https://i.yt.com/vi/LqvsAJJfDw/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. Ive 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 eversolovable 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. https://i.pin.com/originals/4e/26/39/4e2639350737839b83dd5e574023d515.jpg Story God where do I even begin to describe the rollercoaster that was Zombie Land Sagas story? Lets take it from the top: Sakura Minamoto the series protagonist per se dies within the animes 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 shes a zombie after seeing her reflection in the rain and surviving a gunshot wound to the chest by a cop. Next thing we know were introduced to the idol aspect of the story: Under the assistance of the manic spontaneous producer Kotaro Tatsumi shes 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 its a fullblown 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 reallife Saga restaurant inuniverse theres 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 thats 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 theyre 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. Theres a scene where one of the members traumatized by lightning because of her own death is helped up by another in one of the hardesthitting I got your back moments and overcomes her trauma to deliver an electrifying performance in a thunderstorm. And thats where the special aspect of Zombie Land Sagas story comes from for me: Despite the trope of overcoming obstacles as people and as a group from idol anime being present its 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 reviews writing 4/21/2021 ZLS Revenge the second season is currently airing so I included no details from it. A review for Revenges story will come at the end of that season. https://i.yt.com/vi/O9VOud8y3tg/maxresdefault.jpg AudioVisuals Coming into Zombie Land Saga I expected nothing less than something special out of MAPPA with its now wellknown 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 Franchouchous diverse character designs and outfits shots of reallife footage and overall aesthetic is ZLSs 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 Ive ever seen. Its 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 its 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. Im used to seeing CG performances as its prevalent throughout Love Live and so it didnt bother me but it didnt feel outofplace either as the movements were relatively fluid if not for a few hiccups here and there. I feel like 2Danimated 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 tradeoff. 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 theres 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 theres 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. https://otakuusamagazine.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/12/ousazls2.jpg Characters If theres one thing that Zombie Land Sagas cast has its definitely that theres a character for everybody that you can love. The main cast all made their own marks in their own unique ways and its 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 dont. Shes 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. Hes a passionate and impulsive beast of a man not afraid to be loud n proud at any given moment. Most of his lines are cokelaced yelling and unpredictable quips but he manages to keep an mysterious aura around him throughout the season as well. Hes the one pulling the strings on the Franchouchou puppet show and theres no shortage of funny moments coming from him. Saki Nikaido The Legendary Chief Biker is full of the angst and brashness weve come to expect from bikergang characters and is a source of chaos much in the same vein as Kotaro. Shes 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. Shes also voiced by the same VA who voiced Sarah Kazuno from Love Lives 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 characterfocused side of ZLSs story. Yuugiri is a character I dont have much to say about because she didnt 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 shes the first canonically transgender character in an idol franchise. Not only did it make me happy to see trans representation in such a wellreceived and wellknown anime but shes 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. https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/12/ZombieLandSaga.jpg Conclusion I love love LOVE Zombie Land Saga. Though I wouldnt consider it the perfect anime by any means its easily one of my favorites perhaps ever. Its 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 Ill always remember. If you love crazy fun absurd anime with great music to boot then Zombie Land Saga is the anime for you.