Zombie

Anime zombies inhabit a strange, alternate world. While Western media views the undead as a simple survival horror threat, anime and manga have taken it in every direction. Traditional, scary apocalyptic swarms are still a threat in shows like Highschool of the Dead, even though the characters refuse to use the word "zombie." However, Japanese artists draw them further.

Animation zombies are defined by their frequent overlap with comedy and cute character design. Zombieland Saga reinvented Japanese celebrities as zombie idols with stitched-up limbs, pale turquoise skin, and glowing red eyes that were still cute. A huge subgenre has developed around the "cute zombie" or monster girl look. Another important influence is the Chinese jiangshi, or Japanese kyonshi, which wear paper talismans on their hats and hop around. This type of undead appears frequently in anime character designs.

This tag offers art at two extremes. On one hand, horror films with rotting flesh, blood, and dark lighting are terrifying. However, pastel-colored zombie monster girls have cute stitches, bandages, or pale skin. Japan has no native word for "zombie." Instead, they use the loanword zonbi or the phrase ikeru shikabane, which means "living corpse." This allows for many artistic zombie interpretations.