Gakko Gurashi (School Live)

Really surprised this didn't already have it's own thread.

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(Note the below description from ANN contains huge spoilers for the first episode)

Four girls decide to stay over at school: the energetic Yuki Takeya, the shovel-loving Kurumi, the center of the group Yūri who brings everyone together, and the spacey school adviser Megu. However, through mysterious circumstances, the girls find themselves the final survivors in a zombie attack, and continue to live at the school.

Genres: comedy, drama, horror, mystery, psychological, supernatural
HorribleSubs Gakkou Gurashi! - 01 [720p].mkv
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I honestly thought this show was going to be held back by the art-style being too cutesy, but the story it has to tell and the curve balls that it keeps throwing you (even though they hint to most of them throughout the episodes) are really quite awesome.

Even having read the manga and knowing what was going to happen, I found the pacing extremely slow, especially for the first episode.

I would encourage people to watch the first episode without reading any spoilers, and then just go from there if you like the characters.

Sadly, I know that I wouldn't have made it through the first episode if I hadn't read a synopsis beforehand. It felt like the most boring slice of life of the season until the 'twist' at the end. So far, I'm sort of enjoying this (and haven't dropped it yet), but this show- as a fan of the 'zombie survival' genre-, this is THE MOST FRUSTRATING thing I've ever watched. I dislike Yuki in an annoyed, pitying way and am highly discomforted by Yuri's insistence on keeping her in the dark about how dysfunctional she is. At Ep 6, I could feel the heat of rage on my own face when Yuri got angry at Miki for wanting to work on Yuki's delusions.

This tells me two things:

1. I am invested in the characters and their survival, which is a credit to the show thus far, and

2. I am not a very sympathetic person when it comes to the zombie apocalypse. I feel like everyone should pull their weight (my utilitarian side) and that Yuki is a huge liability.

Worth a watch if you enjoy slice of life and zombies.

Yuki does pull her weight, though. Just in a very different kind of way.
Without her, most likely the other two would have gone crazy.
She is just as important as Kurumi's shovel or Yuri's management/motherly skills.

As far as they know, they're the last living people in the city/country. Yuki helps them find something to live for when there's nothing left in the world. It is the reason they can decide to just live at the school instead of trying to leave and find surviving civilization, if there is any.

Hoo-boy, that is a stretch for me. I may have physically drooped when Miki started believing that Yuki's cheerful attitude had tangible benefits. I suppose her adventure senses did get Miki out of that mall, at least. Even so I don't think her personality has to be tied to her delusion and that the risks that kind of behavior bring are more dangerous than the psychological relief gained from her tom-foolery justifies. Of all the genres of fiction, zombie survival is the one where I will most be 'that guy' who angrily picks apart plot elements that lead to fictional characters' demises and scrutinize them as if it mattered.

Yuki is the only reason they're not just super depressed at the end of the world.
I think it is way more of a stretch for high schoolers to sensibly be surviving like they are without going a little crazy.

Like, Miki's friend left their safe haven because they didn't have someone like Yuki.

I'm not saying it is a good thing that Yuki is kind of crazy, but it certainly helps to have a cheerful person so you don't just give up since there isn't anything to live for.

Easily my favorite of the season. I think it's funny before summer season started, everyone thought this was going to be your typical slice of life. NOPE. I loved the contradictions between Yukis delusions and what was actually going on and I especially loved when the show became darker with each episode to show her gradual awakening.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MasterOfMoogles

I would encourage people to watch the first episode without reading any spoilers, and then just go from there if you like the characters.

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So much this.