Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead, known in Japan as Apocalyptic Academy: Highschool of the Dead (学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD), is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death in March 2017. Fujimi Shobo and Kadokawa Shoten published seven volumes from March 2007 and April 2011 in Japan. Yen Press published the series in North America. The story follows a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

A 12-episode anime adaptation, produced by Madhouse and covering the first four volumes, aired in Japan from July 5 to September 20, 2010. Madhouse also produced an original video animation (OVA) episode in 2011. Sentai Filmworks released an English dub of the anime series and OVA on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.

Plot

Highschool of the Dead is set in present-day Japan, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly

Media

Manga

Written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō (no relation), Highschool of the Dead started in Fujimi Shobo's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age on August 9, 2006.[4] The manga went on hiatus from 2008 to 2010, but after March 2011, only one more chapter was released on April 9, 2013.[5][6][7] The series was left unfinished following Daisuke Satō's death on March 22, 2017.[8] Fujimi Shobo and Kadokawa Shoten published seven volumes from March 1, 2007 and April 25, 2011 in Japan.[9][10]

A full-color version of the manga, called Highschool of the Dead: Full-Color Edition (学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD FULL COLOR EDITION), began serialization in the February 2011 issue of Monthly Dragon Age. Kadokawa Shoten released the manga's seven volumes from February 25, 2011 to March 9, 2013.[11][12] In North America, the full-color edition began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Yen Press' Yen Plus online magazine,[13] and ran until the July 2011 issue.[14] The volumes were later released in two hardcover omnibus volumes on November 22, 2011 and December 17, 2013.[15][16]

Shortly following the inception of the series and before it was licensed for distribution in English, the manga became popular enough in English via scanlation to draw the attention of the creators, who included a message in English within the magazine's printing of the fifth chapter that requested readers to buy the original manga when it is available.[17] The manga was later licensed in North America by Yen Press,[18] and the first volume was released on January 25, 2011.[19] The series is also published in Spain by Glénat España,[20] in Germany by Carlsen, in Italy, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia by Panini Comics, in Canada and France for French-language publication by Pika Édition, in Poland by Waneko,[21] and in Taiwan by Kadokawa Media.

A crossover manga by Shōji Satō, called Shōji Sato Artworks: Highschool of the Dead & Triage X – Lightning Pop (佐藤ショウジアートワークス学園黙示録HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD＆トリアージＸ LIGHTNING POP), was published on August 9, 2012, featuring characters from Triage X, Sato's other work.[22]

The writer of the series, Daisuke Satō, became sick in 2008, which made the production of the manga very difficult. After his death in 2017, Kawanakajima and Shōji Satō agreed that the series should be stopped as is and instead focus on the Triage X series.[23]

Anime

An anime adaptation[24] aired on the Japanese network AT-X from July 5 to September 20, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on TV Kanagawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, and Sun TV. Produced by Geneon Universal Entertainment, Showgate, AT-X and Madhouse, the series is directed by Tetsurō Araki, with Yōsuke Kuroda handling series composition, Masayoshi Tanaka designing the characters and Takafumi Wada composing the music.[25] Six DVD and Blu-ray volumes were released by Geneon Universal Entertainment between September 22, 2010 and February 23, 2011.[26]

Music

The series' opening theme is "Highschool of the Dead" by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets.[40] The series' closing theme songs differ in each episode, and each are sung by Maon Kurosaki.[40] The CD single for the opening theme was released on August 18, 2010 by Geneon Universal Entertainment.[41] The CD single features the TV and instrumental versions of "Highschool of the Dead" and a new song called "Ripple" (リプル), along with an instrumental version of the song. A CD containing all 12 ending themes sung by Kurosaki was released by Geneon on September 22, 2010,[42] along with an original soundtrack.[43]

Light novel

A light novel, called Highschool of the Dead: The Last Day (学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD〈終わり〉の日), was published in March 2011.[44]

Game

CTW Inc. unveils G123’s latest title: 'HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD DAY 0 (HOTDZero)'. Alongside this, official social media channels have launched, and global pre-registration is now open.[45]

Reception

In Japan, the sixth volume of Highschool of the Dead placed fifth on the Oricon charts between July 5 and July 11, 2010, selling 92,040 copies;[46] and 13th between July 12 and July 18, 2010, selling 43,714 copies for a total of 135,754 copies.[47] The seventh volume of Highschool of the Dead reached 11th on the Oricon charts between May 2 and May 8, 2011, selling 57,016 copies;[48] second between May 9 and May 15, 2011, selling 115,154 copies;[49] and 19th between May 16 and May 22, 2011, selling 34,362 copies for a total of 206,532 copies.[50] By May 2011, the manga has had over 3 million copies in circulation.[51]

In North America, the second volume of the manga reached The New York Times Best-Selling Manga List, placing fourth between April 24 and April 30, 2011;[52] tenth between May 1 and May 7, 2011;[53] and eighth between May 8 and May 14, 2011.[54]

Andy Hanley of the UK Anime Network summaries the first manga volume as: "Nothing ground-breaking here, but a volume of mindless fun that brings all of the gory entertainment of a zombie apocalypse to the printed page."[55] Nate Lanxon of Wired UK praises its production quality despite having no single original element.[56]

At San Diego Comic-Con "Best and Worst Manga of 2011" panel, it was listed among the "Worst Manga" in a series of rapid-fire questions.[57]

For the anime adaptation, Chris Beveridge from Mania.com comments on the first episode, "There's a lot to like here if you're looking for something beyond the usual high school dramas and comedies of the last few years."[58] Carlo Santos of Anime News Network states that, "Other recent zombie works in Western entertainment have tried to play it ironic, or postmodernist, or just plain silly, but this one goes for straight-up horror—and pulls it off admirably."[59] However, Zac Bertschy of the same website, states for this episode that, "It just could've easily been written by a script generator or a horror fan with 19 minutes to kill."[60]

In March 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture announced a crackdown on sites hosting overly-violent or sexual anime content, with Highschool of the Dead being singled out as an example due to its sexual content; the Ministry described it as "borderline-pornographic".[61] On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Highschool of the Dead among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.[62]

type	tv series
director	Tetsurō Araki
producer	Mitsutoshi Ogura
writer	Yōsuke Kuroda
music	Takafumi Wada
studio	Madhouse
network	AT-X, tvk, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS, TVA, TVS, SUN
first	July 5, 2010
last	September 20, 2010
episodes	12 + OVA
episode list	List of Highschool of the Dead episodes