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High School of the Dead Episode 6 Review – Quick Summary
In High School of the Dead Episode 6, “In the DEAD of the Night,” our heroes retreat to the apartment of Shizuka Marikawa’s friend Rika Minami. As the news reports there is no known cure, our heroes try to enjoy one last night of comfort. Yet even within this relatively safe space, they can’t escape the knowledge that the world around them is falling apart. Conspiracy theorists confront the police as they try to maintain order. As our heroes watch the melt down on television, their own emotions, pushed aside in the rush to get to safety, begin to resurface. Can they keep themselves together and have a hope of surviving? Or will the events of the day get to them, too?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from High School of the Dead Episode 6
Kouta knew the score. Capture from the Hulu stream.
If I had written this even a year ago, I would have chosen a different quote. This episode, like most episodes of HOTD, is packed with quotable goodness. But in this case, Kouta Hirano’s off-hand observation sounded so on-point that I had to celebrate it.
Kouta and Takashi Komuro were trying not to peep on the women-folk as they took what might be their last civilized bath. Both tacitly agreed that seeing tomorrow was a good goal, and given the demonstrated lethality from Rei Miyamoto and Saeko Busujima, it seemed prudent to let them bath in peace. After hearing a commotion in the distance, they turned on the television to see some conspiracy theorist going on about “the tyranny of the police” (09:44).
A year ago, despite how cynical I think I am, I would have told you point blank there was no way an intelligent, modern human being could look on upon a pandemic and proclaim, “Thus I see a conspiracy, and verily, it is upon us. The doctors have risen up and intend to enslave us with paper.”
I cannot believe how naive I am sometimes…
Kouta, though, was much more pragmatic, and his quote this week is my favorite.
“This is such a cliché,” he said with mild disgust (10:30). I could not have put it better if I had tried.
Though ironically, in the dub, Kouta says, “You know, this is just some government conspiracy.”
Hmmm…
Best in Show Moment for High School of the Dead Episode 6
You want to see an example of fan service supporting the plot? You won’t get that here, because this isn’t fan service. This is a moment of need, between two people, caught in the throes of a dying world. This is what despair and need and solace and hope all mashed together looks like. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Setup: Civilization is A Veneer
Your world crashes around you. The dead walk the Earth and want to nom your face. How would you react? Put another way: You spent the day barely staying alive. It took everything you had to get to a place of safety. When you arrived, you had a chance to do something mundane and natural like clean up. What effect would that have on you?
I love how this series takes questions like that seriously. It’s impossible to spend a day killing the husks that had been your friends and classmates and walk away unscathed. Our heroes, from Takashi to Saeko, reacted each according to their nature and their personalities. Takashi and Kouta busied themselves preparing the weapons, because that brought them psychological comfort. The women-folk cleaned themselves up. Is that sexist? I have no idea. But in the context of these characters, it seemed to fit.
Was it necessary that Saeko find out what Saya Takagi’s sexy voice sounded like? You know what? The answer’s yes. This is their last night of comfort. They knew that. Of course they’d need to blow off some steam. But even I”ll admit that yes, this is fan service! Capture from the Hulu stream.
Rei killed more than her share of zombies. If she wants to take a bath, I think it commendable that Takashi and Kouta do what they can to give her the space to bathe. They busied themselves getting ready for the next day, which I also found commendable. As an aside, was it sexist that Saeko decided to prepare a late-night snack? Wearing only an apron? It’s the end of the world. Isn’t it acceptable that Saeko feel sexy? You want to take her to task for it? I certainly don’t. I learned the lesson of Paris. My default response is to let a goddess have whatever a goddess wants.
Delivery: But It Is More Resilient Than You’d Think
My favorite scene best showed where our heroes were emotionally. Rei had demanded that Takashi pay attention to her. Even Saeko said he should do what she asked. “You’d better pay attention to her. At times, a girl likes to pretend to be helpless,” she said (17:07). Not sure about you, but that’s among the sexiest quotes I’ve ever heard!
So Takashi made his way to the spiral staircase where Rei waited. To make the point that she wanted his attention, she let her breasts hang over the steps. It’s the end of the world. No point in being coy. But instead of trying to engage him sexually, she went off on how he wasn’t Hisashi Igou. She went on about how Hisashi had listened to her, whereas Takashi seemed to emotionally distant. This wasn’t Rei being cruel. This was Rei trying to come to terms with everything that had happened to her since that morning. That by itself was amazing.
Rei unloaded on Takashi for being boring and not up to Hiashi’s standards. Because that was a hell of a lot easier than facing the situation they were in. Capture from the Hulu stream.
But Takashi, too, showed he wasn’t immune. He lost his temper. He told her that yeah, he knew he wasn’t as awesome as Hisashi, and he was terribly sorry for being so boring that all he could do was freaking keep her alive.
That raw exchange — both of them coming undone in front of the other, both of them not only letting down their guards, but unleashing how they really felt, convention be damned — connected them in a powerful emotional way. They basically collapsed against each other, caught somewhere between emotional exhaustion and sexual need.
It’s one of the most raw and authentic scenes I can remember witnessing in anime. And it’s in an ecchi zombie series! How cool is that?
What did you think of how quickly the situation on the bridge collapsed? What were your favorite parts of this episode? Let me know in the comments!
High School of the Dead Episode 6: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- My Anime List: Highschool of the Dead Episode 6 Discussion (Requires Login)
- Random Curiosity: HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD – 06
- EcchiHunter: Highschool of the Dead (Episode 6) – In the Dead of the Night
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- High School of the Dead Episode 1: Spring of the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 2: Escape from the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 3: Democracy under the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 4: Running in the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 5: Streets of the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 6: In the DEAD of the Night
- High School of the Dead Episode 7: Dead Night and the Dead Ruck
- High School of the Dead Episode 8: The Dead Way Home
- High School of the Dead Episode 9: The Sword and the Dead
- High School of the Dead Episode 10: The Dead’s House Rules
- High School of the Dead Episode 11: Dead Storm Rising
- High School of the Dead Episode 12: All Dead’s Attack
Late with a comment here ’cause I’m behind in my watching. We’re getting into territory where the sub and dub diverge now and then. The worst one here is when the guys get the arms safe open and one says (dub) “Who is her girlfriend, Sara f-ing Palin?” That was dated almost before the DVD shipped.
Yeah, I remember that one!
I had watched the dub first, so while I still really liked Saeko, I had a different impression of her than I did after watching the sub.
I still like the dub, but you’re right — it tried a little too hard to be topical.
I noticed that too. Listening to her tone of voice in the sub makes her feel like a much more serious person.