If you are expected another of those stupid one-hit-and-she’s-out scenes, think again.

Just looking at the title, you can see that it’s very much focused on Ayano. And let’s just say that Ayano totally surprised me this episode. I mean, totally. Just wait until all ye Ayano-haters have a glimpse of this week’s Ayano.

In a nutshell, this week has Ayano trying to stop Kazuma by whatever means possible… in this case, an all-out brawl. Can this girl, who has always been impulsive and dependent on Kazuma, actually do the impossible and beat Kazuma? Or just simply, beat some sense into him?

Going by the traditional shounen route, Ayano would get hurt by Kazuma and then Kazuma will suddenly realize that he has hurt her and lose the will to be evil. I’ll be frank when I say that I actually sort of expected that to happen. But what actually happened is… a lot less “traditional

Guess who this cute specimen of a chibi doll is!

I’ve got to say… it’s so much easier blogging a series when the English subs are all. I don’t have to short-circuit my mind coming out with approximately accurate English rendering of Japanese names, nor wonder if I’ve translated correct.

This week is a bit of a transition episode, in that Shito is still not rescued even at the end of the episode. However, we have a couple of revelations revealed, and in the meantime, we meet another new character as well as an almost new character. The latter is this chibi doll… 3 guesses on who he is!

On a completely unrelated note, I can’t believe Luciano Pavarotti has passed away. I can only wish him peace and music wherever he might be.

Summary in a Very Small Nutshell…

I think Chika in his chibi form is cute… and so is most of the other characters. Probably one of the best things for Zombie Loan is the way to go chibi at the slightest provoking.

… because said English subs are out.

1) Chika, Soutetsu and Michiru meet said new character Koume and said almost new character, the Shinigami Zarame (English Subs: Grim Reaper, although IMO any devoted anime fan for more than 2 weeks should know what that word means) whom we have met when he grabbed Shiba. He is unable to help them because he is now in chibi form as his “core

Who is this guy in a retro Chinese room, a retro Chinese ma-gua shirt, a retro pseudo-Chinese pose?

This week includes such a bloody enormous revelation I blogged this immediately, instead of waiting for a free day. (It doesn’t hurt that I was unexpectedly let off earlier by an hour.)

Last week Shito was emboweled, or rather pierced through the abdomen by a chain saw. This week sees him lying on bed, seeming to have gained an unexpected admirer and having a jolly good time as a result. In fact, Shito has been revealed to be somewhat of a lady’s man (despite his weird temper), gaining and/or revealing to have more admirers than we know, including our very own Michiru, who expresses a lot more care and feelings for Shito than is warranted after enduring the latter’s vicious verbal flaying.

Of course, Shito is kidnapped and in the hands of an insane doctor, so all is not well. Not to mention the fact that he is far away from Chika and his right hand; we finally get to see some of the consequences of having Chika and Shito far apart for an extended period of time.

Summary in Pellets

IMO, Shito seems to be having a jolly good time here.

(Usual disclaimer: Again, I decipher all names from my ears alone, so don’t quote me and don’t expect anything more than relative accuracy.)

1 ) Shito’s family servant goes to the ZL office and is revealed to be called “Toh Ho

See, I intended to write Zombie Loan for the past 4 weeks; but has never been able to get up either the enthusiasm or the time to do it. Why? Because Zombie Loan is a lot more complicated to summarize than Kaze no Stigma… and I like Kaze no Stigma better. Which is why there are KnS posts but no Zombie Loan.

But. Zombie Loan is getting so interesting, it’ll be a shame not to be able to discuss it with the commentors here, who so often have great thoughts to add. So here it is, a free and easy post on the most recent episode, which by the way is already out in English Subs, so I wouldn’t be wasting too much time on the summary.

Summary

So what has been happening so far? In a nutshell (or three):

1 ) Chika met his old childhood friend, Shiba. (end of episode 3)
2 ) Chika was extremely happy now that he had met his arguably best friend. (episode 4)
3 ) Shiba helped Chika and ZL people solve a case and destroy a rogue zombie, whom everyone suspected to be the serial killer the Butterfly. (episode 4 and 5)
4 ) Shiba betrayed Chika, and we found out that he is in fact the real Butterfly, as well as being yet another unauthorized zombie wrecking havoc. (end of episode 5)
5 ) Chika and Shito fought Shiba, and Shiba was defeated. (episode 6)
6 ) Chika is unable to save Shiba from either falling or being taken away by the Shinigami. As a result, he was very depressed. (episode 6)
7 ) Chika and Shito’s relationship seems to progress, as Chika leans on Shito for the first time (literally and figuratively) as a friend. (episode 6)
8 ) The Zombie Loan people made their way to the hot springs, where Kuse the CEO of the Black Feather Thingy Pte Ltd adopted a werewolf. (episode 7)

So. On to episode 8, whose title is “Solitude Even After Death”. What happened so far? (Again, in quantities of nutshells)

1 ) Shito arrives home to find his little odd and ends meddled with. He stamps off in a rage to find the culprit.
2 ) Chika sees Shito and tries to persuade him to play Uno (a card game) with him, saying that they are friends. Shito denies it and walks away.
3 ) This blond pretty boy suddenly appears to hug Chika. We realize along with Michiru that he is Chika’s father Yuu-kun. He has also bought along Chika’s sister Momoka.
4 ) In direct contrast to the cheerful disorganization of Chika’s family reunion, Shito meets with the defiler of his room, a Chinese guy with a permanent smile fixated on his face who calls him “Shito-shaoye”, meaning “Young Master Shito”. The meeting is fraught with sinister undercurrents, and some magical “punishment” is apparently doled out by the man onto Shito.
5 ) Momoka and Yuu-kun leave, and Chika finds Shito sitting in pain on a tombstone. He tries to talk to him, making what is for him friendly overtures, and Shito seems to go back to his usual self with the rather violent interaction with Chika.
6 ) Michiru carries towels and clothes back to Shito’s room, and sees a comb.

7 ) A doctor signs a contract with the rogue zombie makers, who are looking forward to his research.
8 ) In ZL office, Chika, Shito and Michiru talks about getting more zombies.
9 ) The doctor’s research includes dissecting a zombie and removing its body parts. He also seems to be making 2 golems, a la Frankenstein’s Monster.
10 ) Chika, Shito and Michiru hunt zombies on the street. Chika talks about being friends. Michiru asks him about the comb, and he immediately turns mad (mood swing!) and verbally flays Michiru, who cries. Chika defends Michiru, and after a fight, both of them stamp off in anger.
11 ) Shito is ambushed and disemboweled with a chain saw by one of the doctor’s Frankenstein’s monster.

Thoughts

The last couple episodes were all concentrated on Chika, who is betrayed by someone he possibly thought of as his best friend. In the end, he could neither stop his friend, nor save him, and it affected his feelings a lot. What put him out of that depression is his perceived relationship with Shito and Michiru and the ZL people, whom he finds comfort in. One scene in episode 6, where Chika fall asleep on Shito’s bed, was so completely sweet and well done, I almost stood up and cheered.

From this episode onwards, though, it seems as if the focus is on Shito. Unlike Chika, who has a loving family even though they aren’t together, Shito has a (probably filthy rich) father whom we have yet to see, and a perverted Chinese servant who acted more like a punisher, nursemaid, sadistic toturer, and sexual predator all rolled into one. It isn’t hard to draw a parallel between Shito and Chika. Shito has a much more complicated family, one that is as dysfunctional in a bad way as Chika’s family is dysfunctional in an amusing and fun way.

Now, Shito has issues. A lot of them. The biggest two are these:

1) He doesn’t know how to make friends, nor how to keep them, nor think that he need them.
2) He has mood swings that has an arc the diameter of the universe.

For the first time in the last couple episodes, we see Chika leaning on Shito, making their relationship something more than just arguing partners forced to be together. This week, though, Shito rebuffs Chika and Michiru; in fact, he rebuffs everyone. A lot of it seems to be because of that Chinese servant he has there. The way that servant goes so completely touchy-feely with Shito, not to mention the whole “get to your knees, Shito-shaoye” is soooo completely creepy. It makes me wonder if Shito was abused by that guy when he was a kid, which resulted in the rather weird personality he has now.

I wonder too at the significance of the comb. Did the Chinese servant put it there? What is its meaning? And why is that comb such a giant touchy button for Shito?

Incidentally, I feel so sorry for Michiru when she burst into tears. It’s not like it’s her fault. On the other hand, she went through the exact same thing in episode 1, and did not cry. Maybe because this time, she has gotten to know Shito better, and is too completely surprised at getting so abruptly insulted that she couldn’t control herself? Or perhaps she feels something more for Shito than in episode 1?

Is Shito actually Chinese? Of course, he doesn’t have to have a Chinese family to have a Chinese servant. All the same… on the other hand, I truly cannot imagine any parent calling their child “Shito” in Chinese. -_-;; Or maybe I’m too influenced by the English spelling of that name.

How is it that Chika has a blonde foreigner father and a completely Japanese (and kawaii) looking sister? More than meets the eye, IMO, with regards to that family.

I highly doubt that Shito will die. Still, he’ll probably get harvested for organs if Chika and the ZL people doesn’t do something fast to save him. We can’t really leave him to be solitary even after death, right? Come on, ZL people, go rescue your buddy! You aren’t going to leave him like this, would you?

The poor girl… This week has Michiru being bullied and molested, although at least she isn’t dying. Nothing much happen otherwise, although I can see the setting up for something big (or at least bigger) in the near future.

Summary

(Please note that I decipher most Japanese names when watching the anime, so they aren’t the official names and there are likely to contain mistakes.)

Michiru is in school, and she sees Yumi, who is alright after the ordeal last episode. Another friend comes up to her and asks her to buy back lunch, but Michiru boosts her courage and refuses politely. Her friends shrug and accept it. Yumi is even in approval. Michiru is touched and begins to get a little teary.

Cut to Michiru and her luggage, standing on the streets looking up at the Zombie Loan office. When she enters the office, she meets again with Meko Watashimori and Yuuta, and realizes that Yuuta is also a zombie (with imaginary finger-pet-friends), although Watashimori is not. Chika and Shito then arrive, bringing along a girl who they say will help her find a place to stay. After Michiru leaves the room with the little girl, Chika and Shito talks to Watashimori about the nurse-sensei last episode, who was talking about a contract with somebody to become a zombie. Watashimori concludes that there is someone out there who is illegally making zombies. Chika and Shito are extremely willing to stop whoever it is who is playing with life.

Michiru then goes with the little girl in a limo-ish car. The little girl plays a detective-finds-the-serial-killer sort of game on her laptop, and Michiru recognizes it immediately. The little girl then seems to be having trouble with the game, and Michiru tells her how to proceed, giving away the culprit accidentally. Instead of being angry (like I would be for being spoilt) though, the girl instead blushes and replies to Michiru’s self introduction with a long, complex, very formal self-intro of her own. She is Chiki (?), the CEO of the Black Feather Association (?). She would be finding Michiru a place to stay.

They arrive at the place, which is very old, rundown, and in disrepair. They meet Koyomi , and she brings Michiru to dark, sparse, broken-down room that has an excellent view to the cemetery.

Cut to a brief flash of a view of the city skyline, and a woman saying fearfully, “Help me!

Last week’s episode ended in a cliffhanger; this week concludes the tale of how Michiru deals with her imminent death… or is it really imminent? What does the ring around her neck really mean? Would she become a zombie? With just enough doses of action, humor, and good looking guys, we’re told all the answers to these riddles.

Summary

A girl walks down the dark corridor in school, at night, murmuring to herself about how late she is. Suddenly, someone appears behind her, and she apologizes to the unseen person for being still in school. Something happens to her, and we see her bag dropping down to the floor.

Cut to Michiru, who is lying on her bed, under her blankets, used tissues besides her, wondering how she’s going to die. Her aunt comes in and asks her how she is, saying that they are one family after all. Chika and Shito pop in from nowhere, and after a fiasco with Michiru’s aunt and Michiru’s tentative claim that they are her friends, they stay for tea and cake. Their motive for coming, however, was to tell Michiru to meet them at the school’s graveyard at 9 pm tonight (or Chika will kill her [!]). Michiru is reluctant, and Shito tries to persuade her by telling her that she would be helping the students that have been missing these days; they were probably adducted by zombies, apparently for food.

*
Michiru: Whatever you say, I am SOOOO not leaving this room!
Chika: You really are contradicting yourself. You’re the one who say you don’t like being at this home. If you hate this home so much, then fly away from here.
*

After Chika and Shito leave, Michiru agonizes in her room before getting a phone call. Before taking the call, her aunt expresses her disapproval regarding these “bad students

Just had to get this out of the way: The OP is amazingly, crazily, and totally the WORST OP I’ve ever heard. As Impz puts it (it’s just too good a quote to throw away), it sounds like “someone killed a chicken and a fox and a pig… together