There are many things Akira has overcome while a raging zombie apocalypse is ongoing — but along the way he’s reunited with Kencho and has made a new friend in Shizuka. But as he crosses off what he’s put on his list, the nagging thought of seeing his parents was something he definitely wanted to do, and giving back to them is something he feels he has to do. So after dealing with his former boss, Akira and crew head to Gunma, where they’re all smiles and high energy, until they meet some zombies on the road. Welp, time to put on the superhero suit and defeat them before they get to the person inside the truck.
*one blonde foreign woman wearing samurai armor coming out of nowhere to slice zombies willy nilly appears*
Ok, time to put on the superhero suit and watch the carnage instead!
Volume 4 of Zom 100 introduces us to Beatrix, whom you will either have a love or hate relationship with immediately since after her violent introduction, she explains she’s a big fan of Japan — Nippon — and the reason she came from Germany to Japan was to experience Japanese culture. This is a fairly common trope in manga, but I will admit it feels like it’s been a while since for a good amount of pages I got weirdly annoyed whenever she started talking, with lines like “Ja! Nippon’s culture iz so vunderful!” or bringing up additional Japanese history. It’s probably because she introduced herself just absolutely mauling zombies, so the juxtaposition of what first took place and then how she actually is was jarring.
But in any case, the original three now have another comrade since the mere mention of sushi — an item on Akira’s list — gets rid of any potential motives and just gets them to venture to a sushi restaurant. Kencho being naked might’ve been a key factor in any zombies the crew had to take down. The rest of volume 4 is essentially them crossing off whatever’s on Akira’s list as they head to Gunma. Hot springs? Yes, but despite the possibility of seeing Shizuka and Beatrix naked in the springs, Akira’s brain just processes hot springs. (Kencho has different ideas.) A treehouse? Yes, somehow along the way this madman ends up building a treehouse — zombies may or may not have sped up the process at one point!
And then after all of that and crossing over dangerous ledges and a bridge later, they finally reach Gunma! Which is where an antagonist is introduced!?!
So as Akira attempts to do something good for his parents and the rest of the crew integrate themselves into the small village in volume 5, we end up being introduced to a former NEET, Kanta. He and a couple others ended up in the village some time ago to escape the city of zombies, as the place in Gunma has been able to avoid zombie infiltration after sealing off the tunnel. But guess what Kanta and some of these sociality-struggling jerks he befriended do? Well, you can guess what then happens to the small village after that! Now our four — alongside family and friends — have to fight to survive, because someone had their own bucket list.
And on it was to “fuck up society.”
Is there a backstory between Kanta and Akira that led up to this? Sure, but it’s all in Kanta just deciding Akira was too happy back in school. That everyone else shouldn’t be having the time of their lives. So essentially, he’s designed to be unlikable, but it basically shows Akira just who he’ll be running into — someone with their own messed-up version of the bucket list. And whether this makes it all worth it, even despite a zombie apocalypse occurring.
But yeah, Zom 100 has always mixed its humor with some seriousness, but volume 5, after building up a few characters, gets deadly serious with home and family involved (though yes, Kencho does find himself naked again but it actually saves him). And now Akira’s gotta make a choice, and whatever choice he makes, he’ll have to accept it for better or worse. And yes, with how everything’s been drawn and how we’ve been following these characters, definitely have to find out what happens next.