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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (Japanese: ゾン100 ～ゾンビになるまでにしたい100のこと～, Hepburn: Zon 100 ~ Zonbi ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto ~, "Zom 100: 100 Things I Want to do Before I Become a Zombie") is a Japanese manga series written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X since October 2018, with its chapters collected in 15 tankōbon volumes as of September 2023. The series is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Bug Films aired from July to December 2023. It is licensed by Viz Media outside of Asia and by Muse Communication for Asia-Pacific. A live-action film adaptation premiered on Netflix in August 2023.
Plot[edit]
Akira Tendo, a 24-year-old office worker of ZLM, discovers himself trapped in a routine and meaningless life. He lacks drive and motivation since he is disenchanted with his career; however, when a zombie apocalypse unexpectedly strikes Tokyo, everything is turned upside down. Instead of succumbing to dread, Akira sees this as an opportunity to experience life to the fullest rather than settle for his humdrum existence. He decides to create a bucket list of everything he wants to do before dying in order to not only experience it firsthand but also to show that he is still alive and well. This decision is made with a newfound sense of purpose.
With the happy company of his friend, Kencho, Akira embarks on a number of exciting and frequently bizarre excursions throughout zombie-infested Japan. Their pranks range from simple pleasures like eating at expensive restaurants for free to more extravagant pursuits like going on roller coasters and visiting haunted houses. Akira and Kencho come across other survivors who have their own motivations for surviving as they make their way across the country and its swarms of flesh-eating zombies. Along the journey, they forge odd alliances, face their own anxieties, and learn the importance of friendship and the human spirit's ability to persevere in the face of difficulty.
Characters[edit]
- Akira Tendo (天道 輝, Tendō Akira)
- Voiced by: Shūichirō Umeda[3] (Japanese); Zeno Robinson[4] (English)
- Portrayed by: Eiji Akaso[5]
- Shizuka Mikazuki (三日月 閑, Mikazuki Shizuka)
- Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki[6] (Japanese); Abby Trott[4] (English)
- Portrayed by: Mai Shiraishi[7]
- Kenichiro Ryuzaki (竜崎 憲一朗, Ryūzaki Ken'ichirō) / Kencho (ケンチョ)
- Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa[8] (Japanese); Xander Mobus[4] (English)
- Portrayed by: Shuntarō Yanagi[7]
- Beatrix Amerhauser (ベアトリクス・アメルハウザー, Beatorikusu Ameruhauzā) / Bea (ベア)
- Voiced by: Minami Takahashi[8] (Japanese); Laura Post[4] (English)
- Gonzou Kosugi (小杉 権蔵, Kosugi Gonzō)
- Voiced by: Kenta MiyakeEp. 1 credits (Japanese); Jamieson Price[9] (English)
- Portrayed by: Kazuki Kitamura[7]
Production[edit]
Haro Aso, the author of the series, commented that the handling of the zombie genre as entertainment has been overused in several types of media. Aso was planning a new work when he came up with the idea of "let's do a zombie one". So, Aso came up with the idea of a protagonist who can see zombies as something fun, thinking that real people might be more disgusting than zombies, and "It would be interesting to mix zombies and company beasts." He has come up with the idea of having company animals as the main characters.[10] However, he was impressed after watching the 2018 Japanese film One Cut of the Dead. Aso was amazed by the take a "heartwarming zombie comedy" by Shin'ichirō Ueda. Though the manga predated the film, Aso enjoyed One Cut of the Dead while adding that he wrote the manga without being conscious of the international market. Aso originally preferred Western movies over domestic ones, leading to his manga being more influenced by the former. In order to stand out as a manga author, he wanted to make a commentary about Japanese society in order to tell the audience to laugh, something different from previous zombie works. The style is described as "a little offbeat, a little silly". While telling a ridiculous story, his message was telling the readers to do whatever they want like his characters do.[11]
Aso, who had no experience working in a company, interviewed his friend, an office worker. While drinking on the weekend and taking notes on his friend's complaints, Aso thought to himself, "Wouldn't zombies be better if this were the case?" From that story, he envisioned the main character, Akira, who puts off everything he wants to do and devotes himself to his work at the company. Then, he threw Akira into Zombie World, and this work was produced.[10]
Artist Kotaro Takata said that the theme of zombies was something he always wanted to work on, with some of his favorite works in the horror genre being Zombieland and Z Nation.[12] Aso and Takada, who is in charge of the animation, were "originally private friends who often went camping together." According to Aso, Takada said things like "When this series is over, I'm going to go back to my parents' house and start farming and hunting," as if he "always wanted to escape from reality." When Aso was thinking about the story, Takada came to mind, and he called him and asked, "What are you doing now? Do you want to go hunting?" and asked him, "Would you like to create a work together?". Therefore, Takada "accepted the project with two replies," and Takada was in charge of the illustrations.[10]