You can make something so overused feel interesting.
If the premise of the story is a zombie apocalypse, we expect misery, action, characters facing hard choices that may cost them — or their loved ones — lives. This setting lets the author explore the darkest parts of humanity, forces the characters to deal with things that they won't ever have to think of in their normal lives, and provides some interesting moral dilemmas that the readers and viewers will ruminate over before going to bed. But even this setting can be executed in a very interesting way — if you add something to it.
We've got a list of five zombie-related works that twist the concept a little bit and add a unique flair to the despair that usually follows these stories.
The anime series released this season swooped a lot of people off their feet with its fluid animation and anti-capitalistic stance, filled with mockery of the working conditions of the animators. Akira, the main character of the story, is burnt out at his job, but his mental state is saved by the zombie apocalypse — because now he doesn't have to go to work! He feels so free without the chains of capitalism and creates a bucket list of 100 things he wants to do before he dies. It's a comedy filled with fun action scenes and painfully relatable characters, but it doesn't paint the zombie apocalypse as something awful — it's just another opportunity for those who stayed alive.
Sankarea — manga, anime
Zombie romance, anyone? Chihiro Furuya wanted to have a zombie girlfriend since he was a child (we're not here to kinkshame). Due to some events, he invents a resurrection potion and meets the girl, Rea Sanka, who's very unsatisfied with her life. Instead of dying and ending it once and for all, though, she ends up being resurrected as a zombie — and this story follows Chihiro learning how to deal with the weird craving of his zombie girlfriend. Sure, it's not the apocalypse, but an interesting take on zombies nonetheless.
School-Live! (Gakkougurashi!) — manga, anime
Cute girls doing cute things — but outside their school, the world is drowning with zombies. This contrast between their vibrant school life and the doomed outside world is what makes this story feel unique and fresh. There's also a hint of the narrator being pretty unreliable, which leaves you wondering what exactly is happening around the characters.
The Walking Cat: A Cat's-Eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse — manga
How about showing the zombie apocalypse from the cat's point of view? Surely it feels like a fresh take on the series: humans are the companions of our cute snow-white furry protagonist. This is a short manga, only 40 chapters in three volumes, but it's enough to make you tear up. The change in perspective adds more depth to the stories of humans that our kitty friend contacts, and the impact of the collapsing civilization hits much harder than in regular zombie stories.
Magical Girl Apocalypse (Mahou Shoujo of the End) — manga
Mahou shoujo and zombies? Yes, please! It's more of a horror story, though, focusing on the regular aspects of dread that follow the zombie setting, but the plot is filled with twists, magical girls seem to not really be saving the world but instead plunging it into more chaos, and characters behave in unconventional ways. The good thing is that it's a finished story that's only 64 chapters long.
You can make something so overused feel interesting.
If the premise of the story is a zombie apocalypse, we expect misery, action, characters facing hard choices that may cost them — or their loved ones — lives. This setting lets the author explore the darkest parts of humanity, forces the characters to deal with things that they won't ever have to think of in their normal lives, and provides some interesting moral dilemmas that the readers and viewers will ruminate over before going to bed. But even this setting can be executed in a very interesting way — if you add something to it.
We've got a list of five zombie-related works that twist the concept a little bit and add a unique flair to the despair that usually follows these stories.
The anime series released this season swooped a lot of people off their feet with its fluid animation and anti-capitalistic stance, filled with mockery of the working conditions of the animators. Akira, the main character of the story, is burnt out at his job, but his mental state is saved by the zombie apocalypse — because now he doesn't have to go to work! He feels so free without the chains of capitalism and creates a bucket list of 100 things he wants to do before he dies. It's a comedy filled with fun action scenes and painfully relatable characters, but it doesn't paint the zombie apocalypse as something awful — it's just another opportunity for those who stayed alive.
Sankarea — manga, anime
Zombie romance, anyone? Chihiro Furuya wanted to have a zombie girlfriend since he was a child (we're not here to kinkshame). Due to some events, he invents a resurrection potion and meets the girl, Rea Sanka, who's very unsatisfied with her life. Instead of dying and ending it once and for all, though, she ends up being resurrected as a zombie — and this story follows Chihiro learning how to deal with the weird craving of his zombie girlfriend. Sure, it's not the apocalypse, but an interesting take on zombies nonetheless.
School-Live! (Gakkougurashi!) — manga, anime
Cute girls doing cute things — but outside their school, the world is drowning with zombies. This contrast between their vibrant school life and the doomed outside world is what makes this story feel unique and fresh. There's also a hint of the narrator being pretty unreliable, which leaves you wondering what exactly is happening around the characters.
The Walking Cat: A Cat's-Eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse — manga
How about showing the zombie apocalypse from the cat's point of view? Surely it feels like a fresh take on the series: humans are the companions of our cute snow-white furry protagonist. This is a short manga, only 40 chapters in three volumes, but it's enough to make you tear up. The change in perspective adds more depth to the stories of humans that our kitty friend contacts, and the impact of the collapsing civilization hits much harder than in regular zombie stories.
Magical Girl Apocalypse (Mahou Shoujo of the End) — manga
Mahou shoujo and zombies? Yes, please! It's more of a horror story, though, focusing on the regular aspects of dread that follow the zombie setting, but the plot is filled with twists, magical girls seem to not really be saving the world but instead plunging it into more chaos, and characters behave in unconventional ways. The good thing is that it's a finished story that's only 64 chapters long.
