I love Eiji Akaso. I first discovered him as the adorably hopeless Adachi in the romantic comedy BL series Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! Then, he starred alongside my adorable Jo Fujiwara in the sci-fi drama Pending Train – which was incredible. In his latest film, Akaso takes on the role of a diligent worker who finds freedom after the zombie apocalypse ends the world as he knew it to be. Based on the manga of the same name Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is horror comedy gold and Akaso is beyond brilliant. 

Akira Tendo (Akaso) was a college athlete who got his dream job at ZLM, a production company he believes is his dream job. But he soon finds out it’s an exploitative company that sucks the life out of anyone who works for them. Lucky for Tendo, after a year of forsaking friends, family, and apartment cleanliness, a zombie apocalypse destroys everything. 

But, rather than succumbing to panic and fear, Tendo finally decides to live the life he’s always wanted. This includes reconnecting with his best friend (and former teammate) Kencho (Shuntarō Yanagi), whom Tendo rescues from a sleazy love hotel. The two also meet Shizuka Mikazuki (Mai Shiraishi), a young nurse who wants to help people. Though the three are unlikely allies and despite Mikazuki’s best attempts, the three become inseparable. 

A horror comedy written by Tatsuro Mishima, the film has so many laugh-out-loud moments which are almost always followed by “Yuck, gross!” It’s hysterical – and the soundtrack (composed by Kohei Chida) is brilliant. The only thing I have to complain about is the lack of color, an anime adaptation (released through Bug Films) utilizes an obscene amount of colors for Zombi blood – while the film sticks to mostly black and red. But it’s a small gripe and only exists because I saw the anime first.

Currently streaming on Netflix Zom 100 can be enjoyed in its original Japanese (with English subtitles) or via an English dub. I chose to stream it with subtitles.

09/10

More reviews soon so…

Stay Tuned!