Review for High School Of The Dead (Review)

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Introduction
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of the horror genre, and of the little offshoots of horror that I have encountered, I have a passionate loathing for the zombie movie in particular, this summer's 'Eaters' not withstanding. I'm probably the last person who should be reviewing Manga Entertainment's High School of the Dead, especially as I got the wrong end of the stick when I first heard of it. For the life of me, I was convinced that it was one of those cutesy, quirky, anime comedies, a bizarre sitcom drama that would have the undead going to school with the living. After all, it's already worked once in Vampire Knight, and I was already getting queasy at the idea of a high school romance between a cute girl and a rotting animate corpse. The fact that it was a Madhouse anime stayed my hand from the reject button. The fact that Manga are releasing it on Blu-ray as well as DVD actually got me interested. After all, little enough anime comes out on Blu-ray in the UK, and now that I am BD capable, I want to see as much of the high definition stuff as possible. Sentai Filmworks released High School of the Dead in the US, and Manga are releasing those Blu-ray discs here, after they've been through the Madman Entertainment production house. Anyway, I put the first disc in, and watched the first episode… all the way through with a ****-eating grin on my face. Talk about being proved wrong. Here's hoping that I'll stay just as enthused through all twelve episodes.

Takashi Komuro has typical teenage problems in high school, namely that he has feelings for childhood friend Rei Miyamoto, only she went and fell in love with his best friend Hisashi. That explains why he would much rather be skipping class, loitering in the stairwell and staring at nothing in particular. It in no way explains what happens next. A strange, sickly looking man lumbers up to the school entrance, and when confronted by one of the PE teachers, bites him on the arm. It certainly doesn't explain why that teacher then falls over, collapses, apparently dies, only to get up again and attack the rest of the faculty in the schoolyard. The zombie infection spreads like wildfire, and it's only pure luck that Takashi witnessed its beginning. It gives him enough time to find and rescue Rei and Hisashi, but not enough time for them to escape. They try and make their way up the roof, to find some place to barricade themselves, but during their flight, Hisashi is bitten as well. Time runs out, and more and more of the students and faculty are infected, and only the quick of wit and fast to adapt are able to survive. As well as Rei, practitioner of spear martial arts, Takashi, quick with a baseball bat and Hisashi, kendo captain Saeko Busujima, Grade A student Saya Takagi, weapon otaku Kouta Hirano, and school doctor Shizuka Marikawa also find a way to survive against the rapidly escalating odds.

They'll have to come together, work together if they are to survive. But it isn't just the school; it's the city, the country, the whole planet that is being rapidly overrun with zombies. The world as they knew it is coming to an end, and they'll have to be ruthless if they are to survive in the world that replaces it. And Hisashi isn't feeling too good. Typical teenage problems, huh?

Manga Entertainment present all 12 episodes of High School of the Dead across 2 Blu-ray discs, one dual layer and one single. After Sentai licensed the show, an OVA episode was subsequently produced, and obviously we don't get that with these episodes here.

Disc 1

1. Spring of the DEAD
2. Escape From the DEAD
3. Democracy Under the DEAD
4. Running in the DEAD
5. Streets of the DEAD
6. In the DEAD of the Night
7. DEAD Night and the DEAD Ruck
8. The DEAD Way Home

Disc 2

9. The Sword and DEAD
10. The DEAD's House Rules
11. DEAD Storm Rising
12. All DEAD's Attack

Picture
High School of the Dead gets a 1080p 1.78:1 widescreen transfer on these Blu-ray discs, using the AVC codec, whatever that is… I've had a chance to do a quick compare and contrast with the DVDs and the higher definition image is exquisite. It isn't just the sharpness, the clarity of the image, the greater detail; it's the richer and more lustrous colours, the more fluid and smoother animation. This is the ideal way to watch this animation, especially as Studio Madhouse has thrown everything at the screen. The character designs are excellent, the 3D CG elements blend in flawlessly with the 2D animation, the animation itself is vibrant, energetic, and breathtaking, and the direction is imaginative and bold. This is a visual feast, a gorgeous anime, and you can see every last yen spent on the screen. Oh, and there is fan service as well, boobs, panty shots, and lascivious camera angles galore, and in the context of the story, it works a dream. The only gripe I have is with some minor colour banding in the transfer, something that I had hoped we'd have seen the last of with Blu-ray.

The images in this review were sourced from the PR, and aren't necessarily representative of the final retail release.

Sound
You have the choice between DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround English, and DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo Japanese, with optional English subtitles and a signs only track. I went with the original language option, and was very pleased with the audio, both in terms of the clarity of the dialogue, and the comparatively front-focussed sound design (a little Prologic does provide some space). Then I sampled the English dub. For one thing, it's a great dub, the characters appropriately cast, and the actors getting the tone of the show, the balance between end of the world horror and tongue in cheek comedy spot on. The English dub also garnishes the dialogue with the profanity appropriate to a zombie horror, which Japanese by its very nature doesn't really allow for. The advantage of this is that the surround audio for the English dub kicks some serious behind, when it comes to putting across the show's various action set pieces. I may generally opt for the original language track with an instinct akin to that of a lemming, but the next time I watch High School of the Dead, it will be the English dub.

The music for the show is excellent, driving the action along with great energy and pace, and also setting the tone for the quieter character moments. The theme songs are also good, and High School of the Dead is somewhat unique in that it gets a different ending theme song for each episode.

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