Throughout history, mankind has always dealt with illnesses and diseases and it has always been a story of trying to find ways in order to survive.
While in reality, it’s terrifying to experience being in the middle of a pandemic, in fiction, the tune can change a bit.
Anime, for example, has been drawing inspiration from just about everything. And more often than not, the result would be an interesting show.
Post-apocalyptic and pandemic anime shows, in particular, are interesting because they mirror the times we’re currently living in with themes centered around the nature of humanity and fragility of the human society. The genre also offers a unique form of escapism.
Here are some anime shows that tackle virus outbreaks.
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
The anime is set in a world where a mysterious virus appears during the industrial revolution that transforms infected humans into Kabane, which translates to “corpses” in Japanese. In this story, the people infected with the virus can actually be half-human. Sometimes, the infection does not always overtake the human being, leaving a half-human-half-zombie hybrid called Kabaneri. The story is set during the industrial revolution and follows the main character, Ikoma, an intelligent engineer that creates a powerful weapon to fight the affected.
Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown’s story is another anime that conveys what a society would look like years after a massive epidemic. It follows the plight of a rebel group that seeks to gain back independence that was lost because of the government’s response to the viral outbreak. The main character of the show, Ouma Shu, helps this resistance group with a newfound power that lets him create weapons from inside other people’s bodies.
Although the story is mostly centered around the aftermath of the virus, there are multiple flashbacks throughout the show that reveal details about the virus and how it originally spread in the first place.
Black Bullet
Black Bullet is a post-apocalyptic anime with lots of great action, animation, and an interesting plot. The virus outbreak that wreaks havoc in this anime is called the “Gastrea Virus.” The virus can alter the host’s DNA and form and turns the infected into some sort of monster. What’s interesting about this viral outbreak is not the initial people who contracted the virus, but the female kids who were born with the virus. The virus mutates these children and they become what is known as “Cursed Children.” These affected little girls have otherworldly powers and red, glowing eyes.
Highschool Of The Dead
Highschool of the Dead is a must-see anime for fans of the zombie genre. The anime follows a ragtag group of high school students in Tokyo, trying to survive the zombie plague in order to get back to their families. It does a good job of playing into classic zombie genre tropes while presenting deeper themes of fear and the loss of hope. This anime is perfect for those who want more action and sensationalism in their virus outbreak as the thrilling scenes can keep the audience on their toes.
Seraph of the End
The series is set in a world that allegedly comes to an end at the hands of a “human-made” virus, ravaging the global populace and leaving only children under the age of thirteen uninfected. This devastating event marked the reemergence of vampires who prey on these uninfected children and made them as their livestock. The story revolves around the story of a young man named Hyakuya Yuichiro who joins a vampire extermination unit to avenge the deaths of his orphaned family and reclaim his best friend Mikaela from the vampires.
