Is Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read

Quick facts
Format	Manga (seinen), 22 volumes
Run	2018–present · ongoing
Community score	AniList 7.4 · MangaUpdates 7.3
Content	Violence, gore
Where to read	VIZ — official

Overview

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a zombie manga written by Haro Aso (Alice in Borderland) and drawn by Kotaro Takata, and it has one of the best hooks in the genre. Akira Tendo landed his dream job out of college, then spent three years getting ground down by it — an exploitative company that worked him into a burned-out husk. The morning he finally can't take it anymore, a zombie outbreak tears through Tokyo. And Akira's reaction isn't terror. It's relief. He never has to go back to that job again.

Freed from the grind, he writes up a list of 100 things he wants to do before he dies (or turns), and sets out to actually live. So under the gore, this is really a story about escaping a dead-end life and finding the will to enjoy yourself again.

What it does well

The premise and tone are the big draw. Flipping the apocalypse from doom into freedom is genuinely clever, and the "your soul-crushing job was scarier than the zombies" angle hits home for anyone who's been burned out. The first arc in particular is fantastic — funny, cathartic, and weirdly uplifting in a way zombie stories almost never are.

The art backs it up. Takata uses bold, vivid color — especially a signature burst of color whenever Akira gets fired up — that most zombie manga, with their grim palettes, don't even attempt. It looks distinct, and it makes the clash between joy and horror pop right off the page.

It's also just refreshing to read a feel-good story in a genre this bleak. The bucket-list structure keeps things warm and moving forward, Akira is an easy guy to root for, and at its best the series balances comedy, gore, and real heart without leaning too hard on any one of them.

Where it falls short

The main issue is consistency. After the excellent opening, Zom 100 loses a little steam. Once the bucket-list road trip becomes the format, it gets more episodic and somewhat repetitive, and not every later arc has the punch of those first chapters.

The message can also get heavy-handed. The "live life to the fullest" theme is the whole point, but it's sometimes spelled out a little too plainly instead of just letting the story make the case. And it's light on real danger — the zombies are rarely a serious threat, so if you're hoping for tense, white-knuckle survival horror, this isn't built for that.

Verdict

Zom 100 is a fresh, upbeat take on the zombie genre with a premise that actually delivers and a colorful style that sets it apart. The opening is excellent, and while it gets a bit uneven afterward, it stays a fun, life-affirming read if you want zombies without the doom and gloom. Just go in for the comedy and the heart, not for scares or rising stakes.