A Matter of Perception

Gakkou Gurashi – A Matter of Perception

by Carcass H

Initial impressions:

Let us begin with a happy moment: perfectly normal girls attending their classes, as if it was school as usual. What is unusual, however, is the presence of a unique club within the school.

I’m sure the students in most schools have extra-curricular activities, such as participating in clubs (gardening, language, sewing) or sports-based activities such as football, baseball or track. Well, the exciting premise (I’m lying) here is that our main characters are part of the School-Living Club, where the main activity is… living in the school.

Our happy-go-lucky protagonist, Takeya Yuki, seeks out fun school activities such as camping and tests of courage, while the other club members seemingly go out of their way to entertain her whims. 

Mental Anguish

Before we continue to the end of the episode, those watching the show with a keen eye will likely see a few things amiss in our happy, everyday scenario.

For example, a girl (Ebisuzawa Kurumi) who seems to love her shovel very much. Ominous messages in the background. A classmate who keeps giving Yuki odd looks. A ‘teacher’ (Sakura Megumi) who reminds our young protagonist to attend club. Rows of tables acting like a barricade.

Even if you didn’t see that, the end of the episode will reveal to you the reality of the situation – our main character is delusional, as she and her fellow club members are simply the survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

Yep. The shovel serves as a way for the most physically able of the students to… umm… dispatch zombies. The reason they have to attend club activity is because they are surrounded by zombies. It becomes clear that our main character likely became delusional due to a mental breakdown following the zombie situation.

The following episodes see the journey of the club – as they try their best to stay alive, as well as shed some light onto how the situation happened.

Will I Enjoy This Show?

If you’re the sharp type and like being challenged on being observant, or like zombie survival stories, the show is pretty exciting. If you like to see girls being traumatised (a la Puella Magi Madoka Magika), you’ll love this show.

There is a lot of information that first-time viewers would definitely miss out on. For example, now that you know Yuki is delusional, you should rewatch the first episode to find another titbit. I’m not telling you what it is, as that would be a spoiler.

As for me, I love deconstruction, and things that betray my expectations in a good way. 

Shows that slowly reveal their depth tend to draw me in, and I just love it when they show me something I could have deduced myself if I were more observant (i.e no asspulls). I also have a love-hate relationship with plot twists, especially at the end of an episode, as it gives me time to think about the possibilities. It's even better if the next episode proves me wrong while still making sense!

I’m looking forward to finishing this journey – hopefully it will be an entertaining ride!


Carcass H is a fan of manga and anime. Click here to read more about him.