I didn't think too much into buying the DVD's for the 2008 anime "Corpse Princess": it was on sale, and Funimation had a cool trailer for it (whether or not it was worth the effort, Funimation's marketing department made some fantastic trailers between 2006 and 2016, but got a little lazy after that with the volume of releases they would put out). I was pleasently surprised to see that it was a competantly fun action show with horror and religous overtones. And if you were sold on the main heroine being a zombie in a school-girl's uniform with a pair of machine guns, then you'll probably be sold too regardless of any opinion I give.The plot revolves around "shikibane," monsters that came to be when humans die with extreme regrets unfullfilled, terrorizing the living based on those subconcious feelings. A certain group of monks have taken responsibility to fight against these creatures, and for generations have done so by forming spiritual contracts with teenage girls just before they become shikibane, causing them to become "shikibane himi" (this term and "corpse princess" are used interchangably in the English dub). The contract requires that each princess destroys exactly 108 shikibane, at which point they are released to go to heaven. We learn this through following Makina, one such princess who fights not for her salvation, but to get revenge on the shikibane who gruesomely killed her, as well as the young boy-protagonist who gets caught up with her and the monks in their goals.While it seems a perfectly fine setup for an action show, I initially thought there would be bountiful and unnecessary fanservice. You know, the idea that all "corpse princesses" happen to be young women, getting covered in blood, being beaten and tortured, wearing skimpy school outfits that get torn in battle, etc., etc. At least, watching the opening and ending animations would lead one to think this would be that type of show. While there are a couple characters with unrealistic body proportions, and one obligatory hot-springs episode, the rest of the show graciously takes itself seriously for the gritty subject matter. And it's an exciting story: Makina's reasons to fight are compelling, most of the villains are cool in a bad-ass sort-of-way, characters do die early and often, and there are plenty of plot twists that shift the character dynamics in interesting ways. If I had to complain, some of the characters can be a bit unlikable, and the final moments in the ending across as vague rather than satisfying. But overall, its surprisingly entertaining.Visuals are generally solid, and special note goes to some of the varied enemy monster designs. However, the show does like to shift to locations that use orange-red-brown color palettes, baking the visuals looking blurry and ugly even on an HD screen. The animation itself is ok, better when action is active, but not brilliant against other anime from 2008. The opening and ending themes are catchy, and the music is otherwise appropriate. The English dub is solid, perhaps excluding the male lead, unfortunate given he is one of the main characters.
Anime featuring action and zombies aren't exactly hard to find, but most of them aren't as solid as "Corpse Princess."