Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead has been a massive hit on Crunchyroll, but it has been plagued by delays caused by production issues. The anime’s opening highlights its biggest problem on a technical level. While Zom 100 has been a big hit for the summer 2023 season, a big problem with it has been the anime’s constant delays. The delays became so bad that the staff had to outright say that they didn’t have confirmed release dates for the last three episodes, and it has all served to greatly hamper the show’s momentum.
Production delays have been the biggest problem with Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, and nothing illustrates that better than its opening theme. Zom 100’s opening theme has been notably minimalist with little imagery and egregious use of clips from previous episodes, but episode #8 showed an updated version with new visuals and animation far more in line with the anime, making it clear that the original opening was an unfinished product and another sign of the anime’s production issues. All of this, of course, continues the ongoing issues with the anime industry, and it even adds a great level of irony considering that the anime is considered a satire of that system.
Zom 100’s Production Issues Are Unfortunately Common In Anime
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’s opening highlights how bad its production has been, and issues of that nature are unfortunately common in the anime industry. In recent years, the poor working conditions in the anime industry have become increasingly publicized, with many animators speaking out about their employers overworking them and not paying them a fair wage. MAPPA, in particular, has been in the spotlight for its factory-like conditions, and One Piece animators Henry Thurlow and Vincent Chansard have both spoken out about being hospitalized from exhaustion and how terrible it is to work on seasonal anime.
As for why Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is facing these issues, the answer possible lies with its production company, Bug Films. While many talented animators are working with Bug Films, Zom 100 is the first time they’ve worked on a whole series instead of in-between animation, so it makes sense that they would be unprepared for this type of product. It has never been stated or claimed that Bug Films’ animators are suffering the same poor conditions that are common in other studios, but it’s clear that something bad is happening behind the scenes for its production to be plagued with so many issues.
Zom 100’s Production Issues Adds A Tragic Irony To Its Story
Another takeaway from Zom 100’s production issues is how ironic it makes the anime’s whole premise. Episode #1 made a point about how terrible the working conditions in a big Japanese company, including anime production companies are, with Akira’s company even being a blatant satire of Pokémon’s OLM, Inc., so there’s a tragic irony for Zom100 to then be hit with similar problems. Obviously, none of these delays were expected to happen, but it’s still painfully ironic. As long as the anime industry suffers under these conditions, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead won’t be the last anime to experience these sorts of issues and delays.
Sources: Vox.
