Ai goes about her daily work as a gravekeeper in a small village where she had enough graves prepared for the rest of the residents. Conveniently, a man with the same name as her father shows up and slaughters all of them in this first episode. Poor Ai. This episode was about having doubts cast on Ai’s past, the fact that she’s a gravekeeper as a young girl and of the village itself. After all, this is a world where people continue to move long after they should have died.
On paper, this should be an interesting scenario. In years past, God had left this world leaving behind a situation where people were no longer born or died in a traditional sense. If their hearts stopped or they lost all of their blood, they would keep on moving anyway as though nothing was wrong. Death could only come about from one of the gravekeepers who have the power to seal the fate of the dead.
So in this situation, it may have been a good idea to focus on the people who kept moving after death like zombies. Instead, apart from one small action scene there was talking between Ai and the man who slaughtered everyone in the village Hampnie Hambart. Why was a little girl made a gravekeeper? Who were her parents really? Why was the village lying to her about both of those things? It’s fair to say that it didn’t make it the most exciting episode.
What did catch the attention was the fight in the village square. There the shopkeeper with part of his head missing tried to protect Ai from Hampnie. A zombie protecting the person that would kill him in the end. What an odd situation. That battle ends predictably with more blood flying from the head of the shopkeeper, but it’s all pretty censored anyway. You could tell he was missing part of his head without actually seeing it directly. That must be why he conveniently had a hood to put over his head. Ultimately, I expect these sorts of moments to be few and far between. I’m thinking a minute an episode at best.
For the visuals, I’m going to use that wonderful expression to say that it was beautifully shot. Like I said, there is significant censoring when it comes to the blood and violence. It’s completely understandable when it comes down to it happening right in full view of a little girl. As for the music, it’s really generic so I can’t complain.
Reasons to Continue Watching
- Guns and zombies
- The morality of a world where people can’t die
- Lengthy dialogue
Reasons to Drop
- As exciting as watching paint dry
- The girl as a protagonist means this show can’t go all out in the visual department
- The chemistry between these three characters on this journey doesn’t bode well
My Verdict: A good concept ultimately let down by having to actually execute it. While it would be nice to say they are saving something for later episodes, it’s not good to make your first episode dreadfully dull. I will be giving this one a miss.
Lower Mid-Table 