List Of Highschool Of The Dead Characters
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and
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series ''
Highschool of the Dead ''Highschool of the Dead'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's ''Monthly Dragon Age'' between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but ...
'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō with their storyline written by
Daisuke Satō was a Japanese board game designer, novelist, and manga writer. He was known for his alternate history novels ''Seito'' and ''Red Sun Black Cross,'' among others. He wrote the story for his manga ''Imperial Guards'' (with illustrator Yū Itō) ...
. The series revolves around a
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
that turns humans into
zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as , and the story follows a group of students at Fujimi High School: Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima,
Saya Takagi is a Japanese actress turned activist for the legalization of cannabis in Japan. Biography Saya Takagi started smoking cannabis when she was 17.
, and
Kohta Hirano The manga and anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō (manga artist), Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns hum ...
. Shizuka Marikawa, the high school's nurse, and Alice Maresato, a young girl, join the students as they fight their way to safety through the deadly streets of Japan during a worldwide catastrophic event known as the "Outbreak".


Creation and conception

Daisuke Sato, who has previously worked on various military genre games and manga, which include ''Imperial Guards'', wrote the story which uses the perspective of Japanese high school students and refers to classic zombie apocalypse movies such as '' Dawn of the Dead''. Character design was done by manga artist Shōji Satō whose previous work was mostly
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titles in the
adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
genre, and this was his first major non-hentai title. Masayoshi Tanaka, who also did '' Ano Hana'', ''
Toradora is a Japanese light novel series by Yuyuko Takemiya, with illustrations by Yasu. The series includes ten novels released between March 10, 2006 and March 10, 2009, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. Thre ...
'' and later ''
Waiting in the Summer is a 2012 Japanese anime television series animated by J.C.Staff, produced by Genco and Geneon, and directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. The screenplay was written by Yōsuke Kuroda with original character design by Taraku Uon, who both contributed ...
'', served as the Chief Animation Director and Character Designer for the anime adaptation. Series Director
Tetsurō Araki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He goes by the alias when working as an episode director and key animator. His most notable direction titles include '' Death Note'' and the first three seasons of '' Attack on Titan''. ...
, who previously directed ''
Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...
'' and ''
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'', mentioned in a 2010 ''
Dragon Age ''Dragon Age'' is a media franchise centered on a series of fantasy role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Th ...
'' interview, that he wanted to fill in the anime with many jiggling breast scenes, and that he was aiming for something he would have bought himself in middle school. Zac Bertschy of
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agrees with the intent: "turns out this show has decided that the one thing the zombie genre was missing were anime boobs." The anime also had a character break the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
: when asked why she is so ditzy, she responds that she was designed that way. Director Steven Foster, in his English dub adaptation, changed Takashi Komuro's character to use more profanity, as well as adding modern references to people such as
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
.


Main characters


Takashi Komuro

: is a 17-year-old second-year student of Fujimi High School and the male
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
and
viewpoint character Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
of the series. He and Rei are childhood friends and also in the same class. When they were children, Rei and Takashi made a promise to get married someday, but because of his indecisiveness, Rei started dating his friend, Hisashi. At the beginning of the series, when he notices the zombies attack the teachers at the front gate he rushes to Rei's side. When Hisashi turns into a zombie, Takashi kills Hisashi with a blow to the head, causing Rei to accuse Takashi of jealousy. Takashi proceeds to leave, admitting to her accusation in his thoughts, but Rei holds him back and apologizes; he responds with a hug. Although he is not a model student and had to repeat a grade, Takashi shows his resolve to protect his friends and is appointed the leader of the group by his peers. After fighting their way out of school with a baseball bat, Takashi recovers a Smith & Wesson Model 37 pistol from a dead cop, and later uses an Ithaca M37 riot shotgun. When the group visits a police station, he upgrades to a
Benelli M4 Super 90 The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic shotgun produced by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and the last of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-automatic shotguns. The M4 uses a proprietary action design called the "auto-regulating ga ...
combat shotgun. Although he does not officially have a license, Takashi rides a motorcycle and also drives an
Argo ATV Argo is a Canadian manufacturer of amphibious all-terrain vehicles. It was founded in 1962 as Ontario Drive and Gear (ODG) Limited, in Kitchener, Ontario and was later moved to New Hamburg, Ontario. Argo offers 6×6 and 8×8 amphibious extreme t ...
.


Rei Miyamoto

: is Takashi Komuro's classmate with orange-brown hair and reddish brown eyes. Before the events of the series, Rei made a
pinky promise To make a pinky promise, or pinky swear, is a traditional gesture most commonly practiced amongst children involving the locking of the pinkies of two people to signify that a promise has been made. The gesture is taken to signify that the person ...
to marry Takashi, but because of his indecisiveness, Rei started dating Hisashi. Rei is upset that Takashi kills Hisashi after he becomes a zombie, but when Takashi proceeds to leave her, she quickly retracts her words and pulls him back. In chapter 12, Rei tells Takashi that girls like guys that are cute and caring. When Takashi replies that he is not either of those she says that's why she likes him and does not want him to be with any other girls. Rei despises Mr. Shido, mainly because Shido held her back a year at school and caused trouble for her father. At the start of the series, Rei fights with a sharpened broomstick. After visiting Rika's apartment, she upgrades to a Springfield M1A1 Super Match rifle with a
bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...
attached. Character designer Shōji Satō featured Rei and Saeko in cross-over illustrations for his other manga ''Triage X'' and the video game ''
Lollipop Chainsaw is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
'', where their high school uniforms are available as
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
costumes for main character
Juliet Starling is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
.


Saeko Busujima

: is a third-year student at Fujimi High School with dark violet hair and bright blue eyes. As the president of the school's
kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...
club Saeko carries a bokken (wooden sword). Saeko is introduced as a calm and collected girl with pride in her skills; she kills an infected student out of mercy. Her father is abroad somewhere for a martial arts tournament. Saeko confides in Takashi that she was once almost sexually assaulted, but was able to fight back with her bokken and ended up breaking several of the attacker's bones before the police came. Although Takashi says it was self-defense, Saeko counters saying that it is her "raw nature" to take pleasure in inflicting pain and, in that way, she is no different than one of the zombies. She struggles with this part of her character and even considers giving up to "them", until Takashi helps restore her confidence. Saeko initially uses her bokken to fight, but upgrades to a
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
when they stop at a
shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
temple and then again at the Takagi estate. After the group visit a police station, Saeko starts carrying a Beretta 92 Vertec handgun on her thigh as a secondary weapon. Saeko was featured along with Rei in some cross-over illustrations for ''Triage X'' and ''
Lollipop Chainsaw is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
'', the latter of which features her purple high school uniform as a downloadable content costume.


Saya Takagi

: is a second-year student at Fujimi High School with pink hair styled in twin tails. She is the daughter of an influential ''
uyoku dantai refers to Japanese ultranationalist far-right activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as ''netto-uyoku'') often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing groups in ...
'' (right-wing) politician. A self-proclaimed genius, Saya uses her knowledge and deductive capabilities to help the group escape from harm, being among the first to conclude that "they" were attracted to only sound. Despite coming from a prestigious family, she despised her parents, who she thought had given up on finding her, but reconciles with them during the raid on the family estate. She detests that her family servants and related people only call her by her last name and never look her in the eyes when speaking to her. The exceptions to this are Kohta, whom she has a strange friendship with, and Takashi, who is her childhood friend. Saya watches over Alice like a guardian and insists Alice say her name using the "-sama" honorific. She scolds anyone who would attempt to tarnish Alice's innocence to any degree. She uses an electric
drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to ...
in early chapters of the series, then acquires a
Luger P08 The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
pistol. In Chapter 28, Kohta gives her an
MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
in exchange for her Luger.


Kohta Hirano

: is a 16-year-old second-year student at Fujimi High School who appears to be just a wimpy overweight guy with glasses, but is actually a gun
enthusiast In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by G ...
. He credits this to a visit to America, where he trained with a former
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
member for a month. In the beginning of the story, Saya finds Kohta cringing in the hallway as students run about in a panic. They hide in a classroom where Hirano is able to put together a
nail gun A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air (pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated ...
rifle powered by gas cartridges. Kohta has an unrequited crush on Saya. Kohta provides long-range cover when Takashi rescues Alice Maresato from approaching zombies after Alice's father is killed. At Saya's mansion, Kohta is confronted by some of Takagi's followers who demand that he surrender his weapons, but Kohta refuses saying this is the one thing he was good at and that he wants to protect Saya. The rest of the group, including Saya, support him. At the shopping mall, Kohta develops feelings for the police officer trainee, Asami Nakaoka, after helping her subdue an angry mall survivor. He spends some quality time with her, and convinces her to join the group. Unfortunately, the friendship is short-lived when Asami becomes trapped while attempting to save a boy in the parking lot. She shouts for Kohta to make it so that she will not become a zombie and cause pain to others around her. Kohta kills her and later finds himself in shock, but he is set straight by Shizuka, who uses a psychology trick of ordering him around like a sergeant. Kohta uses a variety of firearms; he favors the
AR-10 The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s and manufactured by ArmaLite (then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation). When first introduced in 1956, the AR-10 used an innovative co ...
(illegally modified to resemble an
SR-25 The SR-25 (Stoner Rifle-25) is a designated marksman rifle and semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Knight's Armament Company. The SR-25 uses a rotating bolt and a direct impingement gas system. It is loose ...
), which he uses to take out targets from a distance. During the raid on the police station, Kohta finds a Suppressed MP5 SFK, but gives it to Saya in exchange for her mom's
Luger P08 pistol The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
. He is based on
Kouta Hirano is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga ''Hellsing'' and ''Drifters''. Career Hirano said he learned how to be a manga artist from reading Akira Toriyama and Akira Sakuma's '' Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo' ...
, creator of the ''
Hellsing ''Hellsing'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Young King OURs'' from May 1997 to September 2008, with its ch ...
'' manga. Hirano himself is aware of the related character, writing in one afterword of ''Hellsing'' that "Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go kill zombies at my high school."


Shizuka Marikawa

: is a nurse at Fujimi High School. At the beginning of the story, Marikawa is nearly killed by a student-turned-zombie but is saved by Saeko Busujima. She has a rather ditsy personality, and her large boobs and butt size is often used as a comical element in the story. She is close friends with Rika Minami, who works as a sniper on the prefectural police
Special Assault Team The is a police tactical unit in major Japanese prefectural police departments, supervised by the National Police Agency. The SAT is a national-level counter-terrorism unit that cooperates with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Count ...
, and she even house-sits for her. The group uses Rika's apartment to rest after they escape the high school. Although she is the oldest of the group at age 27, she is emotionally fragile and does not know what will become of her life. She reveals to Takashi Komuro that she is just a temporary school nurse, and that she is still taking classes and training. Despite this, Marikawa has put her knowledge to good use, and even brings
Kohta Hirano The manga and anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō (manga artist), Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns hum ...
to his senses after he had mercy-killed Asami Nakaoka. As the only adult in the group, she drives the bus out of the school, and then Rika's military-grade
Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
.


Alice Maresato

: is a seven-year-old girl whom Kohta and Takashi rescue from the zombie horde after her father-(a
newspaper reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
) is killed by members of a household who would not allow them shelter. She has a generally positive attitude, as Takashi and Saeko comment how she has "done well" in coping with the loss. In some of the chapters, she and Zeke scout the area for the group. In the English dub of the anime, she goes by the name Arisu. According to a bonus chapter, she is the next door neighbor of Takashi's friend, Imamuru.


Other characters


Hisashi Igo

: is a second year Fujimi High School student and Rei Miyamoto's classmate and boyfriend; he and Takashi are friends. He refers to the zombies as "them" since they are not quite like the ones seen in movies, and that becomes the name for any zombies the main group encounters in the series. On the way out of class, he is bitten by an infected teacher. After rising as one of "them", Takashi delivers a fatal blow to his head.


Koichi Shido

: is the teacher of Class 3A. Rei Miyamoto is disgusted by him and Saeko Busujima says his name with a scowl, which hints of his villainous character, which is affirmed when he leaves behind a student who sprained his ankle and even kicks him back towards a group of pursuing zombies, and says there is no point in keeping weaklings alive.
Kohta Hirano The manga and anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō (manga artist), Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns hum ...
affirms that Shido used to allow bullies to beat Kohta up as he watched with glee. Saya and Saeko comment that Shido's actions are like that of a recruiter for a religious cult. Shido permits the main group to leave the bus except for Shizuka, but Kohta expresses his disapproval of Shido's actions and grazes Shido's face with a nail gun shot. Later on, Shido watches over an orgy among his followers. He finds this behavior acceptable during the group's "free time". Shido declares his followers "angels that will help usher in a new age", but when Yamada disagrees and shows concern for his own family, Shido convinces his followers to eject the "weak link" for the sake of the New World, and they callously throw the teen off the bus and leave him to be eaten by "them". Koichi Shido is the son of Ichiro Shido, a politician. In the manga, when Koichi's mother dies, he becomes a teacher at Tokonosu where his father is a director, but his father reveals he has an illegitimate son, and forces him to work in the shady family business. One of the dealings involves stopping Rei’s father from investigating the Shido family’s funding; Shido arranges for Rei to be held back a year. When Rei threatens to kill Shido with her bayonet, Shido dares her to do it, but she cannot, as he is not worth the trouble. Soichiro orders Shido and his student followers to leave, and he complies, but a
high-altitude nuclear explosion High-altitude nuclear explosions are the result of nuclear weapons testing within the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere and in outer space. Several such tests were performed at high altitudes by the United States and the Soviet Union betwe ...
causes both the bus and nearby forklift with a concrete barrier to stall and they collide. He recovers consciousness in time to see the undead horde that advances through the gap in the barrier. Shido reappears at the entrance to Shintoko Third Elementary School, which is a gathering point for some of the survivors.


Rika Minami

: is the chief of first squadron in the prefecture police, and an expert sniper in the
Special Assault Team The is a police tactical unit in major Japanese prefectural police departments, supervised by the National Police Agency. The SAT is a national-level counter-terrorism unit that cooperates with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Count ...
, who, along with the
Special Security Team The is a counter terrorism tactical unit of the Japan Coast Guard, based at the . The acronym of its Kanji name has already been used by other units, the abbreviation "SST" is used for this team. Background In 1985, the Maritime Safety Agency ...
, are deployed to clear the nearby airport of any zombie stragglers and to rescue any survivors. She is friends with Shizuka Marikawa, and lets her house-sit when she goes on assignments. At the airport mission, her partner sacrifices himself by using
jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
in a tanker to immolate the zombies. She manages to get in contact with Shizuka, who informs her that they "stayed over and borrowed her weapons and things," before the communication is cut by an EMP surge. She is last seen as she returns to the city to find Marikawa.


Zeke

: , known in the English anime dub as Zero, is a mixed-breed puppy that joins the group when Takashi rescues Alice. He is named after the
Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...
fighter plane, which was also nicknamed Zeke by the Allied forces during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Soichiro Takagi

: is Saya's father. He is the leader of a
right-wing nationalist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populism, populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-Elitism, elitist sentiments, opposi ...
group in the Tokonosu district. He showed his leadership to the survivors when he rallies them to kill the zombies in order to save Japanese society from collapsing, and publicly kills his zombified subordinate. Soichiro seems to be a sword expert: he prefers to use the sword instead of his wife's
Luger P08 pistol The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
and has trained with Saeko Busujima's father. Later he entrusts Saeko with a
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
made with military-grade steel at an industrial weapons factory. When the zombies breach the estate, he and his troops fight them off. He tells Takashi Komuro to go save Rei's parents, and entrusts
Kouta Hirano is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga ''Hellsing'' and ''Drifters''. Career Hirano said he learned how to be a manga artist from reading Akira Toriyama and Akira Sakuma's '' Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo' ...
with protecting Saya. While the Takagis and the rest of the estate survivors fight against the horde, Soichiro comments that they are proud of their daughter and the friends she has made.


Yuriko Takagi

: is Saya's mother. She worked in New York City as a Wall Street stock broker until she met and married Soichiro Takagi. The Takagi family fortune rose significantly due to her business connections. When the zombies breach the estate, she gives Saya her
Luger P08 pistol The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...
, and then proceeds to assist her husband in fighting the horde.


Miku Yuuki

: is a second-year Fujimi High student, who schoolmate Morita says is one of the sexiest girls in school. She sides with Koichi Shido when he takes over the bus, and participates in their debauchery. When Yamada questions Shido, Yuuki suggests they kick him off the bus. She also helps Shido enter the Takagi estate by flirting with one of the guards, but is forced to leave after Shido is expelled from the estate. She later appears alongside Shido at the entrance to Shintoko Third Elementary School.


Asami Nakaoka

is a young traffic enforcer for Tokonosu Higashi Police Station; she guards a group of survivors at a nearby mall. She refers to herself in the third-person. Asami's authority quickly wanes amongst the survivors until
Kohta Hirano The manga and anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō (manga artist), Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns hum ...
and Takashi Komuro arrive and build up her confidence by giving her a Smith & Wesson Model 37 pistol (the standard-issue firearm for Japanese police officers). She develops a liking for Kohta after he subdues a guy named Shimada who wanted to sexually assault Shizuka Marikawa. Asami later accompanies Takashi to help obtain blood plasma for a sick survivor and is forced to
mercy kill ''Star Wars: X-wing'' is a ten-book series of '' Star Wars'' novels by Michael A. Stackpole (who also co-wrote the similarly named comic book series) and Aaron Allston. Stackpole's contributions cover the adventures of a new Rogue Squadron forme ...
one of the mall survivors, Tamaru, when he gets bitten by "them". Asami's superior officer is Matsushima, who leaves for the police station before Takashi and the group arrive. Asami is shocked to find Matsushima who is walking as a zombie. She dejectedly runs to the mall's rooftop but is encouraged by Kohta to go with him and his friends. When the zombies invade the mall, Asami uses some firecrackers to divert their attention. Shortly after breaking out of the mall with the group, she attempts to save a frightened student trapped on top of a truck in the parking lot. She and Shimada distract the zombies long enough for the student to escape, however Asami herself becomes trapped without any more bullets. Asami shouts that she hates Kohta, although Takashi immediately recognizes and tells Kohta that she is just yelling to attract the zombies so that they can escape. She shouts out one final request for Kohta not to allow her to become a zombie, and Kohta sadly aims his rifle at her head as she salutes goodbye.


Tadashi Miyamoto

: is Rei's father and a police officer who first appears in chapter 30. Previously, only his voice was heard on Rei's cellphone in a bad one-way connection. Prior to the outbreak, Miyamoto has been investigating fraud and corruption relating to Koichi Shido's family. When he learned that his daughter Rei was held back a year because of his actions he apologized to Rei but continued his investigation with the goal of arresting the Shidos. Tadashi leaves a message on the whiteboard at the police station for all surviving police to head towards Shintoko Third Elementary School for a scheduled evacuation by the SDF.


Kiriko Miyamoto

is Rei's mother and one of the neighborhood survivors. When she goes out for supplies the neighbors shut her out. Happily, she meets Rei and the group and they head to Shintoko Third Elementary School to join the other survivors. Kiriko has worked as a police officer and was nicknamed Precinct Kiriko for her ferocity. She uses her husband's spear with some apparent expertise.


Reception

Deb Aoki found the manga characters to be interesting with distinct personalities and conflicts, but the fanservice to be utterly ridiculous and distracting. Chris Zimmerman of Comicbookbin.com criticizes the "one-note characters that have undergone little development" in the manga. Nicoletta Browne of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews found the characters utterly dull and vapid; she wrote that there was "no hope for characters who must be stripped naked to become remotely interesting." Theron Martin of
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
found the character dynamics interesting to watch especially between
Kohta Hirano The manga and anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'' features a diverse range of characters designed by Shōji Satō (manga artist), Shōji Satō with their storyline written by Daisuke Satō. The series revolves around a pandemic that turns hum ...
and
Saya Takagi is a Japanese actress turned activist for the legalization of cannabis in Japan. Biography Saya Takagi started smoking cannabis when she was 17.
, and the "solid give-and-take relationship" between Takashi Komuro and Rei Miyamoto, although Shizuka Marikawa as a busty airhead was disappointing. Marcus Speer of Japanator.com listed Saeko Busujima as an honorable mention in his yearly list for best female characters, and praised her delivery of the phrase . Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network wrote that the English dub voices were all just fine except for
Monica Rial Monica Jean Rial (born October 5, 1975) is an American voice actress and ADR script writer affiliated with Funimation and Seraphim Digital/Sentai Filmworks. She provides voices for English language versions of Japanese anime films and televisi ...
's "nigh-unlistenable high-pitched bimbo voice", and also wrote that Takashi changed from a "soft-spoken, straightforward fellow to a kid who just found out he can drop F-bombs without mom getting angry". Bertschy also criticizes the character design of the girls in the show as "ridiculously-endowed heroines" with "cartoon bombshell bodies" that are "tiresome and feels like it was written by a 13-year old."


Merchandise

The characters of ''Highschool of the Dead'' are featured on various merchandise from wall-scroll posters and figurines (some of which have removable clothing) to keychains, wallets, cell phone charms, and T-shirts.


Notes


References


''Highschool of the Dead'' manga

;Entire series * Sato, Daisuke, ''学園黙示録 HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD '' (in Japanese). 7 vols.
Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
2007–present. * ''Highschool of the Dead'' (in English). 7 vols.
Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
2011–present. ;Individual volumes # # # # # # # # {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Highschool Of The Dead Characters
Highschool of the Dead ''Highschool of the Dead'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's ''Monthly Dragon Age'' between the September 2006 and May 2013 issues, but ...