Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (Episode 8) – Sushi & Hot Springs of the Dead

Akira, Kencho, and Shizuka are on the road to Gunma when they encounter a refrigerator truck with a flat tire surrounded by zombies. They rushed to help, but they really didn’t need to!

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (Episode 8) – Sushi & Hot Springs of the Dead

What did you watch?

I’m all caught up with the schedule and am now watching these as they release them. Hopefully, they will be able to stick to one a week for the remainder of the season, which is hopefully not only nine episodes like the rumours that have been circulating. That said, I’m also a little concerned with the pace with which they are breezing through the books. The first volume was converted into three episodes and since then it’s been roughly two episodes per volume. If it stops at episode nine, it’s going to be fairly anti-climactic. However, to end at a good spot, they would need to squeeze two more books into three episodes. It’s going to be interesting…

What happened?

Akira was attempting to impart some knowledge of mindfulness to Shizuka and Kencho by taking them to do some stand-up paddleboard yoga. Kencho pointed out that he believed Akira was already living that lifestyle and had nothing to worry about. Back on the road, they ran into a truck with a flat tire. A horde of zombies had gathered around the outside, giving Akira the chance to put on his shark suit and fight them off. However, he had barely approached them when the door blew open and a samurai leapt out, slicing, slashing, chopping, shooting, and generally killing!

They soon learned that she was a German student who had come to Japan to immerse herself in the culture, but no sooner had she arrived when the zombie outbreak began. Beatrix was trying her best to keep that dream alive and had been in contact with a sushi chef who promised to make her sushi if she could provide fresh fish. That was what was in the truck. She begged Akira and the others to help her deliver the fish. Akira was in at the sound of all-you-can-eat sushi.

After luring a horde of zombies to their fiery demise, they delivered the fish and gave Beatrix her first taste of sushi. It was so good it brought a tear to her eyes. Back on the road to Gunma, they were experiencing a heatwave and since no one had bathed in a while things were getting stinky! Luckily, they came across a hot spring town and hurried to find a pool to bathe in. They found one and were about to be forced to share until zombies emerged from beneath the water chasing them into the mountains. Now, they have to wait for the zombies to go!

---

What did you think?

I love Beatrix and not just because she is the strong woman with a sword archetype the is always a natural favourite of mine. With all the issues this series has had I was worried that we wouldn’t get to the point where Beatrix joined the team or that we wouldn’t see that much of her. Hopefully, we’re not looking at one more episode before it’s called a day because things are just about to get really good. This was a fun episode but it also felt a little rushed. It covered most of volume four and the part that’s left doesn’t feel like enough for episode nine on its own so an entire book has probably been converted into one and a half episodes. That feels a little disrespectful to the series as a whole.

---

What was your favourite moment?

It’s everyone’s faces when Beatrix bursts out of that truck in full samurai armour and armed to the teeth. She massacred those zombies and left them absolutely flabbergasted. I don’t use that word often, but if ever there was a time for it, this was it. It’s even better when they discover that she’s a nineteen-year-old German girl with an obsession with Japan. On top of that, I loved the way Shizuka was like a war general overseeing their plans to eradicate the zombies stopping them from delivering the fresh fish to the sushi restaurant. This was undoubtedly a fun episode.

Who was the most impactful character?

There can be only one answer to this section and that is Beatrix Amerhauser. Her addition to the group has a lot of significance and is what I believe to be a masterstroke in storytelling, but I’ll get to that later. For now, she made an instant impact on the group and even managed to make Shizuka look silly as she dropped her wealth of Japanese knowledge on them. Her fighting ability is not to be laughed at either. While Akira is a good fighter, there’s only so much damage you can do to a zombie with hand-to-hand combat. A samurai sword is a far more efficient weapon, not to mention the naginata (the long pole with a curved blade at the end) that she uses as it keeps the zombies at a distance too.

Was there any conflict?

There was surprisingly little conflict in this episode and given that a new member joined the group that was kind of surprising. The best I can come up with her was Shizuka attempting to hold onto her past self. She lashed out at Akira when he mentioned love and how she must be disappointed to be in a hot springs town with them. Later on, when Akira bumped into her in the natural hot spring in the mountains, she apologised and even spoke freely which was odd for her.

Akira noticed and told her that she what she was doing. She replied by saying that she hoped she would fall for someone whom she could speak openly with like this. It took a second before they both realised what she said. Did she inadvertently realise that she likes Akira? Does Akira think that Shizuka likes him? We may never know because in the spirit of konyoko Kencho and Beatrix arrived, stripped, and jumped in!

What have you learnt?

I feel like I keep talking about connections and well, I’m going to do it again. Before Beatrix joined the group, we potentially had a problem. There was a boy, a girl, and a best friend. That could get awkward, especially at the end of the world when people are limited. So, the author introduced Beatrix, however, she’s not just been introduced to be the companion of the best friend. She has the traits of all of the characters. She’s just like Akira with her impulsive decision to do these things that might make no sense to anyone else. She’s just like Kencho in her ability to strip at the drop of a hat. And finally, she’s like Shizuka in that… Well, she’s not like Shizuka, but she seems to have earned her respect for the use of practical armour in the apocalypse. By doing this, she has instantly been assimilated into the group. What’s better, by being a foreigner she makes the group more exotic to the Japanese audience and gives the rest of the world a way in. She’s making connections everywhere and all of them make the story stronger.

---

Other posts in the series

• Manga
  • Volume 1 – Akira of the Dead
  • Volume 2 – Flight Attendant of the Dead
  • Volume 3 – Truck Stop of the Dead
  • Volume 4 – Hot Springs of the Dead
  • Volume 5 – Hometown of the Dead
  • Volume 6 – Hometown of the Dead Part 2
  • Volume 7 – Suite of the Dead
  • Volume 8 – Boredom of the Dead
  • Volume 9 – Millionaire of the Dead
  • Volume 10 – Geisha of the Dead
  • Volume 11 – Cruise Ship of the Dead
  • Volume 12 – Deserted Island of the Dead
  • Volume 13 – Airsoft of the Dead
• Anime
  • Season One
    • Episode 1 – Akira of the Dead
    • Episode 2 – Bucket List of the Dead
    • Episode 3 – Best Friend of the Dead
    • Episode 4 – Flight Attendant of the Dead
    • Episode 5 – Hero of the Dead
    • Episode 6 – RV of the Dead
    • Episode 7 – Truck Stop of the Dead
    • Episode 8 – Sushi & Hot Springs of the Dead
    • Episode 9 – Treehouse of the Dead
    • Episode 10 – Hometown of the Dead I
    • Episode 11 – Hometown of the Dead II
    • Episode 12 – Hometown of the Dead III

You might also like…

---