Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Review

A Good Premise, But That’s It

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto / ゾン100～ゾンビになるまでにしたい100のこと～) is an action/comedy/horror anime. It’s also an anime from the summer of 2023 despite me not reviewing it until now.

But, what’s Zom 100 all about? It’s about a normal guy working a 9-5 job he hates when, suddenly, a zombie apocalypse breaks out. In most cases, you’d think of a zombie apocalypse as a bad thing. However, Akira Tendou was so overworked that he welcomed it.

You’re telling him he doesn’t need to return to the office? That’s music to Akira’s ears. With no work, he can now spend his days doing all the things he always wanted to do. And, that’s how we get to the second part of the title: The bucket list of things Akira wants to do before he dies.

As the heading of this section says, this is a good premise. A lot of people can relate to being in a career they don’t enjoy. And, that may even be more true for those working at Japanese companies. So, immediately, viewers can relate to Akira.

Also, a lot of the things Akira puts on his bucket list can lead to some exciting content. Things like jumping a motorcycle or being a superhero. However, the majority of Akira’s bucket list items tend to be less exciting than you’d expect. Even the ones that sound like they’d be good at first.

And, that’s where the major problem of the series comes in. It sets up a good premise but doesn’t follow through. I got bored about three episodes into the series. It just wasn’t delivering the kind of content I was expecting. Things like Akira changing his hairstyle aren’t interesting.

Characters Are Very Important

For the most part, the content of Zom 100 isn’t entertaining. But, what about the characters? Even if the content isn’t that exciting, a good cast of characters can carry a series. And since this is a comedy anime, the characters are even more important.

One of my favorite comedy anime is KonoSuba. What makes KonoSuba so good are the characters and how they interact with each other. Zom 100 doesn’t even come close. The characters aren’t very interesting and their group dynamics are bland.

Let’s start with Akira. Sure, he’s relatable at first because he hates his job. But, it doesn’t take long to realize that he doesn’t have much going on aside from that. He’s a generic “good guy” who just wants to be happy and for other people to be happy. That’s nice in a real society, but boring in a show like this.

Akira’s best friend is Kenichirou “Kencho” Ryuuzaki. His whole thing is that he wants to be a comedian who strips on stage. That’s his entire personality and the extent of the gags featuring him. Once you realize that part of his personality wasn’t a one-time thing, he’s boring.

Shizuka Mikazuki is a little more interesting than Akira and Kencho. But, not much. Her defining personality trait is that she always prioritizes survival. Fun? She has no idea what that is. She’d much rather spend her time creating spreadsheets and doing everything “optimally.”

Beatrix Amerhauser is the best of the four main characters. Though, that could also be because she’s introduced later on in the series. She doesn’t have as much screen time as the others, so there’s less time for her to get stale. Still, I do think she’s more fun — especially her love of Japanese history.

The Final 3 Episodes

Okay, so at the start of this review, I said that this was a summer 2023 anime. If that’s the case, why am I reviewing it now? Did I not watch Zom 100 until recently? That sometimes happens if a Patron requests a review of an anime from the previous season.

But, that’s not the case here. I was actually reviewing Zom 100 episodes on a weekly basis. And then, the series went on hiatus after Episode 9. I don’t know exactly what happened and I don’t care enough to look it up. However, we can assume “production issues.”

Now, when the first episode of Zom 100 dropped, I saw a lot of talk about it online. People were excited for this series. As was the case for me, though, that excitement quickly disappeared. after a few episodes, I didn’t see much talk about it.

The only people who were really still talking about the series were those who hadn’t started it. There were people saying it “looked good” and that they were “waiting for it to all come out.” Well, unfortunately for them, they’d have to wait another three months for the final three episodes to air.

And, let me tell you, I think I saw a single person talk about the final three episodes coming out. In general, nobody cared. Everyone who had been watching the series lost interest a long time ago. And those who hadn’t yet watched it seemed to have given up due to the delay.

I wish I could tell you that the final three episodes made everything worth it. But, after watching the previous nine, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. And, I was right. The final three episodes weren’t funny and instead tried to be very serious.

Final Thoughts

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a 5/10. It’s not good and not bad. It exists. And, for that reason, I doubt many people who haven’t already seen this series are going to watch it. There’s no benefit. You could watch better anime instead — or anime that are so bad that they’re funny.

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