Is This a Zombie?

Plot

Ayumu Aikawa was once an ordinary high schooler resurrected as a zombie by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe after being murdered by a serial killer. As he tries to make the best of his undead life, he encounters a Masō-Shōjo (魔装少女; lit. Magical Garment Girl, a pun on "mahō shōjo," meaning magical girl) named Haruna and inadvertently takes her magic powers, being forced to become a Masō-Shōjo (and therefore crossdress) in the process. With Eucliwood, Haruna, and a vampire ninja named Seraphim living with him, Ayumu helps battle demons known as Megalos while trying to figure out the mystery behind his own death.

Characters

Main characters

Ayumu Aikawa (相川 歩, Aikawa Ayumu)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (drama CD), Junji Majima (anime) (Japanese); Austin Tindle (English)

Ayumu is a high school boy who was killed by a serial killer and resurrected as a zombie by the Necromancer, Eucliwood Hellscythe. As a zombie, he is near invincible and can exceed the limits of the human body, giving him great physical strength, but he will dry out in the sunlight. There are other aspects of his zombie nature that Ayumu has yet to discover, such as the ability to absorb magic (stronger magic absorbs weaker magic). As a result of absorbing Haruna's magic, Ayumu is forced to become a Masō-Shōjo, pink frilly outfit and all, to fight Megalos, and loses some of the associated negative effects such as the weakness to sunlight. When Mystletainn recognizes Haruna as its owner again, it enables both of them to transform into Masō-Shōjos in tandem, right before they fight Yoruno. He is also more aggressive in the manga, as seen in his fight against Kyoko when it takes the appearance and intervention of Ariel to prevent him from killing her. In the anime, he refrains from killing her for good after realizing that she was down to her very last life. Ayumu has a hidden talent; he's able to break-dance. When he had his memory erased, the sloth aspect known as Belphegor took over his body. Ever since Ayumu became a zombie, he has encountered many different girls, some antagonists included, who have gained a rather complicated interest in him.

At the end of the light novel, he is now working as a salaryman and quietly lives with his (girl) friends.

Eucliwood Hellscythe (ユークリウッド・ヘルサイズ, Yūkuriuddo Herusaizu)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (drama CD), Midori Tsukimiya (anime) (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English)

Eucliwood, called Eu (ユー, Yū) for short, is a silver-haired necromancer who brought Ayumu back to life to be her servant and has been living with him ever since. Her magic is so powerful that she has to wear heavy armor and suppress her emotions to control it. Her words also carry strong magic, and she can kill someone just by saying the word "Die." Because of this, she avoids talking and instead communicates through written notes, mostly about her appetite. She experiences severe pain whenever her magic is activated, and she claims that even if she were to die, her magic would continue uncontrolled. She doesn't like people talking about death or telling someone to die since (as she takes on the pain of anyone she heals, revives, or kills) she understands the pain of dying, despite being immortal herself. Even though she considers Ayumu to be her servant, she's shown to care about him and has admitted that she's in love with him but can't express her feelings. Ayumu comforts her whenever she thinks about her insecurity, and she is shown to take these feelings to heart. Ayumu often daydreams about her behaving like a visual novel character and speaking in a cutesy manner (voiced by a different voice actress in each episode of the anime). She can also become a Masō-Shōjo, and it is implied that she interned at Matellis, under Ariel. In Episode 11, she spoke to Ayumu for the first time, indicating that she had gained some control over her magic. How or what she did to control it is a mystery; however, she sometimes doesn't realise she can handle it despite having done it before.

Antagonists

Kyoko (京子, Kyōko)

Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya (Japanese); Lindsay Seidel (English)

First introduced as a supposed childhood friend of Ayumu's classmate, Orito, and a survivor of the serial killer attacks. In actuality, she is a Masō-Shōjo and the serial killer responsible for killing Ayumu. By killing various humans and sacrificing their souls, she can add those lives to her own, allowing herself to be revived if she is killed. She seems to display yandere-like tendencies at times. It is later revealed she is being possessed by the King of the Night. Following her defeat by Ayumu, he shows her mercy by refusing to kill her for good once she is down to her last life. She is imprisoned for re-education after Ariel shows up to congratulate Ayumu for being merciful in defeating her, warning him that she would have killed him in retaliation if Ayumu had killed her. She is later arrested by Dai-sensei but later is let out to help with Chris's situation and let Ayumu know she truly loves him.

King of the Night (夜の王, Yoru no Ō)

Voiced by: Koji Yusa (Japanese); Eric Vale (Season 1), J. Michael Tatum (Season 2) (English)

A former zombie that was brought back to life by Eucliwood, who also goes by the alias "Yoruno" (夜野). According to her, his heart became filled with malice and she had to kill him, but it appears he is still alive. He has the same zombie eye expression as Ayumu. In episode 10, he can kill Seraphim for failing her assassination attempt on Eu, though Eu brings her back with her blood. In episode 11, he realized that what he did to Eu was wrong and said to Ayumu that "in time you will understand the hardships of living an immortal life." He again desperately begs for Eu to kill him, saying that he can't take it anymore. His last request is to be a penguin in his next life because he likes penguins. It is hinted that King of the Night doesn't loathe immortality by itself but rather being an immortal yet unable to be with Eu (because he killed a fellow Seventh Abyss).

Chris (クリス, Kurisu) / Takeshi Kurisu (栗須 猛, Kurisu Takeshi)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English) (Chris) Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese); Kent Williams (English) (Kurisu)

Other characters

Tulio Orito (織戸 闘莉王, Orito Tūrio)

Voiced by: Shinya Takahashi (drama CD), Hiroyuki Yoshino (anime) (Japanese); Anthony Bowling (English)

Ayumu's classmate and friend who is often jealous of Ayumu's current situation of living with three lovely ladies. He briefly knew about Ayumu's (then-new) double life as a Masō-Shōjo. Still, fortunately, as revealed at the start of Episode 2, Ayumu erased his memory of the incident, along with those of the other students, and presumably erased himself from all the pictures they took of the incident as well as all copies they presumably sent to their friends.

Taeko Hiramatsu (平松 妙子, Hiramatsu Taeko)

Voiced by: Rie Yamaguchi (Japanese); Erica Harte (English)

Taeko is Ayumu's classmate and Yuki and Kanami's best friend. She's a cute girl with twin tails and one of the few people in the class (during the beginning of the series) who'll talk with Ayumu. She also has strong romantic feelings for Ayumu, so she wears twin-tails (since Ayumu likes girls with twin tails).

Kanami Mihara (三原 かなみ, Mihara Kanami)

Voiced by: Mina (Japanese); Emerick Jade (English)

Kanami is Ayumu's classmate and Yuki and Taeko's best friend. On Saras' "Unlock 'Dere Dere' Side of Five Maid Cafe's Maids," she's the last contestant whom even Ayumu couldn't beat; however, she was beaten by Orito's rather forward statement (shouting to her, "I Love You, Kanami"), catching her off guard and affecting her deeply (which may be a hint of a possible crush on him).

Shimomura (下村)

Voiced by: Itsuki Takizawa (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn (English)

Often called Anderson-kun (アンダーソンくん, Andāson-kun) by Ayumu, Shinomura is Ayumu's classmate and the school playboy, who is, in reality, a resident of the Underworld (possibly of high ranking, since he addresses Eu without any honorific), although studying abroad on Earth. He seems to tend to tease people, though he's very kind.

Terminology

Villiers (ヴィリエ, Virie)

Villiers is a country ruled by a Queen that exists in a parallel universe. The country is ruled by a matriarchy, with an unconditional ruling of women. However, there is also roughly 20 percent of the population of males who are knowledgeable in magic. Villiers perform aggressive expansion over its neighboring territories while utilizing unique, powerful weapons for battle as a military nation. It is also the home of the Masō-Shōjos (for the majority of them, anyway), where the training school Matellis resides. A hundred years ago, Villiers experienced a coup d'état, led by Ariel (Dai-sensei) and followed by Chris and Akuma Danshaku. The current-ruling queen, Lilia Lilith, was able to thwart the plans to overthrow her. As a result, Chris, Akuma Danshaku, and many other Masō-Shōjos supporting the coup were punished; meanwhile, the true conspirator (Ariel/Dai-sensei) evaded punishment. Currently, Villiers and Underworld are sending Masō-Shōjos and Megalos to fight over in the human world. It is also hinted that Villers is now preparing a formal invasion.

Matellis

Matellis is a school in Villiers, where powerful unique girls train to become Masō-Shōjo. Currently, Ariel is the only known teacher. Haruna appears to be the 634,526,379th student, while Chris and Kyoko are both former students. Ayumu is also technically accepted as one of the students as he fights as a Masō-Shōjo for Haruna.

Masō-Shōjo (魔装少女; lit. "Magical Garment Girl"; English manga: "Magikewl Girl")

The Masō-Shōjos are magically-powered girls in cutesy girlish outfits (or in Ayumu's case, a guy in a dress), which grants them more powerful abilities. They achieve this transformation by using their own personal magically-powerful weapon (each Masō-Shōjo possesses her own unique magical weapon; although, as in Eu's case, some circumstances will allow a Masō-Shōjo to use a fellow Masō-Shōjo's own weapon), and reciting a specific incantation: Nomobuyo, Oshi, Hashitawa, Dokeda, Gunmīcha, Dēribura (ノモブヨ、ヲシ、ハシタワ、ドケダ、グンミーチャ、デーリブラ), which is backward for Raburī de Chāmingu Dakedo Watashi wa Shi o Yobu Mono (ラブリーでチャーミングだけど私は死を呼ぶ者), meaning "I'm Lovely and Charming, but I Summon Death." They're generally clad in frilly pink dresses and are responsible for hunting down Megalos. This power is obtained by training at Matellis, a school in Villiers.

Media

Light novels

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? began as a light novel series written by Shinichi Kimura, with illustrations provided by Kobuichi and Muririn. The first volume was published by Fujimi Shobo on January 20, 2009, with a total of 19 volumes published as of June 20, 2015 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint.

Drama CD

A drama CD for Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? published by Marine Entertainment was released on December 30, 2009. The drama CD was released in both limited and regular editions. Both editions' first pressings came with a B2-sized poster. The limited edition also came with a booklet written by Shinichi Kimura and a telephone card illustrated by Kobuichi and Muririn.

Manga

A manga adaptation by Sacchi started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age on January 9, 2010. The first bound volume was released by Kadokawa Shoten on August 5, 2010, with 8 volumes available in Japan as of December 6, 2013. A 4-koma adaptation called Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Yes, It's 4-koma Flavor. (これはゾンビですか? はい、4コマ風味です。, Kore wa Zonbi Desu ka? Hai, Yonkoma Fūmi Desu.), illustrated by Mūpa, and a third manga adaptation named Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Yes, I'm your Wife. (これはゾンビですか? はい、アナタの嫁です。, Kore wa Zonbi Desu ka? Hai, Anata no Yome desu.), illustrated by Ryō Hasemi, are also being serialized in Monthly Dragon Age.

The manga by Sacchi is licensed in North America by Yen Press. The first volume in English was released on March 27, 2012, and as of July 22, 2014, all eight volumes have been published.

Anime

An anime adaptation of Is This a Zombie?, first announced on May 17, 2010, was produced by Studio Deen and aired 12 episodes on TV Saitama, Chiba TV, and Sun TV from January 10 to April 4, 2011, with subsequent broadcasts on Gifu Broadcasting System, Inc., KBS Kyoto, Mie TV, Tokyo MX, TV Kanagawa, TVQ, Nico Nico Channel, and AT-X. Episodes 10 and later were pushed back a week due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The series was also simulcast by Crunchyroll on their streaming site. An OVA 13th episode was released on DVD with the eighth light novel on June 10, 2011. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation (now known as Crunchyroll LLC) and released the series on December 4, 2012. American television network Chiller began airing the show on its Anime Wednesdays block on July 15, 2015. Chiller abruptly ended its "Anime Wednesday" block less than a month afterwards.

A second anime season, titled Is This a Zombie? of the Dead (これはゾンビですか? オブザデッド, Kore wa Zonbi Desu ka? Obu za Deddo), first announced in the July issue of Monthly Dragon Age, aired on Tokyo MX from April 5, 2012, to June 7, 2012, with subsequent broadcast runs on TVQ, Sun TV, Gifu Broadcasting System, Inc., Mie TV, BS11, Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama and AT-X. An OVA episode was released with the tenth light novel volume on DVD on April 25, 2012, while the eleventh episode was released with the sixth manga volume on October 20, 2012, on Blu-ray. The second season is licensed by Funimation/Crunchyroll LLC for simulcast on their video portals. MVM Films have licensed both series in the United Kingdom.

The opening theme is "Leave-It-To-Me Tonight" (魔・カ・セ・テ Tonight, Ma-Ka-Se-Te Tonight) by Iori Nomizu. The ending theme is "Notice Me, Mr. Zombie, I am your Classmate" (気づいてゾンビさま、私はクラスメイトです, Kizuite Zonbi-sama, Watashi wa Kurasumeito Desu) by Rie Yamaguchi with Manzo. The opening theme for the second season is "Passionato" (パショナート, Pashonāto) by Iori Nomizu, while the ending theme is "I'm a Beginner at Love (T_T)" (恋のビギナーなんです（T_T）, Koi no Beginā Nan Desu (T_T)) by Rie Yamaguchi.

Appearances in other media

Haruna's uniform is available as an unlockable costume for main character Juliet Starling in the 2012 video game, Lollipop Chainsaw.

Reception

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? was recognized in Fujimi Shobo's 20th Fantasia Awards for long-running novels as an honourable mention.