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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2 – Quick Summary
In Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead episode 2, “Bucket List of the Dead,” Akira awoke from a nightmare – his boss had been screaming at him to come to work with a one hundred degree fever! He awoke to a less terrifying reality where zombies had merely overrun the Earth. Planning to spend the day kicking back and drinking beer, he made a terrifying discover: he was out of beer! Did he dare venture out to find more? If he didn’t, what was the point of not going to work? And just how many kinds of zombies will he have to get through if he decides to leave?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2
Well, at least Akira’s words helped her classify him as “Mostly harmless.” Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Apparently, small talk is still a thing in the zombie apocalypse. At least, it is for Akira. He went on a beer run after promising to get “the two-ply kind” (07:08) of toilet paper for his downstairs neighbors.
It might be the zombie apocalypse, but comfort is still important.
He made it to the convenience store after several harrowing encounters. When he arrived, he discovered he wasn’t alone. A woman was there, dressed in athletic garb, filling her basket with mundane supplies like water, batteries, and the like.
She regarded him with a neutral expression. Remembering how using the downspout as a ladder had startled his neighbors, he said (08:51), “It’s hard to get out with all these zombies around, isn’t it?”
I can tell the dude hadn’t gotten out for three years. That’s not the best opening line I’ve ever heard! On the plus side, his lame attempt at making small talk helped the woman classify him as harmless. That’s probably an important consideration in the zombie apocalypse.
Favorite Moment from Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2
Freed from his bondage, Akira struggled to articulate what was important to himself. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: When Work Become Life…
The opening joke – Akira waking up screaming from a dream of work, and him feeling comforted that he awoke in a world overrun by zombies – set the tone. Three years of crippling abuse left Akira a desiccated mental husk.
I liked the beginning, but I hoped that it wasn’t going to become a one-note theme. If you’ve been around for more than a couple of decades, then you know the harms that our civilization can visit upon us. Some of you probably know much sooner than that. And most likely, you’re in one of three camps: those who accept it and work themselves to death because they have no options; those who oppose it and agitate for change; or those who support it.
Though come to think of it, you could be in multiple groups, with or without your consent or knowledge. Capitalism is very, very good at providing incentives. Not everyone internalizes those incentives for good.
Capitalism might have produced goods like her hoodie. But that doesn’t mean it’s all benevolent. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Okay, “not everyone” probably understates the level of greed and malice. But before this descends into an anti-capitalist rant (and I’m not even anti-capitalist!), let me set up my favorite moment.
Akira’s job had so pummeled him that the first thing he wanted to do was nothing. He hadn’t had a day off in forever. He just wanted to kick back, drink beer, and do nothing. Can’t say that I blame him. That likes like a decent day.
On the way home from his beer run, he discovered the neighbors, who he had just met, had been attacked and killed. Talk about harshing his buzz! But it forced Akira to reflect. He decided that in addition to drinking beer, he would fill our his bucket list.
Delivery: …Then Life is Diminished to Mere Work
He started out strong. In fact, he already finished number 1: confessing his feelings to the woman he loved. He did that at the end of the previous episode. Numbers two, three, and four likewise represented successes: cleaning his room, loafing around and drinking beer all day, and riding a motorcycle.
He struggled to add more. By the end, even including things like trying out dreadlocks, he found he only had 30 things. His life had brought him to the point where, faced with all the freedom he could want, he could only think of 30 things he wanted to do.
He faltered. And the day caught up with him.
Seeing that his new acquaintances had been overcome brought home the reality in a way the mass apocalypse did not. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Zombies overrunning the world freed him from corporate bondage, so he could only see it as a positive thing. Meeting neighbors he didn’t know he had, then finding them murdered, took the shine off that interpretation. With the frivolities out of the way, Akira could ask himself what he really wanted to do. Now, he wrote that he wanted to spend more time with his mom and dad (15:20).
Isn’t that just the way of it? Our lives pound us so hard that even our dreams are diminished. It took more than the zombie apocalypse to shock Akira out of that stupor. Worst of all? Now that he’s thinking clearly again, it might be too late. His job almost killed him. It might turn out to have prevented him from doing what he most wanted to do with his life. Hits a bit close to home, doesn’t it?
What did you think of Shizuka Mikazuki’s list, “100 Things to Do to Avoid Becoming a Zombie?” What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 2: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto • Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead – Episode 2 discussion
- DOUBLESAMA: ZOM 100: BUCKET LIST OF THE DEAD EPISODE 2
- I Drink and Watch Anime: ZOM 100 – Episode 2
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 01: Akira of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 02: Bucket List of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 03: Best Friend of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 04: Flight Attendant of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 05: Hero of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 06: RV of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 07: Truck Stop of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 08: Sushi & Hot Springs of the Dead
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Episode 09: Treehouse of the Dead
The end of the world left Akira so free that, for a time, he could do nothing but soar in the very highest of heavens. In his previous state, he was dead while still living, another type of zombie, and he saw nothing of the world around him anymore. Now alive again, now awakened, his vision was nothing but sunshine. That’s why meeting his neighbors actually mattered to him, and why their deaths mattered to him. It brought him back down to Earth, to ground level, to the practicalities of reality. He needed that, or he’d have just kept going as he was for who knows how long.
As for Shizuka, she is the opposite of Akira’s current state. She hasn’t been freed from anything, so she’s entirely practical in her mindset, with the goal of survival, while Akira’s goal is to experience some joy before he dies. She plans things carefully and acts rationally, while Akira excels at adapting on the fly. He needs her to keep him grounded and thinking, while she needs him to help her enjoy whatever life they have left. The stress of survival mode, of careful control of oneself, could kill her just as much as any zombie.
I think you nailed it.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how those two interact!