Several days ago, I received a surprise in the form of an 11th/OVA episode of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead. After watching the hilarious episode, I realized that I never got around to writing a post for the spring anime title. And since I have yet to finish the recently concluded Accel World, SKET Dance, Kuroko no Basket and Area no Kishi (which I might bench for now), I figured that it's as good a time as any to write about the second season of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? or Is this a Zombie?.
I can no longer remember why I started watching Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? in the first place, but I'm grateful for that reason, whatever that was. For those who are not familiar, the anime adaptation of the light novel series by Kimura Shinichi tells the story of Aikawa Aiyumu, a regular high school boy brought back to life as a zombie by necromancer Eucliwood Hellscythe,
who is such a powerful being that she refuses to talk because her words
will easily become reality. Armed with a notepad and pen to help her
communicate, she moves in with Aiyumu and they are eventually joined by
vampire ninja Seraphim. Aiyumu also encounters Haruna, a mahou shojo (magic girl) who fights demons called Megalos.
Due to a series of events, Haruna tries to heal Aiyumu, unknowing that
he's a zombie, and inadvertently transfers all of her powers to him.
Aiyumu becomes both a zombie and a mahou shojo (complete with a prink
frilly dress and pink magical chainsaw named Mystletainn), and has to take on the task of defeating Megalos that try to invade the Earth realm.
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead picks up after the events of the first season, after Ayumu defeats Yoruno and
convinces Eu, along with Seraphim and Haruna, to continue living with
him. Unfortunately for Ayumu, his desires to live a normal life
(however normal living with a necromancer, mahou shojo and vampire ninja
can be) aren't just possible, as the usual zany misadventures keep
piling up and wreaking havoc in his life.
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead
pretty much utilizes the same formula that made its first season
successful, but doesn't fall into the pit of overstaying its welcome.
There's an undercurrent of genius to the humor
featured in the series, which is raunchy, ridiculous and never takes
itself seriously. And while Ayumu and the other characters gets
themselves into embarrassing situations, those situations never get
uncomfortable to watch and are actually successful in eliciting laughs
from the audience.
And the
craziness is still at the forefront, which never abates and is merciless
in delivering the humor that makes fans out of the series's audience.
Ayumu constantly finds himself in one ridiculous situation after
another, including his coming out as a cross-dressing mahou shojo
(Mystletainn broke and can't erase people's memories) and unwittingly
starting a cross-dressing trend among men, much to the dismay (and
slight jealousy) of his perverted friend Orito Turio. Ayumu also finds himself the unlikely object of affection of some of the other girls, adding to the list already included by Mael Strom/Yoshida Yuki
(and the less vocal Haruna, who's all tsundere and everything). This
time around, the girls crushing on Ayumu is his classmate Hiramatsu Taeko, former villain and Ayumu's murderer Kyoko, and Saras,
who is no longer just living a life as a vampire ninja pretending to be
a high school student, but has also added pop idol and cafe manager to
her list of accomplishments. While Taeko's attraction to Ayumu is more
of the normal crush variety (and I don't even want to try explaining
Kyoko), the origins of Sara's affection stems from her attraction to his
butt (it's more funny than my sentence makes it appear).
I
do feel that this season's big bad had less appeal than Yoruno from the
first season, who was all menacing and had a shared history with Eu
that was dramatically compelling. Yet, featuring Chris as a
villain does pose plenty of questions and mysteries that will
undoubtedly pay off in terms of long-term storytelling. And the buildup
to her reveal as the season villain was great, with the audience
realizing that certain events, however silly or random, were actually
part of a greater scheme that the main characters would completely get
blindsided by. The idea of the strongest mahou shojo gone rogue sounds
like we could end up watching an epic fight for Ayumu.
The question is whether they are still planning to come up with a third season for Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? to continue that story.
They'd better, though, because unlike the first season where the big bad was defeated and the mystery was solved, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead ended
on an indefinite note. Also, it was shortchanged with only a ten
episode run, even if they did end up airing a great 11th/OVA episode to
pacify the series's fans.
So far, Ayumu's count of
unnatural roles/abilities include that of being a zombie, a mahou shojo,
an invisible man (albeit temporarily), and is able to see people's
underwear or lack of it (I don't know how long the effects of this one
will last).
I can only imagine what could be added to that list in the future. That is, if they do air a third season.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Action, Adaptation, Anime, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka, Must-Watch, TV
