Is This a Zombie? OVA

Is This a Zombie? OVA

Not as Good as I Remember

Apparently, I’ve watched the Is This a Zombie? OVA in the past and just never marked it off on MyAnimeList. I’m guessing that means I watched it before I began using MyAnimeList and simply didn’t think I’d watched it when I was going through and adding anime.

But, since I didn’t realize I’d watched this OVA before until I got to the second of the two episodes, I rewatched it all anyway. I really didn’t remember a single thing from the first episode. However, I distinctly remembered certain parts of the second episode.

The big thing that stood out to me while watching this OVA, though, was that I didn’t find it nearly as entertaining as I remembered. Of course, this could simply be due to the fact that these were OVA episodes and not main series episodes.

Eu, Sera, and Ayumu stealing a recipe from Haruna from the Is This a Zombie? anime OVA
Eu, Sera, and Ayumu stealing a recipe from Haruna

Some of the scenes I still think are good. For example, the scene in which they’re playing Karuta with death flag lines is funny. The premise of the game itself is entertaining. But I also liked how Ayumu and Orito were only motivated to keep winning so that they could sit across from girls in skirts.

That’s a good example of how to merge comedy and ecchi.

However, I don’t feel like much of the other comedy/ecchi content within the OVA landed. I may have disagreed with that sentiment 5+ years ago when I watched the series. But at this point in time, I didn’t find most of it funny.

I also noticed that a lot of gags got repeated even within just these two episodes. Most notably, Ayamu getting “impaled” by bamboo was a very common occurrence.

The Hunt for Nessie

The part of the OVA that I definitely remembered watching before was the pool scene with Haruna hunting for Nessie. Almost right from the start of this part of the episode, I remembered how it ended with Ayumu being stuffed inside an inflatable Nessie.

I don’t really know why I would remember this scene and not the karuta scene, which I think is better. But the whole pool/Nessie scene is still pretty good. It’s not as funny as the karuta scene, in my opinion. However, it’s still funny and has a wholesome ending to it.

The funny part comes from all the distractions that get in Ayumu’s way as he’s trying to help Haruna. My favorite of these distractions is when Hiramatsu asks Ayamu to help her put lotion on.

Eu wearing a school swimsuit from the Is This a Zombie? anime OVA
Eu wearing a school swimsuit

So, let me defend why I think this part of the second episode was genuinely funny. First of all, there’s just the absurdity that Ayumu would ignore Haruna to put lotion on Hiramatsu. And second, Ayumu can’t go in the sunlight, but still does to his own detriment because he wants to put lotion on Hiramatsu so badly.

I don’t know what else to tell you. It’s funny.

But then, we get to the end of this part of the episode, and the tone changes. It’s revealed that Haruna and Eu want to be friends with each other, but are too shy to say as much. That’s when the episode turns from ecchi to wholesome, and I actually liked that.

Part of the problem I have with this OVA is that there are a lot of times when it feels like it’s trying too hard to be funny. And that tends to be combined with ecchi content in it. Rather than forcing comedy that isn’t actually funny, there’s nothing wrong with transitioning away from the comedy for a bit. It can actually be beneficial.

Eu’s Birthday

The end of the second episode focuses more on this wholesome content, though I still don’t think it’s particularly good. I do like Eu and seeing her get to celebrate her birthday with her friends is nice. But I’d say it’s just alright as far as content goes.

What I forgot until the very end, however, is why Eu doesn’t speak. As I said, it’s been years since I last watched this series. So when I was watching the OVA, I was just thinking that Eu didn’t speak for a non-disclosed reason.

But, no, that’s not the case. The reason Eu doesn’t speak is actually that her words cast powerful spells. We see this when she says “goodnight,” or whatever it was she said, and everyone in the room instantly falls asleep.

Eu holding one of her birthday presents from the Is This a Zombie? anime OVA
Eu holding one of her birthday presents

So, why doesn’t Eu speak? Because she’s afraid of the power of her words. If she got mad and told someone to go away, they would literally leave — and that’s not really what Eu wants even if that’s how she felt in the moment.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I felt that this was the only part of the OVA that reminded me that there was actually more going on in the main series than just gags. All the characters have their own problems and things they’re going through.

Yeah, sure, they’re generally not very deep because this is still an ecchi comedy at the end of the day. But, I do like that there’s more going on with these characters than them purely being used for gags.

Conclusion

I’ll probably review the OVA for the second season of Is This a Zombie? in the coming weeks (maybe next week?). I don’t know if I’ve already watched it. But I’ll review it independently either way.

Overall, I’d say the Is This a Zombie? OVA is a 5/10. I like some parts, but there are just as many parts that I didn’t like. So as a whole, I have no strong opinions about it. That’s also 2 points lower than I rated the series years ago.

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