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.

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
 * 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: