Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Episodes 10-12

While it is truly unfortunate that Zom 100's production woes made it so that we had to wait until the very end of the year to see the conclusion to the series, I am happy to report that, if nothing else, this final storyline of the season works pretty well as a mini-movie finale for Akira and Co's adventures (at least for now). The visuals and spectacle don't quite live up to the best we've seen from the show's run, but you know what? If that means that the crew at BUG FILMS could cross the finish line without literally killing themselves, then that's more than fine by me. I can only hope that everyone who busted their tails getting Zom 100 out of the door can take a much-deserved break as we take our first steps into the new year.

Besides, even if "Hometown of the Dead" Parts 1-3 aren't loaded with the same degree of gorgeous eye candy that we got in the season premiere, the episodes make up for it with more than their fare share of thrills, chills, and heart. When we last left off with Akira, Kencho, Shizuka, and Beatrix, the gang had taken up on Akira's hometown of Gunma, and they were all too unaware that their blissful small-town vacation was about to be interrupted by the schemes of Higurashi and his nihilistic cohorts. They have their own Bucket List of the dead, as it turns out, except their big dreams consist mainly of fulfilling their most hedonistic and masochistic desires on the world that they feel wronged them, and if a bunch of innocent villagers get massacred along the way, then all the better.

Higurashi is basically the Nega-Akira of this story, and the bulk of this three-part finale is devoted to giving our hero and his friends a different dark counterpart to square off against as Gunma burns. Higurashi unsurprisingly dedicates his time to trying to zombify Akira; Kencho has his hands full protecting a young girl named Angie and her dog Charo from a deeply depressed ex-salaryman; Shizuka has to dodge the disgusting advances of former cook turned professional incel; and Bea has to deal with a homicidal, hedge-trimmer wielding lady who has a bone to pick with anyone that doesn't follow her precise rules for living life.

It's a time-tested formula for a climactic showdown, and it works well here. Not every single pairing gets the same amount of time and attention–Bea is such a fundamentally optimistic and capable person that her clash with Hedge-Trimmer Lady ends up being less about compelling character drama and more about figuring out how to get the Gunma villagers free from Higurashi's trap–but it is all suitably tense and entertaining. Some good action and a handful of solid animation cuts give the whole scenario a good amount of visual flair, even if it isn't as consistent looking as it could be.

At first, I wasn't a huge fan of how Shizuka got stuck with the creepy pervert and all of the sexual assault "jokes," but I did end up appreciating how the solution to that conflict was rooted in her character development. She started as a loner who felt like relying on others was detrimental to her survival. Now, she is finding victory in the help she receives from the villagers she has befriended with her kindness and medical know-how. It's sweet.

Kencho's side of the story doesn't have quite as much relevance to his arc, but his big-brother relationship with little Angie is cute as heck, and it provides a solid reminder of how his greatest goal in life is to make people laugh, especially those who are hurting the most. That's probably why I can justify the absolutely disgusting turn that his fight against Crappy Husband Guy takes. Zom 100 doesn't need to justify Kencho ending up buck-ass naked and covered from head-to-toe in weeks-old human shit. It's stupid and funny, so it fits Kencho to a tee.

Obviously, Higurashi and Akira's showdown gets the most focus in this climax, and it's just as well. As is the case with the show as a whole, the best parts of these episodes were the moments spent on the experiences that would be incredibly relatable with or without the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse, like when Akira has the sobering realization that his dad is getting grayer and frailer with age, or when he discovers that his pops has his own dreams, and sides of his personality that Akira is only just now discovering as an adult. Best of all is when Akira finally learns that "repaying his parents" doesn't have to mean needless self-sacrifice or feelings of shame and guilt; he just needs to do what he's been doing since the show began and focus on living a life that makes him truly happy.

As for Higurashi, what I like about him is what I like about all of the little cronies who get their comeuppance in this finale: He just sucks, plain and simple. Sure, he's a human being, and he very clearly has reasons for sucking so hard, just like all of his crappy friends did, but the show doesn't use its flashbacks to try and get us to feel bad for these guys with a bunch of sob-story tragedies. Higurashi and his goons are all people who let the hardships of their lives turn them sour, cold, and cruel. Antipathy, laziness, selfishness, and rage are all things that everyone feels at one point or another. Still, they can also be overcome if you allow other people into your life and let them help you make up for whatever you may lack in yourself. Higurashi and Co. felt like the world had doomed them to a life of pain and suffering, but they denied the power that they had to change themselves, which turned them into monsters.

At the end of the day, this hardline approach to choosing optimism and community over nihilism and despair is what makes Zom 100 such a delightful story, despite its grim subject matter. Could you complain that Akira's plan to "apply professional-quality zombie makeup in mere minutes to trick Higurashi" is a little far-fetched and convenient? Sure. Could you nitpick the way it tries to mine genuine pathos over Akira's father's illness, only to immediately walk it back as a joke about hemorrhoids? Of course. I'm fine with all of those silly developments, though, because this is a show about how the world would be such a better place if people learned to be kind to themselves and each other. Even the zombie apocalypse could be a blast if you have a good gang of friends to spend it with!

After years of trying to survive our real-world pandemics and political upheavals, I am happy to have a zombie show that isn't afraid to let the good guys score a no-strings-attached win. No shocking deaths, no needless trauma baiting. Everyone gets to go on living, and Akira and his friends will specifically fight to find a cure for all of this madness. If this is the only season that Zom 100 ever gets, then that is a perfect note to go out on. If this is just the first act of a grand adventure, then I can't wait to see what the future has in store for our loveable goofballs.

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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.