Truck Stop of the Dead
Episode 7 of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead begins with a young Shizuka taking in a puppy she found on the street. However, her father refuses to let her care for it because he doesn’t want her to care for the weak.
In the present, Kosugi holds the welcoming party he promised to his men while Shizuka watches on from a distance. While Akira struggles to perform his waiter-like tasks for Kosugi’s men, Kosugi orders Shizuka to pour him a drink. He pours Shizuka some beer and makes crude comments toward her.
Kosugi calls Akira over and asks him to hand him another beer. Akira accidentally gives him an empty bottle, causing Kosugi to yell at him. At the same time, Shizuka reflects on her past life involving her father and his work life as a cold-blooded financer. Shizuka was expected to be the perfect child due to her father’s status. It’s revealed Shizuka hid a dog in her room and named it Roo.
After healing Roo, Shizuka confronted her father about wanting to become a doctor. However, he looked down upon the career for monetary reasons, feeling it would make Shizuka look weak. Furthermore, he told Shizuka he had men murder Roo.
We get a montage of Shizuka throughout her life, following her father’s orders. Despite her grievances with her father, Shizuka feels she must obey his orders if she wants to survive. After yelling at Akira more, Kosugi tells him he’s better off working for him than trying to survive with his friends in the apocalypse.
Shizuka gauzes on and recalls another moment with her father from her past where he points out poor people and tells her to continue following his orders. He asks Shizuka not to embarrass him, and she realizes following his orders is only for her father’s benefit. Shizuka returns to the RV and notices Akira’s bucket list. She looks through it and adds an item to it. The two days pass and Shizuka tells Kosugi she, Kencho, and Akira will be departing. However, Akira says he’ll be staying with Kosugi because he feels it’d be too dangerous to leave.
Before Shizuka leaves Akira behind, Akira says he must repay Kosugi for all that he’s done for them and feels working for him forever will solve that. This reminds Shizuka of her experience with her father, causing her to snap. She tells Akira the truth about Kosugi’s intentions and tells Akira he opened her eyes and refuses to let herself be handed over to anyone again. Shizuka hands Akira his bucket list and asks him what he wants to do. We get a glimpse of what Shizuka added to the list last night. She wants Akira to tell Kosugi off.
Kosugi tries ruining Akira’s bucket list, but he protects it. Akira thanks Kosugi for taking care of him and his friends, but he tells Kosugi he’ll be parting ways with him. Kosugi says he won’t survive out there, but Akira says he’d rather take his chances with his friends than work like a zombie for Kosugi’s needs. One of Kosugi’s men returns with a truck filled with goodies. However, a zombie exits the vehicle and bites him, causing the driver to panic and free Kosugi’s zombie slaves.
Akira develops a strategy on the fly and asks the delivery team for assistance. He saves Kosugi from becoming zombie food while the delivery team forms a barricade around Akira, Kosugi, and the zombies. Akira and Kosugi leap across the trucks after Akira blows up the area. Afterwards, the people working under Kosugi tell him they’re quitting. They all leave Kosugi behind as he pleads with them to stay.
The episode closes with Akira, Kencho, and Shizuka driving off to Gunma to find Akira’s family.
The Episode Review
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead delivers another fun episode this week. It sheds more light on Shizuka’s past while giving folks a slightly satisfying solution to Akira’s predicament with Kosugi. Although folks would’ve preferred for Kosugi to bite the dust, others will find his lack of support toward the chapter’s end satisfactory and fitting.
From the beginning, he’s had this sense of control and dominance over everyone he looked after. To see him lose it all makes for a slightly better conclusion to his arc in this series. Whether or not Kosugi undergoes some needed change or perishes from a pack of zombies, is up in the air. However, fans will love seeing Akira tell Kosugi off in his own joyful way.
Not only that but one can argue Shizuka got a taste of vengeance during her speech. Considering her situation with her father was similar to Akira’s predicament with Kosugi, one can interpret her actions as her telling her father off. Regardless, it’s great that our heroes are finally away from Kosugi and can carry out their plans as usual.
Overall, this was a delightful chapter of the anime. It touched upon some compelling themes, had great visuals, and allowed Akira and Shizuka to confront their pitiful past lifestyles. Unfortunately, we’ll need to wait some time for the next episode to release. However, I’m excited to see what awaits our heroes at Gunma.
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Episode Rating -
(4)