Zombie Land Saga (Anime)

Zombie Land Saga (ゾンビランドサガ, Zonbirandosaga) is a Japanese supernatural comedy/musical animated series co-developed by MAPPA animation studio, Avex Pictures, and Cygames gaming studio. It is written by Shigeru Murakoshi, directed by Munehisa Sakai, and with music composed by Yasuharu Takanashi.

The first season aired in Japan between October 4 and December 20, 2018. The second season aired between April 8 and June 24, 2021.

It was announced that the original anime from MAPPA studios and Avex production company, Zombie Land Saga, will feature a movie, which is already in development. Production details and its release date will be announced soon.

To reveal the news, a special video was broadcast during the concert, starring actors Hakuryu and Kunio Murai, who are big stars from Saga Prefecture.

Plot
In 2008, Sakura reached her second year of high school to look for the Tokyo audition to become an Idol. As soon as she left home trying to go to school and audition, a truck ran her over, causing her death.

In 2018, Sakura wakes up with memory loss, in a particular western-style house, and is suddenly attacked by zombie girls and escapes outside, but discovers that she too became a zombie. A young man, Kotaro Tatsumi, tells her that she was revived as a zombie for the local idol project “Zombie Land Saga Project” that raises awareness of Saga Prefecture. Sakura forms the idol group “Franchouchou” with 7 members, Saki Nikaido, Ai Mizuno, Junko Konno, Yugiri, Lily Hoshikawa, and Tae Yamada, who were revived as zombies.

Main Cast

 * Kotaro Tatsumi by
 * Mamoru Miyano (Japanese)
 * Ricco Fajardo (English)
 * Sakura Minamoto (Zombie #1) by
 * Kaede Hondo (Japanese)
 * Brina Palencia (English)
 * Saki Nikaido (Zombie #2) by
 * Asami Tano (Japanese)
 * Caitlin Glass (English)
 * Ai Mizuno (Zombie #3) by
 * Risa Taneda (Japanese)
 * Bryn Aprill (English)
 * Junko Konno (Zombie #4) by
 * Maki Kawase (Japanese)
 * Amanda Lee (English)
 * Yugiri (Zombie #5) by
 * Rika Kinugawa (Japanese)
 * Stephanie Young (English)
 * Lily Hoshikawa (Zombie #6) by
 * Minami Tanaka (Japanese)
 * Sarah Wiedenheft (English)
 * Tae Yamada (Zombie #0) by
 * Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese)
 * Dawn M. Bennett (English)
 * Romero by
 * Yasuhiro Takato (Japanese)
 * Alejandro Saab (English)

Major Supporting Cast

 * Metalheads 
 * Skull by
 * Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese)
 * Cris George (English)
 * Bull by
 * Setsuji Satō (Japanese)
 * Mike McFarland (English)
 * Policeman A by
 * Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese)
 * Austin Tindle (English)
 * Journalists
 * Arata Ookoba by
 * Tōru Nara (Japanese)
 * Kent Williams (English)
 * Inubashiri by
 * Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese)
 * Aaron Dismuke (English)
 * Jofuku by
 * Hochu Otsuka (Japanese)
 * R. Bruce Elliott (English)

Supporting Cast

 * Iron Frill (2018)
 * Shiori Baba by
 * Sora Tokui (Japanese)
 * Jad Saxton (English)
 * Makoto 
 * Aoi Hino (Japanese)
 * Hikari 
 * MAO (Japanese)
 * Juria 
 * Tohno Mayu (Japanese)
 * Yui
 * Chisa Kaneko (Japanese)
 * Takeo Go by
 * Tsuyoshi Koyama (Japanese)
 * Christopher Sabat (English)
 * Reiko Amabuki by
 * Komina Matsushita (Japanese)
 * Colleen Clickenbeard (English)
 * Dorami Dance Team
 * Maria Amabuki by
 * Aoi Koga (Japanese)
 * Madeleine Morris (English)
 * Korosuke Biker Gang
 * Misa Higashitsuru by
 * Momoko Notomi (Japanese)
 * Morgan Garrett (English)
 * Maimai Yuzuriha by
 * Kana Hanazawa (Japanese)
 * Cherami Leigh (English)
 * Light Oozora by
 * Minami Takayama (Japanese)
 * Steph Garrett (English)

Minor Cast

 * Manager of the Hisanaka Pharmaceutical Company
 * Drive-in Tori commercial director
 * Gatalympics host
 * Machiko
 * Kiichi Momozaki by
 * Mamoru Miyano (Japanese)
 * Ricco Fajardo (English)
 * Shojiro Ito by
 * Koki Uchiyama (Japanese)
 * TBA (English)
 * White Ryu by
 * Hakuryu (Japanese)
 * Tony Oliver (English)
 * Iron Frill (2008)
 * Kaoru 
 * Yuki Sato (Japanese)
 * Nono 
 * Mai Motizuki (Japanese)
 * Nina 
 * Chinatsu Ode (Japanese)

Episodes
Main article: Episode Guide

Music
Yasuharu Takanashi was responsible for the music for this work. The director, Munehisa Sakai, hoped that Takanashi liked Death Metal and that it was possible to balance the cute part with the rock part of the characters who live a rock life. In an interview with Animate Times. Cygames' Nobuhiro Takenaka said: “Idol activities are at the center of the story, so linking stories and songs is the easiest thing to convey. In that sense, there are more messages behind the songs.”

Both “Adabana Necromancy” and “Hikari e” are performed by Franchouchou (Kaede Hondo, Asami Tano, Risa Taneda, Maki Kawase, Rika Kinugawa and Minami Tanaka). The anime began airing on October 4, 2018, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, BS11, Saga TV, and TVQ, was also licensed by Crunchyroll.

Broadcast History
In the promotion, the principle of secrecy for the content of the work was fully implemented. From the production announcement to the start of the mainstream, information on the story was hidden, except for the slogan “New zombie-feeling anime.” The promotional video also appeared to be a true zombie horror job. At a screening for the general public in Tokyo, the audience was asked to submit a promise of confidentiality. This is because it was intended to surprise viewers and because there was a possibility that viewers would be limited if idols appeared.

The production of the second season was announced at the event “ZOMBIE LAND SAGA LIVE ~Franchouchou Minna de Orabou!~!” held on July 27, 2019.

Reception
The following reports have been made on the impact on tourism and industry in the prefecture of Saga, which was the setting for this work.


 * On November 25, 2018, the “Old Main Building of the Karatsu Branch of Mitsubishi Joint Stock Company” (Karatsu City Museum of History and Folklore) was opened to the public, which is where the model of the residence of the girls, and more than 1,000 people visited the place. This facility has been closed since 2003 due to deterioration, and is open to the public every year with the “National Public Launch of Modern Heritage.” The number of visitors the previous year was 300 in two days.
 * Muraokaya, which makes the Japanese confectionery “Saganishiki”, has launched a collaborative package version of the same product, “Zombie Land Saga”. The factory is said to be fully operational, with sales 1.5 times higher than initially anticipated.
 * The “Drive-in Tori” is based in Imari, Saga, it appeared in Episode 5 of the series and after the broadcast of the episode, its number of visitors increased like foam.
 * On January 14, 2019, TVQ Kyushu Broadcasted a special program “Zombie Land Saga Holy Land Pilgrimage Tour-We Want to Live”, which introduces the places where the series took place and which appeared in the anime. “I wanna go! SAGA ~” was broadcast with Kaede Hondo, who played the role of Sakura and was responsible for the narration.
 * July 26, 2019: As of November 4, as a collaborative project between the city of Karatsu and JR Kyushu, Saga trains (Kiha 125 type 1 wagon) began operating on some Karatsu and Chikuhi lines in Saga prefecture with anime images. The original schedule was until October 31, but the service was expanded in line with the “Saga International Balloon Fiesta 2019”.
 * Japanese internet users chose the 2018 anime general election annual grand prize (respondents: 138,080), which was held at Nico Nico Douga, and asked about the most interesting anime among the anime works that started airing and be distributed in 2018. Zombie Land Saga was first place with 13.33% of the votes. It also ranked first among all men and teenagers over 40 by age group. Before this questionnaire, Nico Nico Douga was taking a similar quiz on the anime from the fall 2018 season, for animes that began airing and being distributed from October to December 2018. Here, Zombie Land Saga got 16.64% of the vote and was selected first in 53.83% of all voters.
 * There have been promotions such as stamp rallies, two since the anime began airing, which encouraged people to visit different areas and receive Franchouchou products. That project was a proposal from the prefectural government. They also received several requests from local companies that wanted to produce collaborative products and more. In that sense, it was well received by the people of Saga, and it helped people from other places to know and love the place a little more.

Radio
“Because Franchouchou No. 2 Saga is a Zombie Land Saga Revenge saga” is a radio program broadcasted on FM Saga every Sunday from April 18 to June 27, 2021, from 10:00 PM to 10:30 PM. The person behind is Asami Tano, who plays the role of Saki Nikaido and the legendary Saga Prefectural rock star “White Ryu” featured on the second episode of “Revenge.”

The guests

 * 1st - Hakuryu
 * 2nd - Rika Kinugawa
 * 3rd - Go Inoue, Nobuhiro Takenaka
 * 4th - Minami Tanaka
 * 5th - Aoi Koga
 * 6th - Kaede Hondo
 * 7th - Yuri Yoshida
 * 8th - Kotono Mitsuishi
 * 9th - Maki Kawase
 * 10th - Risa Taneda

Trivia

 * The title of the anime, Zombie Land Saga, refers to both the saga (story) of the pop idol group consisting of zombies as well the prefecture itself.
 * As such, every episode has the word “Saga” included somewhere in the title.
 * Some very big names from the Japanese voice-acting industry are involved in this series, like Mamoru Miyano as Kotaro and Kotono Mitsuishi voicing Tae.
 * The Saga Prefectural Government in real life was involved with the production of the show and saw the benefits of anime tourism as a result.
 * Episode 5 did this for Drive-in Tori, a real-life chicken restaurant with a real jingle that the girls perform. After the preview dropped, swaths of commenters came to the company's videos to point it out.
 * Franchouchou's mansion is actually based on a preserved building in Saga. When it was opened to the public on November 25, the management didn't expect to have 1000 visitors in just one day.
 * After the airing of the final episode of Season 1, the actual Arpino crew wrote an actual apology for structural damage after the major snowstorm.
 * In an interview with the head of Cygames Pictures in the February 2019 issue of Megami Magazine, he said they'd been overwhelmingly pessimistic about the show's prospects before it aired, and weren't expecting it to become as popular as it did.
 * With that in mind, they had planned to reveal Yugiri and Tae’s backstories as part of the season finale, but since they would not have fit with season one’s story, they have decided against it and have instead delayed it for a future season.
 * Season 1 is the only season to have the songs in English dubbed for Blu-ray/DVD release.
 * After the airing of the first episode, the producers of the anime, Cygames and Avex Pictures have gotten this reputation, presenting the anime's premise like a typical Zombie Apocalypse when it's actually a parody of the Idol Singer genre with a mix of Horror Comedy, with all the footage suggesting a violent and gritty series coming from a five-second video Kotaro shows the girls about what would happen if they're caught. Suffice it to say, it's actually worked.
 * Since Tae only growled during the early episodes, not saying a word, her voice actress remained a mystery during pre-air promotions, interviews, and even when the anime started airing. In the credits of the first two episodes, her actress is only credited as “????” and it wasn't until Episode 3 aired that it was finally revealed to be Kotono Mitsuishi.
 * When Mamoru Miyano introduces the voice actresses of the main cast in-character as Kotaro, there is a seventh slot marked only with question marks in place of Tae's voice actress. He does attempt to speak the name, but it comes off as a random mumble instead.
 * A group picture of the voice actresses and some staff members was posted to Twitter on October 4, 2018, but Mitsuishi's face was covered with an icon of her character's face.
 * The emblem of the Saga Prefecture is eerily similar to the emblem of the fictional SCP organization. Due to these similarities, some theories suggest that the Saga Prefecture government is some kind of containment organization that is aware of supernatural activity in the prefecture, and considering that the Zombie Land Saga Gaiden manga introduces supernatural creatures called Sagako, this theory could be more accurate than it seems.