HSOD Update

So after watching the second episode and reading a bit of the manga, I've rethought my position here, and will definitely be watching this.

My main complaints about HSOD were the shameless fan service and the utter predictability of the first episode.

The first complaint isn't really that fair, I've realized. Realistically, most shows these days will tone down the fan service in a manga-to-anime adaptation, or will be so completely moeshit that fan service wouldn't really work. HSOD is an exception here though. It's anything but moeshit, and the show is actually very faithful to the manga, both in plot and style.

The complaint about predictability wasn't really fair either. The first episode of HSOD was so predictable because it was full of zombie tropes. Tropes exist because more often than not, they work. They can add drama, humor, or even just familiarity, which is more important than most people realize. In TV especially, completely new shows, devoid of tropes such as these are fairly risky. When an audience isn't familiar with something, they have trouble relating to it, and that's one thing tropes help to accomplish.

As for zombie tropes specifically, such as killing the freshly zombified best friend, even when you expect them, it allows for character and plot development without alienating viewers.

Now, the second episode of HOSD was still fairly predictable, but that was mostly because we know who the members of the adventuring party are, and we knew they would have to get together fairly early to avoid a lot of floundering about in the plot. Predictability is not always a bad thing, as it often occurs because there are only a couple of ways to do something that really make sense.