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The zombie apocalypse anime horror genre is a sub-genre of horror that saw a resurgence in the 2010s and further onward into the 2020s. Zombies, as a whole, have been represented in many forms, from straightforward flesh-eaters to idol singers working in an industry.
On the other hand, there are plenty of anime featuring zombie apocalypses for anyone who enjoys the escapades of the undead and those who attempt to survive them.
Disclaimer: This article has mentions of horror and violence, and contains spoilers for the zombie apocalypse anime mentioned. All opinions expressed here are exclusive to the author.
10 zombie apocalypse anime and manga for zombie horror fanatics
1) High School of the Dead
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One of the more famous - or infamous depending on one's viewpoint - zombie apocalypse anime is High School of the Dead.
In it, the world has been struck by a deadly pandemic, turning humans into zombies. This series focuses on a group of high school students and the school nurse attempting to survive.
While this series is considered infamous for excessive fanservice, especially in the anime, it doesn't detract from the horror. Typical zombie movie horror occurs here: people are eaten graphically, torn apart, shot, stabbed, and left to die. What's worse is the cults, the group's own psychosis, and the potential of betrayal, or worse, hounding the students at every turn.
Due to the unfortunate death of author Daisuke Sato in 2017, the story was stopped and the focus was shifted to another series called Triage X. What's there is still worth the attention if only to see why the anime is considered controversial.
2) School-Live!
Sometimes the best horror obscures itself at first, and School-Live! is an example of this. The Megurigaoka Private High School's School Living Club, or the School Life Club for short, is a club dedicated to living at school. Protagonist Yuki Takkeya is in love with her school and everyone in it. Every day is a new adventure for her, her classmates, and their teacher.
In reality, the school, and the surrounding town of Megurigaoka, have been infested by a zombie apocalypse. The rest of the club members are Yuki's friends, helping her cope with what happened and survive. The series blends slice-of-life and survival horror by contrasting Yuki's imagination with the real horrors.
Fans have stated it's best to watch the anime over the manga since the manga's quality diminishes after they escape the high school. The series itself is worth it for the juxtaposition, the themes of hope and despair, and the nail-biting suspense.
3) Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
An even more colorful zombie apocalypse anime than School-Live!, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead concerns the undead being unleashed in Tokyo due to experimental biological weapons going wrong. That, however, is the B plot. The primary plot concerns an office worker named Akira Tendo as he celebrates life in the middle of the outbreak.
Akira's life was soul-crushingly dull, as his workplace was literally a gray and lifeless depressing funk. The zombie apocalypse, while still dangerous and life-threatening, represents a way to do everything on his bucket list before he dies. One of them was to confess his feelings to a fellow co-worker, even if she's zombified, and he narrowly escapes with his life shortly afterwards.
As the anime is still airing, it's well worth a watch for anyone who needs a break from the more gruesome entries on this list. It's more sincere with its humor as opposed to High School of the Dead.
4) Seoul Station
Train to Busan was a zombie apocalypse live-action Korean film released in 2016, showing people trying to survive a sudden outbreak on a train in South Korea. Seoul Station is the animated prequel film to that movie and is just as horrific and suspenseful as Train to Busan, if not more so.
The story has been described as a story of people on the margins of society. It stars a former s*x worker named Hye-sun and her boyfriend Ki-woong as they both attempt to survive the fast-moving zombies bursting forth from Seoul Station. This proves difficult owing to the police blockades, overrun hospitals, and military gunning down everyone they suspect of infection.
It goes further than the original movie, showing the chaos of a city under siege from the undead. 28 Days Later fans ought to appreciate that part of it, considering they share the same idea of showing how a city actively deals with zombies.
5) Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack
A rather unique zombie apocalypse anime from the mind of Junji Ito, Gyo was inspired by nightmares and thoughts Ito had about sharks having legs. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack centers around Tadashi and Kaori, a young couple who decide to enjoy Okinawa's clear waters for a scuba-diving expedition. Then they encounter a small fish with legs and things deteriorate from there.
This film is particularly infamous for featuring the surreal and scary idea of a massive great white shark with legs ravaging Okinawa. The idea of hordes of walking marine life invading and overrunning Tokyo would be more than enough to horrify, but then the explanations about the Imperial Japanese Army's biological experiments during WWII and walking machines and viruses add more horror.
There are a few discrepancies in the movie version vs. the manga, but that's only because the movie had to condense 19 chapters into a 75-minute production. Either one is good for fans of zombies, zombie fish, or Junji Ito.
6) Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
Dubbed "steampunk Attack on Titan", Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress takes similar cues from the aforementioned anime, only with several differences. Kabaneri takes place in an alternate history version of the Industrial Revolution, wherein the island of Hinomoto is under siege by a particularly resilient zombie type called the Kabane.
The only means of transport or supplies and connections between each city on the island are large armored trains that constantly need protection and repair. This is where the mechanic Ikoma comes in, as he's been trying to develop weapons to penetrate the Kabane's iron-hard bones.
The zombies, as always, are not the only monsters in this series. The caste system keeping the cities under tight control is rather corrupt, with the rich "bushi" caste stopping at nothing to maintain their tight-fisted rule over the poor.
7) Sunday without God
A less violent, less horrific apocalypse with more existential implications is Sunday Without God. It is an apocalypse, it does concern zombies and the living dead, but is far tamer and lighter than most entries on this list. The gist is that God and any form of death have abandoned the world, and people cannot die now.
However this doesn't result in people needlessly killing each other, save for a few malcontents. The story follows a young girl named Ai, a half-human and half-gravekeeper, whose life changes when Hampnie Hambart comes to her village and kills everyone. The twist? He's her father.
People can't die in this world, likewise not give birth either. When people "die", their bodies and reasoning ability deteriorate, leaving them no better than zombies. It's a slow decay, one which Ai and her companions work to save and reverse.
8) Shi Xiong/Zombie Brother
Zombie Brother is a zombie apocalypse Chinese anime about trying to survive after water contamination. The story is rather simple on the surface: Professor Xiao Fei finds himself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse after H City gets contaminated by a zombie virus and tries to escape to meet with his girlfriend Wei.
It sounds simple on the surface, yet it also takes some bizarre turns. For instance, there's a zombie obsessed with paper currency. There are zombie acrobatics, zombie frogs, and generally a lot of weirdness going on in this particular series regarding the zombies and random occurrences and references made.
The zombies get stronger with each person they eat, so trying to survive against them is very difficult. The backdrop of the apocalypse and zombies is still more than scary enough to horrify anyone looking for a zombie apocalypse anime.
9) Fort of Apocalypse
A trip across Japan or being stuck in a school or across a city are typical zombie survival tropes. Fort of Apocalypse answers the question of what happens when the survivors are prisoners. After a zombie-infested van slams into the Shouran Juvenile Reformatory, four inmates are forced to survive prison, the zombies, and each other.
As with every other type of zombie media, from the Resident Evil video games to The Last of Us to the aforementioned 28 Days Later, special zombies are mixed in with the usual shambling types. In this case, these special zombies are the Nimble Zombies that turn into dog-like creatures as seen in John Carpenter's The Thing, zombie seals, and zombies that are capable of enhancing and mind-controlling their brethren called Bokors.
Needless to say, leaving the prison only opens the four up to further horror. It is the zombie apocalypse after all, so the nearby city isn't safe either. Then again, as with all zombie media, humans aren't entirely trustworthy either, especially when it comes to perceived criminals.
10) I am a Hero
A premise similar to Zom 100, I am a Hero revolves around struggling artist Hideo Suzuki. Manga stardom isn't all that it's cracked up to be for Suzuki, as he hasn't hit the big time and feels like a background character in his own life. Then the zombie apocalypse happens and things get really horrifying really fast in this horror manga.
Despite having a rather odd NEET of a main character and several off-the-wall types, this manga is rather horrifying in its depiction of a zombie apocalypse. Not only are there the usual adult types as seen in The Walking Dead, this manga also features zombie children, zombie babies, and other more unique zombie types that learn as they consume.
In short, it's a whirlwind trip from Tokyo to Mount Fuji for the main story. There are side stories involving other characters facing the outbreak in Osaka, Ibakari, and Nagasaki. They are all just as horrifying and harrowing as the main story.
The zombie apocalypse has many variations in both anime and manga form, but they tend to stick to certain tropes and archetypes. From viral outbreaks to alien involvement to governmental neglect and the problems with humanity when society collapses, zombie apocalypse media usually have something or another to say about society or humanity.
In the 10 examples of zombie apocalypse media chosen here, survival is prioritized and plenty of twists and turns besiege the survivors. Mankind's inhumanity, however, is likewise a part of zombie apocalypse narratives and these choices are no exception.
