Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Only a Japanese could worry about getting late at work while a horde of feral zombies are chasing them! Based on the manga series by Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata, “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” (original title – Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto) is a movie directed by Yûsuke Ishida and stars Eiji Akaso as protagonist Akira Tendo. The story follows Akira as he finally starts to live his life in the face of a zombie apocalypse.
The film begins with a hilarious scene of Akira being pursued by bloodied zombies through his apartment just as he was making his way to work. It takes him a minute to realize he probably doesn’t have to go to the office anymore. While the zombies are still growling for him from behind a fence, he squeals with joy about being a free man. The next thing he does is make a list of 100 things he wants to do before he becomes a zombie. Viewers follow Akira’s adventures as he attempts to rescue people, reunite with his best friend Kencho (Shuntarô Yanagi), and revel in the little activities he couldn’t do before as an office employee.
“Zom 100” has a fun and comedic first half, and the cinematography is well-lit and bright, offering a great juxtaposition against the ghastly zombies that keep marring the scenery each time they appear on screen. Akira, as a former Rugby pro, surprisingly navigates through the undead with ease, thanks to his physical abilities. Eiji Akaso is sunnily charming as the optimistic Akira, whose spirit was crushed by office life but is reinvigorated as social order collapses due to the deadly Zombie outbreak. Fans of Eiji Akaso will be reminded of his role from the hit show “Cherry Magic” as they witness Akira’s hard-working employee side. The second half of the movie gives him some Kamen Rider-like heroic moments, complete with a shiny costume!
Shuntarô Yanagi is entertaining as Akira’s easy-going friend Kencho, who, despite their differences, is ridiculously supportive of Akira’s end-of-the-world bucket list. The boys define friendship goals. Mai Shiraishi portrays the serious stranger, Shizuka, who cannot stand the men’s casual attitude given the dire circumstances. The characters experience comedic situations as in the manga, but the movie surprisingly shifts towards a slightly darker and more dystopian atmosphere as the plot progresses. Unfortunately, the pace slows down in the last 45 minutes, making the 2-hour runtime a little tedious. It begins feel like two separate films, although the climax brings back some of the exaggerated comedic elements from the first half.
This adaptation serves as a subtle but scathing critique of Japan’s problematic work culture, where employees are often expected to work overtime and heavily exploited. Akira realizes that he was essentially living like a zombie at work, on the verge of suicide, but little did he know that it would take a bloody catastrophic pandemic for some people to finally start living the life they always hoped for. In comparison, the zombies in the movie seem to be far more amenable than the horrible bosses who wreck employees’ mental health and subject them to trauma for a lifetime. Overall, “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” is a refreshing change from the usual ‘Walking Dead’ inspired survival content.
It’s a 7 on 10 from me. Stream Zom 100 on Netflix.
