stop her from continuing treating him like garbage.
  • Vampires Are Sex Gods: Unintentionally became an instant idol sensation when she confronted Sarasvati on stage. That and she does look like a model even in her casual clothes.
  • Vapor Wear: Her Stripperiffic idol outfit reveals that she isn't wearing any underwear.
  • What Beautiful Eyes!: In the novels, Ayumu always makes inner comments on how pretty her green eyes are.
  • When She Smiles: She really does have a beautiful smile.
  • Whole Costume Reference: Her jumpsuit during the Cat's Eye parody in the first OVA.
  • Winged Humanoid: Being a vampire, she can manifest devil wings to fly.
  • Worthy Opponent: Despite her contempt for Ayumu, she nevertheless respects — and even starts to somehow mellow out to him on account of his combat talent.
  • You Have Failed Me: Narrowly averted — in Episode 10 her comrades attack her for disobeying Sarasvati's orders to kill Eu.

     Maelstrom (AKA Yuki Yoshida/Tomonori) 

Maelstrom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomonori_3.png
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Drama CD), Hisako Kanemoto (Anime) [Japanese] and Brittney Karbowski [English]

Another vampire ninja (from a faction which rivals Seraphim's) who fights Megalo with bowls of pork ramen. She also studies at Ayumu's school under the alias "Yuki Yoshida".


  • Accidental Marriage: After accidentally kissing Ayumu, she considers herself married to him (becoming the fourth girl in Ayumu's harem) thanks to the traditions of her family, but seems okay with it.
  • Alliterative Name: Her schoolname is Yuki Yoshida.
  • Boyish Short Hair: She keeps her hair short and is quite the Shorttank to the point of talking like a boy.
  • Cordon Bleugh Chef: Although she can make a decent bento, she adds all kinds of spices and seasonings so Ayumu doesn't find her food tasty.
  • Covert Pervert: She has some interesting fantasies about getting Ayumu's attention.
  • Daywalking Vampire: Like other vampire ninjas, sunlight doesn't hurt her.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In Episode 1, she was among the students taking pictures of Ayumu in drag; in Episode 2, while warming up for PE; and in Episode 5, leaving a ramen shop as Kyoko, who apparently slit her throat the previous episode, walks by.
  • Edible Ammunition: She is somehow able to dispel a Megalo by covering them in tonkotsu ramen, a kind of pork soup, and even had a machine which sprays the ramen soup in case of a Megalo emergency.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: She doesn't take too kindly to her new, tomboyish-sounding nickname "Tomonori" from Orito, but is fine with Ayumu using it (except for one moment of shock from nearly dying in episode 9), since she found his alternative — "Yuki-chan" — even more embarrassing.
  • Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Like Seraphim, Maelstrom is a friendly vampire who doesn't attack anyone without reason.
  • Hidden Buxom: Played with. Her clothes seem rather indecisive if they want to hide her E cups or not at any given time. Ayumu notes in the novels that she dresses to hide her actual bust size in school and when operating in the field, but didn't bother when out on a date.
  • High-Pressure Emotion: Her head turns completely red when she's embarrassed.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Bowls. Of. Pork. Ramen.
  • In-Series Nickname: "Tomonori", from Orito. It's an alternate reading of her civilian alias.
  • Lady Looks Like a Dude: She can be mistaken for a boy, depending on what she's wearing.
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Masculine Girl to Ayumu's Feminine Boy. During their summary marriage ceremony (which was purely accidental, never mind that she claims it to be legit), he was the one who had to wear the wedding dress.
  • Meaningful Rename: Subverted. Vampire ninjas are given a new name when they finish their training and are transformed into a vampire, but it turns out "Maelstrom" came from a monster's attack in a video game that her faction's leader was playing at the time and thought sounded cool. She came up with the "Yuki Yoshida" name for public use simply because she thought it sounded suitably girly.
  • Mon: Apparently has the Magical Garment Girls' ultimate weapon bonded to her. When she gets squashed by a giant kappa doll in episode 9, it triggers the invocation ritual, and it takes a Cooldown Hug to prevent things from getting apocalyptic.
  • Musical Assassin: Assists Sera and Sarasvati in closing the gates of the underworld with a triangle.
  • Ninja: She's from the vampire ninja village.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Her race of vampire ninjas look and act like humans in general. She lacks typical vampire weaknesses as she can walk under the sun without problem.
  • Power Incontinence: She has a flame spirit inside her, named Mysticore. When she loses her control, it will take over her consciousness and go on a rampage, destroying everything nearby.
  • Signature Headgear: The right side of her hair to be tied up using two small shuriken which are Stock Ninja Weaponry.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: At first, she only acts as Ayumu's wife because of their Accidental Marriage, she eventually falls for Ayumu due to his kind personality.
  • Through His Stomach: Following the advice of her friends, she makes a bento for Ayumu so she can be a good "wife" to him. Her bento looks actually nice... until she adds a pile of spices and sauces as "final touches".
  • Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She has Boyish Short Hair and talks like a boy, but she has a typical girly wish of being a good wife.
  • Tomboyish Name: Her nickname "Tomonori", which is based on the Alternate Character Reading of her civilian alias, is a masculine Japanese name. It adds to her tomboy traits.
  • Tomboyish Voice: She speaks in a vaguely low voice to match her masculine manner of speech.
  • Town Girls: The Butch to Seraphim's Neither and Sarasvati's Femme. Although both she and Seraphim are seen wearing pants (in Sera's case, this also includes jumpsuits, as seen in the first OVA) in nearly every, if not every, episode, Maelstrom is definitely a Tomboy that is often mistaken for a boy depending on what she's wearing at the moment.
  • Tsundere: Sweet type as she only gets tsun-tsun around Ayumu. She's only trying to be Ayumu's wife because of their Accidental Marriage so don't be getting the wrong idea because of her face getting all red when he's nice to her.
  • Unwanted Spouse: She's technically married to Ayumu because they shared an Accidental Kiss and to a female vampire ninja, kissing a man is equivalent to a wedding. Ayumu doesn't give a damn about her tribe's codes and would like to at least start as friends instead of jumping right into marriage.

     Sarasvati/Kirara Hoshikawa 

Sarasvati/Kirara Hoshikawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saraswati.png
Voiced by: Aya Gouda [Japanese] and Caitlin Glass [English]

Sera's superior, who goes undercover at Ayumu's school as "Kirara Hoshikawa".


  • A-Cup Angst: Well, she's actually pretty busty herself, but compared to Seraphim and Maelstrom...
  • Ascended Extra: Come Of the Dead, she becomes a main character in her own right.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: She seemingly holds authority over the other vampire ninjas and her power apparently surpasses Seraphim's and Tomonori's.
  • Badass Cape: Like her fellow vampire ninjas, she sometimes wears a black cape.
  • Bag of Holding: Her bag that she pulls out from nowhere on occasions.
  • Big Damn Heroes: In Episode 10 saves Haruna and Sera from the King of the Night.
  • Love at First Sight: She instantly falls in love with Ayumu's butt.
  • Making a Splash: She has the power to control water.
  • Meaningful Name: Sarasvati's name is derived from the Hindu Goddess Saraswati and hints heavily on the Sarasvati River due to its relation to her ability to manipulate water.
  • Musical Assassin: Backs up Sera in closing the gates of the underworld by playing a violin.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: Her Stripperiffic idol outfit has an open top that shows her cleavage and stomach.
  • Ninja: As a vampire ninja, she's versed in the ways of ninjutsu.
  • Ninja Maid: Besides being a ninja and an Idol Singer, she owns a Maid Cafe.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Like other vampire ninjas, Sarasvati isn't that different from a human other than having some magical abilities and doesn't show any vampire weaknesses.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: She orders Seraphim to assassinate Eu to prevent her powers from attracting more Megalo, then puts a hit on Sera herself for disobeying her orders, but is nevertheless willing to save her and Haruna from the King of the Night and even helps the former (together with Maelstrom, herself from a rival clan) seal away the gates to the netherworld.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes glow red when she shows her vampiric nature.
  • Town Girls: The Femme to Seraphim's Neither and Maelstrom's Butch. Compared to Sera and Maelstrom, she rarely, if ever, uses tough language or wears pants.
  • Tsundere: She's harsh and stern sometimes, soft and affectionate other times when she's around Ayumu.

Antagonists

     Kyoko 

Kyoko

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kore_wa_zombie_desu_ka_kyouko_344.jpg
Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya [Japanese] and Lindsay Seidel [English]

An acquaintance of Orito. The only victim of the serial killer to escape, she spends time in hospital to recover from her injuries. In reality, she is the serial killer herself. Kyoko is a Magical Garment Girl in disguise who used to be a classmate of Haruna at Matelis.


  • Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: She has Tareme Eyes, but after revealing her true colors they turn into Tsurime Eyes.
  • I Was Only Pretending To Like You:
    • Played with — while she initially claimed that she just used her innocent facade to lure Ayumu out and kill him again, her subsequent appearances reveal that she has since developed a genuine, albeit perverse, fascination for him.
    • Averted in Episode 8 of Season 2, where she outright states that even she's confused by these feelings for him, after stabbing him yet again with her sword. She then tells him her punishment is to be forgotten by everyone, but he promises her he won't, no matter how much time passes.
  • Lady of War: Despite being Ax-Crazy.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A Zombie-possessed Vampire Megalo Magical Girl Serial Killer.
  • Not-So-Small Role: At first, she appears to be a mere victim of the serial killer, but she is the serial killer that killed Ayumu herself.
  • Ret-Gone: Her punishment is to be gradually forgotten by everyone, which, to even a crazed killer like her, is a Fate Worse than Death. Ayumu promises to never forget her.
  • Serial Killer: She is the serial killer responsible for killing Ayumu.
  • Villainous Breakdown: She's not Laughing Mad and bragging about her powers anymore when Ayumu discovers she uses up souls of people she killed in order to regenerate, and repeatedly chainsaws away all but her last life, leaving her a crying mess begging for her life.
    Kyoko: No... No... I don't want to die...
  • Villainous Crush: Later light novels reveal that she has developed a genuine liking for Ayumu, going so far as to break out of prison back in Villiers just to see him again.
  • Walking Spoiler: She’s not a victim of the serial killer, she is they serial killer.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity
  • Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Plays herself up as a beleaguered girl until the graveyard meeting.
  • Yandere: In Season 2, she genuinely falls for Ayumu, and tells him such, right after she stabs him yet again with her sword, which somehow turns into a hug.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: Attempts to gain immortality by killing people and offering their souls up for power. This also gives her a stack of extra lives as well as Megalo and Vampire powers.

     King of the Night 

King of the Night

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kore_wa_zombie_desu_ka_yoruno_2622.jpg
Voiced by: Koji Yusa [Japanese] and Eric Vale (Season 1), J. Michael Tatum (Season 2) [English]

The only other zombie Eucliwood raised besides Ayumu. Had to be put down after his heart was stained with malice.


  • Anti-Villain: He simply wants Eu, who still treats him as a friend, to end his misery, going so far as to harm her friends just to provoke her.
  • Big Bad: For the first three light novel volumes and the first anime... sort of. He is responsible for everything that happened starting with Ayumu's death.
  • Breaking Speech:
    • Delivers a one to Eu about how her powers can only cause death and misery to others, all to provoke her into ending his immortality-induced misery.
    • He later delivers a rare remorseful example to Ayumu after being subjected to a Mystletainn Kick from him in episode 11.
      "In time, you will understand the hardships of living an immortal life."
  • Evil Counterpart: To Ayumu.
  • Fallen Hero: As shown in a flashback in Episode 9 of Season 2, pre-zombification he was among Eucliwood's seven most loyal paladins (and a Knight in Shining Armor to boot), who fell into disgrace after killing one of them.
  • Go Out with a Smile: :He disappears with a satisfied smile after Eu finally allows him to die.
  • We Used to Be Friends: With Eu. They still are, even if Yoruno already wants to die and Eu is far too unwilling to end his misery.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: He can't stand being an immortal zombie anymore and he just wants Eu to end his misery.

     Chris 

Chris

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chris_94.png
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (as Chris) and Daisuke Kishio (as "Takeshi") [Japanese], Stephanie Sheh (as Chris) and Kent Williams (as "Takeshi") [English]

A pink-haired girl who often shows up drunken in the school infirmary. In reality, she was a Magical Garment Girl currently under the Queen's Curse following a failed coup she led (and Ariel concocted) against Queen Lilian Lilith a century before Ayumu's death.


  • Adaptational Nice Guy: In the anime, the worst she does is launch her students into suborbital flight, and even then she teleports them safely back to the ground. In the light novels, however, the first thing she does after revealing her true nature and stealing Haruna's power is kill Saras and seal Ayumu in a parallel dimension, for no apparent reason other than to prove that she's top dog. They barely manage to get out alive, if only for the help of the Demon Baron. In Volume 7, she tries to destroy Tokyo with one of Ariel's bombs so Ariel would get arrested by the queen of Villiers.
  • Affably Evil: Although she was a leader in a failed coup, in Season 2 of the anime at least, she isn't depicted as particularly evil. At least compared to the King of the Night, who brainwashed Kyouko who then killed people and stole their souls. She even considered Ayumu to be a potential drinking buddy due to their interactions in earlier episodes, at least until he finds out how crazy she is. She also teleports the students she launched into the air safely back on the ground before leaving as well. And near the end of Season 2, Chris even hangs out with Naegleria, and both of them seem fairly friendly towards each other despite their past as bitter enemies. It should be pointed that at this point, she only qualifies as evil if you don't know what Magic Garment Girls do on regular basis.
  • Big Bad: She's the main villain from the fourth volume onwards and Of the Dead.
  • Broken Pedestal: She used to be Ariel's mentor.
  • The Dreaded: In-universe, she's referred to as a powerful Magical Girl, if not the most powerful, by many characters, including Seraphim and Ariel. The latter even mentions that she would lose in a fight against her former teacher if it really boiled down to it. Although in the past she tried to overthrow the queen, the most she ever does in Season 2 of the anime is launch some students into the air, and then launches Ayumu back a bit with some wine tossed in his general direction after he tries to attack her. She never actually harms any of them either, and teleports them back to the ground shortly as she teleports away.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Appears toward the end of Episode 12. She has no lines.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: She's dressed in a Shiro Lolita outfit decorated with frills and ribbons.
  • Gender Bender: Under the Queen's Curse, she becomes a middle-aged man named "Takeshi Kurusu". She can only temporarily turn back into a girl when she's drunk.
  • Good Wears White: Inverted. Her outfit is completely white, but she assumes the role of Big Bad after being freed from her curse.
  • Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Ayumu always finds her drunk. This is also her only way to break free of being cursed into a man's body, if only for a while. In Episode 7 of Of the Dead, her keyword for chanting spells is basically a reversed "Enjoy alcohol responsibly. Drink in moderation. Don't drink until you're twenty years of age."
  • Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Ayumu believes her to be just a product of his imagination at first.
  • Revenge: She wants to take revenge against Ariel.
  • Rose-Haired Sweetie: She has pink hair and she appears very cute and cheerful, but subverted as she's a powerful Magic Garment Girl and the main antagonist of Season 2.
  • Third-Person Person: She refers to herself in third person.

Other Characters

     Orito 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orito.png
Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi (Drama CD), Hiroyuki Yoshino (Anime) [Japanese], and Anthony Bowling [English]

Ayumu's only normal friend at school. Obsessed with girls, but lacks the approach to actually get a girlfriend.


     Taeko Hiramatsu 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taeko_hiramatsu.png
Voiced by: Rie Yamaguchi [Japanese] and Erica Harte [English]

Ayumu and Maelstrom/Yuki's classmate, who holds unspoken affection for the former.


  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Her voice actress, Rie Yamaguchi, sang both ending themes, "Kizuite Zombie-sama, Watashi wa Kurasumeito Desu" ("Know that I'm Your Classmate, Mr. Zombie") and "Koi no Begina Nan Desu (T_T)" ("I'm a Love Beginner (T_T)").
  • Girlish Pigtails: Her hair is always tied up into cute pigtails.
  • Hopeless Suitor: She holds some feelings for Ayumu, who doesn't notice.
  • Those Two Girls: With Kanami.

     Kanami Mihara 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mihara_kanami.png
Voiced by: Mina [Japanese] and Emerick Jade [English]

Ayumi and Yuki's classmate and Taeko's best friend.


     Shimomura "Anderson" 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shimomura.png
Voiced by: Itsuki Takizawa [Japanese] and Todd Haberkorn [English]

One of Ayumu's classmates. In reality, he, like Eucliwood, is a denizen of the underworld and himself a Megalo who is very much in control of his own instincts.


  • Not-So-Small Role: He has a bigger role in later volumes, where he's revealed to have come from the underworld.

     Ariel (Dai-Sensei) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kore_wa_zombie_desu_ka_ariel_4322.jpg
Voiced by: Ai Shimizu [Japanese] and Monica Rial [English]

The teacher of Matelis Magical Academy in Villiers, which Haruna belongs to. She's very odd.


  • Cloudcuckoolander
  • Cool Teacher: She's always there to support Haruna.
  • Drunk on Milk: She gets very drunk off of carbonated beverages. She's aware of this and avoids them, but Eu and Ayumu tempts her with ginger ale because ginger is something you can put on tofu.
  • Girlish Pigtails: She has a cute twin-tail hairstyle.
  • Insane Troll Logic: She doesn't tell Ayumu what he's supposed to deliver to her because if she told him what it is but not what to do with it, he wouldn't know what to do with it.
  • Karma Houdini: If the fact that she's still teaching at Matelis even after nearly overthrowing Lilia Lilith in a coup led by her mentor Chris is any indicator.
  • Mystical White Hair: A magical teacher with silver hair.
  • Nice Girl: Always helpful and kind, even to opponents and Kyoko.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Kyoto tofu.
  • You Have Failed Me: Administers a non-fatal example to Ayumu in Episode 10 of Season 2, though she soon proceeds to have Haruna, Eucliwood, and Seraphim try to restore his memories afterward.

     The Demon Baron 
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa [Japanese] and Mike McFarland [English]
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demon_baron.png

A middle-aged man who gives Ayumu a ring that allows Tomonori to control the weapon inside her, and later fills the position of his homeroom teacher when Chris leaves. He's actually the Chief of the Vampire Ninjas, who was cursed a hundred years ago to always be on the verge of death for participating in Ariel's failed rebellion, and then presumed dead. As a result, he tends to vomit large quantities of blood.


  • Blood from the Mouth: A side effect of his curse. Played completely for laughs.
  • Demoted to Extra: In the Anime, he disappears after Ayumu gives Tomonori her ring, and his role as Chris's substitute teacher is taken by Ariel.
  • Doctor's Orders: His doctor tells him not to do a wide variety of things, from thinking about cute girls to giving Foreshadowing. He always forgets these orders until after he starts vomiting blood.
  • Monster Progenitor: The first Vampire Ninja.
  • Properly Paranoid: While attending the first Vampire Ninja reunion since his disappearance, he doesn't trust anyone at the party without Ayumu whitelisting them first. Which is pretty smart, since many of the attendees are masters of subterfuge and assassination who may not appreciate him taking a hundred-year-long sick leave without telling anyone.
  • Touched by Vorlons: He became the first Vampire Ninja by drinking Eu's blood.
  • Vampire Monarch: The head of the Vampire Ninja clan.

     Naegleria Nebiros 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/270px-Nene1_6092.jpg
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu [Japanese] and Stephanie Young [English]

A yaoi doujinshi and an old friend of Eucliwood. She is also the one who drafted the concoction Chris uses to temporarily transform her back to her old self, as well as a member of Eucliwood's seven paladins.


  • The Tease: After she realizes that Haruna was extremely upset because of a misconception between her and Ayumu, Naegleria plays that part up, saying that a guy should be able to do whatever he wants with a woman. This doesn't go well with any of the women living with him, and Seraphim swings her sword down on his head. Ayumu for his part, was completely innocent.

Alternative Title(s): Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka

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