ElderKingpin
Post in the anime section, or die.
- Reaction score
- 134
Genre: Ecchi, Horror, Action, Romance, Mature
Summary
Highschool of the Dead is set in the present day, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as "them". The story follows Takashi Komuro, a Japanese student at Fujimi High School who survived the initial outbreak along with several of his classmates and the school nurse, and occasionally jumps to the perspective of other characters.
The plot is initially concerned with survival and escape from the titular high school and zombies, but as the series proceeds it introduces the additional threats of societal collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors and the possible decay of the characters' own moral codes.
Character Guide
Takashi Komuro (?? ? Komuro Takashi?)
A 17 year old sophomore high school student. Takashi and Rei are childhood friends who are in the same class. He has loved her ever since she made a childhood promise to marry him when they were older. However, due to Takashi's indecisiveness, Rei found comfort in their friend, Hisashi. As a result, their friendship was damaged. He was one of the first people to notice that something was wrong in the school and quickly took action to escape with his friends.
Saeko Busujima (?? ?? Busujima Saeko?)
A high school senior and president of the school's kendo club, she is extremely skilled at close combat with a bokken. Calm and collected with a sense of pride in her skills, Saeko is among the most reliable of the group. Everyone can count on her combat skills to pull them through a crisis. Not much is known about her family except for her father who had traveled abroad on a self-defense conference before the advent of the Outbreak.
Rei Miyamoto (?? ? Miyamoto Rei?)
Classmate of Takashi Komuro. They have known each other since kindergarten. When they were young, Rei promised to marry him when they were older. She has loved him ever since but because of Takashi's indecisiveness, he was never able to honestly return her feelings. Heartbroken, she sought comfort in their friend, Hisashi, and ignoring Takashi at the same time in hopes of forgetting the pain.
Rei doesn't find it above herself to reprimand Takashi for acting carelessly. She worries about his well-being whenever he goes to fight "them". Rei has also proven to be a skilled combatant through the use of sojutsu ("Spear Techniques") and strong asset to the group.
Saya Takagi (?? ?? Takagi Saya?)
Making her escape with fellow classmate Kohta Hirano, she is the daughter of an influential Uyoku dantai politician and her family is deeply involved in Japan's politics. A self-proclaimed genius, Saya's knowledge and deductive capabilities have allowed the group to escape from harm many times. She was among the first to conclude that "they" were attracted to only sound. Despite coming from a prestigious family, she despises her parents whom she thought had given up on finding her in this crisis. However, Saya was able to amend their relationship before leaving the mansion.
Slightly self-conscious, she detests the fact people, due to her status, only call her by her last name and never look her in the eyes when speaking to her.
Kohta Hirano (?? ??? Hirano K?ta?)
A 16-year old sophomore student who was often bullied in school, Kohta is a gun otaku (enthusiast) and knows the ins and outs of the firearms and any military-related equipment that the group comes across. Basically, he functions as the group's long-range combat specialist. His skills as a marksman has proven to be an invaluable asset to keeping everyone alive. On a one-month trip to America, he was trained by the US military contractor, Blackwater USA, which furthered his obsession with weapons.
At the beginning of the story, his abilities helped Saya Takagi escape danger. Kohta has a crush on Saya and asked her out on various occasions only to be rejected. However, she does care for his well being. His crush has since ended and he has developed deep feelings for the police officer trainee, Asami Nakaoka. Because the feelings are mutual, they have expressed their love for each other and Kohta even managed to convince her to join the group. Kohta has also grown attached to Alice and will often be found playing with her. He also has a strong desire to protect her innocence.
Shizuka Marikawa (?? ?? Marikawa Shizuka?)
A single 26-year old woman and the school nurse at Fujimi High School. At the beginning of the story, Shizuka was saved by Saeko. She is rather ditsy as compared to the rest of girls. Her large bust size is often used as a comical element in the story. She is close friends with Rika Minani, a sniper of Japan's Special Assault Team. Their home was used as a safe haven for the group after they escaped the high school. Despite being the only adult in the group, she is emotionally fragile and doesn't know what will become of her life. Like the rest of the main characters, Shizuka worries that she will never see her family or friends again.
Even though she's emotionally fragile, Shizuka feels a responsibility to "chaperon" the kids. As a nurse and the only adult in the group, she is responsible for the health of everyone in the group. Although she is still studying to be a full-fledged doctor, Shizuka has shown incredible medical knowledge. She was even able to bring Kohta to his senses after he was forced to kill Asami Nakaoka.
Alice Maresato (?? ??? Maresato Arisu?)
Only 7 years old, she was saved from being attacked by several undead by Takashi after her father was killed by members of a household who wouldn't allow them shelter. Innocent and passive, Alice is the only member of the group that maintains a cheerful attitude despite all their troubles and the loss of her parents. Looking up to everyone in the group as a bigger brother and sister, she is unwilling to leave them even if it's for her own safety.
Alice is often seen playing with a small dog named Zeke whom they had picked up while saving Alice and Kohta, to whom she has grown fairly attached. Presiding over her as a mother figure is Saya to whom she has also grown attached. Alice is also bilingual, able to speak in English and Japanese, and maybe multiracial. It was also recently revealed that she was the next door neighbor to Takashi's friend, Imamuru.
Despite being the youngest member of the group, she seems to be able to carry her own burden against "them". In a discussion between Takashi and Kohta, they made to the conclusion that they cannot protect her for long and she will need to learn how to defeat "them". She is yet to have her own weapon, though she did make use of fireworks and poppers that Asami gave to her (using those to distract "them" from attacking the group).
