Zombie-Loan, Vol. 1

When I first read the synopsis for ZOMBIE-LOAN I thought Michiru would be a character I could relate too because she has a hard time saying what's on her mind which I had a problem with when I went to school but she's also a character who has an apathetic attitude towards life. She keeps her true feelings to herself and allows herself to be used daily by her “friends” and it really is a sad existence when what all she seems to be doing is existing. I suppose it doesn't help when she takes her glasses off she can tell when someone is about to die either.

Then in comes Boy A and Boy B or more specifically Shito and Chika two boys who miraculously survived a car accident six months ago but look like they are going to die very soon because they both have rings around their neck.

I'm not sure what made me not really like ZOMBIE-LOAN, the thing I had found the most distracting were the various translation notes. You know how sound effects are left in the original language and then somewhere on the page you get the translation in little tiny font well there was the translation in how it would translate to in Japanese (without the kanji symbols) and then how it would sound in English. It really slowed down the pace for me while I was reading especially when everything in Kanjii was translated in almost the same fashion, not just sound effects but hand written notes, and building signs, and snack labels. I really didn't need to know what EVERYTHING said.

The art style was all a bit difficult to follow at times, lots of dark shading and tones that made it hard at times for me to really know what I was looking at but the major thing for me were probably the characters. For me to really love the story I have to love the characters and that wasn't the case here. I only really liked Chika because he was funny at times and hot headed, he says what's on his mind and doesn't try to sugar coat things or be nice just for the sake of being nice like some other characters in the story. But he also had a mind that was almost always focused on money, going so far as to nickname Michiru 500 yen because that's what she “owes” him.

Will I give volume 2 a try? Maybe I will but not anytime soon.