Guilty Pleasure No. 89: Highschool of the Dead (dir. by Tetsurō Araki)

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Arleigh

Highschool of the Dead is that wild, over-the-top anime that combines your typical zombie apocalypse survival story with a heavy dose of ecchi fanservice and ridiculous fun. The 12-episode series bursts onto the scene with a gang of Japanese high school students trying to stay alive during a sudden zombie outbreak. The show doesn’t waste time explaining how the zombies came to be — it just tosses you straight into the chaos, and honestly, that’s part of the charm.

The main crew is pretty memorable: Takashi Komuro, the guy reluctantly trying to keep everyone alive while having a crush on Rei Miyamoto; Saeko Busujima, the super cool and mysteriously dark girl who quickly became a fan favorite (and cosplay icon); Saya Takagi, the sharp-witted brainiac; Kohta Hirano, a gun-loving otaku; Shizuka Marikawa, the very adult yet hilariously ditzy school nurse; and little Arisu Marikawa with her adorable, zombie-alert puppy Zeke. This group quickly becomes your ragtag team of survivalists… and eye candy.

Now, let’s get to the heart of Highschool of the Dead — the fanservice. This show is basically a non-stop fanservice marathon, from cheeky panty shots to impossibly large breasts bouncing with wild abandon. If you’re looking for subtlety, sorry, this isn’t the show for you. But if you want ridiculous, unapologetic ecchi mixed with zombie carnage, this anime has got you covered. That infamous “Matrix Boobs” scene? Pure hypnotic, absurd fun and the perfect example of what this anime loves to deliver. These moments are so exaggerated, it’s like the anime knows exactly how nuts it is and just leans into it with a big grin.

Beyond the boobs and butt shots, Highschool of the Dead actually throws in some interesting commentary on human nature in disaster. Sure, zombies are the monsters outside, but the real danger might be the surviving humans themselves, who reveal all kinds of ugly, selfish, and sometimes heroic traits. The teenagers actually fare better than most adults who either panic or take advantage of the chaos — except for the right-wing extremist who surprisingly keeps order with a strict but effective approach. It’s crazy but adds a layer of unexpected depth beneath all the fanservice.

The characters aren’t just there for eye candy either. Komuro isn’t your overly confident anime hero but comes across as a likable, grounded guy. Saeko’s combination of calm, deadly skill and mysterious backstory makes her stand out. Kohta’s military geek side provides a lot of the show’s practical survival know-how, and the occasional comic relief too. The mix of serious struggle and ridiculous fanservice moments makes for a weirdly balanced rollercoaster of tone that keeps you hooked.

Visually, the anime shines with clean, high-quality animation by Madhouse that does a great job blending traditional and CGI elements. You get detailed zombie action and clear, pretty character designs that maximize those fanservice shots. It’s not just about the fanservice — the blood, gore, and zombie fights have their own gritty appeal that balances the show’s lighter, sexier moments. The animation style definitely knows what it’s doing: keep things stylish and eye-catching whether it’s a brutal attack or a cheeky panty shot.

The series also leans into some grindhouse and exploitation vibes, with episode titles like Spring of the Dead and All Deads Attack feeling like throwbacks to 1970s B-movie horror flicks. It’s this blend of horror, action, and exploitation that gives the show its unique flavor. And even though it’s mostly fanservice pandering, it manages to keep a pretty good pace and doesn’t get boring, zipping through the story with lots of action and humor. That “Matrix Boob Physics” meme that went viral years back

While the manga that inspired the series goes deeper and cuts back on fanservice in later chapters, the anime stays firmly in the realm of ridiculous fun with its mix of horror and ecchi. It’s not high art or groundbreaking storytelling, and it would never be mistaken for such. Instead, Highschool of the Dead proudly wears its “guilty pleasure” badge, knowing full well it’s an unapologetically silly, over-the-top romp that doesn’t shy away from the fact that it’s made to entertain and tease rather than inspire or provoke deep thought.

For those who enjoy a wild ride packed with boobs, bullets, and brain-munching zombies, Highschool of the Dead is a perfect guilty pleasure that embraces its identity. It’s a weird mashup that knows it’s silly and really loves having a good time with its audience.

Highschool of the Dead is a wild, ecchi-fueled zombie apocalypse romp that’s totally ridiculous in all the best ways. The show rides the line between horror and parody, serving up enough fanservice moments to satisfy anyone who loves their anime with a side of absurdity and cleavage. Not for everyone, but if you like your zombie stories with a lot of bounce and a wink, this one’s definitely worth a look.

Previous Guilty Pleasures

Song of the Day: Song of Fanservice (from Binbougami ga!)

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Arleigh

Latest “Song of the Day” comes from episode 11 of the ecchi anime series Binbougami ga! and comes at the very end. It’s simply called the “Song of Fanservice”. It’s a very brief song but one that goes straight to the point. It has been picked up by fans of the fanservice as the anthem that best describes why ecchi anime series are so beloved by many anime fans worldwide.

So, with this brief detour from all things horror, I present to you “Song of Fanservice” from Binbougami ga! and let your fanservice flag fly.

AMV of the Day: Another Fanny Service Video (Kemeko DX)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Arleigh

I’ve been remiss about posting the winners of the Sakura-Con 2015 AMV Contest. This particular video won the “Fun” category and it’s a production from one of my favorite AMV creators, IleaiAMVs.

“Another Fanny Service Video” is a short, but to the point AMV that combines not just the romance-comedy anime series Kemeko Deluxke! but also the Jason Derulo song “Wiggle.” It’s a pairing made to order and just goes to show that an AMV doesn’t have to use an epic length song (though nothing bad about those).

Ileai has always been very using timed edits to her chosen song to tell the particular story her video are trying to tell. Whether the original intent of the anime being used comes across doesn’t matter. She could take a super serious anime and turn it hilarious through clever editing and the correct choice of music. This time around this video doesn’t stray too far from the comedic aspect of the anime Kemeko Deluxe! and instead highlights the ecchi sequences from the series.

The video has already won several AMV Contest awards reaching back to last year and all accolades Ileai’s way have been well-deserved.

Anime: Kemeko Deluxe!

Song: “Wiggle” by Jason Derulo (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Creator: IleaiAMVs

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Can Can Pantsu (Various) NSFW

Posted on February 15, 2015 by pantsukudasai56

The following AMV of the Day is decidedly NSFW, unless you work at a place that is very lenient with what they allow their employees to watch. Which you probably don’t. So don’t watch this at work. Seriously, it’s not porn but it’s still very NSFW. Not sure if I’ve stressed this enough, but this is NSFW, and Through the Shattered Lens takes no responsibility for any discipline handed out for those that still haven’t paid close enough attention to what I’ve said.

Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, this is an AMV that I first saw when I was at Another Anime Convention back in October. They had the great idea of having a room dedicated solely to the showing of various AMVs all day every day of the convention. It was great to be able to relax and catch a few AMVs in between various panels that caught my interest. It was typically broken up into blocks that specialized in certain themes, and one of their late night themes was for various ecchi, or racy but not full blown porn AMVs. (They had a block for hentai, or porn AMVs, but that’s another story) The one thing I wish they had done different was that they didn’t always list the name and creator of the AMVs they were showing, so while I was aware that this one existed for some time, I didn’t have any luck finding it until Arleigh found it and showed it to me.

While I have seen a lot of ecchi anime in my day, this is made up of some 35 different anime, some of which I haven’t seen, and even further surprising to me was that there were even two that I had never heard of before. After viewing this AMV, I believe that’s an oversight I’ll have to correct. One wouldn’t necessarily think that the Can Can would work for this, but it is so perfectly done with just a rapid fire string of panty shots that I can only hope that someday the creator decides to do another like this except with boob shots. I was a little confused as to who the creator is, since at the end of the AMV it says it was made by Potato, but according to animemusicvideos.org, which is pretty much THE authority on AMVs, the creator’s name is FlamingMangos. Due to the racy nature of the AMV (did I mention this is NSFW?) I don’t believe that it’s been featured in any formal AMV contests. It’s too much for a general audience AMV contest, but not really bad enough to be in a hentai AMV contest. Still, its lack of awards is in no means a measure of it’s fun qualities. At the very least, I doubt you’ll be able to hear the Can Can and not have this AMV come to mind.

Anime: Akane-Iro Ni Somaru Saka, Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan, Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan 2, Demon King Daimao, Freezing, Freezing Vibration, Green Green, Gundam Seed Destiny, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, Heaven’s Lost Property Forte, High School DxD, High School DxD New, Kanokon, Kyou no Asuka Show, Ladies Versus Butlers!, Maji de Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai!! S, Majimoji Rurumo, Manyuu Hiken-chou, Onī-chan dakedo Ai sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne!, R-15, Rosario + Vampire, Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Samurai Girls, Seikon no Qwaser, Sekirei, Sekirei: Pure Engagement, Shuffle!, Shukufuku no Campanella, Sora no Otoshimono Final: Eternal My Master, To Love-RU (OAV), To Love-RU (TV), To Love-RU – Darkness, Tonagura!, Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!, We Without Wings

Song: “The Infernal Galop” by Jacques Offenbach

Creator: FlamingMangos

Past AMVs of the Day

Bayonetta Game to Get Anime Film

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Arleigh

“Let’s dance boys!” — Bayonetta

One of the most entertaining and fun games of this current generation of consoles that I’ve ever played came out in the Spring of 2010. The game I speak of is the hack-and-slash title Bayonetta from Platinum Games. It’s a game that was born from the hyper-kinetic action game series Devil May Cry. In fact, the game’s designer was also the designer for the Devil May Cry series and it shows in this heroine-led title.

As I had mentioned on a very early review of the title, Bayonetta is quite the over-the-top game with unique-looking visuals and imagery that combined Judeo-Christian art designs with the anime-inspired aesthetics that has been the design staple of the Devil May Cry series.

I was actually surprised that the game didn’t get an anime series right away to complement it the way some Japanese games tend to get when they become popular. Yet, despite waiting over three years to get one fans of the game will finally have their wish.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is an anime series due out this November from studio house GONZO. It looks to be an adaptation of the game’s storyline and will have Fuminori Kizaki of Afro Samurai fame in the director’s chair. The art design of the series will lean heavily on the game’s original character designs by Mari Shimazaki which should be good news to Bayonetta fans everywhere.

The trailer for the anime already hints at using the fan service moments from the game that made the title so popular but at the same time so controversial within some of the gaming community. The anime will be shown in a limited release in Japan this November with no word yet on whether it will make it over to the West in one type of release or another. I bet on it becoming a video release down the line.

Source: Anime News Network

High School DxD gets 2nd Season

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Arleigh

News that should make fellow site writer and contributor pantsukudasai56 very happy just came down the pipeline. According to Anime News Network the shonen series High School DxD has been given the greenlight for a second season.

While details about this second season has been, for the moment, quite sparse the fact that the season is now in production means that it’s not just a promise of one, but a guarantee that more harem hi-jinks involving the clueless Issei Hyodo and the beautiful, albeit demonic, girls of his high school. This is a series that’s definitely more about comedy than anything serious and/or thought provoking. Then again one can only survive on dramatic and deep anime for so long. Some levity needs to be mixed in with the dark and High School DxD certainly delivers in that front.

The popularity of the series (and the new season should get quite a welcome from its fans) also stems from the fact that it is a harem anime that also involves some very ecchi (fan service) moments. While this type of anime doesn’t appeal to everyone it still attracts a huge number of anime fans.

There’s no word when the new season will air, but until then I’m sure pantsukudasai56 will be anticipating ew stuff from his favorite character on the show: Koneko Toujou.

Source: Anime News Network

AMV of the Day: Sexy and I Know It (NSFW)

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Arleigh

To say that 2010’s Highschool of the Dead was the hit anime series for that season would be an understatement. It’s a series that about a bunch of Japanese highschool students trying to survive the sudden onset of the zombie apocalypse. You’d think that would be enough to pull in the audience, but no the Japanese anime studios needed to really hook the audience and they did so by turning it into an ecchi-fest that’s just a couple steps lower from turning into hentai.

What better way to mark the latest “AMV of the Day” that makes perfect use of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” song than using an anime that’s got an overabundance of sexy in your face. There’s nothing else to say other than just sit back and enjoy the finished work of Mystic Shaek.

Anime: Highschool of the Dead

Song: “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO

Creator: Mystic Shaek

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Instinct

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Arleigh

The latest AMV I’ve chosen for the regular “AMV of the Day” comes from one of the anime hit series from 2010. It combines the horror and ecchi (softcore) themes and images from that series with one of Rob Zombie’s most popular songs to date in “Dragula”. The video is plainly and simply titled, “Instinct”.

Highschool of the Dead (Gakuen Mokushiroku in Japan) was one of the major anime hits of 2010. It was the anime adaptation of the wildly popular manga series of the same name. It was a series which successfully combined the horror aspects that a zombie apocalypse brings to any story and the softcore elements that ecchi brought to the table. Simply put it was a series that was about sex, violence and horror. So, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that someone decided what better song to merge scenes from this series than Rob Zombie’s very own “Dragula”.

The editing work on this video was actually excellent. The creator, StarSapphire26, didn’t just edit and splice together scenes to match the tone and tempo of the song, but added some visual touches which made it stand out from most AMVs. This is one reason why this video stood out for me beyond just being one of the better and rare good AMVs which uses Highschool of the Dead as the foundation.

Anime: Highschool of the Dead (Gakuen Mokushiroku)

Song: “Dragula” by Rob Zombie

Creator: StarSapphire26

Highschool of the Dead: Episode 11 – First Impressions

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Arleigh

We are down to the last final episodes of this first season of Madhouse’s anime series adaptation of the zombie and ecchi manga series, Highschool of the Dead. The last episode was the start of the calm before what I hope to be the major storm that will take this series into a second season.

Episode 11 didn’t linger on too much on the fanservice side of the series with the exception of an all-too-brief look inside the school bus of Shido-san and his sex cultists. We get a glimpse at how Shido deals with the students who don’t conform to his twisted (albeit must be quite fun) outlook on the new world order as it stands now. The manga had shown that particular sequence of why that one student was thrown off the bus to be taken by the zombies. In this episode we didn’t see what caused his expulsion, but got a sense that the student didn’t want to join in on the bus orgy going on between the students with Shido-san acting as a sort of Aleister Crowley-like figurehead.

While inside the Takagi compound it looks like the episode skipped some more of the manga and didn’t show how Takagi’s father was finally swayed to allow Kohta to keep the groups weapons. I can understand the Madhouse writers trying to cram as much of the manga into a 13-episode season, but the way they’re going about things they could catch up to the manga by episode 13 which would definitely might be a sign that a second season won’t be in the offing. Here’s to hoping that the writers were just trying to move things along to the crisis which sends the group out of the compound and back into the dangers of the city-proper.

While the fanservice was limited the harem aspect of the story continued to grow as Rei literally threw herself at the mercy of Komuro but to no avail. Does Rei know that Saeko and Saya may be competing with her for Komuro’s attention? If that’s the case then Komuro definitely has shown quite a bit of restraint when it comes to Rei’s increasingly aggressive advances. There’s also the fact that Komuro and Saeko may have already sealed their partnership a few episodes past though we never really saw it but definitely implied.

The arrival of Shido-san into the compound definitely explains why Rei was so adamant to leave the safety of the bus early in the season. The fact that Rei dismissed Shido-san as less than worthy of her attention was a nice touch even though this could become a major problem for the group down the line. Even in the manga the fate of Shido-san and his group of students were not truly explained though not all of them could’ve survived their subsequent exile.

With two episodes left and with the major superpowers throwing nukes at each other, I hope that this calm has finally ended and the storm that’s been brewing since the group arrived at the Takagi compound can finally smash into the city. If there’s to be no second season then these last two episodes need to put the previous 11 in terms of action, horror and fanservice to shame. It’s the only way for the series to go out with a huge bang.

Highschool of the Dead: Episode 10 – First Impressions

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Arleigh

We’re now heading towards the end of this first season of Madhouse’s anime adaptation of the zombie manga Highschool of the Dead. It is still up in the air whether this 13-episode initially produced will be the first season or just the first half of what will end up being the only season. If the latter is the case then the series just took a relaxing calm before the storm of what will be episode 11 thru to 13.

Episode 10 brings everyone in the group back together as Takashi Komuro and Busujima Saeko finally makes it back to the relative safety of the Takagi fortress-compound in the previous episode. This episode was actually pretty devoid of much of the fanservice which were prevalent in the last 5 previous episodes. The only nod to it’s ecchi side of the series was in the beginning where one might think Rei and Komuro might just end up going all the way (something that suspiciously might have already happened between Komuro and Saeko in the last episode), but alas it was not meant to be. It was just a medical intervention to help Rei heal up from being sorely bruised from the action of episode 8.

While within the Takagi compound we get to know more about the life of Saya and her relationship with her parents. To say that she has lived quite the privileged life would be an understatement. But while in other media the privileged children of rich and powerful parents end up being useless beyond being spoiled and entitled, Saya seems to have grown past being just a spoiled brat and into a child who has tried to live up to the perfection that are her parents. I mean her father is the lord of the manor in more ways than one as the Takagi-clan looks to have been the same clan in centuries past which ruled over the city during the Feudal-era of Japan. Takagi Souichiro and his wife Yuriko are quite formidable parents and we see where Saya gets both her beauty and coldly, logical brain.

This episode to me also shows us just how far Hirano Kohta has come from the geeky and shy introduction from the first couple episodes. We’ve seen him become quite the badass to help bookend Saeko in terms of pure zombie killing power. He’s been the most useful of the group not just in how expertly he handles the guns the group comes across, but in teaching others how to operate them. This new zombie apocalypse world has made Kohta useful in his eyes. So, when the demand by the “adults” at the Takagi compound for him to hand over the weapons he and his group brought with them his reaction was both understandable and quite saddening.

To survive the last couple days as a highschool student while adults around them died and became “Them” it’s jarring to Kohta and the rest of the group to suddenly be treated as children once more. While his tear-filled reaction to not wanting to go back to being a helpless otaku seemed overly dramatic it’s easy to sympathize with him. Thus, it was great to see not just for the group to have his back and support his decision to hold on to the weapons, but to see Saya do the same. The fact that she uses Kohta’s help in securing her safety a way to show her contempt for her parents for not trying to find a way to save her shows the rift between daughter and parents.

While this respite from the doom and gloom action of the previous 3-4 episodes was quite good, this partcular calm before the storm looks to be ending quite quickly as the sneak preview for the next episode show the return of Shido-san and his bus of cult followers. Plus, just when I thought Madhouse was going to cut the bus orgy scene from the manga it looks like they just kept it for the end of episode 10. Now all is right with the world.