Is This a Zombie?

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: LOL, I can't believe he/she just said that
Notable Features: zombies, vampires, magical girls, demons, bad humor
Language: English/Japanese
Length: 2 Seasons, 24 episodes 
Overall Recommendation: Great!


"Don't worry! I'm a zombie!" - Ayumu

A young man runs in front of an oncoming truck to save a tiny kitten about to be squished. There is no way that he can make it across without being squished himself, but it's ok. He's a zombie. That's how Is This a Zombie? opens, and it's basically the humorous theme throughout the series. Ayumu is attacked by a rampaging serial killer and is revived by a strange, non-talking, young girl he had met moments before at a convenience store. She is Eu, the Necromancer, and her overflowing amount of magical power has made her able to make Ayumu into a zombie. During the trials and tribulations, Ayumu's undead status is one of the main reasons he's able to achieve anything - no matter how many times, or how many ways, he's dismembered, he's able to brush it off and move on.

Is This a Zombie? has an interesting cast of characters. The first person he meets is a Magical Garment Girl, Haruna, who cuts him in half with her magical chainsaw. Somehow, because of this wonderful zombie powers and connection to Eu, he steals some of these powers and becomes a Magical Garment Girl himself - pretty pink outfit included. This happy group of fun is shortly rounded out with two vampire ninjas: Seraphim (Sera) and Maelstrom. All three new girls have a special disdain for Ayumu and his harem-loving ways. Often, he gets in trouble for wrongs he hasn't actually committed. Regardless of how the ladies might feel about him in any given moment, they become an inseparable group of magical kicking butt friends. The series itself ends up focused on the importance of friendship and Ayumu's caring side.

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The first season of Is This A Zombie? was great. It was absolutely hilarious, and the misunderstandings surrounding Ayumu's interactions with the female cast are pretty excellent. It reminded me of Heaven's Lost Property, except Ayumu isn't purposefully putting himself in awkward situations. You won't see him turning himself into a floor at any point. I suppose that would take away from his Magical Garment Girl action. Eu was probably my favorite character. She's totally cute, but a little more mature than the others. I also appreciate her silent nature. I managed to get my favorite person to sit down and watch the series with me - even more impressive with the second season being in Japanese.

The second season really pulled away from the focus of Ayumu's zombie abilities and focused more on relationship building and the hilarity that is Ayumu in drag. The fights were a little less epic, but at that point I was emotionally engaged enough to not care so much.
Really, the only disappointment to the whole series is the ending. I wanted more out of it, and now I'm hoping that there will be a third season though it seems unlikely.

All of the nudity is censored, so it's really not that bad. There are some head-smacking naughty jokes, but nothing I found offensive. I'm pretty sure a teenager could handle it just fine. There is some blood but no guts, which I appreciated, and the monsters are all pretty ridiculous - animals in school uniforms!
It was great fun. It wouldn't win any awards, but I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for a supernatural, harem, comedy.

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I'm not really a zombie: Kanamemo