School-Live!: Letters | Review

School-Live!: ~Letters~
Story by Norimitsu Kaihou (Nitroplus)
Art by Sadoru Chiba
Yen Press, February 2023
Age rating: Older Teen

For fans of the series, School-Live!, I’m sure many had wondered what happened to the members of The School Living Club. Were the girls able to find other survivors? In addition, were they able to regain a sense of normalcy in their new existence?

These questions are answered in this special one-shot, School-Live!: Letters, where the survivors write to each other to update on their well-being and surroundings. 

A little backstory on this series: School-Live! is the tale of four high school girls and their advisor who are trapped in their school during a zombie apocalypse and must struggle to survive in their new world. It starts off fun and cheerful, with our main leads performing activities they would at school, with the story slowly transitioning to reveal the girls’ dire straits. Mostly centered on Yuka, Yuri, Kurumi, and later Miki, the girls form the School Living Club which is designed to help them survive in the school. They use the school’s garden to grow produce, they take “field trips” within the school to gather supplies, and most importantly, they make sure that they never venture into an area alone. Guided by their teacher and advisor, Megumi (affectionately known as “Megu-Nee” by Yuki), the girls must navigate and make difficult choices in order to stay alive.  

School-Live! has been an exciting series to enjoy as each girl brings her skills in order to survive and adapt, with Yuki being the most optimistic, although unfortunately, that is coupled with PTSD as she uses delusions to cope with what is occuring. This brings more challenges to the other survivors as they not only try to survive but must save Yuki from herself. 

In Letters, we see the girls in separate stories. With a hint of realism and comedy, Nitroplus tells the stories of what has happened to each girl. Were they able to live normal lives? What obstacles (besides zombies and losing loved ones) did each girl face? Were they able to find each other throughout their story? 

Without giving too much away, there is a character death and a dire story of one of the girls struggling to continue. However, these are stories of hope and perseverance, and as the back cover states, The School Living Club is not only invincible, but also eternal. 

School-Live! Letters is a perfect continuing story to the popular series, and one I would recommend for fans new and old. 

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Manga, Reviews, Young Adult