Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Review
Once upon a time, working an office job for a big corporation seemed like the ideal life. To get paid working in a safe place that required minimal physical labor sounded like a dream come true. Then people realized the truth: office jobs suck! You face annoying commutes to work, do something that, in the grand scheme of things, has no value, and potentially deal with bosses that are either jerks or idiots. And when a person deals with that day in and day out, every day, can you even call that living? It’s less like you’re living and more like being a zombie.
Then again, being a zombie might be an even better alternative. That seems to be the philosophy that this new, hilariously comedic horror anime called Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead seems to live by. When everyone living through a zombie apocalypse is the equivalent of hell, this show looks at us and asks, “Was life before any better?”
Akira Tendo, the Corporate Slave Zombie…
The first episode opens with one of the most depressingly realistic introductions to a character I’ve seen in a while. Meet Akira Tendo, who, at the young age of 24, already lives like he was dead. Three years ago, he got a job at a production company fresh out of college. At a glance, it looked like his dream job. He’d be doing what he loved, his co-workers seemed nice, and he even had a crush on this cute one named Saori Ohtori.
It took less than a day for him to start hating it.
If people in America think corporate jobs are bad, then that’s nothing. In Japan, there’s the concept of a “black company.” In essence, it’s everything negative about working in a big business office job. Everyone’s expected to work overtime without pay; the bosses are more like slave drivers and concern for mental and physical health is nonexistent. It gets to the point where some people would rather die than live like that. I’m being serious.
As depressing as this is, Zom 100 plays up Akira’s horrible life for the sake of black comedy. We hear his coworkers bragging about how much overtime they’re putting in; his boss is an abusive demon, and that girl he likes? She’s the boss’ mistress! He can hear them making out from inside the man’s office. By the time we’re introduced to him, he’s more a zombie than a person.
Again, it’s exaggerated for comedy’s sake, but it’s still a big jab at how corporate work sucks.
Wait, a Zombie Apocalypse? I NEVER HAVE TO WORK AGAIN!!
One day, as Akira’s reluctantly headed to his terrible job, the thing so many people dread happens. The zombie apocalypse begins, and Akira starts freaking out. Then, as he’s busy running for his life, he realizes something. Something that will offer him salvation from his hellish life: he never has to work again.
Then suddenly, the formerly monochrome world Akira’s in lights up in an explosion of colors. It’s a big, neon-colored expression of how Akira’s happy for the first time in years. Everyone else is reacting to this like it’s Highschool of the Dead, while Akira’s treating it like the best day of his life. It’s a brilliant moment of black comedy that left me grinning at the sheer audacity. The show’s saying that it would be better to face down zombies rather than sit in an office and do a job that gives you no fulfillment.
So, now alive for the first time in years, Akira does what he should’ve done years ago. He heads to Ohtori’s place to confess his love but finds she’s already a zombie, along with his fat boss. So, killing three birds with one stone, he quits his job, throws his boss out the window, and then confesses to Ohtori before running for it. And he’s still happier than ever.
Get Busy Living Before you Get Busy Dying.
Afterward, Akira realizes that odds are, he’s going to die and become a zombie himself. Before that happens, though, he wants to live his life to the fullest. So, he grabs a notebook from a convenience store and comes up with his bucket list of 100 things to do before he dies. And that is where the first episode is.
There have been many zombie apocalypse stories told over the year, including anime like Highschool of the Dead. But this might be the first time in living memory where the idea of a zombie apocalypse doesn’t look that bad. Yes, society collapses, and people have to fight to stay alive. But when you contrast that to how horrible Akita’s life was before this, could you even call it living? Life is meant to be more than just slaving away at a job you only do to pay the bills. It’s enjoying yourself. Maybe Akira has the right idea about what he’s doing. Regardless, I’m going to enjoy watching this series.
There’s more, though. The dub comes out on August 6th on Crunchyroll and Netflix (and has Zeno Robinson as Akira), and the latter is making a live-action version of this. Clearly, the anime distributors seem to have a lot of faith in this, so that should encourage you to watch it. Even if we can’t all quit our dead-end jobs, seeing someone like us do that makes our world a little brighter?
I Give “Akira of the Dead” a 4.5/5
from D&A Anime Blog https://ift.tt/uaNgcmf
https://ift.tt/HJma3hG
Thanks for reading: ‘Zom 100’ is a Hilarious Jab at How Corporate Jobs Can be Hell!, Sorry, my English is bad:)