Zom 100

A while back I watched an anime called ‘Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’.  This is about Akira who is working a soul-decimating job until the zombie apocalypse starts.  The scene above is when he realizes that society’s collapse means he can finally have a day off after 3 years. The rest of the story involves him setting out to do all of the things he ever wanted to do before he is turned into a zombie.  Fun and quirky story, which I found I could relate to on some level.

The relation comes from there possibly being a sense of freedom if society collapses and you survive the initial disaster.  Yes, you have to push to survive, but that’s to get the basics like food, water, and shelter.  Once you get all of that for either the day or an extended period of time, you get free time.  There’s no rat race, alarm clocks, traffic-filled commutes, and many other things that take time out of our day.  As tough as life would be, there would be those like Akira who would might thrive in some fashion.  If zombies aren’t a thing, free time would be even more accessible and even needed.  After all, that is what we need to destress and continue moving on.

I’ve run into a lot of post-apocalypse stories where this is attempted.  The laidback survivor who is lazing about while gathering supplies.  The strange thing that ‘Zom 100’ made me realize is that this character is always an outlier of the new world.  Everyone else appears to be joining a society that is working hard and barely resting.  One who is trying to enjoy life as well as survive is a loner and outsider, which makes me think we’re not supposed to see them as smart.  They usually join the blossoming society too and then you see them slipping back into a work routine.  It might not be like our mundane jobs in reality, but these characters always lose their ‘have fun and relax’ vibe on some level.  Is this a message that even in the post-apocalypse we have to continue working and minimizing our fun?

Maybe the authors want to show that humans need society or some kind of companionship to truly surprise.  So, the loner living their life ends up sacrificing much of their freedom and whimsy to gain those connections.  This is another reason why I liked ‘Zom 100’ because Akira made a group who wanted to survive and enjoy life.  It found a way to have both themes work together.  I find this to be as believable as the majority of humans racing to recreate a society where you toil away the daylight hours.  It really shows how we as authors can have trouble imagining a society where people aren’t working all day even without commutes and cubicles.  Guess that might be more of us as people.

Personally, I don’t see myself surviving long in this kind of world.  Not a runner, so zombies would get me.  Medical stuff would make me a liability and make fighting for survival a challenge.  So, maybe I would focus on having fun and relaxing until something took me out.  It would suck for me to continue busting my butt after society ends and my final thought is of all the stuff I could have done, but didn’t.  I’m talking things like finding an abandoned Lego store and making the big sets I could never afford.  Nothing that would hurt others, but just things I’ve dreamed of doing.  Maybe finish all of my idea books and putting them somewhere to protect them from the elements.  Although, I think I’d head off to find other people just for company.  That would probably be what leads to my downfall too.

So, what do other people think of relaxing and having fun in a post-apocalypse setting?  Do these stories always have to be dark, moody, and rough?