High School of the Dead #02 — HEY GUYS! STAY VERY VERY QUIET!

July 12th, 2010

 

WHAT!? I COULDN’T HEAR THAT!

Impressions:

On the upside, there were very few panty shots this week, and almost none of them totally gratuitous. On the other hand, the nurse is just a complete disaster. Literally, every time the camera even focuses on her, there’s a giant sound of… something bouncing. I expect it’s supposed to be her breasts, but it also made that sound when it zoomed in on her ass and for some reason, her thighs. What I’m taking from it is that she’s made out of jell-o, or perhaps flan. That would explain why the flesh eaters haven’t tried to go after her yet. The episode was mostly spent on introducing her and Saeko, with the other lion’s share on Tubso Hirano Macgyver and Takagi. Those two were particularly unintentionally funny because Takagi spent the entire time shouting ten feet away from zombies, then they turned around and tried to reveal that zombies are attracted to sound… only for her to start screaming around them again. The writers and director apparently aren’t on speaking terms.

At the moment though, this is starting to feel extremely empty. The story is moving so glacially slow that it’s hard to get excited about much when I think back on the episode, particularly given the limitless horde of zombie grunts and the knowledge that none of these characters are in any major danger thanks to the magic of being in the OP. Even without the panty shots, there’s plenty of other random stuff that feels totally gratuitous and out of place. Yes, Rei and Takashi’s super special combo attack that hits a zombie in the stomach is technically well made, but… why is it even there? Or pushing a few zombies down the stairs with a hose? Saeko’s mercy kill or Takagi flipping out are things that the show needs to have more of, and while people running at a zombie and then hitting it was interesting once, now that we’re onto about the ninth time in two episodes, it’s wearing thin. Toss in a smoker, or zombie squirrels, or a zombie attack that lasts more than 15 seconds to add a little actual drama here. The living dead should not be treated like extremely fancy interstitials, unless you’re watching Pretty Cure, in which case, full steam ahead.

Preview:

Finally leaving the school.

Posted in High School of the Dead | 16 Comments »

16 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • rozen says:

    The title and the first sentence together was so lolz.
    “HEY! STAY VERY QUIET!”
    “WHAT?! CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

    “MIND REPEATING THAT!”

    Reminds me of that old Spongebob ep where he’s yelling at Patrick (starfish) to quiet down to prevent an avalanche while shouting at the top of his lungs.

  • TOKWA says:

    Very few panty shots?!
    That’s an UPSIDE?!

    Without fanservice this series really is empty!

  • marke says:

    Aroduc, you’re really fast in downloading…
    This episode just appeared in the torrents and here I am already reading your impressions.

    Just saying…

    • amyable says:

      Aroduc always gives us updates right after the shows air in Eleven-land. I’m beginning to suspect he has connections we shouldn’t inquire about.

      • Aroduc says:

        The shows appear on Japanese streaming sites about 20 minutes after they finish airing. That and an RSS feed beeping me when things show up are all I really need.

        Plus, I like having a consistent schedule (it’s not like putting it off until later is going to make it take less time) and not having to rely on waiting for elaborate HD encodes which may appear god only knows when if I’m just going to watch it in one window while chatting in another at the same time.

      • amyable says:

        Haha, Aroduc, we’re all grateful for the work that you’ve put into this site. If any of us sounds bitter, it’s because we’re jealous that you’re able to understand teh moon speak and thus watch shows right as they come out.

        I, for one, am glad that you can churn these posts out at the rate that you do.

  • Dynellen says:

    Well considering what I saw at –link removed– it’s no surprise how the nurse is handled.

  • Sporklord says:

    I can’t stop laughing. Just the boing sound effects intermixed with blood sprays and screams.

  • Hinano says:

    Can I borrow some screencaps for a troll post? I’ll of course link back to you haha. I’m too lazy to go through all these terrible shows to look for the one I need xP

    • Aroduc says:

      I never really care about stuff like that. They’re not really mine anyway. *shrug*

  • Aex says:

    Wow, I agree, they need to lay off the sound effects with Shizuka. That’s really annoying. Good thing to see that no one really changed from the manga-versions though, aside from Rei being slightly more likable, but only very slightly. They got about 2/3 through chapter 2, and nothing really happens yet anyways, so the pacing is still decent. Next time the real drama should start.

  • Gin says:

    You are right, it’s pretty slow, becuase its trying to follow the manga exactly. Though each chapter in the manga is long, it still will get tedious if they do this almost chapter per chapter.

  • Solaris says:

    Well look how the show looks better with so less idiotic fanservice.

    • Pozzy says:

      you clearly havent seen the sankaku post (look above in comments x.x”)

      anyways, for better or worse, its almost exactly like the manga. i personally enjoyed the manga so this is a pretty enjoyable watch as well.

      the boing boing SFX though… i could do without.

  • Andy says:

    more takagi plz!