REVIEW: ‘Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’ Episode 7 – “Truck Stop of the Dead”

With their RV out of commission, Akira Tendo (Shūichirō Umeda), Kenchirō Ryūzaki (Makoto Furukawa), and Shizuka Mikazuki (Tomori Kusunoki) were forced to stay at a truck stop run by Akira’s old boss, Chief Kosugi (Kenta Miyake). But with Kosugi reasserting his old control over Akira, the formerly carefree personality is quickly having the life drained out of him by his former boss in Zom 100 Episode 7.

As Akira works tirelessly for his former employer, Shizuka continues to recall her experiences with her abuser, her father. Much of this episode is dedicated to exploring her childhood memories and the utterly insane expectations her father set on her from the moment she came into the world. The demand for her to obey and do only as she was told is strikingly similar to Kosugi’s demands of Akira. Where the paths differ is in how Shizuka weathers her storm.

While Zom 100 Episode 7 shows that Shizuka was forced to bend to her father’s will, you never see her break in the way Akira does. While it would be simple to chalk it up to greater willpower on the part of the former, I think the true difference between the two is the perception of their situations. Shizuka’s time struggling under her father is a tremendous burden but a finite one. Eventually, she can escape him and all of his demands. She simply needs to weather the storm that he represents. For Akira, his struggle was tied to his ability to earn a living and the knowledge that leaving would heap more problems on others. For those reasons, his situation is more soul-crushing because it looks unending.

The show captures both character’s struggles with pitch-perfect presentation. While Kosugi is loud and angry, always being visually portrayed as towering directly over Akira, smothering him with his force of presence, Shizuka’s father is shown taking the opposite approach. He is always cold, distant, and beyond Shizuka’s ability to reach. He often can’t even be bothered to look at her. This more passive approach to control is presented in a way that easily highlights how it can be just as effective as the more outwardly brutal approach of Kosugi.

My favorite part about how Zom 100 Episode 7 handles the parallels and differences between the two protagonists comes in how it chooses to have Shizuka approach Akira’s situation. It would be easy for her to look down on him and feel superior. After all, she had the expectations of an abuser heaped on her, and while it was painful, she didn’t devolve into a lifeless husk. The show allows Shizuka to step outside her experiences and bridge the chasm between them. Rather than use Akira’s struggles to build herself up in her mind, much like Kosugi does, she allows herself to connect with him and find the strength and compassion to help Akira when he needs it the most.

When the two days are up, and Kenchiro and Shizuka are preparing to leave, Akira expresses the intention to stay and work for Kosugi, who has been filling his head with how much safer it is for Akira under his care as opposed to being outside where the zombies and danger are. While Shizuka is willing to leave Akira behind if that is what he truly wants, she finally snaps at him when he claims that staying is what he needs to do. Hearing too much of her abusive past in this statement, Shizuka forcefully confronts Akira about his situation and lays out how important it is not to be completely enslaved by need and to pursue what he wants. I love that Shizuka never comes across as angry or hurtful towards Akira at this moment. She presents her arguments to Akira from a position of strength rather than hostility. Her confidence and personal resolve ultimately allow Akira to see the mistake he is about to make.

These revelations lead into Zom 100 Episode 7‘s final sequence when a few zombies get loose within the compound. The blind panic that ensues and the disparity in the reactions to the developing situation makes the concept of Kosugi bossing Akira around almost laughable. While the usually confident Kosugi is reduced to a blubbering coward desperately trying to save himself, Akira quickly rallies everyone together to contain and ultimately save the situation. He even goes out of his way to save his long-time abuser.

Much like how delicately the episode handles Shizuka’s big moment with Akira, the latter’s decision to rescue Kosugi is delivered with equal nuance and balance. There is no sappy declaration about the quality of every life or how Akira wants to save everyone, no matter how much they may deserve to be left behind. Instead, his motivation is simply that he doesn’t have “leave a man to die” on his bucket list. Akira reasserts his will by doing what he wants, following Shizuka’s advice.

Zom 100 Episode 7 brings a perfect close to the emotional story of the trio’s time at the truck stop. It feels like Akira has grown as a character, and Shizuka is now one that the viewer can more fully appreciate, thanks to the time spent fleshing out her backstory.

Zom 100 Episode 7 is streaming now on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.