Subculture Anime Blog

Are you serious? My final impression is finally included…

Summary:

Chika and Shito attempt to have Michiru search for nearby zombies, but they are shocked when Toko appears to have the ability to find zombies from very far away. With Zarame’s help, the Z-loan is still able to find a zombie first. The A-loan appears to take down the zombie before them, however, seemingly with more skill than the Z-Loan would have. Michiru surprises everyone by showing kindness to Zen, helping him with an injury he has obtained on his head. When Toko arrives to see this, she shows subtle distaste in it. With this, she quickly alerts her companions of another zombie nearby. Before leaving, she promises to Michiru that her group will not lose. At the ARRC, Carmella’s original form is returned when Hakka gives her core back. When Shiba is questioned of his reason for wanting to come back to life, he gives his usual indifferent reaction. Using an ability that seems to paralyze Shiba, however, Hakka contradicts this by revealing the true reasons behind his actions.

At the dormitories that night, Koyomi meets Michiru in the baths. After hearing her troubles, she assures Michiru that the Z-Loan definitely wouldn’t lose to their new rivals. Chika meanwhile brings up the A-Loan’s weapons to Shito in the showers. Shito guesses that this deals with the price they must have payed, as it could have been higher than theirs. Chika again states that he absolutely cannot die, but Shito only replies with the fact that he has been living for several generations himself. Otsu discusses the need for support with a man named Sonya the next day, attempting to convince him that the Z-Loan’s future would now affect quite a bit of people. Elsewhere, Shimotsuki makes a donation to Bekke in the Z-Loan office. Zarame meanwhile reveals to Michiru that there is more potential in her ability than she has been displaying.

Michiru is amazed when she is able to find a zombie from far away, just as Zarame described, but this turns out to be Sonya who has just finished talking with Otsu. In the park together afterwards, Sonya describes his helpless thoughts about what would happen if the Z-Loan dissolved. Michiru denies her similarity with him when he states it, however, as she has changed from the indifferent person she was before. Shortly after, Sotetsu appears to pick up Michiru. Sonya takes the chance to meet his daughter Misora from her day care, and while embracing her, he believes that he certainly wishes to protect her. When the Z-Loan members return to the office together, they meet Raika for the first time in awhile. This was the werewolf who had been taken under the care of Shimotsuki, learning human lifestyle until now. Shimotsuki offers Raika’s aid to the Zombie Loan, and with the simple belief that the experience would make him stronger, Raika agrees to in order to protect Shimotsuki more effectively. With the Z-Loan, A-Loan, and ARRC gathering in various places, everyone prepares to hunt.

Impression:

Okay, this is retarded. As if the first “ending” wasn’t bad enough, we’ve ended right after an arc has been introduced this time. I’ve been reading around that this show was originally set to be a two season series, but was cut short because of various reasons. It would probably be the lack of viewership, especially with how poorly received the animation was. Oh well.

As for the actual episode, I would have actually really liked it if it weren’t for being cut off at this point. Chika and Shito’s pasts and goals were brought up again, which is one of the strong drives of this series. Even Michiru has started to develop her abilities due to the dire situation the Z-Loan is in. I absolutely loved seeing Raika return, as I recall wanting to see more of him when we last saw him in episode eight, and his want to serve Shimotsuki is something that I could totally support. The A-Loan’s abilities are interesting as well, simply because they mirror the Z-Loan’s quite closely. Zen has obviously taken a liking to Michiru, which is making Toko all jealous. I really like that part of her character. She obviously doesn’t know that Michiru already has Yomi though…

Final Impression:

Zombie Loan was a series that I had a lot of mixed feelings about when I started watching it. I initially covered it because my slight interest in the premises and the lack of coverage elsewhere, but I was quickly hooked by the themes of death that were played on in future episodes. This series had several things going for it: a strong cast, an excellent story by my favorite Peach Pit, good character development, and great art. So where did it go wrong? Probably the poor production and presentation. Coming back to this series after a year easily makes me see some things in a different way. Xebec, who I once thought did a decent job with shows, has clearly shown me that they have the ability to completely slaughter a potentially excellent series. The animation for this show was easily sloppy, and it almost seems like the production team didn’t even want to put effort into some scenes.

Still, taking this major flaw out of the picture, I thoroughly enjoyed Zombie Loan for the short time I spent with it. Even though they were involved in supernatural events, the three main Z-Loan members were very believable. It was hard not to become attached to Michiru, who slowly changed her indifferent thinking into something more passionate. Shito easily had some of the most development in the series, and very strong development at that. It was even possible to relate to Shiba, a character we are probably suppose to despise. The influences for this series’ story probably came from the Japanese mindset, as the country with the highest suicide rate in the world. Some people may not understand the way characters are thinking in a story like this, but I certainly see that they are believable. I did have problems with some of the characters in the series, mostly with those on the opposing side, but these were characters who were quickly discarded in the first arcs of the series.

It feels like Zombie Loan simply didn’t get the length it deserved, as the story constantly only feels like it has just started. I would have loved to continue watching this for more than one season, but I suppose not everyone can appreciate shows like this in the same way. I leave Zombie Loan for the second time with a fairly positive outlook, but because of a few minor flaws, this show quickly becomes one that eventually becomes forgotten because of lost potential. Fans of the manga, however, are probably appreciating the series as much as they ever had.