Volume 01

Volume 01 is the first volume of the Highschool of the Dead manga, and it contains the first three chapters. It chronicles the initial outbreak at Fujimi High School and introduces most of the main characters of the story.

Chapters

 * Act.1 Spring of the Dead
 * Act.2 Escape from the Dead
 * Act.3 Democracy Under the Dead

Act.1 Spring of the Dead
Summary:

The chapter begins with narrration from Takashi Komuro, who says that the night before it all ended, he stayed up late. It then breaks to a scene in which Takashi, Rei Miyamoto, and Hisashi Igou are running up a staircase on the school roof to escape from "them." As Takashi and Hisashi reach the top, they notice that Rei has fallen down and is being attacked by one of "them." Takashi moves to save her, but Hisashi pushes him out of the way, taking his bat, and saves Rei. The three barricade themselves in the area at the top of the stairs, which is the astronomy tower, and get their first real views of the chaos in the city.

In the next scene, Imamura is seen smoking behind one of the school buildings. He is attacked and killed by a group of "them." Misuzu Ichijou and Toshimi Niki are then seen running down a hallway together. Toshimi is grabbed by a group of "them," and Misuzu tries to kick her away before also being attacked. Both girls are killed.

Back in the astronomy tower, Takashi and Hisashi strengthen the barrier on the stairs. Rei finds enough water and food to last them a couple of days. The three discuss what they will do and when they will be rescued. Takashi uses his cell phone to try to call the emergency line, but he only gets a recorded message. Looking around, they witness the death and destruction going on in the school and city all around them. They see Takayama, the P.E. teacher, just before he throws himself off of the roof. Rei is overwhelmed by the situation, and Hisashi comforts her as Takashi realizes that the world as they knew it was gone.

The scene then cuts to two hours earlier. Takashi is standing in the hall looking out of the window when he is approached by Morita. They are both skipping class. Morita notes that Takashi got rejected by Rei, who recently started dating Hisashi. Takashi pretends to be okay with it and says he is going to take a nap on the roof. On the roof, he reminisces to the time when he and Rei were children and she promised him she would marry him. He thenrecalls a more recent time when Rei got defensive when he asked her about why she was held back. Finally, he remembers the beginning of the current school year when he and Hisashi found out they were classmates again. He looks down at the gates and notices Kyoko Hayashi, Teshima, and some other teachers approaching it. They are investigating a strange man, who is actually one of "them," standing on the outside. Hayashi tells him to leave, and Teshima wlks up to grab and physically threaten him. As he grabs it, it bites his arm, and he dies shortly after. He comes back as one of "them" and bites Hayashi on the neck.

After witnessing this, Takashi runs back into the school and to his classroom. He bursts into the classrom and tells Rei they have to leave. He attempts to pull her out of her seat. Saya Takagi asks him what he is doing, and Hisashi grabs his arm and pulls him away from Rei. Takashi explains the situation at the gate, saying there was a murder. When Rei begins to yell at him, he slaps her in the face. This convinces Hisashi that Takashi is serious, and the three leave the classroom. As they run down the hallway, Takashi further explains that the teachers who were at the front gate want to kill them now. Rei is still skeptical. Hisashi stops them in front of a supply closet, saying they will need weapons. Takashi grabs a baseball bat, Rei gets the shaft of a push broom, and Hisashi says he has a black belt in karate and will use his hands. While they are stopped, Rei suggests they try calling the police. Takashi hands her his cell phone and she calls, but all she hears is a recording saying the emergency lines are busy. The three are made a bit nervous by this. Before they can start moving again, a voice is heard through the school's speakers saying there has been an incident on campus and everyone should begin evacuating. This is followed by screams and cries for help. Hearing this, the students begin to panic. Saya is seen finding Kohta Hirano in a hallway outside of a classroom, and she tells him to leave with her. Moments later, the students charge out of their classrooms in a state of mass panic. Many people are trampled as they desperately try to escape the school.

Takashi, Rei, and Hisashi, who are in an isolated area of the school, decide to escape through the administration offices, where there will be less people. As they begin running, Wakisaka, the social studies teacher, steps out in front of them, and he has become one of "them." He goes by Takashi and Hisashi and walks toward Rei. She tells him he shouldn't cross a member of the sojutsu club and then stabs him in the chest with her broom handle. However, he is unaffected and continues to advance on her, backing her into a wall. Hisashi grabs him from behind, and Rei is able to pull the broom handle out. Takashi yells at Hisashi to let go of Wakisaka, saying he is not normal. Hisashi says it's nothing, but Wakisaka overpowers him and bites his arm. Rei stabs him again, but he won't release Hisashi. Takashi realizes that Wakisaka is dead, since a living person could not survive after being stabbed through the heart. Rei yells at him to do something and be a man, so he uses his bat to smash Wakisaka's head, causing him to finally release Hisashi. Rei helps him up, and they and Takashi run away from an approaching group of "them" and towards the stairs. They prepare to go down the stairs, but, when they hear screams coming from below, they decide to go to the observatory on the roof until help arrives.

On the roof, they see the destruction going on in the city and wonder what is going on. A group of Blackhawk helicopters fly by, and Hisashi says they must be the self-defense force. Rei tries to signal to them for help, but Hisashi points out that they are probably carrying out some specific task. He mentions what is going on in the building, and several scenes are shown in which "they" are attacking and eating people. Saeko Busujima is briefly seen. Hisashi uses the term "them" to refer to the zombies for the first time and explains that this is not a movie or game, so they can't call them zombies. He also notes that the only way to kill "them" is to crush their heads and that people who are bitten become one of "them" after they die. Takashi notices that the lock on the door to the roof is broken, so they make their way to the observatory.

When they have barricaded themselves in the observatory, Hisashi becomes sick and begins to cough up blood. He realizes what is happening to him, so he asks Takashi to drop him off of the building because he doesn't want to become one of "them." His condition grows worse, and he is soon dead. Takashi realizes what he must do and tells Rei, who is leaning over Hisashi's body and crying, to move out of the way. She won't move and tells him that Hisashi is different and won't turn into one of "them." She is hopeful when Hisashi's body begins to rise, thinking that he has not really died. However, he has become one of "them," and Takashi pulls Rei out of the way before smashing his head with the bat. Rei becomes angry and distraught and says she would rather become one of "them" like Hisashi now. Takashi tells her Hisashi would not have wanted that. Rei becomes angry at him and accuses him of hating Hisashi because he was her boyfriend. Takashi walks away toward the barrier. When Rei asks where he is going, he says he doesn't want to be any more trouble for her, so he is going to fight through "them" alone. As he is about to climb over the barrier, she grabs him, telling him not to go and apoligizing. She says she didn't mean what she said and begs for them to go together. Takashi jumps down and hugs her.

The chapter ends with Takashi's thoughts saying that hearing her say that made him feel better but at the same time helpless. He then wonders what they will do now.

Characters in order of appearance:
 * Them
 * Rei Miyamoto
 * Takashi Komuro
 * Hisashi Igou
 * Imamura
 * Misuzu Ichijou
 * Toshimi Niki
 * Takayama
 * Morita
 * Kyoko Hayashi
 * Teshima
 * Saya Takagi
 * Kohta Hirano
 * Wakisaka
 * Saeko Busujima

Act.2 Escape from the Dead
Summary:

Characters in order of appearance:

Act.3 Democracy Under the Dead
Summary:

Characters in order of appearance: