Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Episode 8

With the arrival of Beatrix Amerhauser, the circle is now complete. The Fellowship has been formed. What was once the chronicle of two godforsaken idiots and their beleaguered, sane babysitter how now metamorphosed into its final form: The madcap adventures of three godforsaken idiots—one of whom is an irredeemably obsessed weeb—and their beleaguered, sane babysitter (who is, point of fact, learning the joys of letting herself act like a godforsaken idiot, sometimes, too). If the recent arc of Zom 100 was all about exploring how years of trauma and neglect can shape a person well into their adulthood, and even affect how they survive something as monumental as the apocalypse, then “Sushi & Hot Springs of the Dead” takes it upon itself to cover even more important and artful themes. It dares to ask the questions that other shows are afraid to ask, such as, “How Many Morons Does it Take To Deliver a Truck Full of Fish to a Sushi Restaurant When There Are a Bunch of Zombies About?”, and, “How Many Morons Does it Take to Successfully Take a Bath (and Maybe Confess Your Mutual Romantic Feelings) When There Are Zombies About?” (The answer, in both cases, is “Approximately Three-and-a-Half.”)

If you can't tell, I loved this episode, and it isn't just because we finally got to round out our cast with its fourth member. That said, I also don't want to undersell how much of a delight Beatrix is because to quote one Jimmy Valmer: “I mean…come on.” She's a buxom, bouncy, badass Bavarian who slaughters zombies with a smile on her face because Japan is just so stinkin' cool, and who would ever try to tell her otherwise? Just look at that smile! Not to mention the universal appeal of a potential all-you-can-eat sushi binge. Akira and Kencho get it, obviously, but the real sign of Beatrix's power comes from how even Shizuka gets roped into the over-the-top theatrics of their fish transportation quest.

Really, it's the vibes of this episode that do it, for me. Kencho may be Akira's best friend, and Shizuka is almost certainly his soul mate, but Beatrix may as well be Akira's identical twin…you know if Akira were a hot German otaku who slayed zombies while decked out in samurai armor. The point is, this is easily the most pure fun I think we've ever had in an episode of Zom 100, and while I appreciate it when the story proves that it can pivot to telling slightly more serious stories when the situation calls for it, I'm more than happy to revel in the show's decision to simply be the best Stupid Zombie Sitcom that it can be for a solid twenty minutes.

The Hot Springs plotline isn't quite as funny or fresh as the Sushi Hunt, but it's still good for a few laughs, and it brings back some of the simmering romantic tension that Akira and Shizuka are developing for one another. At first, I thought that Shizuka's stark rejection of anything remotely related to dating or love marked a rare moment of mischaracterization since the last two episodes were all about her moving past her father's stifling worldview, but then the show makes sure to emphasize that Shizuka herself is all too aware of how easy it is to fall back into bad old habits when you feel threatened or insecure. It's a nice parallel to Shizuka's recent brush with emotional relapse, in that way.

Now that the gang is fully assembled, I'm more excited than ever to see where Zom 100 goes from here. It's a shame that so much of that future is very uncertain, from a production perspective, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, I'm going to take a page from our hero's book and enjoy the good times for as long as we have them.

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.