Takashi Komuro

Takashi Komuro (小室孝，Komuro Takashi) is a high school second-year and the leader of the main group of survivors from Fujimi Academy. He is one of the heroes in Highschool of the Dead. He is a childhood friend of both Saya Takagi and Rei Miyamoto, and he has strong feelings of love for Rei. He also shows a level of attraction to Saeko Busujima. Takashi is not a skilled fighter, but he makes up for this with his leadership skills, which often hold his group together in dire situations.

Appearance
Takashi is a high school student of average height with brown eyes, spiky black hair which can occasionally have a purple hue[1] (Note: in the anime, his hair can have a brown hue).[2], and a slender yet reasonably powerful build that contributes to his agility. Takashi's attire typically consists of his black school uniform with a red T-shirt underneath. He wears various T-shirts and jeans for short periods of time,[3] but his school uniform remains his primary wardrobe.

Personality
In the time before the Outbreak, Takashi is laid-back and does not mind skipping class.[6] His casual nature can also make him hesitant, evidenced by the fact that he did not act on his feelings for Rei until it was too late. His passionate feelings are displayed when he is genuinely depressed by Rei choosing Hisashi over him.[5] Takashi becomes more serious after the Outbreak and begins to exhibit qualities of a leader. His resolve to protect Rei and everyone else earns him respect despite his own feelings of inadequacy. He is usually kind to the other members of his group, and he does not hesitate to save people who are in serious trouble, such as Alice Maresato when she is attacked by "them".[7] During the initial Outbreak, Takashi fights strictly for survival, but, as time passes, he begins to show a willingness to fight for himself and the group rather than just for the need to survive.[8] Saya has mentioned that he and Kohta Hirano are likely to snap if their situation after the Outbreak continues and they have to keep killing things that look like people.[9]

Bio
Shortly before the initial Outbreak at Fujimi Academy, Takashi, who is skipping class, encounters Morita (Who is replaced by Saya in the anime), who is also skipping class, in the hallway. Morita brings up how Takashi's childhood friend, Rei, started dating his friend Hisashi Igou and suggests this as a reason for Takashi skipping class. Takashi denies this, saying that Hisashi is a good guy, and goes to the roof to mope. While on the roof, he remembers when he and Rei were children, and Rei promised to marry him when they were older. He then remembers the beginning of the current school year when he found out Rei was held back, and she was upset with him because he wouldn't understand the reason. Lastly, he thinks about how Rei broke her promise by choosing Hisashi over him. He is brought out of his gloomy state when he sees something happening at the front gate.[5]

Takashi witnesses Kyoko Hayashi, Teshima, and two other teachers going to the front gate to confront a strange man. The man is one of "them," and he bites Teshima, who subsequently dies, turns, and bites Kyoko, starting the Outbreak at the school.[10] Takashi realizes something is wrong and rushes back to his class to ensure Rei's safety. When Rei hesitates to come with him, he attempts to forcefully remove her from the room and slaps her. Hisashi notes the seriousness in Takashi's voice and is able to get Rei to leave with him and Takashi. As the three quickly make their way towards the school's entrance, Takashi explains what he saw at the front gate. Rei is skeptical, but Hisashi believes him and stops at a storage closet to find weapons. Takashi takes the metal bat, then gives his cell phone to Rei, who wants to call the 110 Emergency Line. Rei attempts to call, but after listening to an overload message, she gives the phone back, and they hear a warning message on the school's intercom.[11] The teacher on the intercom is attacked and begs for his life before being killed. Hearing this, the whole school panics, and there is chaos as the students frantically try to escape.[12]

Takashi and Hisashi decide to change their way of escape and head towards the schools administration building. Their path is blocked by Wakisaka, who has become one of "them." They try to run around him, but he moves toward Rei, backing her into a wall. Takashi tries to distract him, but he continues to approach Rei. After Rei fails to kill Wakisaka, Hisashi attempts to subdue him and is bitten. Takashi is momentarily dumbfounded by Wakisaka's ability to survive, but Rei yells at him to do something, so crushes the teacher’s skull with his bat, releasing Hisashi from his jaws. Hearing more of "them" down below, the injured Hisashi recommends they go to the roof to await rescue; however, when they arrive, they are met by the sight of Tokonosu City, which is burning and embroiled in chaos. A group of Black Hawk helicopters belonging to the S.D.F (Special Defence Force) fly overhead. Rei attempts to signal to them for rescue, but Hisashi explains that they probably have a specific task to carry out. They hear the sounds of "them" coming from down the stairs, so Takashi closes the door, but the lock is broken. Hisashi suggests they barricade themselves in the observatory.[13]

As they make their way to the observatory, they are attacked by a group of "them" and have to fight their way up the stairs. Rei falls behind and is cornered by one of them. Takashi begins to go back to save her, but Hisashi pushes him aside, takes the bat, and saves Rei himself. They barricade themselves in the observatory, from which they are able to see the full extent of the effects of the Outbreak on the school and city.[14] Takashi and Hisashi are able to construct a makeshift barricade using tables and cellophane tape at the top of the stairs. Momentarily safe, the three relax and find supplies in the observatory to last a few days. Takashi drinks a bottle of water and prepares to throw the empty bottle at one of "them," but Hisashi stops him, saying they can refill it to store more drinking water. Takashi tries to call the emergency line again, but it is still busy. He gets angry and relates their situation to a movie or video game. He stops when they see Takayama run out onto the roof. He is delirious, thinking he is dreaming, and jumps off of the roof. Rei breaks down, and Takashi thinks to himself that there is no solution to what's happening, and the world they knew is gone.[15]

Hisashi's condition begins to worsen, and he is soon coughing out blood. He knows he will soon die and change into one of "them," so asks Takashi to help him commit suicide so he could die as a human. Rei pleads for Hisashi to remain human and for Takashi to not carry out his wish, but he dies, changes into one of "them," and attempts to bite Rei, forcing Takashi to take action by smashing Hisashi’s head. Rei is in shock and accuses Takashi of hating Hisashi for being Rei’s boyfriend, which Takashi himself does not deny. After hearing what Rei said, Takashi begins to move towards the blockade to go and face "them" alone. He is quickly stopped by a crying Rei, who begs him to stay with her. He responds by stepping down from the barricade and hugging her. He admits to himself that her words were comforting, but he also feels helpless because he doesn't know what they will do now.[16]

A short time later, Rei and Takashi sit on the observatory casually chatting with each other. Takashi makes a joke about "them" having issues, and the two share a laugh. Rei stands up and asks to use Takashi's phone again. He reminds her that the emergency line isn't working, but she says she's going to call her father's cell phone. Tadashi, her father, answers, but he can't hear Rei and thinks he is talking to Takashi. He tries to tell Takashi something important, but there is a bad connection, and the call eventually cuts off. Rei is distraught that he didn't realize it was her. Takashi foreshadows something bad happening that ended the call rather than the phone dieing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p18-20_16-0">[17]

Thirty minutes pass, during which Takashi and Rei devise a plan to escape from the observatory using the fire hose. Takashi holds the hose in front of the barricade while Rei turns the water on. After gaining control of the hose, Takashi uses it to blast "them" down the stairs along with the barricade.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p1-4_17-0">[18] While "they" are stunned from the hose, Takashi and Rei seize the opportunity to make it back inside the school. They fight back one of "them" along the way.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p15-17_18-0">[19] As they make their way down the stairs from the roof, Rei asks Takashi where they will go. He fakes a positive attitude as he tells her they can join with other survivors from the school and go to their homes. Rei has hope when she realizes that she knows her father is safe, and she tells Takashi he should call his parents. He tells her his father is on a business trip and his mother is at an elementary school, so he can't call them. He pretends not to be worried and makes a joke about how they probably wouldn't shut up if he called; however, he thinks to himself that he is actually really worried. He wonders if the situation at his mother's school is similar to that at his own school. They suddenly hear a noise like a gunshot coming from the direction of the faculty room and hurry to investigate it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p21-22_19-0">[20]

When Takashi and Rei reach the area outside of the faculty room, they find Saya and Kohta surrounded by "them." They join the fight, and, when Saeko arrives with Shizuka and does likewise, they quickly kill the group of "them." After casually greeting each other and dealing with Saya's breakdown, they barricade themselves in the faculty room. They decide to take a break and formulate an escape plan. Takashi asks Shizuka if she has her car keys, but they realize her car wouldn't be big enough for all of them. Kohta points out the minibus in the parking lot, and Takashi decides that they can take the bus to their houses to make sure their families are okay, and then find somewhere safe. Takashi notices that Rei, who is watching a news program on the television, is worried, and they turn the volume up to see what it is. The reporter on the program begins to talk about the government declaring a state of emergency but is cut off when corpses behind her become "them" and attack. The program cuts to the news studio. After seeing reports of the same situation all over the world, Saya concludes that it is a pandemic. Since they have no way of knowing how long the pandemic will last, they decide to focus on finding their families. Takashi tells the others they can go through the front entrance to the parking lot and leads the way out of the faculty room.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p26-60_20-0">[21]

On their way to the front entrance, the group encounters Takuzo and his group, which includes his girlfriend Naomi and Kawamoto, and help them fight off a group of "them." Takashi invites them to come with his group and then leads everyone to the area near the front entrance. They are forced to stop when they find a group of "them" blocking their way. Saya claims that "they" can't see and only respond to sound, and Takashi volunteers to test Saya's theory. Despite Rei and Saeko wanting to go with him, he insists on going alone. He proves her theory and throws a shoe to clear "them" away from the front entrance. The two groups flee the building together and have no problems until one of the other boys in Takuzo's group accidentally hits the metal door frame with his weapon, creating a loud noise. Takashi yells to the others to run and leads the way across the parking lot to the bus, losing Naomi and Takuzo along the way. Takashi holds "them" off with Saeko as the others make it onto the bus. Takashi is the last to enter, and, before he closes the door, he hears someone yell and looks up to see Koichi Shido and his students, including Tsunoda and Yuuki Miku, approaching them. Takashi orders Shizuka to wait for them. Despite Rei pleading with him to leave Shido behind, he makes sure Shido's group makes it on before they leave. As they leave the school behind, Rei warns Takashi that he will regret saving Shido.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c2_p26-60_20-1">[21]

As the group makes their way from the school into the city on the bus, Tsunoda complains about having to travel with Takashi and his group. Shizuka, who is having trouble coping with their situation, stops the bus to tell Tsunoda to be quiet, but his temper only escalates. He angrily advances on Takashi and begins to show signs of aggression, saying he hates him. Takashi asks why he hates him and points out that he did nothing wrong. Before Tsunoda reaches Takashi, Rei jumps up and thrusts her mop handle into his abdomen, causing him to fall to the floor in pain. Shido uses this moment of disorder to give a speech about needing a leader and nominates himself. Other than Takashi and his group, all of the students on the bus vote for Shido to become their leader. Rei promptly leaves the bus, and, when Shido implies they should leave her behind, Takashi quickly follows her. He tries to get her to go back, but she only says she told him he would regret saving Shido. Takashi's response is cut short when another bus comes barreling towards them on the street. The people inside are being attacked by "them" and have lost control. Takashi protects Rei as he approaching bus hits a car, topples over, and bursts into flames, preventing Takashi and Rei from returning to the bus. Saeko leaves the bus to make sure Takashi and Rei are okay, and Takashi makes plans to meet at the East Police Station either at 5:00 p.m. or at the same time tomorrow night. They are forced to flee when the fire grows more violent and the wrecked bus begins to explode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c3_p4-30_21-0">[22]

As Takashi pulls Rei away, one of "them" wearing a motorcycle helmet pins him to the ground. It rams him in the head with its helmet, and he struggles to keep its face away from his. Rei saves Takashi by bashing it in the back of the head and helps him to his feet. They prepare to walk to the police station, but Takashi realizes that the guy they just fought had a helmet. He finds a motorcycle nearby and climbs on. Rei looks worried as she asks if he has a license. Takashi tells her that driving without a license is a high school student's right. As the two drive away, Takashi thinks to himself that he still didn't realize the world had already ended.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c3_p4-30_21-1">[22]

In the house, Takashi locates a stockpile of weapons and ammunition with Kohta. After watching a television broadcast that was taking place on a nearby bridge, Takashi is hugged by a drunk Shizuka from the back. Shizuka attempts to grab Takashi's crotch but is stopped when Takashi pushes her away by grabbing her breasts. Later, after Kohta gets kissed and Shizuka falls asleep on Takashi, Takashi attempts to take her downstairs to let her lie down. On his way to the stairs, Shizuka almost falls up and Takashi grabs her butt, trying to hold her up. Shizuka later flirts with Takashi, saying he is a "naughty boy" and falls asleep. Takashi mumbles how he would be very happy if he touched them for those purposes. As he is mumbling, Rei comes up the stairs and confronts him and gets angry at his statement, but suddenly says "Wow there are 3 Takashis!" and falls down. After remembering what happened in the first few days, Rei breaks down in tears. Takashi angrily leaves her and drops Shizuka off onto the floor and covers her up with a blanket

Later, Takashi goes to the fridge looking for a drink and hears Saeko talking to him. Takashi looks up and sees Saeko almost nude in an apron with a thong. After an embarrassing conversation, Rei calls for Takashi to come up to talk with her. After he goes up, Rei makes comparisons with him and Hisashi. Takashi snaps in the middle of the conversation and tells her that he is not Hisashi and he killed him with his own hands and tells her to get back to reality. Rei, on the verge of crying, leans in to kiss Takashi who also leans in, and they share a kiss. Later Takashi pulls back from Rei and tells her they should stop and not go further. Takashi said he was going to get an erection in the anime, while in the manga she pointed out that he was already getting one when they were getting too close. Soon after, a dog outside was barking and "they" started to hoard around a young man shooting a shotgun who eventually died. After that, a man and his daughter, Alice, would try to see refuge in a house with lights on. Upon the opening of the door, a resident of the house stabbed Alice's father. Takashi goes to save the little girl and the dog, Zeke. Alice is now part of the group, but has no weapon as she is only seven years old.

After rescuing Alice, the gang travels to the other side of the river in the Humvee. On the journey, Rei wakes up to find Takashi sleeping. Thinking it was really cute, Rei notices Saeko drooling on Takashi's crotch. Rei pinches Takashi on the face to wake him up and tells Saeko that she is drooling, much to her dismay. Once they reach the other side, the girls get dressed. Later Rei and Takashi ride on the back of the Humvee on their way to Takagi's house, only to find the road to be infested with "them". Later the car occurs in a minor accident and Rei falls off the Humvee's back, leading to Takashi saving her and trying to protect her from zombies as other gang members try to protect them as well. After what appears to be the end for the gang, a group of firefighters blasts away the group of "them" that is approaching. The gang climbs through the barbed wire fence to be greeted by Saya's mother.

Takashi and the group are taken to the Takagi Estate, where they decide to stay for a short time. After settling in for a day, Takashi helps Shizuka apply ointment to the injuries on Rei's back. He holds her down while Shizuka rubs the ointment on her back. Rei, who is in pain during the procedure, tells Takashi to leave the room because he was responsible for her breasts hurting when he fired the gun that was strapped around her. As he exits the room, Takashi meets up with Saya after hearing her loudly arguing with her mother on the second floor. He encounters her as she storms down the stairs. He tries to calm her down, but she only gets mad at him because he still does not call her by her first name. Takashi is approached by Yuriko who asks him if he has ever seen this side of Saya as they have been friends since kindergarten. Takashi says yes and the two engage in light conversation about the Takagi Estate. Changing the subject, Yuriko tells him that Tokonosu is getting its water and electricity from the dam at Okunako. She tells him that, since everywhere is filling up with "them", the workers will have to abandon the water and power plants, and without maintenance, the plants will stop running, and she reveals her and her husband's plans to take a bus to the plant with anyone who has the will to survive and take full responsibility of water and electricity for the city. She tells Takashi that he and the others all have a great will to survive, and they have done well to survive this long.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c10_p1-10_22-0">[23] Before Takashi leaves, he agrees to do a favor for Yuriko by persuading Saya to trust her parents.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-c10_p12-24_23-0">[24]

After his conversation with Yuriko, Takashi wanders through the house and finds two men moving something heavy. When he attempts to help them, they mock him for being a kid. Saya holds a conference with all the members of the group in Rei's room. During the conference, Takashi gets mad and raises Saya off the ground by holding her collar. As she is raised off the ground, Takashi tries to talk some sense into Saya after she repeatedly insults her parents and says that they've abandoned her. After the conference, Takashi and Saeko get in an argument with Kohta about guns versus swords. Naturally, Takashi takes Saeko's side and tries to calm down Kohta, only to be responded with a sharp "Don't touch me!" and "You can't even hold a gun properly!"

After that, he meets up with Alice and says that he should probably apologize, but Alice runs off to Kohta first. Later she comes back to Takashi to tell him that Kohta is in trouble. Going to see what is wrong, Takashi finds Kohta being crowded by some of the Takagi house members after Kohta refuses to hand them his guns. Takashi comes to the rescue saying that Kohta has been the one saving Saya up to now. Later he is joined by the rest of the gang to stick up for Kohta. Eventually the gang convinces the men to let Kohta keep the guns. After this, Saya's father gives Saeko a new sword, a Kissaki Moroha Kogarasu Zuruki. Rei gets rubbed with ointment again and yells out that her back still hurts, but soon after she is shown standing. Later, Rei walks in on Takashi practicing his gun in his room and talks to Takashi about how the situation is different now and how if Takashi fell in love with another girl she could not go on, possibly showing her love for him with this remark. Rei tries to embrace Takashi but then starts to feel pain again so she goes to see Shizuka and as she leaves she tells him to think about what she said.

A scene is shown where Mr. Shido's bus is being pulled into the vista because they need assistance. One of Saya's workers brings out a prototype military ATV that does not require electricity to run, only gasoline. Takashi takes the ATV for a joy ride around the vista, displaying that he can handle it well. Shizuka asks Takashi if she can borrow his cellphone for a minute to call her friend Rika Minami. Rei is then shown dashing toward the bus that Shido was standing outside of. She holds her gun up to Shido's neck, nearly cutting him with the bayonet. She then walks away and says he is not worth killing. Shido and his cult are told to leave on the bus they came in and do so respectively.

Shizuka asks Takashi for his phone again and she then informs Rika that they were at her house already and borrowed some weapons. Moments later, a nuclear warhead detonates overhead, causing a massive EMP blast that nullifies all electronics. This leads Shido and his cult on the bus to crash into a forklift, leaving stranded in the middle of "them". The status of all of the people on the bus and Shido is currently unknown. Shizuka hands Takashi back his cellphone thinking that she may have broken it.

Soon after, "they" start to attack on the vista, Souichiro Takagi, Saya's father, orders that they close the gates to the vista at once, but "they" are in too great of a number and burst through the gate. Kohta is soon shown using his gun skill against "them" and the adults are amazed. Souichiro and his men are shown throwing dynamite at "them", which could attract more of Them. Saya's parents are last shown fending for themselves while the gang flees from the crowd of "them". Takashi and the gang flee on the ATV and Saya's parents are glad that they have left and regret nothing. The status of Saya's parents is currently unknown.

The gang then tries to flee on the highway, only to be surrounded by "them". Takashi and Saeko devise a plan to meet up within a day while they distract Them. Afterward, Saeko and Takashi drive off to the riverbank to get some rest. Later, Takashi decides to use the ATV's amphibious feature. In the resulting splash when they landed in the water, both Saeko and Takashi get wet. When Takashi turns around to check if Saeko is alright, he is mesmerized by her wet clothing. Saeko and Takashi are soon found on a sandbar in the middle of the river to distract "them," because "they" cannot cross the river. After Saeko changes shirts, Takashi drives the ATV to a nearby park where there is a fountain in the middle. The ATV then continues to go around in a circle in the fountain attracting "them" to it. When it comes to fighting though, Saeko is shown that she does not have the will at the moment to kill two children that have been turned into "them". Takashi rushes over and shoots the children in the head, saving Saeko. Saeko and Takashi flee to a nearby shrine for the time being.

In the shrine at night, Saeko explains to Takashi her sadistic side about how she nearly killed a man in "self-defense". When morning comes, Saeko and Takashi are surrounded by "them" when they step outside of the shrine. Seeing that Saeko still hesitates to fight, Takashi tells Saeko to make himself as her reason to fight if she has no reason at all. Takashi gropes her left breast (to imply to Saeko that he is attracted to her) and says that he will always think Saeko is the greatest girl ever and he'll accept her faults and sadistic nature. After that, Saeko snaps into action and dominates "them" around her. The quote "I'm getting wet" then follows, possibly due to the fact that she is cutting up so many people or she is enjoying the sensation of cutting up "them." After the fighting, Saeko asks Takashi if he will "Take responsibility" to which Takashi replied: "Your wish is my command." It is heavily implied that Saeko has developed strong feelings for Takashi for Takashi is the only one who accepted her faults and sadistic nature. When Saya said that she wonders what makes the pain bearable for Saeko and Rei, Saeko for herself thought of Takashi.

Weapons
Takashi shows his resolves to protect his friends and is appointed leader of the group by his peers. At the very start of the outbreak he used a Metal Bat but later on recovers a Smith & Wesson M37 Air Weight pistol from a dead cop, and later tries out a Ithaca M37 that he and Kohta acquired from Rika's Apartment. And finally when they raid the police station he upgrades to a Benelli M4 Super 90 combat shotgun. He also used a crowbar when getting into Rika's apartment and while saving Alice.