A friend called this "fanservice with a plot" and I can see his point, but the truth is if you peel away the layers of ridiculous fanservice there is actually a rock solid, well written plot which is surprisingly enjoyable. I actually enjoyed the plot's drama far more than the fanservice, although that's really not my thing (I've rejected quite a few anime because of their obsession with pausing the plot to show me semi-topless women).
With regards to the plot, it is deeper and more engaging than most zombie apocalypse stories and much deeper than I thought a zombie apocalypse could be, largely due to the characters and their interactions. Zombie shows are usually action orientated, but High School Of The Dead, relies more on drama derived from the relationships between characters. That's not to say that there isn't action, on the contrary there is quite a lot of it, and on a side note, the gun play is shown very well and is by far some of the most realistic I have seen in any show.
As a show it has quite a few crowning moments of awesome and some Ship Tease (Which is fine as long as it doesn't degenerate into fanservice… which it usually does) but the show undermines this by shoving boobs in your face every five seconds or so.
To recommend this is a difficult thing. I know I've harped on about it a quite a bit but there is a lot of fanservice, so much so that I think it's fair to say that at least a quarter of every episode is dedicated to it, but that doesn't sully the fact that it is a highly engaging dramatic and action packed story. If you can get past the gratuitous fanservice then you should definitely watch it. If you can't well... you're missing out, but I don't blame you.
Pure Awsome Coated In Pure Fanservice
The poster boy for gratuitous Fanservice.
A friend called this "fanservice with a plot" and I can see his point, but the truth is if you peel away the layers of ridiculous fanservice there is actually a rock solid, well written plot which is surprisingly enjoyable. I actually enjoyed the plot's drama far more than the fanservice, although that's really not my thing (I've rejected quite a few anime because of their obsession with pausing the plot to show me semi-topless women).
With regards to the plot, it is deeper and more engaging than most zombie apocalypse stories and much deeper than I thought a zombie apocalypse could be, largely due to the characters and their interactions. Zombie shows are usually action orientated, but High School Of The Dead, relies more on drama derived from the relationships between characters. That's not to say that there isn't action, on the contrary there is quite a lot of it, and on a side note, the gun play is shown very well and is by far some of the most realistic I have seen in any show.
As a show it has quite a few crowning moments of awesome and some Ship Tease (Which is fine as long as it doesn't degenerate into fanservice… which it usually does) but the show undermines this by shoving boobs in your face every five seconds or so.
To recommend this is a difficult thing. I know I've harped on about it a quite a bit but there is a lot of fanservice, so much so that I think it's fair to say that at least a quarter of every episode is dedicated to it, but that doesn't sully the fact that it is a highly engaging dramatic and action packed story. If you can get past the gratuitous fanservice then you should definitely watch it. If you can't well... you're missing out, but I don't blame you.