Manga Review 001

Zom100: Bucket List of the Dead Vol 1

Story by: Haro Aso

Art by: Kotaro Takata

I'll try to keep this and future reviews as spoiler free as possible but some things can't be avoided.

My first introduction to this manga was through a chapter preview for free comic book day that I picked up from my local comic book store. (Shout out to OffBeat)

The preview jumped into the protagonist, Akira Tendo preparing to go to his dead end job. The world is eeriely quite as he walks the familiar halls of his apartment complex to talk to his landlord about a parking fee. Suddenly the world gets flipped on its head as Tendo finds his landlord eating a fellow tenant!

You would think this development would freak Tendo out but the complete opposite happens. He feels free again after working his job for so long.

The first chapter of Zom100 does a wonderful job of setting the stage for the story to come. The slow pacing of the panels, sarcasm from the career vets while the brag about how hard they work, and Tendo's slowly developing sense of darkness towards life pulls the reader effortlessly into his changing worldview.

Kotaro Takata did a magnificent job of illustrating this manga. Each panel gives the world of Zom100 has a very lived in feel.

It's a relatable story because we've all had at least one job that we were excited about only to find that it wasn't what we imagined it to be.

Even the silver linings, in this case Tendo's cute coworker Saori Ohtori, isn't enough to completely fight off the creeping hoard of dread encroaching upon him.

By the end of the first chapter, after wasting so much time at work, Tendo decides to embark on a journey to make everyday count. Well, as much as one can make a day count during a zombie apocalypse.

Overall, I recommend this manga to anyone that loves zombie stories with hints of comedy sprinkled in. The first volume is 3.5 chapters long but totally worth it!

Leave a comment about your thoughts on this manga. If you have any recommendations on a manga I should review, leave that too.