There are a lot of different types of media that take place during a zombie apocalypse, and anime and manga are no different. Anime fans who also enjoy the zombie sub-genre have gotten to enjoy series like "Highschool of the Dead", "Gakkou Gurashi!", and "Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead" over the years, and at some point in 2026, "#Zombie Sagashitemasu" will be joining the fray. This upcoming anime is based on a three-volume manga created by Katsuwo, who is perhaps better known for moe comedy slice of life series like "Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu"; although #Zombie Sagashitemasu does lean more towards being a comedy like their past works, I respect Katsuwo for attempting something new for them. Is that "something new" good enough to deserve an anime adaptation, though? That's what I'm here to find out today.
#Zombie Sagashitemasu, also called "#I'm Looking For Zombie" in English, takes place 13 years after the "Red Day", when the world became overrun by zombies, or "kairi", as some call them; 90% of the human population died from being infected by these zombies, with the survivors breaking off from the more popular cities and living in isolated villages. Aki, Natsuki, and Haru are from the same village and have no memory of the Red Day, but they do have the skills needed to fight against the zombies and survive this world; together, they leave their village and go to Tokyo in search of Aki's father, who had left the village himself years ago and whom Aki had promised to dispatch if he had turned into a zombie. The trio ends up picking up two fellow survivors, Yuu and Sakura, and they all take refuge in a home shopping center, which becomes their base. From there, the group finds clues to Aki's father's whereabouts, meet other fellow survivors, and learn some truths about the zombies and the world they live in.
While I normally talk about the art last when reviewing a manga, I want to talk about that first this time. While I won't say it's breathtakingly beautiful or outstanding in any way, I can't say it's bad, either. The art is cute enough to fit the more comedic aspects of the manga, yet I also feel like it's less cutesy than Katsuwo's other works; it seems like more of a style evolution than anything else, given that the artstyle doesn't seem to fully match that of Katsuwo's earlier works but does match their later works, but I do think it works for the more serious sides of the story. I also like how Katsuwo draws the kairi in this manga; they look pretty unique compared to zombies in other manga of this variety.
Now, as previously hinted at, the story has a comedic side and a serious side to it. And yes, there is an actual story to it; there are things that happen that have a permanent impact on some characters. Unfortunately, the comedic side is more prominent (and isn't always funny, either), and for the most part, the serious aspects are a little on the weaker side; as a result, despite what I said earlier about things happening that affect the characters, there is very little character development that happens among the main cast. No one in this main cast is unlikable - I'm particularly fond of Yuu because of her straight man status among the cast, among other things - but no one really has any depth to them, either (except maybe Yuu). The character who suffers the most from this is probably Haru; all there really is to him is the fact that he's really strong and a sort of connection he forms with another character who shows up later on in the story. Sakura is a close second in that regard, although a certain gag involving her sort of makes up for it. Sort of.
My biggest problem with #Zombie Sagashitemasu, however, is its ending. A few chapters away from the ending, a major reveal pertaining to the manga's world is made that seems like something that could make the story go in an intriguing direction by the time it concluded. What do they do with this development? Great question! The answer is: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. We instead get a rehash of something done toward the beginning of the story, some fireworks, and another potentially-interesting development on the very last page. Plus, thinking back to things that happened leading up to this reveal, it didn't make a lot of sense in general; the reveal really should have been hinted at better. I'm sure I'm the only one who feels this way, but I can't stress enough how disappointing that reveal and the chapters that followed it, including the ending, are.
Despite all of that, though, I can't say that #Zombie Sagashitemasu was a bad manga. Fans of zombie apocalypse stories who want something with more levity might be interested in checking this out, but no one's going to kill you for not doing so. Do I think it deserves an anime? Eh, I'm on the fence about it, but hey, it's getting an anime, anyway! Who knows? Maybe it'll be even better than the manga!
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