Warning: This review contains gratuitous images of Hirano in a swimsuit. Those with fragile psyches are advised to navigate away from here immediately.
So uh… yeah. High School of the Dead was the one show that I found worth following this past summer. It took the two things that it did best, violence against the walking dead and fanservice, and ran with them without ever feeling tired or played out. It was a show that was good fun, without being an entirely mindless bloodfest. The nuke plot at the end felt tacked on for unnecessary, added pressure, but that never stopped it from being something fun. So how does the OVA follow up on the original’s success?
The answer: Occasionally amusing, mostly agonizing.
Every one of the group, unfortunately including the useless nurse, have found their way to an island not far offshore after going seaward in search of escape from the zombie hoard. For fanservice reasons, all the characters have decided to change out of their uniforms into swimsuits found at an abandoned beach house. Unfortunately, this includes Hirano.
While the womenfolk frolic in the sea foam, jiggling to their hearts’ content, the men go to forage some food, Hirano channeling the combined spirits of Rambo and Tom Hanks in Castaway in his endeavor to hunt fish.
When night falls, the gang starts up a fire with dry leaves to roast the fish that Hirano caught. Skipping a lot of banal dialogue and even further fan-disservice, the nurse in a rare moment of useful insight realizes that the plant matter that they’ve burned for their fire is hydrangea… and the rest of the episode is spent with everyone tripping out and exposing themselves to each other while rubbing sensuously together.
The episode ends with Komuro in a dreamlike trance, thinking that he’s being ravaged by a gang of zombie women.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I wasn’t too impressed. I was hoping for more zombie fighting, and less fanservice.
So is there anything redeemable about it at all? Is it anything more than a footnote in the annals of pointless fanservice OVAs? Four words to answer that question, dear reader: Hirano humping a broomstick.
If you’re hoping for zombies and anything but pointless fanservice, which is at least semi-amusing, you’ll leave sorely disappointed. Unless you want to watch everything that High School of the Dead has to offer, or enjoy the excessive jiggling from the main series/lack of OVA censorship, I suggest skipping it. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen all week, but much better’s come out.
Remember when OVAs used to mean something other than softcore porno? Nah, I don’t either.
I’d agree with that, if the Baccano OVAs didn’t keep my faith in the medium.
But… yeah, this was as close to porn as something can get without being entertaining on anything but a deeply scarring level.
ya the ova blew big chunks…i mean come on from a big ass mall to an island ,where everybody gets high and starts jumping anything….no gore no action
just softcore idletime