Zombie-Loan

Title:Zombie-Loan
Zonbi Rōn (Japanese)
ゾンビローン (Japanese)
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Xebec
KUWASHIMA Houko
Original Concept - PEACH PIT
SAKURAI Takahiro
SUZUMURA Kenichi
When a human is marked to die, a faint gray line that is invisible to most appears around their neck. As time passes, that ring becomes darker and darker, until it is eventually black, and that person dies. Kita Michiru has an unusual gift, she posses "Shinigami eyes," which allow her to see these rings. When Michiru notices that two of the boys in her Class, Akatsuki Chika and Tachibana Shito not only have rings, but that they`re jet black, they reveal to her that the were supposed to die in a tragic accident six months ago. With the help of the Zombie Loan loan office, they were given a second chance at life, should they be able to pay for their debt by doing the work of Shinigami and killing malicious zombies. They petition Michiru to assist them in their efforts, and she finds her everyday life changing dramatically.

Based on the manga by PEACH-PIT, serialised in G-Fantasy.

(Summary from ANIDB)

Animation by XEBEC.
11 episodes (25min each)
+2 specials (25min each)

Read the translated manga online at - MangaFox
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 7 7 6 8 8 Ggultra2764 [series:1621#1552]
It's a bit of a shame that Zombie-Loan had to end as abruptly as it did considering I did find it quite entertaining to look into. The premise itself was quite original where Chika and Shito are being loaned life as zombies in exchange for hunting evil "illegal" zombies. The show effectively mixes serious and comedic moments as it looks into the various dealings that Shito, Chika and the other members of Zombie Loan deal with, particularly the chemistry between Shito and Chika as they don't exactly get along much of the time in the series. The show does do well enough in fleshing out the backgrounds of the two boys and Michiru and what led them to become clients to Zombie Loan thus it is easy to get some sort of connection with their characters. It also does well enough at covering the exact details surrounding zombies in the world of the series and the conditions surrounding Shito and Chika's deal in still being alive.

However with the anime being based on ongoing source material, Zombie-Loan definitely leaves the feel of being incomplete. Some characters have their backgrounds hinted upon yet are never explored and there are some lingering plot developments left hanging such as the presence of several groups serving as adversaries to the Zombie Loan group.

The presentation to Zombie-Loan does come across as a bit subpar. While scenery and character designs do have a decent amount of detail with subdued colors that fit in well with the supernatural feel the series gives off, the animation noticeably takes shortcuts and the series is nowhere as fluid and vivid as titles like Death Note and Moribito that aired in the same year. While the soundtrack does its part with having insert music tracks that fit in with the mood of specific scenes, none of it really sticks out. Not to mention that the OP and ED musical choices can be quite grating to the ears and are best to skip through.

Overall, Zombie-Loan proved to be enjoyable for me thanks to its original premise and chemistry between Shito, Chika and Michiru. However, it was quite clear this series had a bigger story that it didn't have the time to tell thus unless another season of Zombie-Loan comes out, the viewer is left to try continuing the series through the manga source material. It makes for a worthwhile watch, as long as you go into it knowing that you are only being exposed to one part of the series.

Last updated Monday, June 13 2011. Created Monday, June 13 2011.
Buy 8 9 9 7 9 9 lucy-san [series:1621#2510]
WOW! what a great series.

i heard of this series here and there but never actually tried it out and i'm so glad that i did, or else i'll be seriously missing out. It's so good, 11 episodes was to short, with a lot of characters that yet to reveal themselves i can't wait for the next series to come out. there's just too much to explore!

very well done!

Last updated Monday, November 12 2007. Created Monday, November 12 2007.
Unevaluated 10 5 10 4 aoneish [series:1621#1615]
ep 10.

some secrets revealed! shito is a what?!?!?! O.O

i love this show. dry (and regular) humor. charming cast. lotta surprises coupled with old standbys. fantastic.

i <3 the mini shinigami.

TBC.

Last updated Friday, September 07 2007. Created Wednesday, July 11 2007.
Buy Stretch [series:1621#628]
(Buy- or Rent+)

(All episodes watched):

As usual, I went into this one knowing nothing about it except the title. What would a series called "Zombie Loan" be about? Supernatural bail bondsmen, maybe? I was encouraged to see that this is based on a Peach Pit project--so that's what they've been up to since Rozen Maiden! The basic premise could have been explained a bit more clearly, but apparently suave loner Shito and outgoing Chika were in fact killed in an accident but made some sort of deal to attain resurrection. For some reason the shy girl Michiru has the rare power to recognize zombies, which would be very useful to the two boys. They're in debt up to their ears (somebody will resurrect you if you've got the right cash), and are making the money to pay back their creditor by hunting zombies down (they are good zombies, their prey are the bad ones). In short, Peach Pit has come up with a pretty weird twist for this latest project! Supernatural predators, a unique "gift"--we've seen these elements before (numerous times), but I'm enjoying Zombie Loan nevertheless. Perhaps it's because Michiru, Shito and Chika seem like fun, interesting, dynamic characters. Surprisingly, Shito and Chika hate each other and only work together because they have no choice. They fear what might become of them as they strive to attain complete resurrection, which gives their personalities much greater depth. The plot is wild and unpredictable; like when a seemingly trustworthy team member turns on the others. One thing I especially like is the fact that I get some good laughs out of each episode--more laughs from this action-comedy than from some comedy-comedies! As a whole, I like the way this is going. It's too soon to say exactly where and how this will go, but this is definitely a high-class work and I cannot wait to watch the remainder of Zombie Loan. One definite sign of my enthusiasm: I want to watch each episode twice before the next one (and that doesn't happen everyday).

In fact, at the end of the series it would still be accurate to say that I can't tell exactly where this is going, because everything about the way the show ended cries out "to be continued"! Everything, that is, except that those three words are never displayed onscreen. There is way too much background material, way too many characters introduced--some of which have barely been introduced, others appear in the OP sequence yet haven't been introduced at all--and way too much general "depth" to the story for a mere 11 episode series. The three principal characters are still deeply in debt zombies, villain Carmella is still at large and the final episode even concludes with a hint of what to expect in another, yet-to-be-made one. I'm guessing that what we have here is a faithful representation of the first two plot arcs of an ongoing manga. One thing I can be certain of is that Zombie-Loan was great fun and I'd be delighted by a second season (Rozen Maiden got one!). Despite the distinct feeling that the long-term story is far from finished, the series wrapped up well with the satisfying resolution of a major threat. When it was all over I had a grin on my face and said to myself "That was pretty cool"!

P.S: After a considerable delay, episodes 12 and 13 (the "specials") have become available as fansubs. I was immediately reminded of just what a wacky yet dramatic show Zombie Loan is. Watching the countless flow of average-to-slightly-above-average stuff that I do had dulled my senses, but these served as a reminder of just what a skillful show we have here. A new plot arc seems to have taken off, but is far from finished, so again the impression I get at the end is "to be continued"!

My favorite line: "If I described him (Shito) in one word, it'd be ----(beep)!" --Chika

Last updated Wednesday, September 03 2008. Created Wednesday, July 11 2007.

Other Sites
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Japanese Language Series Web Site http://www.zombie-loan.com/

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