In almost any form of art the use of contrast can be a very powerful tool to enhance the appeal of your work. By taking two different items and setting them against each other it can multiply the overall value and effect of the product versus those two items being standalone. It can make paintings have a captivating appearance give food a memorable flavor and in the case of movies and television give a unique experience that makes it stick to the minds of the audiences watching. There is however a catch to this: the right amount of each item must be balanced against each other lest one overpower the other or it turn away potential customers/viewers/etc. So how does the use of contrast affect the anime SchoolLive? The answer is important after all its what the entire show hinges on. SchoolLive is an anime that wishes to contrast two different atmospheres cute and creepy in its 12 episode runtime. It combines a cute highschool slice of life show with that of a zombie apocalypse. The reveal that theres horror in something charming is sometimes hidden from the viewer to make the turn of events more shocking but in the case of SchoolLive its its worst kept secret. The shows synopsis poster and tags all give away whats happening. Even before the big reveal its pretty clear that somethings wrong inside the shows world. That said the shows use of zombies isnt really where the main focus lies. Instead it uses this as a tool to test the survival and psychological skills of our main protagonists. Each character is given a slight role to the group. Kurumi is the twintailed fighter of the group and uses her trusty shovel to fight off the occasional zombie rush. Yuuri serves as an organization leader of the group and is shown keeping down a list of supplies as well as approve of certain events. Miki is the newcomer and though she is the youngest of the group of girls she is the smartest and most practical of the group. Finally theres Yuki the chipper voice of morale and mascot of the show. A black hat with cat ears is worn over her head filled with ideas of what to do during the groups downtime. Together they make the SchoolLife club a club dedicated to doing what they can to help other groups and make school the best place to be. The price for this dedication is to stay on school grounds at all times but considering whats going on outside it can hardly be considered a downside. Of course the club the 4 girls form isnt really an official club rather its the way that they help keep their sanity in check. The supernatural fear outside combined with the claustrophobic environment inside can get to a person so pretending to have everpopular school events such as a sports day and field trips can break the monotony of survival. This is where the show wishes to use its contrast. It shows a typical school life setting against the fear of a horrific death. Every event is limited not by a school budget or time but rather what the girls have on hand. Throw in the chance of something horrific happening during each day in their fortress and youve got a show that certainly finds a place for itself. Those looking for a chance to see some intense girlonzombie fighting will be sorely disappointed. Sure Kurumi swings a shovel a few times but it never focuses on the action. Instead it offers two alternatives: goofing off and twisted tales. The former is to deliver the cute half of the shows contrast as well as attract the audience who enjoy idle silly fun. The latter is the core strength of the show as we get to see how these girls truly feel about the events that have occurred and the fears of what the future may bring. Yuki is the obvious choice for this category as she simply pretends nothing went wrong and thinks every day is another fun and fantastic day at school. I do find her to be a bit immature though. Shes a senior in high school and yet I feel like Im watching a kids show when she performs her antics. Miki is for my money the best of the cast. Her story is a personal one much like the others but the emotions feel amplified as a result of the lack of interactions she gets as well as the isolation she has from the rest of the world. The main cast get a school and make up fun activities during Mikis origins we get none of that and instead get a greater fear of the unknown. Its arguably the greatest moment of the show. With these details in mind does SchoolLive find a balance between its two genres? For some viewers it does but I cant say it did for me. The show has a habit of pointing out a few flaws in their own show but ultimately struggle to answer them. The biggest example of this include part of the field trip episode. Theres danger looming all around and especially later in the show a fear of supply management as resources start to dwindle down. Yet theres enough time for swimsuits to be tried on. The excuse We are girls after all doesnt really work here and suggests that the show is also trying to attract an audience via alternative means. A better strategy would be to stock up on more of the zombies weaknesses sound and light based items such as glowsticks and child alarms. Another example stems from how coincidental everything is. With the schools vast amount of natural resources it definitely feels apt for survival. This seems to be hinted at something greater but not enough detail is given. A good question to answer would be how long do the zombies live for? Right now I am to believe they are immortal unless they are explicitly killed. In the end its a supernatural story so anything the author wants can be put into place. This latter point is only minor since this is the first part of the story. However a little enticement for the future can go a long way with keeping people interested it comes off as more credible than trying on swimsuits. The ultimate issue will lie with the audience. I enjoy some sliceoflife but its not a genre I can say is my favorite. Sure its cute watching the girls run around and make stupid jokes but I really dont gain too much from it. Id much rather see a form of progress across the city or more of whats happened with the world rather than be confined in the halls of the school. Considering thats half of the shows appeal its quite clear that Im not meant for the shows audience. That said itd be foolish for me not to admit its a necessary evil. Had the show entirely be focused on the mystery and horror it probably wouldve received more criticisms of shock value and wouldnt have found as large a fanbase. Thats really the takeaway of using the contrast strategy the balance in the creators eye may be imbalanced in the eyes of the viewer. Thats why we all have different likes and dislikes after all. The animation studio behind SchoolLive is Lerche. There are a few shortcuts here and there the CG zombies in one scene being the 1 shortcut but they do a fairly good job. Bright cutesy colors for when everythings fine and shades of purple black and dull gray for when zombies are involved. Arguably the scariest thing about this show may be the characters eyes their irises are a bright ring that contains a dark colored pupil. Theyre sort of unsettling to look at. The music for the show consists of goofy lighthearted pieces and some dramatic tones mood music mainly. It sports a catchy OP Friend Shitai and a relaxed ED Harmonize Clover to end episodes on a lighter note with the tongueincheek Good Night displayed after the end of early episodes. The real grab would be the moody piano piece We took each others hand used perfectly for Mikis scenes and again amplifying her backstory. The voice acting is also good. The seiyuus know how to deliver a dramatic scene or a scream when needed. Yukis is a bit too bubbly for me but its appropriate for her character. Overall I give SchoolLive a 6/10. Its a show thats not for everyone again this is a show for people who want a sliceoflife AND a bit of psychological horror. If youre more in the former camp and dont mind a darker show this will probably be the anime for you. If youre more in the latter camp Id advise to pass on this one unless you need something a bit lighter as strange as that sounds. SchoolLive is a short and interesting watch that shows that even a strange contrast can give a show staying power. Do you like or dislike this anime? If you havent watched it are you encouraged to watch it or not? Leave a comment on my profile telling me what you think of the anime and/or my review. Thanks for reading and have a blessed day