Highschool of the Dead (Saturday Spin-off) – Meet the Takagis
If you’re like me, there aren’t many days when you don’t think about Highschool of the Dead… There’s just so much more to find out about the characters and their journeys, but has anyone considered what happened to the Takagis?
Highschool of the Dead (Saturday Spin-off) – Meet the Takagis
What’s going on?
I’ll be the first to admit, I was struggling to come up with a topic for this week’s Saturday Spin-off. Maybe, it’s because I’m watching a lot less at the moment thanks to the whole COVID situation (I know it seems like it should be the other way around, but it’s not for me). That left me thinking back to some of my favourites and whether there was anyone who needed more time. Well, of course, Highschool of the Dead popped into my head, but I’d already done one for Rika Minami. Then it came to me.
What’s the pitch?
Yuriko Takagi had just seen her baby girl fly through the front gates in a Humvee, ploughing through the zombie horde. She leant back against her husband and enjoyed the recoil from her revolver. A zombie dropped to the ground at her feet, but there were many, many more. Soichiro grunted and then stepped into the horde swinging his sword. It didn’t seem to matter how many they cut down, more just kept coming. But, that just made the game that much more fun.
If anyone had been watching them, they would have been in awe of their fighting spirit, but absolutely terrified of the expressions. Yuriko and Soichiro were finely tuned killing machines and having just let their little girl leave the nest, there was nothing holding them back. They battled all through the night. Bloody and exhausted, they stood back to back and rested as the last of the zombie horde dropped to the ground. Yuriko looked up at their home, fire dancing through the broken windows. There was nothing left of the survivors’ camps either. It looks like they will be starting from scratch again.
Where did the inspiration come from?
All right, so it’s not much of a story yet, but this would make a killer opening episode for a spin-off series that followed Yuriko and Soichiro Takagi as they attempt to create a safe place for survivors to gather and rebuild. Soichiro may come off as a bit of a maniac, but I believe he does the right thing in these situations. Others need to see that the threat is real. We’ve seen first-hand just how lightly people will take a global pandemic, so why would a zombie apocalypse be any different? Sometimes, you need someone who will take a no-nonsense approach and tell the people to stop being idiots. The threat is real!
Other posts in the series
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 |
Other Saturday spin-off posts
- Rin and Myura (Isekai Cheat Magician)
- Valkyrie (Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious)
- Susamaru (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)
- Hinawa and Maki (Fire Force)
- The Exercise Video (How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?)
- Cain Madhouse (To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts)
- Shizuku (Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest)
- Kohaku Lost? (Dr. Stone)
- Chio’s Daily Commute (Chio’s School Road)
- The Noob! (Overlord)
- Shizu (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)
- Noir (Fruits Basket)
- Sniper of the Dead (Highschool of the Dead)
- Liu Xuelan (Darwin’s Game)
- Two Minds, One Body (The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?)
- Plundered (Plunderer)
- Japanese Mochi! (Fruits Basket)
- Pokemon NO! (Pokemon)
- Every Action! (Infinite Dendrogram)
- Hunted to the Ends! (Somali and the Forest Spirit)
- Is It Wrong to Use Sex to Try to Beat a Dungeon? (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)
- Two Blades (Jormungand)
- Regeneration (The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor)
- Samurai School for Girls (Project A-ko)
- Meet the Takagis (Highschool of the Dead)
- Far From Fantasy (High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World!)
This might be your best one yet.
And I’ve like a lot of them!
Both of these characters screamed for more screen time.
How much would it cost to acquire the rights from estate, I wonder?
Thanks, although the image of Rika running around Tokyo with an arsenal of weapons is a tough one to beat.
Now, that would be something I would be interested in. Maybe if I can build my own zombie empire, I can approach the estate at a later date to bring it all under one umbrella…
And just like that, I had a new life goal!