Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a Japanese manga series written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X since October 2018, with its chapters collected in 21 volumes as of November 2025. The series is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media and in Southeast Asia by Shogakukan Asia.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Bug Films aired from July to December 2023. It is licensed by Viz Media outside of Asia. Muse Communication licensed the anime for South Asia and Southeast Asia regions. A live-action film adaptation premiered on Netflix in August 2023.
Plot
Akira Tendo, a 24-year-old office worker of an extremely exploitative marketing firm, discovers himself trapped in a routine and meaningless life. He lacks drive and motivation after three years of abusive treatment. When a zombie apocalypse unexpectedly strikes Tokyo, everything is turned upside down. Instead of succumbing to dread, Akira sees this as an opportunity to experience life to the fullest rather than settle for his humdrum, depressing existence. He decides to create a bucket list of everything he wants to do before becoming a zombie in order to not only experience it firsthand but also to show that he is still alive and well. This decision gives him a newfound sense of purpose.Others soon join him in his journey: Kencho, Akira's old college buddy who seeks to be a stand-up comedian; Shizuka, a sullen and blunt woman who is also seeking to escape an abusive life; and Beatrix, a German college graduate infatuated with Japanese culture. With them at his side, Akira embarks on a number of exciting and frequently bizarre excursions throughout zombie-infested Japan, checking off bucket list items that range from simple pleasures like eating at expensive restaurants for free to more extravagant pursuits like going on roller coasters and visiting haunted houses. The group also comes across other survivors who have their own motivations for surviving as they make their way across the country and its swarms of flesh-eating zombies. Along the journey, they forge odd alliances, face their own anxieties, and learn the importance of friendship and the human spirit's ability to persevere in the face of difficulty.
Ultimately, it is revealed that the global zombie pandemic was instigated by the pharmaceutical corporation Umbriel. The virus, which Umbriel obtained from a comet that struck Tokyo prior to the outbreak, was weaponized for biological warfare. However, a countermeasure is discovered when a young gamer girl named Izuna Tokage is found to carry a natural antibody against the pathogen. Researcher Yudai Tsurumi utilizes this antibody to develop a vaccine, providing a potential means to counteract the pandemic.
Characters
Main characters
;Akira Tendo;Shizuka Mikazuki
;Kenichiro Ryuzaki / Kencho
;Beatrix Amerhauser / Bea
;Takeru Minakata / Takemina
;Izuna Tokage
Supporting characters
;Mikio Kousaka Sumire Kousaka;Teruo Tendo
;Akiko Tendo
Antagonists
;Gonzou Kosugi;Kanta Higurashi
;Shigenobu Kurasagi
;Naoki Atenbou
;Touko Kanbayashi
Other characters
;Saori Ohtori;Yukari
;Masaru Kumano
;Nagisa Kaneshiro
;Kongouji Hikoemon
;Anju
Production
Haro Aso, the author of the series, commented that the handling of the zombie genre as entertainment has been overused in several types of media. Aso was planning a new work when he came up with the idea of "let's do a zombie one". So, Aso came up with the idea of a protagonist who can see zombies as something fun, thinking that real people might be more disgusting than zombies, and "It would be interesting to mix zombies and company beasts". He has come up with the idea of having company animals as the main characters. However, he was impressed after watching the 2018 Japanese film One Cut of the Dead. Aso was amazed by the take a "heartwarming zombie comedy" by Shin'ichirō Ueda. Though the manga predated the film, Aso enjoyed One Cut of the Dead while adding that he wrote the manga without being conscious of the international market. Aso originally preferred Western movies over domestic ones, leading to his manga being more influenced by the former. In order to stand out as a manga author, he wanted to make a commentary about Japanese society in order to tell the audience to laugh, something different from previous zombie works. The style is described as "a little offbeat, a little silly". While telling a ridiculous story, his message was telling the readers to do whatever they want like his characters do.Aso, who had no experience working in a company, interviewed his friend, an office worker. While drinking on the weekend and taking notes on his friend's complaints. As Aso listened to him, he commented that he thought to himself: "If this is the case, I'd still rather be a zombie". From that story, he envisioned the main character, Akira, who puts off everything he wants to do and devotes himself to his work at the company. Then, he put Akira into a zombie world, thus initiating the production of the story.
Artist Kotaro Takata said that the theme of zombies was something he always wanted to work on, with some of his favorite works in the horror genre being Zombieland and Z Nation. Aso and Takada, who is in charge of the animation, were "originally private friends who often went camping together." According to Aso, Takada said things like "When this series is over, I'm going to go back to my parents' house and start farming and hunting," as if he "always wanted to escape from reality." When Aso was thinking about the story, Takada came to mind, and he called him to ask if he wanted to start a work together. Takada agreed, taking charge of the illustrations.
Media
Manga
Written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead began serialization in Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X on October 19, 2018. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on March 19, 2019. As of November 19, 2025, 21 volumes have been released.In North America, Viz Media announced the English release of the series in July 2020. On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their Viz Manga digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan. In Singapore, the manga has been licensed by Shogakukan Asia.
Volumes
- Note: The chapters are numbered after a superscript # symbol.
Chapters not yet in ''tankōbon'' format
- 82: "Song of the Dead "
- 83: "Vaccine of the Dead "
- 84: "Vaccine of the Dead, Part 1"
Anime
On January 6, 2023, an anime television series adaptation was announced, as part of a deal between Viz Media, Shogakukan, and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions. It was produced by Bug Films and directed by Kazuki Kawagoe, with assistant direction by Hanako Ueda, scripts supervised by Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Kii Tanaka, zombie designs by Junpei Fukuchi, and music composed by Makoto Miyazaki. The series aired from July 9 to December 26, 2023, on the programming block on all JNN stations in Japan, including MBS and TBS. The opening theme song is "Song of the Dead" performed by Kana-Boon, while the ending theme song is "Happiness of the Dead" performed by Shiyui.Hulu, Netflix, and Crunchyroll streamed the series in the United States simultaneously with its Japanese release. The English dub of the series aired in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from March 31 to July 7, 2024. It was released on Blu-ray Disc set on October 8, 2024. Muse Communication licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.
Episodes
Live-action film
On June 7, 2022, during the Geeked Week livestream, Netflix announced a live-action film adaptation. Yusuke Ishida directed the film, based on a screenplay by Tatsuro Mishima. Akira Morii served as producer at Robot Communications, in collaboration with Plus One Entertainment. The film premiered on August 3, 2023. The theme song is "HoriZom" performed by Ren.Reception
Manga
Critical reception
Briana Lawrence of The Mary Sue praised the manga's premise for making the reader care not for Akira's quest but instead of the fact that he does not care about the fact there are zombies in Japan and how he spends his free time. Akira's viewpoint of the post-apocalyptic world was compared to an optimistic view to the world's situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kara Dennison of Otaku USA said the series gives several positive messages, such as Akira's optimism when dealing with the chaotic world as well as the cast in general's outlook to the current status quo. Koiwai of Manga News found the story quirky, crazy, and cynical, praising the handling of Akira, while responding positively to the artwork, especially the drawing of zombies.Accolades
The series was nominated for the Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia and Best Humor Publication categories in 2022. The series was also nominated for the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2023.Anime
Critical reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on five reviews, with an average rating of 9.7/10. The critics from Anime News Network gave the first episode a very positive reception. James Beckett and Richard Eisenbeis gave it a perfect score, complimenting the storytelling, visuals, direction, animation and the handling of Akira's character. Rebecca Silverman described that the art direction is fascinating and does a remarkable job of emphasizing the decline of Akira's quality of life and its sudden resurgence. Nicholas Dupree praised its animation, direction and Akira's character while noting that " is simple, a bit trashy, and doesn't do much to innovate in the well-trodden ground of zombie fiction, but it has a solid emotional core and an excess of energy."Daniel Kurland of Den of Geek describing the series premiere, saying, "This first episode utilizes a simple, yet effective, trick where the color palette is actively muted during the extended flashback that's set during the early days at Akira's job." Regarding the series' opening theme song, he described it as "an absolute banger and perfectly captures the anime's bombastic, care-free energy." Rafael Motamayor of IGN called the series premiere as "one of the best first episodes of an anime in a long time", praising its visual storytelling, framing, and color in handling Akira's miserable work life. He also praised the series for its refreshing take on a zombie genre, characters, and humor, while criticizing its animation quality as unreliable due to the studio's production delays that made it a "less-than-perfect watch."