After a fantastic pilot, Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 sees Akira take his first day off from his job in three years. Let’s see just how gleeful this made him in this review!
Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 Overview
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, also known as Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto in original Japanese or just Zom 100, is an action, comedy, horror, and supernatural anime airing as a part of the Summer 2023 anime season. The show is based on a manga series written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata. Click here to read the review of the previous episode of the show!
The anime is being produced by Studio BUG Films, who are working on a full-length anime for the first time. The show is being directed by Kazuki Kawagoe, a well-known director who has previously directed popular shows such as Komi Can’t Communicate and Beyblade. This episode is also known as Zom 100 Episode 2, and Zom 100 Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto Episode 2.
– Zom 100 Episode 2 Review does not contain spoilers –
Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 Review- Bucket List
Unlike the first episode, which spent most of its time trying to establish the concept and the main character, the second episode was about trying to establish an identity. We learned about the kind of show this wanted to be, and it was quite an interesting journey through the protagonist’s thought process and what the writer’s mentality must have been while writing this. Let us discuss what Zom 100 tried to do in this episode, and the talks about whether it was successful in doing that will come later.
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We saw Akira take a well-deserved break and get his life back in order as much as possible. In a truly euphoric moment, he finishes cleaning up his living space and reclaims a little of his life back from the grind. He opens his patio window, takes a deep breath, and remembers that he is surrounded by undead entities that would like nothing more than to maul him to death, and this is part of the show that works the best. The juxtaposition with Akira’s mentality before this happened and how he adapts it to this world is a novel and interesting concept and something that will carry the show far.
However, in a twisted way, the show doesn’t take the infestation lightly. There is a real human cost to all of this, which, while ignored by Akira in his ecstasy, plays a central role in driving the plot forward. People want to survive in this world, while Akira has finally started feeling alive when this has struck. Thus, his actions have already started to look very immature and shortsighted, something that the show directly called out in this episode through the new character introduced in this episode.
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She doesn’t have a name, at least not yet. She hasn’t been given a back story, nor have we truly seen how she feels about all this. We haven’t spent enough time with her to know these things. What we do know is that she has a fantastic design, she is extraordinarily capable, and yet, Akira was able to influence her just a bit with how he acted. The interaction that the two had was great, and then the show proceeded to tell her side of the story all of a sudden, which led me to my only real problem with this episode.
The pacing of Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 was weird and left much to be desired. Akira’s end of the story was finished with him making a bucket list for himself, which would have been the perfect final moment for the episode. But they weren’t, and the show shifted perspectives towards the final moments to the aforementioned girl we know nothing about. It was a change of pace that the show hadn’t earned yet and didn’t do much for me. However, this could change when more is done with and known about the character.
Verdict
Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 was a fun episode that established the show’s identity as a semi-serious zombie romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously but doesn’t take the zombies too lightly either.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!