Zombie Land Saga

CodeBlazeFate

It’s pretty clear that in today’s society, anime seems to be churned out in droves. You bare witness to the regurgitation of carbon copies, causing the medium you hold dear to fade into the bleakest grey... And then Zombieland Saga busts through the fucking window in a speeding minivan going 156 mph, shouting “FUCK YOU, GET IN!” before flooring it faster than you can say “The Legendary TAE YAMADA!” It’s fun, it’s quirky, it’s loud as all hell, and most importantly, it’s as vivid as a sunset. Sure, your weeaboo mancave of a room is busted and your waifu collection is in pieces, but we all know you’ll replace that with a shrine dedicated to a bunch of zombie idols in no time. You’ll get used to it anyway. We should probably get the most colorful, charming parts of this show out of the way. These visuals pop. The colors strike like God’s lightning, especially in both the opening and ending. These character designs are as bombastic as the personalities of the girls when they’re off doing weird hijinks. Their facial expressions and clothes are so glorious that it’s easy to forget that you only give a shit about like half the characters until their pasts get revealed. Sure, there are some fugly CGI idol models in a couple of dance sequences early on, but then we get oil paintings for menus and real-life footage. Studio MAPPA poured their blood, sweat, and tears into injecting nothing but style into this show. Speaking of hijinks, there’s a ton of variety in these spectacles. Horror movie/game parodying, playing hot potato with Tae’s severed head, fucking chicken performances and rap battles?! How can anyone object to this?! This is a perfect venue for vibrant character chemistry, as evidenced by the two best characters in the show, Saki and The Legendary Tae Yamada! These two embody the best aspects of the show, with them getting a majority of the best gags. Saki’s loud and abrasive personality makes for perfect chemistry fodder with the rest of the cast, and the inner machinations of Tae Yamada’s mind are an enigma. She is a joy to witness. The rest of the characters took a while to become even remotely interesting, and this is for a few reasons. For one, several of the main characters are often more drama focused. While this isn’t a bad thing on its own, not only are the personalities of characters such as Junko and Ai not very interesting, but given the limited time spent on drama in comparison to everything else in the first 4 episodes, the drama often feels like a detour. Admittedly, very few of these characters are that great when they aren’t dealing with absurd scenarios, but some are especially dull early on. The latter half thankfully has episodes designed around fleshing out the characters and giving them an emotional arc, but not every character gets this luxury. Granted, none of the main 7 idols are as grating as their manager Kotaro (cuz that guy can get fucked by a cactus more than half the time) but the show still has a hard time giving everyone the spotlight. Thankfully some of the side characters introduced in some of these character-centric mini-stories are written and explored efficiently. Without them, the drama-centered focus of the second half would have felt like an agonizing shift considering how lackluster the more serious portions of the show felt beforehand. The only thing left to touch on is the music. The background tracks are catchy, with neat jingles to compliment the lighthearted and comedic moments. However, the real meat comes in the form of the songs by everyone in this idol group: Franchouchou. The OP "Adabana Necromancy” is as vivid as the visuals that it plays over, and the watercolor visuals really help sell the emotional ED "Hikari e”. As for the insert idol tracks, several of them are pretty nice to listen to as well, with the only real exception being the ear-piercing Vocaloid-esque song that plays at the end of the 7th episode. It would be rather ghastly if these performances sounded dead, so thank the maker this ain’t the case. It’s refreshing to have an anime run you over, screaming. It calms down, and there are some growing pains, but I’m happy to see some life here. There’s a vivid pulse to this one, a wild and unique expression so charming and sincere that I nearly overlook how uneven and easy to break this show can be. With this performance now over, it’s your turn to take part in the saga. What are you waiting for? Do it while you’re still alive! Also, Tae Yamada dabs in episode 7, so that’s an Easter egg to look out for. Written/Edited by: CodeBlazeFate Proofread by: Peregrine

BurnsyCEO

Every once in a while a show comes along that manages to break the shackles of it's genre and do something so new, so unexpected so unique that it opens the gateway to people who otherwise never would have been interested in the genre. And in my opinion this is the show that does it for the Idol genre. With it's brilliant mix of comedy, music, drama and characters, it's by far my favorite show of the season and most memorable one of the entire year. I'll even suggest not reading the rest of the review and just watch it blind to get the best experience. Zombieland saga is an original anime made by Avex pictures with a run time of 12 episodes. It starts off with a bang with one of the most random first episodes I've seen yet with our heroine dying in the first minute of the show and waking up as a zombie and forming an idol group to "save saga". The rest of the show is about how overcome the absurdity of what is happening, try to perform in public without blowing their cover, overcome their own personal short comings,growing and bonding together as a band and facing their ghosts of the past of when they were alive. 8/10 story. Zombieland saga wouldn't be half the show it is without it's cast. The chemistry between them is pure gold. You simply have to adore the main character Sakura who died an untimely death and finds new purpose in life (lol) with the group. And Saki, an ex biker gang member who is badass, funny and full of heart with the same being said for the rest of the characters who just add so much depth to the show, even yamada tae who has yet to awaken from her zombie state and and is perfect just the way she is.That along with mamoru miyano bringing his hyouin kyouma personality back for the manager is an easy 10/10 for characters. A very special mention to the music in this anime. An Idol show with bad music would be a sin but that is not a sin committed here. The onstage scenes are hype both because of the songs and the build up to said scenes.The only negative I've seen is that some of those scenes are done in CGI and they look wonky because they switch between hand drawn and CGI. Great OSTs as well that set the mood.There's one OST that never fails to get my mood up even though it only plays for 5 seconds and I can't find it either because they haven't released OSTs yet. That along with my favorite opening song of this year gets this anime a 9.5/10 for music. Special note on the opening and music.....They're all sung by Franchouchou which is a REAL band and the characters who are supposed to represent them are voiced by the group members themselves. This is a special kind of commitment to making a musical anime and I love it. Really considered giving it a 10. This show just oozes happiness and heart. I have already added it to my favorites list on anilist and that's a huge deal with me. It doesn't matter if you think you don't think you like Idol shows this will change your mind.

Necokeniii

I've always liked idol anime like love live and idolm@ster, but they are predictable and cliche sometimes. I've always wanted the idol genre to push its boundaries as much as they can. They all follow a predictable pattern, they are the underdogs trying to become popular or they are starting a group because one person wants to. I could go on, but let's focus on zombie land saga. Zombie land saga surprised me each and every week. You never knew what to expect week to week, even if you see the previews. There's tons of cool facts you can learn about saga just by watching the eye catchers, It inspired me to visit saga one day. I really like the combination of the zombie and idol genre,it kept me on my toes. I liked how they used the fact they are zombie not only as a plot device but a source of comedy relief. I really liked the main character sakura, she never failed to amaze me. She was interested in idols and the energy they give their fans, only to die in that meme we all saw the second the first episode dropped.I loved the discussion and ideas presented each week, one I really like is how idols interact with their fans. Should idols keep a distance from their fans and not do meet and greets? Should idols be accessible to their fans and give them the time of day? Depending on what era you come from determines what question is more appropriate. What I always found interesting about zombie land saga, it never tried to give us the typical there's a unified answer to what an idol should be like. It's refreshing to see a show with a diverse and interesting cast. You get to see how they handle the fame, struggles and frustration individually and collectively. I also liked how every backstory built up a character and caused them to change slowly but surely. The music and choreography were great, I found majority of the songs catchy and fun. I really liked the genres outside my comfort zone, they didn't feel cringey or out of place. The big appeal of any idol anime is the music and cute girls, which zombie land saga delivered in. I like how it started as awkward stumbles and movement to refined movement and confident vocals the more they practice. I especially enjoyed how the anime presented the obstacle of cooperation. Not everyone is going to get along or want to compromise even if they are part of a team. So in each episode, the relationships and conflict lead to unity and appreciation of each other's differences. I really liked how each individual part of zombie land saga contributed to my enjoyment, not one thing alone made me hate or enjoy the show less.

Aniosophy

img700(https://i.imgur.com/W016hRo.jpg) - __Prefix:__ I have never really been into Idol anime, I have seen them pop up every now and then in the seasonal charts since I have been watching anime for some time now, but I have never felt the need to go out of my way to watch them. I don't know if that is because I just had this ignorant idea that idol shows weren’t for me, or worse, looking down on them as if they are some form of lesser media, but all of that changed when I watched this show. Guys, I do not think I can stress enough how funny and entertaining this show really is, or how it truly changed my outlook on the entire idol genre, but I will endeavor to do just that with this review. From the very first episode of this series the story is like a speeding train without any breaks, and once you have boarded this wild ride of a series, I promise you won't be disappointed for a single second. In case it is not clear already from the start, __I absolutely loved this series, and to put it simply, you should go and watch this show right now.__ If that's all you needed to hear to be convinced great, go ahead and watched the series now, if not, get ready, because here comes all the other details you probably want to hear. img500(https://64.media.tumblr.com/08c71759b7e26b58b87718c445eedb4e/tumblr_pgv0kkPT8g1tx45yjo1_400.gifv) - __Story:__ Is this a horror anime about zombies terrifying the living, an Idol anime about bringing joy to people's lives through singing and dancing, a comedy anime about a group of girls trying to find their way in an unfamiliar time, or a heartfelt drama about coming to terms with one’s past? To all of these questions and more the simple answer is “Yes”. It is crazy to think about how many different genres are juxtaposed together in this single series, but it is this combination of so many different genres that really makes this series work. Within the first minute of this show the premise of this series hits you in the face like a cold bucket of water in the middle of the night, and before you know it you are in the deep end of something that I don't think you could ever truly be prepared for if you go in blind. Within the very first episode the show tells you exactly what the premise is going to be, this is a zombie Idol group, made up of different “legendary” girls from throughout history, that is going to revitalize the Japanese prefecture of Saga by becoming the most popular Idol group not just in the nation, but in the world. If this doesn't already sounds bonkers to you, just wait because that is just the starting point for this series, from there you only get thrown down further and further into the pit of craziness that is this show, going from zombie idol rap battles, to slasher hot spring vibes, to the heartfelt rekindling of connections with loved ones, the story for this series is truly one wild ride. img500(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/425/843/8f7.gif) - __Characters:__ As you can probably guess from the premise, the fact of this show is basically the Fate Franchise except instead of fighting for the Holy Grail, their goal is to become the top Idol group in the world, and instead of fighting each other, they work together to accomplish this goal, all the girls who make up the idol group are interesting characters in their own right. Their dynamics as they bounce off of one and other is just as entertaining as you'd expect from a room full of girls from slightly different time periods, but really, the most outstanding character in this entire show is the mad genius who put it all together, Kotaro. Kotaro’s character is truly lightning in a bottle, every scene he is in automatically becomes better, because his extremely over the top responses and actions make just about anything funnier, and you realize this within the first 15 minutes of the first episode. the best summation of his personality happens right in the first episode, when Sakura asks him “how did I become a zombie?” his actual asker to her is “Come on, haven’t you seen a zombie movie before?” and right then it when you realize __oh this is going to be one of those types of shows__, this isn't going to get stuck on the logic of the situation, we are here to have a fun time, so if you are ready to throw caution to the wind, hop on. img500(https://anerdyperspective.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/Zombieland-Saga.gif?w=1490) - __Audio Goodness:__ As you have already probably guessed from the fact that I have mentioned the word “idol” in this review so far more than a dozen times, there is a lot of singing in this anime, so to the question, Is it good? To me, Yes. I know, that might be a bit weird coming from someone who before this had no real interest in idol anime, but in truth, there was not a single performance or song in this anime that I did not fall in love with, and honestly, I still listen to the vast majority of them even outside of the anime. There really is not much more to say than that, I loved every song in this show, from the rap battle, to the knock-off Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial, to the robotic voice Idol performance, every performance in this show is one I would actually like to go to in-person if I ever had the opportunity to. Even the OP and ED are done by our main squad, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way, because I already liked the rest of their music, so why not let them do the music outside the show itself. img500(https://66.media.tumblr.com/0fc4e92e2d5b1a173ef5e82541d7fb32/tumblr_phj6msCTiJ1vz5npso1_500.gif) - __Visual Goodness:__ Ok, unfortunately, I think it's about time that I address the elephant in the room that a lot of people are probably going to get stuck on while watching this show, while the majority of the look, color palette, and animation for the series is perfect for the aesthetic it is going for, once the group really starts doing big elaborate idol performances they switch to CG. Now, to be fair, apparently this is a pretty common thing to do in idol anime, and the 3D models do overtime start looking better as they get better at shading and whatnot during the dance sequences, but I'm gonna be real with you, it doesn't look as good as they probably would have if it was fully animated in 2D. Of course, there are tradeoffs and benefits with doing the dance sequences in 3D, that are more than just “because it is cheaper”, the most prevalent reason you will immediately notice while watching the dance sequences are the extremely detailed camera motions and wide angles that would have been significantly harder to do if they tried to just do them in 2D. Which means they would have either needed a lot more money to pay more 2D animates, Or they would have had to compromise by making the dancing sequences a lot less dynamic then they ended up being, so honestly, because we were able to get what we did, it doesn't really bother me that they used CG, but I know I should address it here, because some people get really bothered by that. img500(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NNx1goY8tx4/XABiK9GG3HI/AAAAAAAAAHU/tcmGFOciuHw96r3yuGzmXl7quy6bYRhAwCLcBGAs/s1600/zombieland%2B06.gif) - __Conclusion:__ In the end, I think it is pretty clear how I feel about this series, and hopefully by this point I've convinced you enough to at least give this show a try. This show is so wild and crazy that I feel like people will either know if they love it or hate it the moment they finish the 1st episode, if by the end of that you think “well maybe just one more episode”, right there you are already hooked. Sure this show is not perfect, with it honestly feeling a bit different during a second viewing, but the few cons I can think of are heavily outweighed by the pros, and really whenever Kotaro comes on screen and does something random like a shitty French accent for no reason, I basically forget about whatever I was disliking in the first place. Ultimately, I’m going to rate the series an 85/100 with is possibly being raised to a 90/100 whenever season 2 actually comes out, because this show really was a joy to watch. If you love crazy out there shit, you will LOVE this anime. img600(https://kitsu.imgix.net/uploads/contents/115215/original.jpg?1546184347&auto=format&fm=png&ch=Width%2CDPR&w=672.5&h=538)

Dxvid

~~~img(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LqvsAJJf_Dw/maxresdefault.jpg)~~~ Every once in a while, I come across an anime that takes my expectations and shatters them, becoming something much more than I thought it would be. I've always loved visual flair, vibrance, and outright ridiculous plots in anime, and Zombie Land Saga came at a perfect crossroads between insane style and the ever-so-lovable idol genre. Zombie Land Saga feels like a perfect blend of aspects that make me love the medium of anime, and it does everything I love about the idol genre. In the span of only 12 episodes, ZLS manages to not only provide the kind of spectacular, flashy (and funny!) experience that kept my eyes and ears glued to the screen at all times, but it also provides a surprisingly grounded and triumphant story that knows how to hit you with emotions when you least expect it to. ~~~img(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/26/39/4e2639350737839b83dd5e574023d515.jpg)~~~ __(Story)__ God, where do I even begin to describe the rollercoaster that was Zombie Land Saga's story? Let's take it from the top: Sakura Minamoto, the series' "protagonist" per se, dies within the anime's first minute as she gets run over by a speeding truck on a sunny morning in 2008, and wakes up 10 years later...reincarnated as a zombie. Better yet, she spooks herself after meeting a group of zombie girls, and only finds out she's a zombie after seeing her reflection in the rain and surviving a gunshot wound to the chest by a cop. Next thing we know, we're introduced to the idol aspect of the story: Under the assistance of the manic, spontaneous producer Kotaro Tatsumi, she's being asked to lead a group of zombified girls, each revived from different eras in history, and revive the town of Saga by becoming a group of popular (human) idols. Once the initial chaos of the premise calms down a bit, the rest of the cast (minus the legendary Tae Yamada) reawakens with a conscience and the ball gets rolling with some of the wildest occurrences springing Saga to life. Whether it's a full-blown rap battle in the middle of an argument during a performance, the group naming themselves "Franchouhou" because of a sneeze onomatopoeia, a slasher film parody in a hot spring, or even the group filming a commercial in chicken suits to promote a real-life Saga restaurant in-universe, there's no shortage of random and comedic events that mark the first half of Zombie Land Saga. Chaos is all fun and games, but where Zombie Land Saga truly started to shine and become a special anime to me was when the overarching theme of the show and the drama became more apparent, and that's during the second half of the show. Early on, Franchouchou is presented with various challenges, as do all idol groups do in the early stages; After all, they're consisted of girls from different time periods with vastly different personalities and clashing values. However, once ZLS let their characters actually become characters instead of instruments for comedy, the emotional value and my attachment to the cast upped itself tenfold. Once the circumstances behind the girls' tragic deaths are revealed, with the help of each other they continue to perform and overcome their trauma in very satisfying and emotional ways. This not only strengthens the girls as individuals, but helps them grow together, progressing as a group as they grow in popularity at the same time. There's a scene where one of the members, traumatized by lightning because of her own death, is helped up by another in one of the hardest-hitting "I got your back" moments, and overcomes her trauma to deliver an electrifying performance in a thunderstorm. And that's where the "special" aspect of Zombie Land Saga's story comes from for me: Despite the trope of "overcoming obstacles as people and as a group" from idol anime being present, it's executed in such a great way that it feels like a perfected formula. These girls have to live in almost constant adversity, having to adjust to life as zombies whilst still holding the burdens of their previous life and preserving the relationships they left behind on top of trying to take over the world as an idol group. At its core, Zombie Land Saga is a story of triumph, a story of a group of undead misfit girls coming together and overcoming hardships in their quest to get a second chance at life, a chance to leave behind a legacy greater than the ones they left behind as humans. >As of the time of this review's writing (4/21/2021), ZLS Revenge, the second season, is currently airing, so I included no details from it. A review for Revenge's story will come at the end of that season. ~~~img(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O9VOud8y3tg/maxresdefault.jpg)~~~ __(Audio-Visuals)__ Coming into Zombie Land Saga, I expected nothing less than something special out of MAPPA with its now well-known hallmarks: Glorious visuals, great soundtrack, and an extreme emphasis on style over substance. Well? Yeah...MAPPA went the whole nine yards in animating ZLS. Explosions of color, Franchouchou's diverse character designs and outfits, shots of real-life footage, and overall aesthetic is ZLS's calling card. Perhaps the greatest example of visual flair is the series' opening, which has quickly become one of, if not my favorite, anime openings I've ever seen. It's a very fitting opening for the show: Armed with an uplifting monologue, flashy visuals of the girls killing a kaiju dog in crazy outfits with "Adabana Necromancy", a grand and bombastic song showing off each of the girls' vocal ranges, blasting in the background, it's an opening so overwhelming that sets the tone perfectly. The only real downside to the visuals was the usage of 3D/CG models during the performances, which can definitely turn people off of it. I'm used to seeing CG performances as it's prevalent throughout Love Live, and so it didn't bother me, but it didn't feel out-of-place either, as the movements were relatively fluid if not for a few hiccups here and there. I feel like 2D-animated performance sequences would have been better for the art style and made it more unique, but nonetheless the dynamic camera angles and movement were an okay trade-off. As for the audio...the sound design was great, but what was truly phenomenal was the series' music. Music has always been a strong point for idol anime (as it should be, duh), but having listened to "Franchouchou the Best", their debut album, in full, after watching the show, there's just so much to love about it. The insert songs throughout the series kept their lyrics relevant to the characters, and the instrumentals were absolute earworms. For Franchouchou themselves, each of their voices compliment each others', as there's a mixture of deeper voices (Asami Tano, Maki Kawase, and Rika Kunagawa) and the higher pitched voices (Kaede Hondo, Risa Taneda, and Minami Tanaka) that blend together really well throughout the songs. ~~~img(https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ousa_zls2.jpg)~~~ __(Characters)__ If there's one thing that Zombie Land Saga's cast has, it's definitely that there's a character for everybody that you can love. The main cast all made their own marks in their own unique ways, and it's impossible for me to dislike any of them. The "main character", Sakura Minamoto, is the heart and soul of Franchouchou, despite not carrying a "Legendary" tag like the rest of them. Offsetting the quirky natures of the others, she provides a sense of "normalcy" and relatability that the others don't. She's a great character who gets even better by the end of the show, and one that I continue to gain appreciation for even after watching it. Kotaro Tatsumi, the madlad producer voiced by the legendary Mamoru Miyano, is BONKERS. He's a passionate and impulsive beast of a man, not afraid to be loud 'n' proud at any given moment. Most of his lines are coke-laced yelling and unpredictable quips, but he manages to keep an mysterious aura around him throughout the season as well. He's the one pulling the strings on the Franchouchou puppet show, and there's no shortage of funny moments coming from him. Saki Nikaido, The Legendary Chief Biker, is full of the angst and brashness we've come to expect from biker-gang characters, and is a source of chaos much in the same vein as Kotaro. She's a character I loved before and after she got her spotlight, and the duality of her most prized trait of courageousness also being her fatal flaw made her character arc one of the best in the season. She's also voiced by the same VA who voiced Sarah Kazuno from Love Live's Saint Snow, which is just icing on the cake. Ai Mizuno, The Legendary Heisei Idol, was a lead singer for an idol group while she was alive and acts as the "guiding hand" and veteran presence of Franchouchou, as being resurrected granted her a second chance at becoming an idol. I love her character because the writing parallels with the overall theme of the story, as she treated failure as something to grow from and her constant work ethic and efforts carried the group at times. Junko Konno, The Legendary Showa Idol, was another idol when alive and the first girl to get a proper spotlight shined on her. It was shocking to see a character as timid and shy as her have the most powerful and impressive voice of the group, and the portrayal of her struggle to adapt to a new era of idols was a great introduction to the character-focused side of ZLS's story. Yuugiri is a character I don't have much to say about, because she didn't get an individual episode, but she had her moments. She was a nice change of pace, as she was so chill and accepting about everything that she provided a calming presence to the group. Lily Hoshikawa, The Child Actress Prodigy, is a memorable character, not only for me, but for many people, as she's the first canonically transgender character in an idol franchise. Not only did it make me happy to see trans representation in such a well-received and well-known anime, but she's also a great character herself, as her focus episode was the only one in the series that actually made me shed tears as her acceptance by the group and subsequent performance was emotionally moving. Tae Yamada is legendary. 'Nuff said. ~~~img(https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Zombie-Land-Saga.jpg)~~~ __(Conclusion)__ I love, love, LOVE Zombie Land Saga. Though I wouldn't consider it the "perfect" anime by any means, it's easily one of my favorites, perhaps ever. It's a surreal experience that happens to balance being comedic with being dramatic, and while the scale heavily skews itself towards style over substance, it has enough going for it that I can forgive whatever flaws it may have presented while I was watching. I got everything I asked for watching ZLS, but the true beauty of the show is once I looked deeper within, it became something much more than that. It showed me that no matter how many hardships you can face, even death, you can always get back up and give yourself another chance at becoming great. I cried, I smiled, I laughed, I screamed in hype, and I danced along with Franchouchou watching Zombie Land Saga, and the emotional power it held over me in those 12 episodes made for an experience I'll always remember. If you love crazy fun, absurd anime with great music to boot, then Zombie Land Saga is the anime for you.

Groenboys

>Yo this shit is weird -Snoop Dogg if he watched Zombieland Saga. probably __introduction__ Anime is weird. Surprising news, I know. Even taking into consideration how Japan has a different culture then that of in the west, there are some anime that are creative to the point of ridiculousness. While this creativity may turn some people of, I can speak for most anime fans that the weirdness of anime is charm of it. That doesn't mean that anime which are weird can't be taken seriously. Attack On Titan has a ridiculous premise but is still able to tell a serious story that covers many topics, but today we are not going to talk about that kind of anime: We are talking about Zombieland Saga. With the first season airing in october of 2018 and the second season in april of 2021, Zombieland Saga has gotten quite the reputation as the gateway drug of idol anime. It is not a surprise it has become the most popular idol tv-series of all time in the west, with getting second place of most popular idol anime of all time to Perfect Blue. So why has this become the most popular idol anime of all time and is the title really worth it? Well, today I am gonna review both seasons of Zombieland Saga to find it out. __a quick summary of the story__ In the first scene of the anime we see Sakura. It is the day she starts her second year of highschool and she found the motivation to finally file an aplication for becoming an idol. As she runs outside, brimming with excitement, she gets by a truck. Her hit with the truck gets played several times, all from different angles, then as her lifeless body flies through the air, a heavy metal song starts to play. ~~~img600(https://c.tenor.com/7lFwJGiIfuQAAAAd/zombie-land-saga-zombieland.gif)~~~ So yeah, Zombieland Saga quickly ascerts its dominance in the very first two minutes. A great opening scene to anime that will only get more insane as it goes on. When Sakura wakes back up, she has become a zombie. She is not the only one, because several girls around her are also zombies. A man enters the room, and he is called Koutarou. He exclaims that he resurrected all of these zombies to form one idol group. Their mission? Save the prefecture of Saga of becoming obsolete. And so they begin. Throughout the anime we see the idol group try to make a name for theirselves while being aided by their insane manager Koutarou. __the really fun characters__ ~~~img600(https://i0.wp.com/www.animefeminist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/zls.jpg?ssl=1)~~~ With the story out of the way, I just want to say that the characters are wonderful. Sakura seems to lack a bit of presence, but how she tries to bring sense in a world of chaos and failing at that multiple times always brings a good laugh. Saki brings some much needed punch to the cast, not easily backing down but still brimming with lots of passion. Both Ai and Junko also don't have much presence besides being the pros, but they still bring a lot of heart to this series. Lily is Lily, talking more about her would mean to talk about controversy so I will leave it at that. Yuugiri is a character I really love but seems to be underutilised. She is the "onee-san" type but doesn't seem to do much besides slap people from time to time. There are a few episodes in which she is able to shine, but we will get to those soon. Tae Yamada is a comedic genius. Even though she is only sentient enough to be just not be considered an animal, she brings a lot good slapstick to the anime. Lastly, we can't forget about my boy Koutarou. While he can be annoying at times, it is hard to hate him because the voice actor Mamoru Miyano absolutely __kills__ as the role. The passion, the comedic timing, the hilarious in english, Koutarou is a wild personality that is toe to toe with Yamada Tae's comedic genius. All in all, the character cast is pretty dang good and all the characters have such good chemistry with eachother, so much so that.... __the anime is hilarious (and insane)__ In episode 5 of season 2, Lily joins a got talent competition. As her performance, Lily sings a balad she sung a lot when she was alive, but since she is dead now she does her own spin on the balad. What do you think she did to the song to make it her own now? ..... Okay, if you guessed that she would do a boppy remix of it where she does scat like scatman over it, then congratulations you either watched the show or have insane prophet powers. This is what makes the show for me. Zombieland Saga is isane. Almost everye episode has them doing something out of left field that I would never predict, and it is funny. It is really funny. One episode you can have an emotional arc about what it means to be an idol, and in the next episode you can have Ai hitting Koutarou with a baguette: ~~~img600(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/427/331/aa6.gif)~~~ ~~~__Look at this. This is peak animation.__~~~ It isn't just weird situations and outcomes, sometimes entire episodes are just fucking insane. Like episode 8 & 9 of season 2 it suddenly turns into a serious historical drama that is _good_. The comedy of those episodes then don't thrive of the jokes themselves, just the fact that the anime takes the daring decision to turn from a zombie idol series to a fucking historical drama. That blows my mind while simultanously making me laugh. Luckily the comedy isn't just out of left field stuff. They get a lot of mileage of the characters being zombies. The constant struggle to keep their identities as zombies safe leads to some great comedic moments. The chemistry between the different characters is especially funny, I don't think there is a single Koutarou scene that makes the best out the relationship he has with the other characters. So yeah, the anime is hilarious and I love its comedy, That is why I am sad to say that... __the anime still has flaws (sadly)__ You know how I mentioned that this anime is an idol anime? Well it sure is, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that we can get the most ridiculous parts of being an idol, the bad thing is that the drama that comes from being an idol is pretty boring and akward. The drama between how the characters question if they are good enough for the group or have to face their (sometimes difficult) past is the weakest part of the show for me. I enjoy to some degree, but it gets hard for me to care when I am just waiting for the funny bits to start again. Maybe it is because I don't really watch idol anime or know any real life idols, so it could be just a me thing. I do have to mention that this problem is mostly seen in season 1, in season 2 it gets a lot more insane and less emotional, which I really like as a change. What can probably be universally agreed upon is the production values. For most times, it is pretty dang good. All the characters are really expressive and it has some wild sequences, but when it comes to idol shows in the anime.. it begins to nosedive in quality, which is due to our good old friend CGI. ~~~img600(https://64.media.tumblr.com/cdc5825b3a6186c54760357f1d697a85/tumblr_pk2p56kALg1u86t2qo1_500.gif)~~~ The visual clash between the handdrawn animation and the CGI is jarring and the CGI itself is just kinda mediocre. Like look at this gif. It is not that bad innit of itself, but compare it to the bread gif I showed earlier and you can tell how off it is. It sucks because the CGI performances are often the emotional climaxes of the show and they scale down the impact of these climaxes by a ton. I do have to mention that season 2 the CGI _slightly_ improves (in that the characters are a lot more expressive, but since the 3D camera goes all over the place this improvement can barely be seen). Last thing I want to touch on is the music.... which is just okay. There are some songs I absolutely love from this anime. The openings of both seasons are bagners, the ending of the first season is great and Yuugiri's song might be my favorite song of the entire anime, but the rest of the songs I don't really have much to say about them. I listened to them once and I barely remember them, which is not great for anime that is about music. __just watch the damn anime__ Despite my gripes with it, I enjoyed my time with this anime a lot. Zombieland Saga is an anime that bathes in its ridiculousness to the point of hilarity. The characters are great, the comedy is on point and its insanity is a joy. It deserves its popularity and it deserves its praise. You are missing out if you haven't watched this show yet.

Kalladry

_Setting: modern house, teenage girl’s bedroom, bright sunny day_ _[background, upbeat, peppy idol girl group sings while SAKURA plays a DVD of their concert]_ _“I’m Sakura Minamoto, and today my 2nd year of high school begins! I can be kind of a klutz sometimes, and there are days when it feels like I really don’t have it together, but luckily it’s not going to be like that anymore! I’m going to be the girl I always wanted to be! If I follow my dreams, I know my future will be full of happiness and excitement! Here I gooo—”_ _[heavy metal music plays as her body flies through the air]_ # __ok then__ I ignored this for a while because neither zombies nor idol groups are of particularly interest to me, but I came across a tumblr post with the first 1.25 minutes and it’s like, how do you _not_ get interested in something that starts this way??? Anyway, Sakura later wakes up in a creepy old mansion (while it’s dark outside, naturally), no memories, freaks out when there seem to be zombies around, runs away, and finds a friendly policeman. Thank goodness! Surely he’ll be able to help….wait, why’s he screaming? Then she catches a glimpse of her reflection: # __OH.__ But let’s not dwell on that! Sakura and her fellow zombies have a destiny: they’re going to be a regional idol group! This mysterious guy, who explains absolutely nothing and gives off the vibe that he’s perpetually running on twenty-six cans of Red Bull and _nothing else,_ is their manager. The manager of seven zombies gathered from multiple decades. But don’t worry! He’s _great_ at stage makeup so if they play it cool, no one will realize the performers are dead! Look, this show is _ridiculous_ in the best way possible. It doesn’t take itself seriously, I mean, early on the girls have a show, one zombie’s head pops off, and an on-stage argument _turns into a rap battle_ youtube(https://youtu.be/TtfwUpbSjoA) __(Also, a moment of appreciation for the writing team that wrote most of the show’s songs to fit in English, but _especially_ this rap)__ The songs are catchy, but they’re only part of the series. There are many threads here: Sakura’s amnesia, each individual zombie’s self-doubt or other issues (and with backgrounds that range from “was an idol while alive” to “led a biker gang” you’ve got a lot of issues), the mystery of _why_ Kotaro the manager is doing all this (because the stated reason of “to revitalize Saga Prefecture” may or may not be true, who knows), the fact that they’re _dead_ and body parts fall off, the risk of discovery… But it’s not a super serious show. For their individual issues, the girls take the whole “you’re zombies and your job is to become pop idols” in stride. I mean, they question it. But they also go along with it. It’s not gross, either. There are occasional close-ups where we’re reminded that yeah, without makeup the girls _are_ supposed to be rotting and scary, but they’re pretty rare and not much more detailed than the gif of Sakura at the top. Mostly it’s silly animation, as seen with little Lily’s design that often has her heart literally outside her body, but only a cute version. __in conclusion:__ ___Verdict___ _English dub?_ Yes, and it’s great! Cannot begin to describe the admiration and love I have for Kotaro’s voice actor in particular (Ricco Fajardo), who makes the mysterious producer ___ABSOLUTELY FERAL___ in the best way possible. Other voices are also great, as they all sound like actual people! _Visuals:_ It’s a recent show (2018) so things look good, particularly when having to emphasize something. However, the decision to use 3D models during some of the stage performances is baffling, as these look much worse than regular animation. A friend later told me this is normal for idol shows, but I found it baffling as it’s so obviously different (and worse) than the normal animation. _Worth watching?_ Yes. YES. If I judge a show by how often I shoot videos of it on my phone while watching at midnight so my siblings can wake up to snippets (AKA the asynchronous video version of reading a fun passage in a book aloud), this was phenomenal because I was sending multiple things to them every night. While the 12-episode series doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, it’s clearly set up for a continuation because some story threads haven’t resolved, but happily a sequel project is currently airing (2021, though I’ll watch it when the dub is out).

Juliko25

(Review originally written on June 1st, 2020, before I saw _Land of the Lustrous_, as mentioned below) Oh, zombies. They've been a staple in horror movies ever since horror movies started utilizing them. Some zombie related stuff is good in the right hands, and others...not so much. But let me ask you: Who in their right mind had the idea to come up with an anime about cute zombie girls becoming idol singers, and having it be a wacky, colorful, comedic satire on idol culture? Oh right, this is Japan. They pretty much allow anything to be made into an anime. If they can come up with anime about things like runaway hospital beds, cute girls peacefully living out the end of the world, or sentient sardines that wish for death, then zombie idols being cute really shouldn't be that surprising. Ironically, the people who made this anime didn't think it would do very well, and lo and behold, it wound up becoming the darling of the autumn 2018 anime season. But how did this random anime even come about, and why is it even so popular? Most idol anime tend to be either saccharine, melodramatic, or of general poor quality. Well, let's dig some graves and find some answers. May we all rest in hell. In the year 2008, a young high school girl, Sakura Minamoto, is determined to become an idol. After gathering some application paperwork, she races out the door to make her dreams come true...only to find herself meeting the business end of a speeding truck and dies from the impact. But this is not the end. She wakes up to find herself in a creepy, abandoned mansion in Saga Prefecture inhabited by zombies. Terrified, she runs away and tries to find some answers...only to find out that she too is a zombie, and that ten years have passed since she died. A mysterious man named Kotaro Tatsumi resurrected her and six others girls from different eras, intent on turning them into popular idols for the purpose of saving Saga Prefecture from falling into obscurity. This can either go really well or fail miserably, especially since Kotaro spends a lot of his time yelling at them and not even bothering to explain anything to them. When the anime was first announced, no real premise was revealed for it, as its plot was kept very tightly under wraps until its airing. Many thought it was just going to be a cute girls meet zombies kind of show, like School-Live, so imagine their surprise when they found out it was going to be about cute zombie girls becoming idol singers. It came out of the gate with guns blazing, complete with luscious, wacky, fluid animation that bursts with color and charm. Yeah, I gotta say, the animation for this one is sublime. The colors are bright, the character movement is fluid, and the many visual gags always manage to pack a glorious punch with great comedic timing. It also manages to switch between cute and scary almost seamlessly when it wants to. The only real negative thing I can say about it is that it uses really clunky CGI during the idol segments. Not all the time, but they're jarring enough to know that you're watching 3D models instead of 2D animation, and the transition there isn't the smoothest. Sorry, Zombieland, but _Dragon Quest: Your Story_ and the later seasons of Aikatsu raised my standards for Japanese CGI, thanks. (I still haven't seen Land of the Lustrous yet, but I do plan to!) However, the show is very versatile in the music department. Seriously, the soundtrack for this show is all over the place. Death metal, J-pop, rap/hip-hop, jazz, Zombieland Saga serves a whole buffet of music genres, whether it be singing or the background music. The opening is wacky, bold, colorful, full of rapid movement, and is downright silly in the best way possible, while the ending song is a low key, somber, heartwrenching ballad. I honestly didn't find a single song that I didn't like, even the idol songs (Though I did feel the song To My Dearest was sung way too fast in its beginning verses), and the background music was also very well done. so the soundtrack hit a solid home run here. Also, zombie girl rap battle. How can you go wrong with that?! But again, you can't have a story without good characters to back it up, and while I don't feel these zombie girls are as fleshed out as others in other anime I've seen, I love the whole ensemble, and they have subtle layers to them that help keep them from coming off as just simple archetypes. Sakura's enthusiastic and upbeat, but she's not a ditz nor a pushover. Saki is a badass, trash talking biker chick who's a complete degenerate and stays that way, but isn't a complete bitch either (I also appreciate that the anime doesn't try to change her into a girly girl and lets her stay a degenerate biker gal), Junko's a shy girl who's not fond of how drastically the idol industry changed from her time period, but isn't so shy that she doesn't want to perform in her own way, as she justs wants to enforce clear boundaries. I also love that the anime treats its characters and their personal boundaries with far more respect than other shows I've seen (Take note, episode 6 of 22/7!), something that is sorely needed, especially with how competitive and cut throat the idol industry in itself can be. That being said, the only ones who don't get much development are Yugiri and Tae, whose backstories are unknown as of this season, and Kotaro...not gonna lie, I'm not the biggest fan of him. I mean, it's funny when he's hammy and silly, but he's also kind of an abusive jackass who constantly treats most of the girls like crap and puts them down over the slightest provocation (especially Sakura) and never explains anything to them, especially how he resurrected them as zombies to begin with. But the show knows he's a jackass and he always gets his whenever he sets the girls off, especially Saki and Ai, who don't hesitate to put the guy in his place when he treats them like shit. Speaking of not explaining things, the anime has a lot of neat ideas and concepts, but with its short length, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. How did the girls even become zombies? What is Kotaro really planning on doing with them? Will people make the connection and see that the girls were actually people who died in varying time periods? One person recognized Lily, so the possibility is there. Also, what's the deal with Yugiri and Tae? Or even Kotaro, for that matter? Not only that, the final episode doesn't really end the series, so much as teases the audience with a hook for a potential second season. Thankfully, a second season has been confirmed, so for all we know, we might finally get answers if and when that airs. Still, some might not be satisfied, and that's okay. With an anime that relies on two main gimmicks, zombies and idols, one would think meshing the two would be a complete disaster. But surprisingly enough, Zombieland Saga actually managed to make it work. True, the fact that the girls are zombies become less and less relevant as the series goes on, and Zombieland Saga does play some idol tropes and scenarios completely straight even when it's parodying or satirizing them. But I never felt like Zombieland Saga was trying to paint a rosy, overly saccharine picture of the idol industry, and it does acknowledge that being an idol is, at its core, a job, a business selling you a product, even if the most it digs its claws into is tongue-in-cheek jabs at it. It doesn't try to do a full take-down of the industry like Wake Up Girls did, nor does it paint the industry as being all sunshine and rainbows like Love Live consistently tries to do. I actually did watch the first episode of Love Live and I absolutely hated it, because it was basically overly syrupy Disney fare that was bland, generic, childish, overly pandering, and tried to paint a way too rosy, syrupy picture of how the idol industry works. As a result of how it tackles the idol industry and all that it entails, any drama that comes up in Zombieland actually feels more earnest and substantial than most idol shows try to do, without ever coming across as shallow or melodramatic. Basically, Zombieland Saga uses its bizarre, off-the-wall premise to present its messages with earnest sincerity and just tells it like it is, pulling the wool from your eyes but not trying to outright trick you or throw you a curveball. I think the show is okay with how it currently is, just a fun, wacky, biting but loving satire of the idol industry that's full of heart. It won't be for everyone, but this show is a fun, wild ride all the way through, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the second season when it comes out!

Owen23

____This review contains spoilers, please don't try reanimating spoilers, and making idol groups out of them.____ Even though they're dead, they wanted to live their dreams, is it despair, or hope? Well, it happens in the undead world of Zombie Land Saga. # ____THE STORY: 10/10 ____ The story begins where Sakura is suddenly hit by a incoming truck and wakes up in a zombie filled mansion, where she finds Kotaro, a leader for a idol group of zombies from different eras named Franchouchou. Together, they learn how to perform together and save Saga from going into obscurity. The idol group Franchouchou starts off going into a death metal concert, and by the next episode, a show on the Saga Castle, where a rap battle between Sakura and Saki ensues. But by episode 3, Ai and Junko step in after Sakura has trouble fumbling with the lyrics, and managing to attract a young girl as a fan of the idol group, starting the success of Franchouchou as we know it. At the end of episode 10, Sakura gets hit by the same truck again and loses her memories as a zombie, causing her to have a breakdown that can't see be an idol, but by the final episode, Tae gives Sakura a speech about convincing Sakura to rejoin the idol group, and she does, with the idol group giving a performance, even with the stage wrecked during a snowstorm.

_"Remote is ready, eyes wide, palms are sweaty, There's Flintstones on the TV already, Wilma and Betty!"_ # ____CHARACTERS: 10/10 ____ We got our main idol group, which includes members such as our main zombie, Sakura. As well as Saki, Lily, Ai, and more, and all of these died in different ways, such as a heart attack or a deadly plane crash. Plus, their leader Kotaro, who educates the idol group to show them how to be a successful group, and his dog Romeo too. We also get two metalheads who become fans of the idol group, and a police officer who encounters Sakura and friends, but flees when he sees their zombies. Each member of Franchouchou gets their moments to shine, even having the anime dedicating an episode to Lily, where a large man that visits her turns out to be her father, and gives her father a special concert to give him a goodbye. _"That's my girl, always wanting to be an idol star.."_ # ____VISUALS: 9/10 ____ The art of the show looks great, from the flashy, upbeat vibe of Franchouchou's performances, to the dark, scary vibe of the scene of the members revealing what's underneath them in the hot spring from episode 4. Even the CGI when Franchouchou performs is actually good, managing them to have look brilliant while they're singing for their fans. _"Nope, I'm not dying again today!"_ # ____SOUND: 10/10 ____ Most of the music is great, from the upbeat vibe of the OP that gives off the action packed sequence that's going on in the OP itself, from the heartwarming ballad that is "To My Dearest", to the rap battle in episode 2, to the delightful "FLAG wo Hakamekasero" that ends off the series. All of these songs capture the feel of how it feels to be a member of Franchouchou. # ____ENJOYMENT: ____ When I was on the road on to my 2000th episode of my anime journey, I decided to watch this anime alongside the cute "My Roommate Is A Cat", and this anime showed me the way about how can a group of zombies can become an idol band in just 12 episodes with the power of their upbeat music and a cute cast of undead idols. Plus their reanimated bodies can be pulsing with courage, even though they don't have a pulse. Because this is their saga! _"And it's sweet, sweet, SWEET VICTORY, YEAH!"_