High School of the Dead 9 – Iron Grip

Not a bad episode this week. It actually moves at a decent pace and gets Saeko and Takashi to Saya’s house in a single episode, which is frankly more than I expected. And even though the plot element of Saeko’s sadism is introduced a bit awkwardly, it ends with Saeko practically orgasming as she slices and dices zombies with her sword upgrade (feel the symbolism!), so that is a win in my book. She is pretty much glowing when she arrives at Saya’s pad with Takashi. No wonder Saya is so upset! Just wait until Rei sees those two. Yikes.

Death chart time~

Takashi: Man, in back-to-back episodes he hits a double with Rei and Saeko. What ridiculous situation will he concoct to allow him access to Saya’s rack? That Takashi is a calculating man. He probably needs to lay off the squeezing a bit, though — did you see how hard he was going at that boob? Damn, Takashi, you’re not making lemonade! It’s a good thing Saeko hasn’t had implants, because they would have exploded, otherwise. Also, I am of the opinion that Takashi and Saeko went a bit further than making out. My evidence? The presence of the zombies. Clearly they were attracted by the sounds of raucous lovemaking.

Likelihood of survival: Good thing there is no otaku army in this zombie apocalypse (?), because if there were, they would be all over Takashi. How dare he soil Saeko-sama!

Rei: Wow, she’s not in this episode at all. As I wrote a bit earlier, though, she is going to be pissed when she finds out about Takashi and Saeko. And she will find out. A girl like Rei has a sixth sense for these things. I’m not sure how a fight between Rei and Saeko would turn out. Saeko seems to be the better canon fighter, but Rei is higher up in the plot pecking order. The only clear winner here would be the audience.

Likelihood of survival: I don’t know, but she better not fuck up this group dynamic.

Saeko: How ironic — she complains about getting wet earlier in the episode, but by the end she is willingly wet! Ha ha! Seriously, though, when did she become so chaste? Just a few episodes prior, she didn’t seem too ashamed to be standing in front of Takashi in the thong maid get-up (and bless her for it!), but splash a bit of water on her and show off the bra a bit, and suddenly she’s the Virgin Mary. What gives? Perhaps it is Anime Law: Saeko’s feelings for Takashi have intensified by the episode, so she of course is proportionally ashamed for him to see her in any sort of naughty way. But it’s Saya’s job to be the tsundere, so Saeko’s just a bit embarrassed.

Likelihood of survival: She’ll have Rei and Saya coming after her eventually, but thinking about it a bit more, she can definitely take ’em, especially because Saya is such a crappy fighter. Saeko gets GOOD END?

Kouta: The girls must be doing many naughty things in Saya’s house if Kouta is relegated to being the lookout. At least he gets some quality time with Alice and Zeke. (By the way, after watching so much Universal Century Gundam recently, I can’t think of Zeke as belonging to anyone but the Principality of Zeon. Maybe he’s Char’s dog and fell into an alternate dimension?)

Likelihood of survival: It’s probably best that Kouta is kept away from the girls for the time being, lest he nosebleed to death.

Saya: Damn, she has a pretty nice place! Rika’s home was pretty kickin’, but Saya’s pad takes it to another level. Not that she can enjoy it much right now with Takashi and Saeko aglow from their orgasmic zombie battle. This is what happens when you don’t manipulate events to get yourself some alone time with Takashi!

Likelihood of survival: Uh, it won’t be very high if she angrily confronts Saeko, especially since she’s still on a battle high!

Marikawa: She’s not in this episode, either, is she? I wager she is sleeping off that hangover from a couple of episodes back.

Likelihood of survival: Pretty good as long as she is a quiet sleeper.

Shido: Is he even going to appear in this series again before the end? LOL

Likelihood of survival: He might have already received the Vince McMahon “YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU’RE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRED!!!!!!!” from the producers.

Rika: ;-;

Likelihood of survival: How do we even know she isn’t already dead at this point? Not like they would show it or anything. No, I’m not bitter at all.

Alice: She is the smartest character on the show. She saw Kouta’s proficiency with weapons and has immediately attached herself to him. And then she energetically greets the undisputed leader of the group and the group’s strongest physical fighter. Alice knows how to network.

Likelihood of survival: Even Marikawa has a higher chance of dying than Alice.