Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead (Japanese: å­¦åœ'黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD, Hepburn: Gakuen Mokushiroku HaisukÅ«ru obu za Deddo, lit. "Academy Apocalypse Highschool of the Dead") is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The series has been serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age since September 2006 and as of March 2013, the series is on hiatus. The first tankōbon volume was released by Kadokawa Shoten on March 1, 2007, with a total of seven volumes available in Japan as of April 25, 2011. The series received an English-language release by Yen Press, with the first volume being released on January 25, 2011.

A 12-episode anime adaptation, produced by Madhouse and covering the first four volumes, aired in Japan from July 5, 2010 to September 20, 2010. Madhouse also produced an original video animation, which was released in 2011. Sentai Filmworks released an English dub of the OVA and the anime series on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.

Plot

Highschool of the Dead is set in present day Japan, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as "Them" (奴ら, Yatsu-ra).

The story follows a group of high school students (and the school's nurse) as they deal with a worldwide catastrophic event known as the "Outbreak". As the cast tries to survive the zombie apocalypse, they must also face the additional threats of societal collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, and the possible decay of their own moral codes. Starting from the high school, the students escape into town where they must deal with a corrupt teacher and his students. They check their homes for survivors, and pick up a little girl and a dog. Later, they hold up at a mall, travel through a police station, and eventually make their way to an elementary school that is supposedly a safe zone.

Media

Manga

Written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō, Highschool of the Dead began serialization in the July 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age. The first bound volume was released by Fujimi Shobo on March 1, 2007 under Kadokawa Shoten's Dragon Jr. imprint, with a total of seven volumes sold as of April 25, 2011. From Volume 6 onwards, the manga is currently published under Fujimi Shobo's "Dragon Comics Age" imprint. The series went on hiatus from the end of 2008 until March 2010, with another short break between May and July 2010. The series has been on yet another hiatus since March 2011. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press, and released the first volume on January 25, 2011.

A full-color version of H.O.T.D., called Highschool of the Dead: Full-Color Edition (å­¦åœ'黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD FULL COLOR EDITION) began serialization in the February 2011 issue of Monthly Dragon Age. The first two volumes were released by Kadokawa Shoten on February 25, 2011, with all seven volumes currently available in Japan as of March 9, 2013. In North America, the full-color edition began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Yen Press' Yen Plus online magazine, and ran until the July 2011 issue. It was later released as a hardcover omnibus on November 22, 2011.

The manga has been licensed for international release in a number of languages and regions. It is published in Spain by Glénat España, in Germany by Carlsen, in Brazil and Mexico by Panini Comics, in Canada and France for French-language publication by Pika Édition, in Poland by Waneko, and in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media. The first volume was released in May 2008 in Spain, in March 2010 in Germany, in April 2010 in Brazil, and in June 2011 in Poland. Shortly following the inception of the series and before it was licensed for distribution in English, the manga became popular enough in English via scanlation to draw the attention of the creators, who included a message in English within the magazine's printing of the fifth chapter that requested readers to buy the original manga when it's available.

A crossover manga by Shouji Sato, called Shōji Sato Artworks: Highschool of the Dead & Triage X - Lightning Pop (佐藤ショウジアートワークス å­¦åœ'黙示録HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD＆トリアージＸ LIGHTNING POP, Satō Shōji Ä€towākusu: Gakuen Mokushiroku HaisukÅ«ru obu za Deddo & Toriāji Ekkusu Raitoningu Poppu), was published on August 9, 2012, featuring characters from Triage X, Sato's other work.

In February 2013, the color editions of Volume 5 and 6 featured jacket bands that confirm that the Highschool of the Dead manga would resume in spring. Chapter 30 was released with the May 2013 issue.

Anime

An anime adaptation of H.O.T.D. produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki aired on the Japanese network Anime Theater X from July 5, 2010 to September 20, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, and Sun TV. Six DVD and Blu-ray volumes were released by Geneon Universal Entertainment between September 22, 2010 and February 23, 2011.

In North America, the anime series was licensed by Sentai Filmworks for simulcast on the Anime Network Some of the more graphic scenes were censored. In Australia and New Zealand, the series was licensed by Madman Entertainment. Sentai and Madman later gained additional rights to the series, with Section23 Films releasing the series with an English dub (produced by Seraphim Digital) on Blu-ray and DVD on June 28, 2011. Manga Entertainment also released the series in the United Kingdom. The English dub of the series aired on Anime Network's VOD service from March 10, 2011 to May 26, 2011, and was made available on Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and Apple's iTunes Store on May 27, 2011 and June 27, 2011, respectively.

An OVA episode of H.O.T.D., entitled "Drifters of the Dead", was bundled on Blu-ray with the limited edition release of the seventh volume of the manga on April 26, 2011. It was originally intended for a February release, but was pushed back. It was later licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America for streaming, with the DVD and Blu-ray released on November 26, 2013.

Music

The series' opening theme is "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" by Kishida Kyoudan & the Akeboshi Rockets. The series' closing theme songs differ in each episode, and each are sung by Maon Kurosaki. The CD single for the opening theme was released on August 18, 2010 by Geneon Universal Entertainment. The CD single features the TV and instrumental versions of "HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD" and a new song called "Ripple" (リプル, Ripuru), along with an instrumental version of the song. A CD containing all 12 ending themes sung by Kurosaki was released by Geneon on September 22, 2010, along with an original soundtrack.

Reception

In Japan, the sixth volume of Highschool of the Dead reached #5 on the Oricon charts between July 5 and July 11, 2010, selling 92,040 copies, and #13 between July 12 and July 18, 2010, selling 43,714 copies for a total of 135,734 copies. The seventh volume of Highschool of the Dead reached #11 on the Oricon charts between May 2 and May 8, 2011, selling 57,016 copies, #2 between May 9 and May 15, 2011, selling 115,154 copies, and #19 between May 16 and May 22, 2011, selling 34,362 copies for a total of 206,532 copies.

In North America, the second volume of H.O.T.D. reached The New York Times Best-Selling Manga List, reaching #4 between April 24 and April 30, 2011, #10 between May 1 and May 7, 2011, and #8 between May 8 and May 14, 2011.

For the anime adaptation, Chris Beveridge from Mania.com comments on the first episode, "There's a lot to like here if you're looking for something beyond the usual high school dramas and comedies of the last few years." Carlo Santos of Anime News Network states that, "Other recent zombie works in Western entertainment have tried to play it ironic, or postmodernist, or just plain silly, but this one goes for straight-up horrorâ€"and pulls it off admirably." However, Zac Bertschy, also of Anime News Network, states for this episode that, "It just could've easily been written by a script generator or a horror fan with 19 minutes to kill."

Andy Hanley of the UK Anime Network summaries the first manga volume as: "Nothing ground-breaking here, but a volume of mindless fun that brings all of the gory entertainment of a zombie apocalypse to the printed page." Chris Lanxon of Wired UK praises its production quality despite having no single original element.

At a Comic-Con "Best and Worst Manga of 2011" panel, it was listed among the "Worst Manga" in a series of rapid-fire questions.

Appearances in other titles

Character designer Shōji Satō featured Rei and Saeko in crossover illustrations for his other manga Triage X and the video game Lollipop Chainsaw, where their high school uniforms are available as unlockable costumes for main character Juliet Starling. It was also briefly featured roughly halfway through episode 4 of Ano Natsu de Matteru.

References

External links

• Fujimi Shobo's Highschool of the Dead website (Japanese)
• Anime official website (Japanese)
• High School of the Dead at the Anime Network
• Highschool of the Dead at the Internet Movie Database
• Highschool of the Dead (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia