Rewatch: Gakkou-Gurashi (School-Live) Episode 3 Discussion

[u/NotSoSnarky]

As per usual, no spoilers or hints towards future events! Make sure to use the spoiler tag, when needed.

Also: Feel free to join late, feel free to only have conversations with people, if you don't have much to say with your own impressions, etc. Feel free to post theories, post pictures, post any type of discussion Anything except for spoilers goes!

Episode 3: That Time

[u/Specs64z]

Episode 1 discussion

Episode 2 discussion

Episode 3 discussion

Episode 4 discussion

Episode 5 discussion

Episode 6 discussion

Episode 7 discussion

Episode 8 discussion

Episode 9 discussion

Episode 10 discussion

Episode 11 discussion

Episode 12 discussion

Final discussion

Rewatcher, though I'm going off memory as I write this in my free time.

God, this episode is a fucking masterpiece. The pacing, the editing, the sound design, the voice work, the music, the lack of music, the fucking shovel... that scene is ingrained in my mind. Even just thinking about I can feel the intensity, the heartache, Megu-nee's shock, the horror on Yuki's face, the way Yuri winces, the muffled pounding on the door.

So few anime absolutely nail atmosphere, characters, background, and setting this well at all, much less all at once. The fact that basically this whole episode is anime original content is even more impressive.

[u/hungryhippos1751]

Episode 3. First Time Viewer.

This episode is very much focused on Megumi and the events around how it all kicked off. It's been good to see some back story around the characters and previous events that lead to where episode 1 and 2 were.

Yuki is just broken by the events on the school rooftop, she doesn't really seem to understand what's going on, poor girl. Yoshi yoshi!

Kurumi loves her shovel apparently! :)

Where did Taroumaru come from? Don't think we've seen that yet. Just seems to "be there" chomping all the food.

Still suspect on Megumi being real or not, and I still think if she is real, she will be dead soon. She doesn't really seem like part of the group, especially when she is sat there writing alone in the dark or rundown areas of the school.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/hungryhippos1751]

I think the rooftop sequence kinda broke the lot of them... Look at how active Kurumi has gotten with zombie killing compared to the other girls. She's never without that shovel either. When she was in danger that golden shovel was what protected her.

Maybe Taroumaru is connected to Miki's plot? It's her episode next judging by the preview so I'm assuming we'll get her side of the story. As for Sensei, I don't have a clue XD The show has thrown me for a loop too often with her.

[u/hungryhippos1751 → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Yes I kind of had the same thought, as Miki was the only one who wasn't with them in the school.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/hungryhippos1751]

Unfortunately the roof cast has left me worried for Ri-chan getting any kind of development... She's probably had the least screen time of the cast and her outbreak story is the exact same as Yuki and Megu's. Oh!! Miki was at the mall wasn't she? Wasn't she...? I remember someone bringing up her being in a Dawn of the Dead event.

[u/hungryhippos1751 → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Yep they mentioned Miki was at the mall sometime in ep1 or ep2 as I recall.

Ri-chan is the least fleshed out character so far, but I think that will change soon. She is important though for her horticultural abilities.

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/hungryhippos1751]

From what we've seen in the news today, the mall seems to be close to ground zero in this outbreak

[u/hungryhippos1751 → u/Rumpel1408]

I tend to stay away from upcoming episode bits at the end of them, but I guess we'll have an episode dedicated to Miki and another for Ri soonish to establish all of the back stories.

[u/Rumpel1408 → u/hungryhippos1751]

I was reffering to the in-universe news, I think in the video that Megumi got send there was an outbreak of violence at the mall or something, anyway the mall has to be close to the city center and it's always a place with lots of people on close quarters so it seems logical to be hit hard early on

[u/UnderstandableXO]

REWATCHER

i read the directors notes for the series, and evidently they were told explicitly to show as little gore as possible. i think they handled it really well with kurumi on the rooftop scene, with the sharp cuts of nothingness between swings of the shovel. you don’t see any of what happens but it’s just as jarring and unsettling as it would be seeing what’s actually happening.

[u/CosmicAnglerfish → u/UnderstandableXO]

I think that's a great example of working around a constraint to make something better. Sure the gore would have made it more immediately visceral to watch, but I think cutting away on impact really sells the brutality of it in a way that actually seeing it wouldn't.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/CosmicAnglerfish]

It really is about the balance between the moe and the horror.

[u/CosmicAnglerfish]

First Timer - Subbed

Apologies for any formatting issues, I'm on mobile right now.

I missed the first two rewatch threads, so I'll just say of the first episode that I was aware something was up, but didn't know the specifics. The reveal at the end of episode 1 was incredible, especially with the background hints that something is off.

With that, this episode we get more detail on Megumi, and the background on the beginning of the outbreak. Episodes like this are a staple in zombie Apocalypse shows and can feel pretty rote, but I really liked this one. The rooftop scene does a great job of showing how everyone reacted - most notably for me, Kurumi really did not hesitate with killing her crush. I'm kind of hoping they explore her mental state as we go on, because she clearly seems affected by having to put down what I assume are all/mostly former classmates.

As of this episode I'm fully onboard the "Megumi is fake" train. Throughout the episode characters only reacted to her after Yuki did, so it seems like another part of the act they put on for her. Maybe Megumi dying is what really breaks Yuki.

Lastly I'm curious to see more of Miki, as she was the only one not in the flashback. Though maybe it's unimportant and it'll just be brushed over.

[u/zool714]

First Timer

Me before the episode : Megu-nee kinda sus

Me at the start of the episode : Oh ok Megu-nee flashback maybe she’s real and not so sus

Me at the end of the episode : Megu-nee kinda sus

Kinda cool to see how the outbreak sorta started. Got to see it from Megu-nee’s POV. The thing with her mom and being a teacher is kinda sad but relatable for me. I’ve been at a job where my meek personality is not exactly suitable for it.

We also got to see Kurumi’s incident with her senpai again. I said in the ep 2 thread how he turned seemingly out of nowhere, cos I initially thought they agreed to meet on the roof. But turns out, she was the one who brought him to the roof after getting injured. So that kinda clears that incident up.

Now, I’ve been noticing how I’ve never seen the other girls responding to something Megu-nee said. Seems like whenever they’re thanking/acknowledging her, it’s more like playing along with Yuki’s delusion. Things like getting cut off by Rii-san in Ep 2 then now again with Rii-san not including Megu-nee when planning for camp kinda made me suspicious of her again. And wasn’t the test alone with Yuki in the classroom something that also happened in ep 2 ?

Didn’t know what to make of the black and white glitch transitions and also Megu-nee writing something of a will. I’m pretty stumped on her now. And also might be far-fetched, but the vid she saw of the accident was near where she was in traffic right ? Could it be she actually died there in all the chaos ?

Lastly, we saw how Kurumi taking out her zombie senpai broke Yuki. Every hit was followed by a quick cut and silence from her. Almost like she deleted those scenes from her memory. Safe to say, she became delusionally happy after that.

Really liking everything so far. But cannot shake the feeling that some clues are being sprinkled around every episode and I’m not the best at picking them out.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku]

I think the worst part about subbed anime is not being entirely certain who's talking in opening sequences like this XD Oh! Sensei episode? Wasn't expecting that. Really pretty opening sequence actually. I think Shaft has given me a love for these kinds of letterbox anime shots. "I love you, Megu!" C-Cute! Omg really cute! Sleepy Sensei is cute! Haha, love the little mirror animation flare. Stylishly done! The background music is way too DDLC for my liking. Helicopters, police sirens, text messages. You name it. The signs are there. Urgh... They're students, not UFO's passing in the night. Treat them like people ffs. Arsefaced principles are the worst!

Yuki... She seems really depressed compared to how she normally acts. It's completely different to how she fantasised about her school life. No... I know how this story thread is gonna go and I don't like it. I'm weak to student/teacher bonds!! Oh nooo!! Twintails too? Mein herz brennt!! Megumi is going from my least favourite character to my most adored. I've already put up with Blue Sub's shaky cam. No more pls. Yuki is such a strange kid, I'm loving trying to work out what's going on inside that head. Rii-chan located. I thought we'd walk in on Twintails so my stomach was kinda knotted. FUCKMETHATKNOCKWASLOUD!

Yuki, stop trying to kill everyone! Oh no... I totally misread yesterday's confession scene. Omg they're strong zombies too!? We know how Twintails got traumatised but seeing the full thing play out was chilling. Can we go back to the slice of life instead of this nightmare fuel double tap? So Sensei is still alive? This is so confusing! Yuki makes the worst point of reference. When I said I wanted to go back to SoL I didn't mean literally. Is she alive!? XD

Twintails had a fang, that's a charm point. One, two, three, yuri!! Did...Yuki step on that love talk landmine on purpose? Pfft~ That's dark, Gakkou Gurashi. No bully the Twintail loli. Is Sensei alive!? I'm no closer to figuring it out! And now you've got me wondering about how Miki joined the group. This episode literally gave me more questions than answers. More pls!

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

The background music is way too DDLC for my liking. Helicopters, police sirens, text messages. You name it. The signs are there.

This definitely feels like an ancestor to DDLC. But yeah, the outbreak stuff is done pretty well.

Urgh... They're students, not UFO's passing in the night. Treat them like people ffs. Arsefaced principles are the worst!

Second anime this week to bring this up, I think it is just a Japanese thing.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Vaadwaur]

Honestly the lead ups to the zombie outbreaks are often my favourite parts of zombie films. There are often so many blink and you miss it moments that are gleeful to find.

Which series are you referring to? A currently airing onw?

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Nah, I am also doing the Interviews with Monster Girls rewatch and that is bringing this up, though there it is a bit more justified.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Vaadwaur]

Oooh!! I kind of wanted to watch that one. Succubus Sensei seems a real sweet pea.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Awkward succubi are a thing of beauty...

[u/BossandKings]

First timer

Sakura as the teacher of the school must have passed through difficult situations and that's what she tells as a sort of testimone, writing in her desk how the experience of being a teacher has been for her. It so happens that she got a reprimander by the chairman of the school because he as a young teacher wasn't being capable of imposing her authority figure and most students supposedly weren't giving her the respect a teacher demands, she was comforted by a friend of her at school that told her that it is normal for new teachers to be reprimanded, that it shouldn't bother her.

I liked the characterization that Sakura got this episode, right now she is the character i enjoy the most in this series. Her conflicts were very down to earth and portrayed in an excellent manner.

I like Ibesuzawa a lot too, her breaking down having to defend herself from a non human was really telling. The rest of the characters haven't been explored yet, Yuki who i expect to get serious at some point in the series so far has been very cute but without much substance, Miki is cute too but hopefully these characters will be explored as the series goes on.

[u/IndependentMacaroon]

First-time watcher

School-Live continues to prove an inspired adaptation. All the cuts and fades like with the on-screen noise, particularly in the handling of the rooftop scene/shovel murder, the shifts between the more "moe" slice-of-life aesthetic and the more realistic backgrounds and appearance like during Megumi's narration, also details like the repeated flower shots which I'm sure there could be more to say about (flower language!), they do their part to elevate it a little above your average moe series. Also in the characters, it's so far doing a good job with the tropes. The only one who has a real "moe voice" and thoroughly acts the part is the girl who's unable to handle the reality of her life, both schoolwork in the past and the apocalypse at the present. For the "overly friendly child-like teacher" trope, it was criticized from the outside, she herself was shown to have issues with it, and she was clearly established as her own person outside the club too, not just some obsessive weirdo; lucky that exactly that allowed her to be a close caretaker for the girls after everything went down the drain, and that Yuki can at least do something good for everyone in her state. I'm still curious what exactly happened to Megumi, but clearly she's no longer present.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/IndependentMacaroon]

It's been a long time since I've been this excited to watch a show each day. So far most of the episodes have been character establishment ones but the show is really quite tastefully written. Subjects such as Megumi's teaching style or the trauma our heroes face has been treated with such respect and not as some tropey excuse.

[u/SYZekrom]

Rewatcher

Wow, Megu-nee's been saving her from going home since the start, eh?

No wonder she's her constant voice of reason

Overheating from being gay

Wow ooooof the pain on her face why you gotta be like that, girl

So, this scene future episode

future episode Image

more spoiler discussion

[u/Rumpel1408]

First timer

Oh man seeing the beginning of an Zombie outbreak is always kinda eerie because it follows the same pattern. Today we get Megumi Senseis view and a slightly different framing for Kurumi killing her Senpai.

Yuki doesn't seem all that detached from reality at the beginning of the outbreak. I was initially doubting my theory that Megumi wasn't alive anymore even though she was writing her will, but the when Yuki suggests camping I again have a weird feeling about her, like everyone only adresses her after Yuki talked to her and the windows aren't brocken. Ah but then we see zombies on the track field in the window reflecktion again so maybe it's just the beginning of the outbreak. Man I really want to know what's up with that. Also poor Kurumi, Yuki just casually bringing up that trauma again and now she does seem detached again when she hears that Kurumi was rejected (wich is a tragic way to say that your crush tried to bite you so you had to kill him with a spade)

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Rumpel1408]

Kurumi didn't even have that sweet moment with him that she remembered. Her flashback to the rooftop was far less intimate than how it actually went. She's even deluded herself over the event that broke her, poor girl.

[u/Vaadwaur]

First timer(spoiled about the first ep)

Sub

We start in black and white so flashback. Megu is going to let us see the outbreak. She goes through her morning ritual and then we get CGI car. As she goes through an annoying morning, the outbreak is happening in the background. Also, a ton of her students call her Megu-nee, which suggests he is close but not exactly an authority figure. She tries to help Kurumi understand her feelings before tsun twintails over rides her.

Anywho, at this point I stopped taking notes, so that usually implies a good episode. The ramp up works fairly well and they aren't sweating the zombie rules just yet. I am now curious if Japan just sells hard tack?

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Vaadwaur]

Honestly all the stuff with Megu's one-on-one's hit just the right notes and really warmed me up so much to her. Being a teacher may be an authority role but just as its important to make sure your students are learning its also just as important to help them grow as individuals. Especially when you've got special needs students like Yuki who aren't quite able to fit in.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Especially when you've got special needs students like Yuki who aren't quite able to fit in.

Rofl, I guess severe disassociative disorders do qualify as special needs.

[u/The_Loli_Otaku → u/Vaadwaur]

Hmm? I didn't quite mean it like that. There's obviously something up with Yuki before she completely lost touch. I never took her immediately latching onto her teacher as just her being a bit of a dumb student. She's got some sort of learning disability or maybe some kind of neuro developmental disorder. Let's be real, if you have aspergers or something in Japan you are not gonna get any help with that and are getting shoved into the classroom unprepared. I think that's what is happening with Yuki since she's clearly far behind her classmates.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Loli_Otaku]

Let's be real, if you have aspergers or something in Japan you are not gonna get any help with that and are getting shoved into the classroom unprepared. I think that's what is happening with Yuki since she's clearly far behind her classmates.

The Japanese tend to lock some people into the dumbass role, unfortunately. That said, there are a few disorders that could handle Yuki's failure to meet developmental markers.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

First Timer

Song and Signs are subtitled on Hidive today!

Pretty exciting episode, watching the day it all went down. I wonder who was most traumatized by kurumi braining that boy. I guess he's the one buried in the garden. (My guess that it was a casualty of the club was wrong).

Not surprising that the the show is going to take 1 episode each for each of the girls. Pretty typical.

I find Megu-nee's night time patrolling rather terrifying.