Nov 21, 2015
Gakkougurashi is an anime that takes two aspects from opposite spectra and juxtaposes them side-by-side, hoping to blend them together well. The two aspects being zombies and moe.
However, in just the first episode, it shows how hard it is to coalesce moe and zombies together. Heavy symbolism and foreshadowing come into play to show just that. The star character, Takeya Yuki, cracks jokes and makes a fool. The other characters laugh at her as if they aren't in their current condition. In fact, the entirety of the cast doesn't show realistic reactions to their situations until late
...
into the series. This is not a plus because for a show that has characters facing psychological situations, what the viewer wants is to watch the characters in their realistic state of mind. Either that, or something that has a lot of action or horror, or similar subgenre.
What I'm getting at is that Gakkougurashi is too flip-floppity with its storytelling. It lacks focus on what it wants to convey. There are scenes and complete episode setups that focus on the survivors' lives, playing and having fun, even though there's a constant struggle dealing with the zombie apocalypse they live in. Some of my favourite scenes with Yuuri talking with another character about the apocalypse were immediately followed by Yuki and her ridiculous moe, toning down the scene's serious mood.
The art ε animation of the show is average of your typical moe anime. Sometimes the animation is lazily done with slide motions but that's not often. Other than that, there weren't many problems although I did see saw some slight computer animation (for the zombies) in the final episodes that were aesthetically odd.
Personally, I thought the background music was exceptionally done and very fitting to the atmosphere. Sound effects weren't anything special but the voice acting was paired well with their respective characters, especially Yuuri and Miki. As for the ending songs, they were nice and gentle, bringing out the atmosphere of the series; there's not much to say about the opening.
The characters, at first, were nothing too amazing but were actually the opposite: empty shells that didn't quite have personalities. However, as the series progressed, so did the characters. Growing goals and battling with internal conflicts. Yuki too, began to bud intentions and objectives. This was a huge bonus for a show that began to lose my interest.
After finishing, I viewed Gakkougurashi as a worthwhile watch that attached me to its characters and made me want to watch more. Although I said that zombies and moe don't mix well, the first episode was full of necessary cliché moe scenes, successfully setting up the show with the reveal at the end. In fact, I almost cried at the end (poor Taroumaru!).
To wrap up, the main problems I had with Gakkougurashi were its rather inappropriate usage of moe and unrealistic characters. Other than that, the show was mostly enjoyable up to its end.
Final Score:6.5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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