Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Of the Dead Final Thoughts--I Want the First Season Back

I had high hopes, but none of them were met.


Lately I've noticed a trend in the second season of anime comedy series, or series that juggle a few different genres but the primary goal is still comedy. In their second seasons, rather than continue what made them enjoyable in the first place, they essentially shoot themselves in the foot by creating a season that has nothing to do with anything and makes me wonder why I liked it in the first place. Off the top of my head, an example of a good second season is Ika Musume and a bad second season is Natsu no Arashi! Akinaichuu. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Of the Dead is a bad second season.

 
Before I continue, I have to say that the first season wasn't ten out of ten amazing but at least it was fun to watch. It balanced its magical girl parody with ninjas and necromancers pretty well alongside an actual plot, something that I honestly wouldn't believe if I hadn't watched it. This season, however, threw out the plot and any semblance of original jokes, leaving behind the fanservice, which wasn't very good either. Is it just me, or did every female character go up a few bra sizes since I last saw this show? Instead of a continuation of what made me like this show, it felt like the point of this season was to pander to an audience that clearly wasn't me. The characters basically mill around in increasingly revealing outfits while situations that they insist are dire but really aren't are resolved at the drop of a hat. One character even has a majorly OOC moment, turing this show into a run-of-the-mill harem rather than a parody of one.

 
Two new characters are introduced and accomplish nothing. One shows up for an episode and some scenes after that, but otherwise has no point. The other is meant to be the villian, but it was impossible to take her seriously. For most of the show she's a running joke, and even the big reveal of her villain status was like an extension of it. The rest of the show is spent with characters talking about how powerful she allegedly is, but we never get to see it. The final showdown of the season doesn't even involve her! I'm honestly not sure if I was supposed to buy into the setup or not, since the show can't make up it's mind whether to hype her up or continue the running joke.

 
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this season unless you're a really big fan of the show in general, and even then only if you don't mind the plot being replaced by pandering. Aside from what I've mentioned above, the production values for the show were pretty consistent and I didn't notice any off-model animation, and I really like the OP theme. But the content is what's important in the end, and it just didn't satisfy. If the plot was the major reason you liked the first season, it's best to skip this one and leave the memories where they are.

Images from Hulu.com.