High School of the Dead premiered during a period when nationalist sentiment was on the rise among Japanese youth. But while the series regularly transgresses into bad taste and absurdity, it also touches on a vast array of nationalist themes that might go unnoticed by viewers otherwise transfixed by graphic visuals and the surreal simplicity of plot. It is punctuated by extreme violence and fetishises weaponry unremittingly. The manga/anime series High School of the Deadis a relatively vulgar pastiche of zombie tropes combined with hypersexual imagery that borders on ludicrous caricature of female characters. The current climate in Japan, for example, not only fosters the creation of manga and anime with nationalist themes but also allows such entertainment to thrive in a highly competitive marketplace. Keywords: Militarist nationalism, manga, Netto-uyoku, buki-otaku, the Iraq War, New Masculinities.Īny popular cultural text springs from a specific environment.

By artificially sparking controversy around their work, the authors ensured that they reached several target audiences, such as buki-otaku, netto-uyoku, as well as a more general audience. However, while the series initially appears to support ultra-nationalist ideologies, this may be a strategy utilised by the authors to distinguish their work in an oversaturated market. Ultra-nationalists, rather than the government, create effectively defended refugee camps. Members of the Japanese Self Defense Force and special police, unlike their overseas counterparts, are the only effective parts of the Japanese state to survive in a zombie apocalypse. The defense alliance between the United States and Japan repeatedly fails in the wake of global catastrophe, leaving Japan open to attacks from mainland Asia. Within the series itself, however, numerous narrative and character choices appear to support the ideologies of the Japanese ultra-Right. However, an interest in military history and contemporary weaponry does not predicate that one is sympathetic towards the further loosening of restrictions on the Japanese Self Defense Force or to arguments in favour of Imperial Japanese military actions. The two artists involved, particularly the late Satō Daisuke, are known to have a personal interest in Japanese military history or war-focused media and allegedly held views that aligned with those of the Japanese ultra-Right.

The ultimate goal of this decision remains obscure.

The horror manga series High School of the Dead, which ran from 2006 to 2013, is notable for its manipulation and allusions to a variety of militarist or ultranationalist imagery.

Highschool of the dead tv tropes