'Zom 100' - the bucket list of dead fails to entertain the audience

The zombie genre is quite common worldwide. A post-apocalyptic scenario where most of the people are turned into mindless undeads and a few survivors are trying to create a safe haven amidst the chaos—it's all quite recurring in this genre. 

What if this apocalypse is taken in a positive rather than a fearful way? Japanese people have a tendency to think outside the box, so Haro Aso was the author behind Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. In this manga series, a zombie apocalypse is far better than corporate slavery for the protagonist Akira.

This unique take on the zombie genre became quite successful. Very few films or TV shows imbue comedy with such a genre, most notably Zombieland. 

The success of the Zom 100 manga was eventually translated into a 4-episode anime series, and the reception was very good. 

After a week of anime release, a live-action film version of it was released on Netflix recently. As everyone knows, Japanese live-action adaptations are never better than their anime counterparts, so how will this comedy horror fare? 

The story follows the same format as the anime. 24-year-old Akira Tendo finally gets a corporate job after a year of struggle, but soon the job starts to take a toll on him. As Japan is infamous for its rigid work ethic, Akira is forced to eat and shower in his office due to his workload. 

All he does at home is sleep, and this routine lasts for one year. As Akira gets ready to go to the office on a normal day, he discovers his neighbours have become zombies.

But he isn't frightened; his relief is that he has finally escaped the life-draining corporate job. He can now live his life independently and fulfil every wish before he turns into a zombie. Akira makes a bucket list of 100 wishes and befriends survivors along his journey, which are the key moments of this film.

The worst aspect of Zom 100 is the live-action adaptation. It's always been proven that live-action films don't have the same heart and appeal as their anime counterparts, no matter how hard they try. 

Akira's post-apocalyptic adventures are hilarious and look like a slice-of-life genre flavour in the anime, but the film doesn't have the same punch. 

Moreover, Akira's philosophy towards life and being positive amidst grim situations might seem inspiring in the anime but kind of blank assurances in the film.

The film is two hours long, and many zombie scenarios don't seem interesting and fail to pique the audience's interest. 

If some scenes were shortened, the film would be more watchable. Even if director Yusuke Ishida did it, the film would still have poor execution. Anyone who watched the Zom 100 anime would not enjoy this film at all. 

So, what should the new audience watch? Watch the anime version rather than this watered-down live-action adaptation. 

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