Warning. This review contains spoilers. https://i.ur.com/5i8Dia0.png Without a doubt Gakkou Gurashi hit me hard. I took a dive into the show with some knowledge of its unconventional twist while still expecting a less serious more silly vibe just because it looked cute but that was too optimistic of me. Yeah...too optimistic indeed. It all started in a happygolucky kind of way. A new day welcomes the childlike Yuki as she readies herself to emanate happiness once more in her beloved school which happens to be her living place too. But thats inherent for all the members of the School Living Club: a club dedicated in activities encouraging selfgovernance and independence. Anyway its a peachy place and the familiar sweetness fills my heart up. Maybe even a bit too much but Yuki kept distracting me with her bright energy. Energy thats pleasant enough to take her cute club members and friends along. Energy thats lively enough to chase after an adorably smart dog. An energy thats deceiving enough to completely alter her perception of the real worlda world of a zombie outbreakand from there on the sweetness takes on a different taste. A bittersweet kind. And its heavy to take in. https://i.ur.com/J29UfHV.png That revelation was palpable to me despite me already knowing about the walking dead setting. It was an instant makeover. What shouldve been a school full of youthful bliss has become a gloomy havena club room barricaded against the infected dangers that constantly surround these girls. Their peers are the undead. The atmosphere stifles with a seriousness way too different to that of the exam period. And Yukis rosy view on life hints of a deeper trauma thats desperately trying to cover up the jarring truths. Its these juxtapositions thanks to the first episodes subversion that Gakkou Gurashi heavily relies on to mould its partmoe parthorror story. At its greatest the duality is highly effective in terms of creating an emotional resonance within me which Ill go into soon. But the show is also threading on a delicate balance between dark and cute here. With the significance of its flashbacks and subtle uncovering of truths to gradually reveal information of how the world came to be where the girls came from and the severity of their circumstances having to be distracted by the more carefree slicesoflife doesnt bode too well with my immersion. In other words the show sometimes ends up mixing comedy into seriousness rather intrusively. That said being intrusive is the shows minor downside as when the situation is appropriate which is for the most part the bittersweetness accentuates the sweeter feelings to hearttugging levels. From the hardships a tightknit friendship is strengthened between all the members of the School Living Club. And with friendship the hopeful spirit to survive is brought about where living becomes much more meaningful than giving up. The fact that the girls try to live their lives just like any other day despite the cruel world is the main reason why Ive become so attached to them. At the same time though that very attachment also aches the heart ever more heavily as Yukis psychosis slowly shatters away to reveal the poignant realities and as the dangers begin to lumber into their fragile safety. https://i.ur.com/RBAmuoD.png Visually speaking Gakkou Gurashi constructs its art with the same contrast Ive been talking about: you have the cutely designed girlsand a dogliving in a school environment reduced to a postapocalyptic look. Zombies reflected on the broken window panes. Zombies stumbling about in the distant backdrops. The visual is a reminder of the harsh bittersweetness that constantly challenges Yukis brighter delusions. Even more so the way Lerche utilizes censoringat most showing only blood and corpsesproves effective in getting its harrowing message across. The subsequent implications between scenes are enough for me to draw my own conclusions and leave behind a void in the stomach kind of feeling that draws out all positivity positivity that could only come back by the more endearing interactions and expressions in the sliceoflife moments. Now I dont think the show had to necessarily employ a moe aesthetic. The girls couldve been designed any other way and the overall story wont change but as someone who adores the cute girls style they probably wanted to intensify the emotions from people like me. Which Ill just say has worked way too well. With sorrow in mind the soundtracks further elicit the brighter and darker feelings. Theres this one musical box theme Kyou wa Oyasuminasai translated as Good Night For Now that really defines the shows auditory experience where it has the sweet nostalgia thats pleasant to the ears but the steady rhythmic noteslike the thump thump thump noises of heartbeatssound distressing at the same time. These kinds of melancholic pieces play throughout the show and if my heavy responses are any proof they are important components in the shows crafting of emotions alongside the voiceacting. At times sweet. At the other bitter. But most certainly bittersweet. Gakkou Gurashi has been one emotional roller coaster that tugged hard at my heartstrings. While not without its flawed distractions its still a show that narrates why hardships and zombie apocalypse is a duo that will never leave the rule of storytelling. So much so that by the end of it all I just want these girls to leave this nightmare and have sweet dreams once more. For a warm rest is what they deserve after their many struggles. 480https://i.ur.com/vZ4AnDz.gif