Episode 9

"I will never die ... and neither is this little guy! Check it out! a Maskutchi"

~ Saki talking to Reiko after the fight.

Though My Life May Have Ended Once By Some Twist of Fate I Have Risen, and If Song and Dance Are to Be My Fate, Then Carrying the Memories of My Comrades In My Heart As I Sally Forth Shall Be My SAGA is the ninth episode of Zombieland Saga.

Synopsis
Saki once again brushes the ranks of her old gang of motorcyclists, remaining among criminals and idols.

Kasegawa River... 1997.
Saki and Reiko are victorious from a fight on the slope of the Kasegawa River, Reiko asks what Saki wants for her future, who replies that she is satisfied with how things are going and that she only needs her Maskutchi, Reiko clarifies that she hopes to form a family and have a quiet life, both go in the direction of the Tenmangu Shrine.

Nowadays.
Sakura, Tae and Lily are intimidated by the 3rd. Dorami's captain, Maria Amabuki, who upon being defeated by Saki, retires with her gang, it is at this moment that Saki realizes that Maria is the daughter of her former fighting friend, Reiko Kirijima.

During the return to the mansion, Saki can't help but get involved in a fight between Dorami's captains and the rival gang, Korosuke. After an argument, both gangs leave, Saki takes the opportunity to ask Maria about her mother, who is confused and only says "she is a coward".

Returned to the mansion, Kotaro alleges Saki for her actions, saying that violence and Idols do not mix, she reminds her that "what she does is the image of the group." At the same time, Maria is challenged by the Korosuke captain to challenge "the chicken" to what her mother, Reiko, warns her of the danger she is running and, on the path she is taking, Maria is annoyed and does not listen to her. At this point Reiko has a flashback in which she shows the death of her comrade in that event several years ago. Maria ignores the warnings and goes to the challenge anyway.

Challenged by the chicken
The Dorami and Korosuke gangs are gathered on a Kagamiyama cliff, specifically in the same place where Saki died under the same circumstances, Maria was ready to start when her mother arrives to stop her, the dispute ends with a Saki who arrives by surprise, taking the position of "Substitute Captain", Reiko recognizes Saki, who only responds with a "and who is that?", begins the challenge which ends with Saki on a motorcycle falling through the ravine, ended in an explosion, Reiko returns to Having a memory of that fateful day, except that Saki emerges victorious from the ravine, Reiko beats her to her recklessness.

The episode ends with both bands reunited in peace, while the Franchouchou perform Tokkou Dance.

Characters

 * Saki Nikaidō
 * Sakura Minamoto
 * Lily Hoshikawa
 * Tae Yamada
 * Ai Mizuno
 * Junko Konno
 * Yūgiri
 * Kotaro Tatsumi
 * Romero
 * Reiko Amabuki
 * Maria Amabuki
 * Migikawa
 * Sayama
 * Azumatsuru Misa
 * Oficial de Policía A

Synopsis according to Kotaro's Diary
~ " Although sudden, it is a declining birth rate and an aging society.

From now on, we must make the older people in the saga become fans of "Franchouchou".

Grandpa, Grandma is coming to watch the idol event.

Don't you find it wonderful?

''Greetings at the event too, or ... the "franchouchou" clarity will continue at any time by doing idle activities at full speed!''

''Young and old! "No, more clearly."''

''"Zombie in Tokyo, or not?" ~''

Trivia

 * Saki's precious toy " Maskutchi " is a reference to Tamagochi, very popular electronic toys in Japan in the 90's.
 * At first reference is made to the Saga International Balloon Festival, an event held on the banks of the Rio Kase, in Saga.
 * The entire ending scene and the song Tokkou Dance itself pays tribute to the song "One Night Carnival" by Kishidan, famous Japanese "ganster" band.
 * On the anime CD, the episode was titled " DAWN OF THE BAD ", this being a tribute to George A. Romero's movie,  "DAWN OF THE DAD"  (The Night of the Living Dead).
 * Maria becomes rebellious after discovering the criminal past of her mother, Reiko.


 * Almost the entirety of Episode 9 is just Saki proving that she really is as rude as she is. Gangsters in the present seem to be able to figure it out, and they are overwhelmed by their level of danger by pure primary instinct.
 * We kick off the episode with a flashback of her motorcycle gang days, where he's casually chatting with Reiko . She brags that neither she nor her tamagotchi will die ... and we walk away to the sheer butchery of the last fight with her rival gang, broken bikes, and bent levers among a crowd of people moaning on the ground.
 * Back in the present, Saki sees Maria surrounded by rival bikers. Her immediate reaction is to open the door of a moving van in highway traffic and roll down the hill. She gets back up, puts her head in place, and walks calmly past a girl with a chainsaw to the two biker gang leaders to calm the situation with a well-placed gaze.
 * The ending is just a great crescendo of incredible for the girl. She manages to pull off a Grand Entry on a kid's bike, dupes and terrifies everyone to let her take Maria's place in the chicken challenge (on Reiko's motorcycle, no less!), She explodes. through the railing at crazy speeds, and casually comes out An explosion almost identical to the one that killed her. Even being hit by her old friend doesn't disturb her; She only takes the opportunity to get Maria to respect her mother, and spins the impressed reactions of the rival gang to turn them into new Franchouchou fans. Kotaro watches the scene with pride.
 * Reiko herself makes a grand entrance on her old bike, popping wheelies and skating in front of the motorcycle gang. And then she punches Saki after their unshakable walk, scolding her for risking her life. Anger born out of worry could be, but in truth it is burning anger. No wonder she and Saki led the gang ...
 * The performance at the end is great! The girls sport some new hairstyles and bozosoku outfits. The genre is rock with biker themed lyrics, quite different from their usual idol style. It seems like this is when Saki's personality really shines through in her music. Franchouchou proves once again that they are as versatile as they were in the beginning, a fact that metalheads encourage.
 * During Tokkou Dance, there is a point where all the girls point up as part of their dance routine except Ai, whose hand is tilted to one side. Knowing her skill and experience as an idol, she is unlikely to ruin the routine, until you realize that the position the others are in is almost identical to the one she died in. It becomes comforting in hindsight when you realize that Franchouchou respects Ai's trauma and accommodates her rather than forcing her to pose.

Funny information

 * The episode begins with the girls visiting the elders to join the Kashima dance. They end up amazed at how good old folks dance, even if it's just an old folk song.
 * One of them even begins the dance by shouting "MUSIC, EAT ON!" Apparently, Kotaro is a true resident of the saga.
 * After the girls finish, Tae gulps an absurd amount of water from the drinking fountain until she withdraws her mouth to respond to Sakura and the water throws her off, leaving a visible rainbow (by Lily, as it happens). She lies sprawled on the ground, spitting out of her mouth like a fountain.
 * Three would-be criminals start stalking our heroines. Clearly they want to look menacing, complete with a gently animated slow walk, but their expressions are ... not so terrifying.
 * Initially, Lily fears that the girls will threaten her and Sakura. Then she sees Maria's pink female scooter with cute stickers and immediately calls them "pathetic."
 * Maria begins to fight with Sakura, Lily and Tae. However, in a short time she learns that Lily is an elementary student, and her followers suggest that choosing one would reflect poorly on them. She timidly excludes Lily from the conversation and continues to threaten Sakura.
 * Tae, who was lying on the ground, suddenly appears behind Maria and bites into one of her buns. The girl is obviously not having fun and they try to get Tae out of her head, with Sakura jumping to help despite being bullied not five seconds ago.
 * A scene that will be familiar to most people with siblings: While Franchouchou is in the truck, Lily demands to know if Tae ate her squid. Tae shakes her head, her squid so full in her mouth it's spilling. Lily isn't going to take this as a joke, and she fights Tae to get her back for the rest of the scene.
 * Ai and Kotaro's reactions are also correct. Ai reproaches them for fighting, as they are all so tight in the van, while Kotaro angrily points out that they are still in traffic.
 * Junko is not feeling well, so Yugiri offers to perform pressure point therapy. Sakura immediately wonders if it will work, since they are zombies and everything. You can see the surprised expression on Yugiri's face when she realizes it.
 * When Saki realizes that the girls from before are facing another gang of delinquent bikers, she immediately rolls over. Sakura immediately pulls out a shocked expression.
 * Followed by a "blink and you'll miss it" shot that shows Tae and Lily trying to grab their cheeks. It's only for less than a second, but it's a ridiculous shot, but kind of cute, to laugh at.
 * Lily tells Kotaro that Saki fell out of the van in a flat and plain tone of voice. Kotaro, of course, immediately screams in dismay.
 * The dubbed version has him screaming in a MUCH angrier way than you have to listen to believe.
 * Lily: Uh, sir
 * Kotaro: WHAT IT IS, I DON'T CARE!
 * Lily: (expressionless) Saki jumped out of the truck.
 * Kotaro: (in an incredibly loud tone) WHAAAAA-???!!!!!
 * Once again, would-be criminals try to be an intimidating trio ... but the other two cringe behind Maria the moment her opponent smiles.
 * The rival gang pulls out some makeshift weapons. There are the usual levers, the lead pipes, and a whip ... and then, for some reason, one of them has a damn chainsaw.
 * When Saki rolls to the bottom of the hill, her head is upside down, surprising everyone, and she fixes it. The other girls are puzzled with her fixing her head.
 * Policeman A is back to save the day! By threatening to ask for reinforcements and falling off his bike. In some ways, this really convinces the other gang to leave.
 * Saki's opponent in her last pre-mortem run has arguably one of the funniest haircuts in anime. You can see that she was trying to get a 'Rising Phoenix' look, but, well ...
 * There's a tense showdown between Maria, Reiko, and the rival gang leader ... and she tells Saki that she swears as she rolls on a child's bike and immediately takes control of the situation by claiming to be the Dorami leader of the day.
 * Saki has a great rough time at the end, as she walks away from the accident ... and then Reiko hits her in the face for being a great idiot.
 * The stunned look that biker gangs have at the end during the concert, as if it had suddenly materialized around them without warning.

Comforting

 * Does Saki often regret lost tamagotchi? Reiko, the friend to whom Saki kept it just before her death, still preserves it as a treasured memory 21 years later.
 * Reiko also still has a photo of her and Saki, which she keeps behind a framed photo of her and her daughter.
 * Saki's strange friendship with Sakura makes sense in context after meeting Reiko. Saki seems to get along better with maternal types who can show guts. After all, you must have someone to take care of your crazy brand.
 * Saki clearly feels a kind of vicarious maternal instinct towards Maria. Not only does she repeatedly intervene to save the girl, but she never talks to her and explains exactly why she is doing what she is doing. You can even say that Maria has her mother's eyes.
 * Gathered more than two decades later, it is clear that Saki and Reiko still love each other very much. Even if they can't recognize who the other is.
 * Minor, but during the credits song we can quickly see Ai, jumping up and down with a wide smile. It's clear how much she loves being able to perform on stage.

Source of nightmares

 * The entire episode is riddled with Reiko's adult fear. First, her daughter continues to try to keep her old biker gang running, despite having only two other members and not being HIGHLY qualified for the role. Then she has to run away on a bicycle to prevent her daughter from performing the same trick that killed her best friend. Finally, you have to witness someone who looks (and is) the best friend who performs that trick and gets exactly the same result: a fatal accident and a burn.

You will cry?

 * Saki's often-cried tamogatchi? She handed it to Reiko, her best friend, moments before performing the daring act that killed her. More than two decades later, it remains a tragic memory by the key to Reiko's old motorcycle.


 * Saki remembers her old friend well enough to recognize her eyes on her daughter Maria. Throughout the episode, she takes the time to warn Maria not to mess with things she can't handle, something Saki knows from a very brutal experience.
 * Kotaro warns Saki that violence is not an option for her as it will reflect poorly on Franchouchou. Later that night, however, Saki remembers that Maria will face the rival gang, and she almost runs off before Kotaro catches her. Fortunately, an alternative plan occurs to her.
 * Poor Reiko goes through the drainer on this one. It's bad enough that she has lost her daughter's respect, bad enough that she can't stop Maria's pathetic attempts to intimidate a legitimately dangerous group, bad enough that she can't even speak to the girl without being shot down. . But then one night, she finds a letter challenging her daughter to go to exactly the same place where her best friend died, for the same reason ...
 * She doesn't even bother trying to make Maria back off. She knows that her daughter will not listen to her. Instead, she degrades herself by pleading with the rival gang member to stop the madness, only earning her daughter's wrath.
 * When Saki appears, there is a moment, a brief moment, where Reiko recognizes her and calls her by name. Saki has to take time to find an answer, pretending to be confused by her reaction.
 * She can see someone who looks exactly like her dead friend perform the exact same trick and cause the exact same explosion that killed her. It is clear from her hesitant first steps that she does not want to believe that it all happened again.
 * In a way, the destruction of Reiko's motorcycle could qualify. She might have left that part of her life behind, but she was clearly a well-loved and respected machine. Making her explode into a plan to save her daughter's life and repair their relationship is something of a poetic tragedy.

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