The Summer 2023 anime season has been greatly anticipated for the plethora of hit returning titles; however, among the group of new anime coming out this season is one exciting prospect: the anime adaptation of Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata's Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead manga. The first episode of Zom 100 was conceptually and visually stunning, walking the road less travelled when it comes to the zombie subtrope of horror, and one of the most interesting things about the series is the studio behind the animation.
BUG FILMS is relatively new player in the anime studio arena having been established as recently as September 2021; however, the triumph that Zom 100 was in its first episode is particularly incredible considering that the title is the studio's first ever anime production. Here's a glimpse at BUG FILMS, the new studio behind this season's Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.
Background
The production company BUG FILMS was formally established by Hiroaki Kojima (animation producer on Komi Can't Communicate at OLM) on September 22, 2021 and is a subsidiary of Twin Engine Inc. The founder's reasons for the establishment of BUG FILMS was to create works that people found valuable, and further the realm of animation by not focusing on trends but making space for new forms of expression. The company has 21 employees as of 2022, with the directors being Tokyo Designer Gakuin lecturer Satoshi Nakano (chief animation director, Summer Time Rendering), former OLM employee Kazuki Kawagoe and Hibiki Saito.
Works
BUG FILMS has been involved in the production of a few popular anime series, including 2021's Komi Can't Communicate and 2022's Summer Time Rendering; however, the currently-airing Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is the studio's first project as the aforementioned titles were produced in cooperation with OLM. The Tokyo-based production company has also been involved in various small aspects of other anime projects, such as the second key animation of titles like The Ancient Magus' Bride, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, the currently-airing Undead Murder Farce, Pokémon Horizons: The Series and Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible.
As BUG FILMS' first anime production and first adaptation, skeptics may say it's too early to deem Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead a successful project; however, the series has been incredible in its first two episodes thus far, with the first episode being an especially significant victory in the history of the studio as its approach to the visuals and animation have not only adapted the original manga very well so far, but also shown the kind of care with this particular production that shallow visuals can't convey.
Zom 100
The vibrancy of the series' visuals has shown the skill of the BUG FILMS staff, and if what we've seen from them thus far is anything to go by, the studio is going to enjoy every success in the near future. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead follows former wage slave Akira Tendo in the wake of a zombie apocalypse currently wreaking havoc across the world. Despite the current turmoil, Akira's horrible experiences of working for an exploitative company in a toxic workplace environment that overworks staff for the past three years of his life has made him appreciative of all the freedom he can now enjoy, inspiring him to write up a list of everything he wants to do before the inevitable happens.
The original manga written by Haro Aso and illustrated by Kotaro Takata is currently serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Sunday Gene-X, with 14 volumes out since its start in October 2018. The manga is licensed for English release by VIZ Media, with the 11th volume set to be published in August; however, the series receives simultaneous English chapters on the VIZ Media digital manga service. The anime series is directed by Kazuki Kawagoe; who directed both seasons of the Komi Can't Communicate anime, assisted by Hanako Ueda, with series composition by Hiroshi Seko (Series Composer, all seasons of Mob Psycho 100), music by Makoto Miyazaki and character designs by Kii Tanaka (Chief Animation Director, Kaguya-sama: Love is War).
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.