Highschool of the Dead (Episode 7) – Dead Night and the Dead Ruck
How do you choose who to save and who to leave behind? Painfully aware that they can’t help everyone, they are left watching the horrors unfold in the street below them. Then something happens that reminds them they’re still human!
Highschool of the Dead (Episode 7) – Dead Night and the Dead Ruck
What did you watch?
When I think of Highschool of the Dead, many of the things that spring to mind take place in this episode. I think it’s safe to say that one of the two legendary moments that every anime fan is aware of happens in episode seven. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it, and you will see it. There’s no way I can review this episode without talking about it! You already know, don’t you? Anyhow, let’s get it on!
What happened?
Shizuka and Saya were still sleeping, Rei was waiting on the stairs for Takashi to return, while Saeko was still preparing their food. Up on the balcony, Kouta and Takashi watched as the zombies flooded back from the bridge, filling the streets below them. Takashi wanted to help the survivors, but what could they do? They’d already had a bad experience in allowing one group to join them. Saeko came up to see what was going on and quickly reminded Takashi that they simply couldn’t save everyone. It just wasn’t possible. They saw how the police had it on the bridge and they were trained for this sort of thing. What could five high schoolers and the school doctor do?
Takashi was disappointed in Saeko’s bluntness, however, she reassured him that she didn’t like it, but it was an unfortunate fact. He returned to Kouta and watched as people fought for their lives far below as they sat in relative safety. It was a massacre with the zombies closing in around the living and then ripping them to shreds. After a while, he’d seen enough and handed the binoculars to Kouta to keep watch. However, Kouta had spotted something that he couldn’t look away from. He saw a man and a little girl desperately searching for somewhere safe to hide.
The father led her to a house that had all of its lights on and begged that they let them in. He didn’t even care about himself as long as they took his daughter in. Someone inside told him to go away. Desperate, he threatened to break the door down. Someone told him to stop and that they were opening the door. He smiled as the door opened. Then, a knife on a stick shot through the gap and stabbed him in the chest. The bewildered man inside, surrounded by his family apologised and begged for forgiveness as the door swung shut.
The man fell back, knocking open the gates as he tumbled to the floor. The little girl ran to her father’s side, tears gathering in her eyes. His shirt was already red with blood. He held her hands and told her to hide. She cried, telling him she didn’t want to leave him. The zombies heard her and staggered in their direction. She gripped her father’s lifeless body as the first zombie approached. It stumbled towards her, teeth already chomping at the air in anticipation. There was a bang and the zombie dropped to the ground. Then another and another, Zombies dropping all around her.
Kouta told Takashi that there was a little girl and that he needed to save her. He would provide covering fire. Takashi raced inside and told Rei and Saeko what was happening. He was going to ride the bike there, avoiding the zombies while Kouta picked them off. Rei gave him the revolver to keep him safe. Takashi jumped on the bike and prepared to leave. Once Saeko and Rei had opened the gate, he was off, zipping between zombies as bullets flew beside him. He reached the garden where the little girl was. His bike skidded on one of the zombie corpses, sending him flying.
He jumped to his feet and found himself in a dilemma. Several zombies had closed in around the girl and many more were coming to the gate. If he didn’t close it, they would all get in, but that would leave the others to attack the girl. Luckily, Kouta saw it too and took out several more zombies with the sniper rifle. Takashi closed the gate and rushed to comfort the little girl. He told her that her father had been a hero, dying to protect her as he placed a shirt over his body and gave her a flower to place on his body. Then, he told her that they needed to be very quiet in order to not attract more. However, they also needed to find a way out and the only one available was to climb the garden walls… very, very quietly.
Meanwhile, Saya and Shizuka had gotten up and come to see what was going on. Rei told them what Takashi was doing. However, when they looked down the alley, it became clear that he wouldn’t be able to get back that way. They needed to get to him so they loaded all of their supplies in Rika’s Humvee and prepared to come to his aid. Kouta saw what Takashi was doing from the balcony before hurrying down. The Humvee roared into life as Shizuka pulled into the alleyway. She sped along, crashing through zombies before skidding to a halt at the end of the wall.
Saeko, who had been standing on top of the Humvee in nothing but an apron and her panties, leapt into the air as the Humvee stopped and attacked the zombies in the area. Takashi, who was carrying Alice on his back and Zeke, a small dog who was trying to protect Alice from the zombies, tucked into his sweater took a couple of long strides and then leapt onto the top of the Humvee. Kouta cleared the way with the shotgun before Saeko jumped back on. Shizuka pulled away, leaving the crowded alleyway behind. They saved the girl and got away unharmed. Now, they just need to find a way across the river!
What did you think?
Well, that was just incredible. I love the way this episode showed us that they hadn’t completely lost their humanity yet. It made sense that they would be guarded about helping survivors after the crap they had to put up with Shidou and his group, and also the fact that they just couldn’t physically help everyone. Of course, it also showed us how people who are taking that approach might end up. I can absolutely see people defending their homes from the living and the dead in a situation like this. Did they need to stab Alice’s father? Absolutely not, but at the same time, they weren’t in a position to help everyone either. That said, they were definitely in the wrong, but that was the point. It gave our group a chance to prove to themselves that they were still good people. I absolutely love this show.
What was your favourite moment?
Like you have to ask! The rescue was just amazing. I love everything from the moment that Kouta starts shooting to the moment that Takashi jumps onto the Humvee from the wall. You can feel the relief and excitement in all of the characters’ voices as they go to save Alice. The VAs did a fantastic job of conveying the emotions of the scene. Of course, the absolute pinnacle of this entire scene was Saeko standing on top of the Humvee. I doubt that this series was the origins of a girl wearing just an apron, but there can be no doubt that a girl wearing an apron, standing on top of a Humvee first happened here. I love it. It’s completely insane and makes almost no sense, but it’s easily one of my favourite moments in the entire series.
Who was the most impactful character?
It had to be Takashi again. While Kouta was the one to begin the process, Takashi was the one who put himself in danger by riding into the horde to save Alice. That alone took a lot of guts, but that was nothing compared to the way they got out of there. Creeping along the top of the garden wall while a horde of zombies staggered around below them. If they had fallen, they wouldn’t have hit the floor there were so many of them. I also loved how sensitive he was with Alice and gave her the chance to thank her father for his sacrifice and to say goodbye. He is, without a doubt, the chivalrous knight of the series.
What have you learned?
One thing this series does really well is it puts forth an idea and shows us how it would be normal for the characters to come to that conclusion. It’ll even back it up with some solid references. Then, it shows us the flip side of that and how it might not be the best idea. We saw it in this episode where they decided that they needed to look after themselves over all others. We saw another household doing just that and instantly became the villains. That gave Takashi and the others the chance to reevaluate their original position. In a world like this, the line between what is right and what is wrong quickly gets blurred. You can make the right choice in one situation and get yourself killed. The wrong choice might be easier to make, but will you be able to live with the consequences? That’s what makes these sorts of stories so interesting, especially when you see how the characters react to certain situations and can then consider if you would have made the same choice.
Series Information
| English Title | Highschool of the Dead |
| Japanese Title | Gakuen Mokushiroku: Haisukūru obu za Deddo |
| Genres | Action, Apocalyptic, Ecchi, Harem, Horror, Supernatural, Zombies |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
OVA
| Title | Drifters of the Dead |
| Released | Spring 2011 |
| Animation Studios | Madhouse |
Bonus Posts
| Analysis | Introduction – A Killer Opening! |
| Saturday Spinoff | Sniper of the Dead |
| Saturday Spinoff | Meet the Takagis |
| Fan Fiction | Isekai of the Dead |
Nice apron :3
It’s a classic look!