I have lost track on whether or not we have given the summer of 2023 a name. Is it “Hot Girl Summer” again? “Barbenheimer Summer”? For me, neither of these would be quite accurate. Maybe it’s the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes. Maybe it’s all the climate emergencies. But I would describe 2023 as a “Boiling in Uncomfortable Existential Questions Summer.” The sexiest kind of summer of all!
Fortunately, I have coincidentally fallen face-first into two anime series which speak to my ennui. One is the “Endless Eight” arc in the second season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (broadcast order or die—I shake my fist at you, Crunchyroll!). The other is a new series for the 2023 summer season: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. But just as I started catching up and realizing what I’ve been missing, Zom 100 announced some surprising production delays.
What’s Zom 100, anyway?
Zom 100 is, in many ways, a classic “zombie pandemic strikes crowded metropolis” story—but it has a twist. See, the whole series is couched in the fact that our protagonist, Akira Tendo, has spent the last two years working in a super-exploitative work environment. He’s pulled all-nighters more often than not. His boss is emotionally abusive, manipulative, and in a not-super-consensual-seeming sexual relationship with his workplace crush. It’s basically all of the worst workplace abuses possible rolled into one. To boot, Akira works in ad production—i.e., the entertainment industry, to some extent.
The first episode recounts all of this with astonishing effectiveness. As Akira sinks deeper and deeper into depression and feels increasingly trapped, all color is drained from the show. But then, something wonderful happens: the zombie apocalypse! Suddenly, Akira doesn’t have to go to his shitty job anymore!
He’s absolutely thrilled about finally being able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, zombies be damned. I would probably be this genre of person in the sudden collapse of capitalist society. You’d also see me skipping to a convenience store so I can indulge in some light-hearted day-drinking and movie-watching.
The manga of Zom 100 was written by Haro Aso, who also wrote Alice in Borderland, which Netflix turned into a live-action series. The script and “series composition” for the Zom 100 anime was written by Hiroshi Seko, whose credits include Mob Psycho 100, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen to his name. I also saw him wear a Twin Peaks shirt at an Anime Expo panel. He rules.
What’s up with the delay?
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is the first anime fully produced by BUG FILMS. The studio has been around for a while, though—they helped out on beloved series like Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, Komi Can’t Communicate, and The Ancient Magus’ Bride. But Zom 100 is the first series they’ve ever helmed, and it looks beautiful. It’s often scary and gross—because zombies—but also beautiful. For whatever reason, instead of there only being blood everywhere, the gross splatters from the zombies look like the residue from a heated paintball match.
However, that’s not to say the rollout of the production hasn’t been bumpy. Episode 4’s release on many streaming services was delayed a single day. Episode 6 was pushed back a week due to TV broadcasting conflicts in Japan. But then, one week ago, episode 6 was pushed back a second week, to August 27. Today, the studio released an updated broadcast schedule, which includes a recap episode on September 10 (was that planned before? who knows). Most worryingly, the statement did not commit to air dates for episodes 10-12 because of the pre-existing production delays.
No reason has been given for these delays. I just hope the animators aren’t like Akira at his shitty job—not sleeping, powering through via energy drinks, not able to see friends and family or do anything except work and sleep. That parallelism would truly be the worst kind of irony, especially since the core of Zom 100 is about Akira enjoying his freedom and celebrating a renewed excitement for life. Unfortunately, those kinds of conditions happen in animation all the time—both in the West and in Japan.
Even with these delays, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend watching Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. It’s a fun take on the zombie genre, even if you have to navigate a wonky release schedule.
(featured image: BUG FILMS)
