“Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead,” a zombie comedy anime series, will launch in July this year following a development and production deal between the U.S.’s Viz Media and Japan’s Shogakukan and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions. The story focuses on a salaryman who finds an exciting new side to life while under siege from zombies.
Viz Media will represent the rights to “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” in North America, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. The series will launch in July 2023, and stream on Hulu in the U.S. Other streaming partners will be announced across all territories. A trailer is now available.
The series is an adaptation of the manga by creators Aso Haro and Takata Kotaro, first published by Shogakukan: Monthly Sunday Gene-X in 2018 and is still expanding.
Aso is a top manga creator who is also behind “Alice in Borderland,” a sci-fi-fantasy survival-game comic that was made into a 2020 live-action Netflix series of the same title. Its second season is currently riding high in Netflix viewing chart.
Takata first hit the manga scene in 2009 with “Hallelujah Overdrive!,” which ran in Monthly Shonen Sunday magazine. In 2017, he served as the artist on another Monthly Shonen Sunday title “I Am Sherlock,” written by Io Naomichi.
Animation production is being handled by Bug Films, with the production credit going to Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co.
The series is being directed by Kawagoe Kazuki with Ueda Hanako as AD. Umeda Shuichiro heads the voice cast in the starring role as Akira.
Other tech credits are for series composition by Seko Hiroshi, character design by Tanaka Kii and zombie design by Fukuchi Junpei. Music is by Miyazaki Makoto, music selection by Gouda Maiko and sound production by Dugout.
A supplied synopsis reads: “With three years under his belt at the company from hell, Akira is mentally and physically spent. All at the ripe old age of twenty-four. Even his crush from Accounting, Saori, wants nothing to do with him. Then, just when life is beginning to look like one big disappointment, it happens. The zombie apocalypse descends on Japan! Surrounded by hordes of hungry zombies, Akira comes to a realization that will forever change his life… “Wait, does this mean I never have to go to work again? .. Confess to… party like it’s… travel Japan coast to… Now, with his nightmare job no longer, Akira’s got his mojo back. Let the bucket listing begin!”
“ ‘Zom 100’ is finally getting an anime!! I’ve had a chance to take a sneak peek at the script, character design, and teasers, and I have to say, they’re all beautiful; the quality is great. I’m thrilled! I can’t wait to see Akira and his friends come to life, now through the medium of animation, to see them in color, with actual voices, with actual music,” said Aso in a prepared statement.
Aso also spoke to PvNew in an exclusive interview about “Zom 100” and “Alice in Borderland.”
Takata said: “It’s such an honor to know that ‘Zom 100’ is getting an anime adaptation! Seeing all the pieces come together through everyone’s hard work is amazing.”
Lead actor, Umeda said: “The first time I read ‘Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’ I was struck by the way Akira puts his whole heart into everything he does. He really kept me turning the page. Akira battles his way through all these zombies, but you also get to see him get real with himself, all the while managing to make his dreams a reality. I want to do the same. As his voice actor, I want to really understand Akira and challenge myself in every way.”
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube/watch?v=l2mag0-sn80
