Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead episode 4 aired on Monday after a one-day delay and it delivered, yet again, more thrills, laughs, beautiful animation, and intriguing storyboarding. It’s starting to settle in now that Zom 100 is going to be a series that will just continue to deliver some of the season’s best episodes. It’s a given at this point. But what’s happening to Akira is something that everyone should keep an eye on.
Looking back on a series that just started seems kind of odd, no? But when we take a look at Akira these past three episodes many might overlook the fact that while each is their own story in its own right, Akira is enduring something new every time. In turn, his views on the world, and more importantly his life, are slowly changing one episode at a time.
Take for example what happened in episode 2 and compare it to this week. In episode 2, Akira became careless and was almost smashed by a tanker truck along with the zombies. Luckily, Shizuka saved him. Two episodes later he’s faced with the same problem but tackled it head-on and didn’t waver, which ended up saving him and Kencho. It doesn’t end there.
Akira is still coming to terms with accepting the fact anyone he meets can die at any moment. His neighbors in episode 2 were gone before he could get back, leaving behind a brutal scene that he was lucky enough not to be around to witness. But in this episode, Yukari was attacked right in front of Akira and it hit him a lot harder. Want to keep going? Yes? Awesome!
In episode 2, Akira was saved by Shizuka. In episode 3, Akira saved Kencho. In episode 4, Kencho saved Akira. Are you guys starting to see this pattern with Akira? He’s learning that he’s going to have to rely on others if he wants to survive this zombie apocalypse. Even when Yukari was making sure he was feeling better, Akira showed us it’s something he isn’t used to. It’s an adjustment period for him that’ll just lead to growth. In the midst of the screaming and diving in head-first attitude of his, Akira is a lot more aware of things than we give him credit for.
His connection with Yukari proved that Akira is just like any other normal human being in this type of situation. Having a companion to really settle down, and quickly, with during times like these might be what many people could possibly relate to. Akira finding “that girl” was a goal of his since the beginning of the episode. But while he was able to cross “dining with flight attendants” off of his list, another was jotted down. This goal is much more meaningful and showcases his development — “remember my childhood dream.” It’s all thanks to an alluring encounter with this girl that Akira’s journey is far from over.
One of the primary purposes of an anime is to take the source material and make it better — more presentable for an audience to enjoy. Katsuya Ooshima was the episode director and storyboard artist for this episode making it his series debut. While he has experience in both roles, I can imagine the pressure was on to make sure Zom 100 released another wonderful episode.
Ooshima succeeded in keeping the stunningness of Zom 100 as the previous episodes have. The eye shot of Akira looking at Yukari’s last moments smiling was chilling. Mix that in with a piano soundtrack and it made me feel bad for a character we just met and had no emotional attachment to, which another series from this season failed to do. But Ooshima’s emphasis on seeing the reflection of the world through Akira’s eyes in this episode was definitely a point of view I enjoyed.
There was no shortage of funny facial expressions and moments in this episode — that’s part of Zom 100‘s charm. Even in the seriousness of such a dire day-to-day life, Zom 100 manages to deliver the humor that we all need on a weekly basis. Series director Kazuki Kawagoe’s influence with scene transitions in this episode was recognizable but I feel like like we got a good taste of what Ooshima himself can offer the series.
What I love most about Zom 100 so far is that each episode has had its own director and Kawagoe has let them implement their own styles here and there. The reason I love this is that Zom 100 isn’t the type of series to have a linear storyline in the traditional sense that builds up to a big climax. The individual episodes all have their own story in a way and each episode director has the chance the showcase their interpretation of that part of this story.
I don’t think there’s much to say about this episode than what’s already been said. Zom 100 is now showing, even despite the one-day delay and having studio Shaft help with animation production, that it’s going to be a consistent joy to watch every week under Kawagoe’s direction. Studio BUG FILMS has yet to show us that we have anything to worry about. Thus, we get another fantastic episode of Zom 100.
There’s nothing in this series that fans could possibly outright hate. It hits the mark on everything you could want. Adult humor? Heartbreak? Adventure? Wonderful characters? Interesting story? Amazing production? Again, it has everything you could want for a seinen anime series and episode 4 showed us that.
Episode 4 rating: 9/10
If you enjoyed episode 4 of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead then be sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 5 is set to air on Sunday, August 6, and will be available to watch on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu with English subtitles.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
© Haro Aso, Kotaro Takata, Shogakukan / Zom100 Project