(L+CR) Gakkou Gurashi

[Master_Yoma]

Wow the MC seem to have delusions of grandeur and the dog dosnt seem to like that girl

[risingstar3110]

Oh and another thing that I noticed.

Spoiler for manga comparisons for content in episode 1:

I means the dog also was in the manga. But in the manga they constantly switch between normal and chibi drawing style. So in ep 1 Yuki with her chibi mode actually acted the mascot rather than the dog in here ...And I think the twist actually sorta hit me harder in the manga than in the anime. Because in the manga Yuki and her interaction toward others were the only focus (so when you realised how screwed up things are, you feel more for the only character that has been fully explored).

So spending too long on chasing the dog, other than make it boring for new audiences, IMo also has the negative effect acting as a distraction, and make the revelations feel less impacted.

[Kazu-kun]

Guys remember you have to use spoiler tags for manga comparisons.

[DiabloCthulhu]

Originally Posted by Flower

It is split cour, so 24-26 eps.

Wait, what? Where did you get that information? It says pretty much everywhere that there are going to be only 12 episodes.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by DiabloCthulhu

Wait, what? Where did you get that information? It says pretty much everywhere that there are going to be only 12 episodes.

Whoops! Looks like I mixed up the thread tabs I opened up earlier today ... I somehow thought the question was asked for the series Red Haired Snow White! My bad - have deleted my post. Thanks for catching that.

It is indeed a single cour last I head - meaning 12 eps.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Master_Yoma

Wow the MC seem to have delusions of grandeur and the dog dosnt seem to like that girl

How do you call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia chuu2. I don't even... one is a real mental disease. The other one is just an eccentric trait.

I'm really confused

[YotsuMaboroshi]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

The show has to make people interested in the first place. Clearly these guys put all their eggs in the twist at the end, and indeed some viewers will keep watching only because of that twist. But others won't, and that's because they didn't put any effort to make the other 20 minutes more interesting. That includes properly introducing all the main characters.

They were properly introduced, IMO. I think you're placing too much emphasis on screentime for the first ep. A show doesn't need to forcibly introduce all of its main characters in the first episode to be successful.

We can't talk about the manga here, and the anime has to stand on its own anyway. And I disagree that involving Rii and Kurumi some more in the first episode would force any inconstancy.

Knowing the manga is going to color my view of the anime, and I never said that you had to read the manga for the episode to work. We're going to have to agree to disagree. I think the first episode did what it needed to, and that involving Kurumi and Rii would be somewhat contrived. You clearly don't agree with either point.

[com_gwp]

Can't be the only one thinking this reveal was done much better than the manga's.

Of course, there's the difference of 30 mins vs 30 pages to keep in mind.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Master_Yoma

Wow the MC seem to have delusions of grandeur and the dog dosnt seem to like that girl

I don't really know how you came to the conclusion that she has delusions of grandeur. She is crazy and seems to be suffering from schizophrenia. She is pretty much making a fantasy to cope with reality.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by YotsuMaboroshi

They were properly introduced, IMO. I think you're placing too much emphasis on screentime for the first ep. A show doesn't need to forcibly introduce all of its main characters in the first episode to be successful.

You keep saying "forcibly," but that depends on execution. There's nothing inherently problematic or difficult about involving all the characters in the first episode, while there is a lot to gain from it.

Knowing the manga is going to color my view of the anime, and I never said that you had to read the manga for the episode to work. We're going to have to agree to disagree. I think the first episode did what it needed to, and that involving Kurumi and Rii would be somewhat contrived. You clearly don't agree with either point.

Again, whether it would be contrived or not is a matter of execution.

But yeah, to each their own I guess.

[jeroz]

Originally Posted by Newprimus

Is this show 12 eps or 24 eps? MAL lists 12 but someone else mentioned 24.

Vol.6 has ep 11&12, so it's most likely to be 12 eps.

[Triple_R]

That was a very impacting first episode.

I get Kazu-kun's points, but for me, there was enough subtle hints throughout the episode in order to maintain my interest until the big reveal. I briefly thought it might be a Jinrui-like lampooning of SoL, as a lot of SoL tropes were sort of brought up and poked fun at here (that's how I perceived it anyway). Something seemed a bit off even in the first two thirds of the episode, even putting aside certain subtle visual hints. There was something I found weird and surreal about some of the character interactions.

Now, with the full episode fresh in my mind... I have to wonder if this show is meta-commentary on escapist entertainment.


Real world Japan is facing stark demographic decline, with an aging population, last I checked. Meanwhile, many Japanese people engage in escapist entertainment that one could argue is designed to enable people to comfortably avert their eyes from this large societal issue (and perhaps some others besides).

Is a zombie apocalypse setting a metaphor for an aging population in decline? Is our lead character here a metaphor for people ignoring this issue, perhaps even pretending its not happening at all, through engaging with comforting escapist entertainment?

Just a thought. Perhaps its not aiming for anything that deep, though part of me hopes it is. It would be boldly subversive - Very subversive, really - For an anime show to have this as a metaphor and/or theme.


I'm not sure how much I'll like this show going forward. I might find it hard to enjoy future SoL scenes now that I know the truth behind them. On the other hand, there is still a lot to be shown here. There is still some mystery to this setting, and certainly to the main cast. I'm hoping that Episode 2 will show a bit more of the real zombie apocalypse world, because that's where my interest mainly lies now.

[jeroz]

I think our level of enjoyment depends on whether we can appreciate what's real, namely the bond between the four characters

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Now, with the full episode fresh in my mind... I have to wonder if this show is meta-commentary on escapist entertainment.

Real world Japan is facing stark demographic decline, with an aging population, last I checked. Meanwhile, many Japanese people engage in escapist entertainment that one could argue is designed to enable people to comfortably avert their eyes from this large societal issue (and perhaps some others besides).

Is a zombie apocalypse setting a metaphor for an aging population in decline? Is our lead character here a metaphor for people ignoring this issue, perhaps even pretending its not happening at all, through engaging with comforting escapist entertainment?

Just a thought. Perhaps its not aiming for anything that deep, though part of me hopes it is. It would be boldly subversive - Very subversive, really - For an anime show to have this as a metaphor and/or theme.

This makes zero sense to me when the population decline has nothing to do with entertainment and is all about economics and disillusionment with working culture. People don't have enough money to be thinking about having children.

[YotsuMaboroshi]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

You keep saying "forcibly," but that depends on execution. There's nothing inherently problematic or difficult about involving all the characters in the first episode, while there is a lot to gain from it.

There isn't anything inherently wrong or problematic with it, no, but character involvement should occur naturally in the story. I just don't feel there's a natural way to include more screentime for Kurumi or Rii in the episode. That's why I keep using 'forcibly'. They got all the screentime they needed for the episode.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by IceHism

This makes zero sense to me when the population decline has nothing to do with entertainment and is all about economics and disillusionment with working culture. People don't have enough money to be thinking about having children.

Entertainment can distract from real problems. It may not cause the problem, but it can become a way of ignoring the problem.

I doubt that our lead character's delusions is the cause of the zombie apocalypse in this show. The cause-effect is likely the other way - She probably had a mental break because she couldn't deal with this harsh reality. Her mind retreated into a comforting fantasy world because she couldn't handle reality.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by YotsuMaboroshi

There isn't anything inherently wrong or problematic with it, no, but character involvement should occur naturally in the story. I just don't feel there's a natural way to include more screentime for Kurumi or Rii in the episode.

The school setting has potential for a myriad of situations. Any writer worth their salt could come up with at least a couple dozens ways to make it work in a natural way imo.

[Triple_R]

Something I want to add - The aesop of this show might in fact be the exact opposite of what I wrote before. That comforting fantasy is a good way to keep yourself sane and happy in a very degraded world.

In any event, I am inclined to see something at a meta-level here, because they touched on so many SoL tropes that it gives the show a strong sense of self-awareness to me.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Entertainment can distract from real problems. It may not cause the problem, but it can become a way of ignoring the problem.

I doubt that our lead character's delusions is the cause of the zombie apocalypse in this show. The cause-effect is likely the other way - She probably had a mental break because she couldn't deal with this harsh reality. Her mind retreated into a comforting fantasy world because she couldn't handle reality.

Sure. But the problem in real life is that not only do the working people not know what to do, the companies at the top also don't really know what to do either. They are kind of stuck where they are with forces they cannot control.

I think many works, regardless of the artistic quality of it, always have a meta-commentary element to it but I think this has more to do with how people cope with individual problems than it has to do with something as big and complex as population decline. Telling everyone to stop spending money on entertainment wont make them have babies

[Marcus H.]

Oh god, I know what to expect about the series and I have the choice to just avert my eyes from it.
But NOPE, I just have to end up looking for how the episode goes and has brought me into manga territory.

Sometimes, I really hate two things in me: (1) my morbid curiosity, and (2) my vivid imagination.