Tae Yamada

Tae Yamada (山田 たえ, Yamada Tae) is a mysterious girl with an unknown past. She's the only zombie who hasn't awakened. She's also a member of the idol group Franchouchou.

She is just titled as the Legendary Tae Yamada (伝説の山田たえ, Densetsu no Yamada Tae).

Appearance
Tae has long, straight, dark prune hair with two parts slightly sticking out with her bangs are also straight with one piece sweeping down across her face and reddish-brown color.

Normally, Tae has bandages on her neck, chest, head, and upper leg with a loose black dress tied with a white rope. She also supports grey over-the-knee socks with black flats. As an Idol, she wears a long-sleeved purple striped shirt and a violet skirt with white frills.

Personality
Tae is the only one of the girls who has not fully regained consciousness, and so has remained a mindless zombie. As such, Tae is unpredictable and driven by pure instinct, doing things such as biting at the other members and launching herself at the crowd. However, she does seem to have some semblance of awareness, being able to at least understand the members to some degree and be cooperative enough to participate in the practices and performances. She also appears sentient enough to have a caring side for her fellow zombie idols.

Tae is often eating or chewing something which shows a gluttonous and sometimes predatory (related to her zombie nature) side to her personality.

Character concept
They wanted Tae's image to be "sexy onee-san who comes for your blood." Give the impression of a beautiful long-haired Japanese horror character. They thought it would be nice if the hair moved like the ears of the dogs and could move independently, they also enjoyed designing the clothes, choosing prisoner style T-shirts and pajamas that they really liked. <!-- Hiding, but not removing

Episode 1
After their successful death metal performance in a death metal festival, all of the zombie girls regain their senses excluding Tae, who is still acting like a mindless zombie.

Episode 2
Being the only zombie in the group who hasn't woken up, Tae still remains in her feral state. She is primarily driven by monstrous instinct to bite people.

During the girl's first event at the Saga Castle, Tae takes notice of a whole squid in the audience and immediately moves towards them. Sakura Minamoto tries to stop her but ends up accidentally knocking off her head, nearly exposing the group's identities as zombies. As Sakura tries defusing the situation, Saki Nikaidō rebuffs her and plays around with Tae head to mock the audience. Sakura eventually gets mad and knocks Tae's head away from Saki, where the two girls fight each other in a rap battle. Tae's head was later reattached to her body as Sakura and Saki verbally fight with each other.

Episode 3
While the other girls focus on training to meet Kōtarō Tatsumi's hasty expectations, Tae lounges around mindlessly. At one point, Tae instinctively chews and sucks on a marker, later causing her to sneeze. The sneeze inspires Lily Hoshikawa with an original name for their group and suggests the name "Franchouchou", based on Tae's sneezing fit.

Despite her invisible sloth atmosphere, Tae was still able to train with the girls for their upcoming performance, which ended in bittersweet for everyone.

Episode 4
When everyone visits a Hot Spring Resort in Ureshino to earn a sponsorship with a pharmaceutical company, Tae is seen among her zombie idols sightseeing. When Sakura, Junko Konno and Saki accidentally revealed their zombie forms to the pharmaceutical company president, Tae also ends up scaring the president by surprising the president in the hallway of the resort in a horror-like position.

Episode 5
When everyone was given a commercial deal by Drive-in-Tori she goes with everyone eating the chicken they served (she eats the chicken raw). When everyone dresses up for the commercial, Tae attempts to attack the mascot. During commercial performance, everyone faced various problems due to Tae's inability to speak and how she badly timed her roles. It eventually ended in success when Tae only crowed like a rooster near the end. When Kōtarō and Saki expressed their desire to do more with greater vigor, Tae responds by attacking the mascot again. Her attack was added to the commercial which became very popular.

At the 34th Kashima Gatalympics, she performs at the various events and manages to she win a gold medal in the Mud Tarzan Swing but was almost found out when her body fell to pieces. The other idols managed to put her back together without anyone finding out. Due to Tae's inability to speak she was unable to advertise her idol group. When Sakura thought Tae had a Franchouchou shirt under the muddy shirt she was wearing, Sakura calls to Tae to rip her outer shirt to reveal the inner shirt. Unfortunately, it was revealed that Tae was actually wearing a Drive-in-Tori shirt that they were given as a gift for the commercial. Tae then crows to the crowd, much to her idol companion's disappointment.

Episode 6
In a mini concert and photo op event, Tae is cheered by many for her Drive-in-Tori commercial performance, she replies by doing the same crow she did in the commercial.

Episode 7
While Junko locked herself up, Tae continues practicing and resting with the other Idols for the upcoming Saga Rock event. When Junko gain new resolve and decided to perform with everyone, Tae embraces her with joy along with the other Franchouchou Idols. Right before their performance, both her and Saki tries to invigorate the group by shouting but is told to quiet down.

She performs with everyone during the Saga Rock (notably she is the only one who isn't singing and isn't dancing in sync with everyone) and receives applause at the end with everyone.

Episode 8
When a giant man revealed to be Lily's biological father was questioned for suddenly approaching Lily and touching her, Tae is seen growling at the man in displeasure. When Lily sings a lead performance for her father, Tae is performs in the background with the rest of the idols.

Episode 9
Together with the other Franchouchou idols, Tae starts practicing Kashima Dance with to some elders to appeal them into being fans. Afterwards, everyone takes a break where she over drinks a drinking fountain. She then bites the buns of a biker girl who tries to intimidate Sakura and Lily.

In Saki's lead performance, Tae is seen dancing with the other idols while also dressing in a biker-gang theme like outfit.

Episode 10
When Kōtarō sends everyone in the mountains, Tae mostly slept or got frozen. At one point, she makes a "Christmas Tree" out of ice and snow. When Sakura's head gets eaten by a large boar, Tae attacks the boar with a ravenous attitude which saves Sakura.

Episode 11
After Sakura got hit again by a truck and reverts back to her past memories. Sakura lost her confidence to perform due to having several instances of bad luck during the course of her life, as shown when she reminiscences her past up to her final days of her life before she became a zombie.

Fully understanding to what Sakura is suffering through, Tae strives to convince her by doing whatever it takes to fully remember not only everything they've done as a group, but also her close relationship to her group-mates.

Episode 12
When Sakura was depressed on her misfortune, Tae attempted to help her remember what she did as an idol. Firstly by Cock-a-doodle-dooing whilst wearing the Drive-in Tori shirt to help her remember the commercial they were a part of. Later, she got out the magazine article regarding Saga-Rock, but Sakura brushed her off.

When Sakura locks herself up, Tae attempts to reach out to her again but with little success. After being ignored and brushed off so many times, Tae snaps in a rage. She breaks through the window in the room that Sakura locked herself up in and forces Sakura into the practice room. She then tries to show Sakura how much effort she made Tae practice and focus. Her actions gave the other idols, especially Yūgiri, the revelation how Sakura gave everyone so much and she has a responsibility to see through to the end no matter the results.

Along with the other idols, Tae performs in the Arpino concert and renewed Sakura's confidence despite the various misfortunes that fell on the stage. When Sakura regains her memories of being a zombie, Tae happily bites her head affectionately. -->

Trivia

 * Her first name, Tae, is written in hiragana (たえ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (多恵), it could possibly mean "many, much" (多) (ta) and "blessing" (恵) (e).
 * Tae's surname Yamada means "mountain" (山) (yama) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (da).
 * Up to the third episode, Tae's voice actress was credited as "???"
 * Tae is the only member of Franchouchou who hasn't done any lead songs as she's unable to properly speak.
 * Tae's hair resembles a squid, which is fitting as her favorite food is squid.
 * In Episode 9, Tae chews on Maria's Odango Hair.
 * The former's voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi's breakout role was Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon, who actually wore buns in both her civilian and Sailor guise.
 * Along with Yūgiri, Tae is the only zombie who's cause of death hasn't been revealed yet.
 * By actual age at death, Tae is the oldest of the girls as she died at the age of 29.
 * Tae's Outfit if we take her name to translate as Blessing of the Mountain, closely resembles Buddhist Motsuke Koromo style robes
 * Tae is one of three with most curvaceous figures in group. Sharing same cup size and body type with Sakura Minamoto and beaten only by Yugiri.

Curiosities

 * Bandage Mummy: From what can be seen beneath her clothes, everything apart from her face and hands is covered in bandages.
 * Beware the Silly Ones: Tae's antics as a zombie and her Womanchild behavior is often a source of comedy. However, in Episode 12, when depression-blinded Sakura vehemently pushes her away too many times, Tae reaches her Rage Breaking Point and shows that even if she's ultimately a harmless zombie, she can actually be quite terrifying when she's genuinely angry.
 * Big Eater: Episode 5 in particular showcases her extreme appetite, going so far as to attack a guy in a chicken suit because she thinks he's an actual chicken, to say nothing of downing an entire plate of  uncooked  meat before this, and a plate of eels on a stick (including  the plate ) followed by  five  sticks of eels later on.
 * Brainless Beauty: She is quite attractive, yet she's the only one who is still a mindless zombie who manages to become a Womanchild in her Character Development.
 * Came Back Wrong: For some mysterious reason, Tae isn't restored to consciousness by death metal like the other zombies, and remains a feral blank slate. She gets better over time, but she's still not firing on all cylinders.
 * Character Development: She starts off as a wild animal who'll attack and bite people. Gradually she becomes a bit more civil, being able to understand human language and communicate through groans or gestures, showing curiosity about the world like a child would, and imitating the other girls' dance moves. She's even able to imitate a rooster's crow for the Drive-In Tori ad. Later on, she starts to imitate the other girls' expressions and speech (albeit in a rather garbled manner), and gains enough of a theory of mind to attempt lying. Come Episode 11, she's emotionally aware enough that Sakura's current situation hits her hard, sending her into a Corner of Woe; in the following episode she's shown to remember their past moments and tries speaking to Sakura to make her remember them.
 * Corner of Woe: Assumes this position after failing to get through to Sakura.
 * Cute Little Fangs: While they're anything  but  little, she is often shown having fangs whenever she opens her mouth.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Disregarding how she appears as a zombie, she has the creepiest look out of all the girls, with pale skin, red eyes, face-covering hair, and a black rag for a dress.
 * Ensemble Dark Horse: In-Universe: Tae is fondly remembered by her fans as the chicken girl who does the "cock-a-doodle-doo". She does it for the fans in one concert who request she do so.
 * Expressive Hair: Tae's side-bangs tend to react to how hot her emotions are. When she's excited, angry, or worried, they stick out like crazy; when she's more relaxed and peaceful, they relax down to frame her face.
 * Extreme Omnivore: She tends to bite and gnaw on anyone or anything she can get her hands on, including her own hair. According to Kotaro, however, it's totally harmless.
 * Friendship Moment: Episode 11 has Tae seemingly jumping Sakura, in truth her way of showing she was actually worried about her. Episode 12 has her going out of her way to help Sakura remember their successes. Sakura had previously acted as her caretaker so she didn't end up biting people, and had also taught her how to pay attention and dance, earning her Undying Loyalty. So when Sakura sulks in the attic, Tae goes out of her way to crash into the attic and drag her all the way to the dancing studio to try and jog her memories. Once Sakura's memories return and mix in with her past memories, Tae happily noms on her head.
 * Hand-Hiding Sleeves: She wears a sweater with overly long sleeves during her first public performances.
 * Helping Hands: If her arms get detached they are still able to move about on their own.
 * Hidden Buxom: Her normally baggy clothes hide a rather impressive bust that's second in size only to Yugiri, even beating out the visibly-stacked Sakura. Her idol outfit shows it off in full though.
 * Hidden Depths: She's good at snow sculptures.
 * Institutional Apparel: While the other girls have fairly reasonable sleepwear, Tae is apparently shoved into a striped shirt and pants with a flatcap and left to wander for the night. Given her mental state, this may be justified... or it could just be Rule of Funny.
 * Interspecies Friendship: Tae and Romero show some form of friendship, with the former being a human zombie and the latter being a zombie dog.
 * It Can Think: While she's the only one of the girls not to awaken and acts like a zombie early on, she gradually regains sentience throughout the episodes. This is best demonstrated in the last two episodes of Season 1, in which Tae is the one keeping watch over Sakura after she got hit by a truck and lost her memory. Her speech is garbled as usual, but her facial expressions and the way she holds Sakura's shoulders clearly show concern. She also spends the first half of Episode 12 trying to lift Sakura's spirits by doing dance moves and showing her the article about their performance at the Saga Rock Festival. Eventually she gets so fed up with Sakura's neglect that she drags her back into the dance studio and tries to reenact a training lesson that Sakura once gave her. Even though Tae can't speak properly, she obviously remembers their interactions, and the frustration in her eyes is clear.
 * The Load: Zig-Zagged. As the only zombie who hasn't awakened, she provides little contribution to the team and often gets in the way with her attempts to bite people or her head falling off. On the other hand, she is surprisingly helpful in a pinch, like when she bites one of Maria's buns when she tries to threaten Sakura and Lily, and scares off a large boar after it attacks the girls.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Surprisingly enough, official merchandise has her wearing a skimpy swimsuit.
 * My Friends... and Zoidberg: Kotaro gives a basic description of each girl to Sakura when she first awakens. But with Tae, he simply says she's "The legendary Tae Yamada". When Sakura asks again, he simply repeats himself, and never gives any background information on her.
 * Mysterious Past: Whereas most of the zombies have details on their past lives largely fleshed out (Yugiri is an exception, since we only know about her occupation and apparent ties with Kotaro's bartender acquaintance), Tae is so far the only one whose details are still largely in the dark. About the only hint available is her profile, which lists her hobby as visiting different travel agencies. Word of God is apparently that while she  does  have a pre-mortem backstory, they kept it a mystery because they felt there was no reason to reveal it.
 * Older Than They Look: She physically appears to be around the same age as the other girls, but according to the official website, she was actually 29 when she died.
 * Rage Breaking Point: Tae showing any kind of emotion is rare, but when she gets angry,  Red Eyes, Take Warning . She crashes into the attic after being fed up with Sakura neglecting everyone.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Goes all the way to the back of her knees.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Has red eyes both as a zombie and in makeup, and is the member of the group most likely to attack others, whether acting in defense or seeing if they're food. And when properly angered she gains Glowing Red Eyes, which accompanies a burst of strength.
 * Running on All Fours: She occasionally does this as a way of showing that she's still pretty feral and hasn't regained her higher mental processes.
 * Sleepyhead: Tae occasionally nods off at moments where the other girls are discussing important matters, always with a big Snot Bubble.
 * Smarter Than You Look: While she started off as a shambling, moaning, bitey zombie, she starts to display increased signs of intelligence as the series progresses. While she remains The Unintelligible, it's apparent she's able to understand her friends and follow instructions. Episode 12 is the best indication of this, as she attempts to raise Sakura's spirits by reenacting their dance moves and her rooster crow from the "Drive-In Tori" commercial, and also bringing her an article showcasing their idol group's success.
 * Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: Parodied briefly in Episode 4. When the girls relax on the foot bath, Tae's hair covers her face, resembling an onryo.
 * Stop Copying Me: Does this a lot, not to annoy anyone but because she's relearning how to be human. This copying is how she manages to do the complex dances with the other girls, though her speech comes out as a garbled mess.
 * Super Window Jump: Actually introduced this way in the first episode when she crashes through a window out of the blue back into the manor, being the first zombie Sakura runs into. She does it again in Episode 11, and while it makes her appear monstrous to Sakura (who has regained the memories of her life at the cost of her memories as a zombie), it’s clear to the audience that Tae is actually  deeply concerned  for her.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: She'll at least try to eat just about anything, but she particularly loves dried squid, which Kotaro keeps in his pocket to pacify her bitey tendencies. Her profile also mentions she particularly likes mentaiko.
 * Undying Loyalty: Pun aside, Episodes 11 and 12 cement her dedication and loyalty to Sakura. With Sakura having been taking care of her and trying to make sure she wouldn't just randomly bite anyone, Tae is the one who gets hit the hardest after Sakura's original memories return, but not her undead memories, and after being rejected too many times, Tae reinforces her loyalty by crashing into the attic just to drag her into the studio, and have her remember what Sakura taught her. After Sakura has all of her pre and post-mortem memories, she happily noms on her head. For a zombie who has a bit of humanity, this really speaks volumes.
 * The Unintelligible: As the only zombie who hasn't  awakened, she is incapable of human speech and can only communicate through moans, gurgles, growls, and the occasional grumbled imitations of others. The closest she comes to speaking an actual sentence with words is in (the dub of) Episode 12, when, after having had enough of Sakura ignoring her and the others, she drags her to their rehearsal room and lets out an angry growl that sounds vaguely like "Get it together!"
 * Womanchild: Tae is an interesting variant. As time goes on, she goes from being mindless to demonstrating curiosity and interest in the world around her, albeit in a very basic manner, and shows an ability to understand her friends to a degree and listen to instructions. In essence, being a womanchild is a step  up  for her.