Zombie Loan

A suitable adaptation?

Genre - Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Supernatural

Length – 11 Episodes

Run - Jul 4, 2007 to Sep 12, 2007

Animation Production – XEBEC, Square Enix, NAS

I own the first 5 volumes of the manga. Zombie Loan was a godsend when I began reading it, so naturally I was excited when I heard about the anime. Please note this anime should not be viewed by children as there is a lot of violence and profanity as well as some really messed up situations not suitable for young viewers.

The plot is rather original. Somewhere in a rundown neighborhood exists a "life insurance" agency if you will called "Z-Loan". If you die you can get a second shot at life. There, simple right? However, as the name suggests you become a zombie and have to pay back your loan. This is where I introduce the male leads. The always short tempered "Akatsuki Chika" alongside the incredibly indifferent "Tachibana Shito" serve as agents for Z-Loan. Both are zombies on a loan who have to hunt down illegal zombies (people who came back to life by shady methods) in order to pay back their debt and remain alive. As I stated, Chika is short tempered. He gets annoyed easily and gets along horribly with Shito. Despite that flaw, Chika has a genuine care for those he defeats and often performs their memorial with great sympathy. Think of Chika as the comedy relief in the anime. His behavior will give you a nice number of laughs.

Shito is the opposite of Chika. Shito is often cold and indifferent. There are times when he seems approachable and friendly though. Watching him and Chika duke it out is gonna produce a lot of laughs. That's basically the only time you see his humorous side, and when he acts sarcastic. Shito has a dark and painful past, so in time you will understand why he behaves the way he does. Finishing of the trio, I present "Kita Michiru". Also known as "Chiru Chiru" and "Gopher", Michiru is a valuable asset to the agency. Possessing "Shinigami eyes" and later on becoming a zombie herself, she is incredibly clumsy and somewhat of a wimp. Michiru hates her power, it is for this reason she wears glasses. If someone has a dark ring around their neck, it is a sign that person will soon die. That is the basics of her power. She gets along well with Chika and Shito, but because of her wimpy nature, she gets manipulated by them easily. After becoming a zombie herself, she has no choice but to use her power more often so that she along with the others can pay back their loan.

Zombie Loan shines because of its characters and its plot, that's it. The art is nothing to be impressed about. There is a nice use of color, but it really felt as though the animators were just lazy. Most of the time when there was a fight sequence it felt like I was watching "Pokemon". Just a bunch of flashing backgrounds making it seem as though the characters actually moved. About 50% of the anime consisted of this, so it's somewhat tolerable. I very much liked the atmosphere the anime produced, it kept true to the manga, so that's a plus. Now thinking back on the soundtrack, I can't say there was anything memorable about it. Once again I felt as though the staff was just being lazy and picked out some rock songs to emphasize the dark theme Zombie Loan produces.

 

 

The ED was pretty decent though, I liked it.

Though I think this anime could have been brought up better, I feel it kept true to the manga. Don't think that because this a dark and violent anime that it's only composed of that. It is also composed of a nice blend of comedy and drama. Aside from the main characters own hardships, you learn about some of the secondary characters past as well. You learn to identify with each character and understand them. Characters like Koyomi, Yuuta, Yuuri, and Momoka all keep true to the manga, in the sense that they are just freaking hilarious.

Koyomi's dark side "Yomi" in action.

As of today the tv series remains incomplete, producing two OVA's to continue the eleven episode televised series and another OVA or two (who knows when that will come out). "Whoa! Look at the time man! My cookies are about to be done, rating plox?"

Art - (7/10) Sound - (7/10) Plot - (8/10) Enjoyment - (8/10)

Overall
7.5/10

Note: Chibi Shinigami is just adorable :3