Episode 20

"I think… I finally know what I should really be doing. I shall create a new Saga. A place where men, women, samurai, peasants, merchants, and craftsmen alike can live and laugh the way they want to."

- Kiichi Momozaki to Yugiri, about saving Saga.

The SAGA Incident: Part One (佐賀事変 其ノ壱, SAGA Jihen Sono Ichi) is the eighth episode of the second season of Zombie Land Saga and is the twentieth episode overall.

Synopsis (Kiichi’s Memorandum)
"It has been six years since Saga disappeared. If nothing is done, it will disappear from people’s hearts as well. Even if it dies, I will have to revive it, either way. I have to take action. That was when I met that person, someone who told me that my ambition was wonderful. It was but a trivial matter, yet it made such a difference to the world I lived in."

- From the memorandum of a youth,

Plot
During the restorations of the Meiji era, Yugiri leaves to go to Saga Prefecture, which at the time was Lord Hibiya's hometown, and it was also the center of a failed samurai uprising against the Imperial government in Meiji 7 that left the prefecture divided into two prefectures by Meiji 9; Mizuma and Nagasaki. During her stay in Saga, she inherits some of his assets from the government official who redeemed her; who was passed away after suddenly became ill, thus making her destined to live in Saga for the rest of her life, a place that she has barely any connection to anyone in town because she was new to them.

As a result of the effects of the failed uprising, Kiichi Momozaki was regularly (and continuously) seen in the streets trying to start a revolution to revive Saga's former glory by attempting to hand out leaflets to random people numerous times; which annoyed other civilians, leading him to being caught by a policeman for these occasions, though he was saved by Shojiro Ito (by creating a ruse in a form of an escaped highwayman).

Momozaki suddenly encounters Yugiri over a paper origami windmill. Momozaki saves Yugiri from being run over, though he suffers a cold in the process as he fell into the pond. Ito tells Kiichi of the rumors in which his world is different from Yugiri, because of her legendary status which Ito told Kiichi that the Meiji Imperial Court nearly collapsed due to a serious competition to surpass her; in which former Meiji Restoration leaders fought each other.

Later, Kiichi tries to enter Yugiri's home to give her a comb as his thank-you gift, but became rather embarrassed upon being caught at the front door by Yugiri. She accepts Kiichi's gift, but suggests that he should go home due to his fever. However, he remained defiant and tried to confess about he viewed the world differently, but fainted as a result. Yugiri then decided to give him herbal medicine at his home owned by his grandfather, who he took him in after his biological father was shot and killed in action during the Saga war 8 years ago. He said to Yugiri that he wanted to repay his father by trying to revive Saga Prefecture, fearing the loss of everything he holds dear, and everything he protected should Saga falls. Afterwards, he states his intention to Yugiri that he wanted to create the new Saga.

As evening approaches, Ito visits Yugiri and gives her a large fish to be served for dinner. Kiichi also follows and was surprised to see him and Yugiri as well. The two later ate dinner together while Yugiri plays music with her wagakki. Ito comments that both Kiichi and Yugiri should be married, as that would allow the former to change Saga responsibly, but Kiichi's attempts to call him out when it became flustered led to becoming fainted once again.

Before the credits, Kiichi was still distributing leaflets; in a hot summer day, when two other men join in to support him. Yugiri looks out in the window. In dusk fall, Ito was seen tossing a folded piece of paper to a “beggar” sitting in an unknown part of town, the paper reporting on a “target gaining support” and requesting directions should this continue.

Characters

 * Kotaro Tatsumi (pictured)
 * Romero
 * Franchouchou’s ancestors (debut;cameo)
 * Sakura’s ancestor
 * Saki’s ancestor
 * Ai’s ancestor
 * Junko’s ancestor (non-speaking)
 * Lily’s ancestor (non-speaking)
 * Tae’s ancestor (non-speaking)
 * Yugiri
 * Hibiya
 * Momozaki Family (debut)
 * Kiichi Momozaki
 * Jofuku (cameo)
 * Kiichi’s father (mentioned)
 * Shojiro Ito (debut)
 * Policeman A’s ancestor (debut)
 * Homeless Man (debut; non-speaking cameo)

Locations

 * Saga Prefecture
 * Saga Prefectural Museum of History (mentioned)
 * Saga Castle Grounds (debut)
 * Sakura’s ancestor’s sweets shop (cameo)
 * Unnamed restaurant (cameo)
 * Fukushoe River
 * Kamiaishi City (mentioned)
 * Hasuike Park
 * Mizuma Prefecture (mentioned)
 * Nagasaki Prefecture (mentioned)
 * Fukuoka Prefecture (mentioned)
 * Tokyo
 * Hibiya (mentioned)

Songs

 * None

Instrumentals

 * TBA

Trivia

 * The events of this episode’s flashback take place during these times, respectively:
 * Fall of 1881—Yugiri moves in with Kichiemon, the one who bought her freedom.
 * Spring of 1882 - Kichiemon dies of an unknown cause, leaving Yugiri alone.
 * This episode has the record for having the most first-time occurrences in the series.
 * This is the first episode to center around Yugiri.
 * This is the first episode wherein the episode synopsis is not taken from an entry from Kotaro’s diary.
 * This is the first time wherein a flashback takes up the entire episode.
 * This is the first episode wherein Kotaro does not make a physical appearance outside the intermission shots.
 * This episode uses Meiji-era Japanese calendars.
 * Meiji 7 (Georgian calendar year: 1874) is the time of the Saga Rebellion that lasted from February 16th to April 9th, 1874.
 * Meiji 9 (Georgian calendar year: 1876) is the time when Saga Prefecture has been split into two prefectures: Mizuma and Nagasaki.
 * By the time Zombie Land Saga began, the Saga Prefecture continued to exist.
 * Meiji 14 (Georgian calendar year: 1881) is the time when Yugiri moves out of town after she was redeemed by the government official from Saga.
 * It is revealed that Romero once belonged to the Momozaki Family and has already been a zombie since then, making him to be at least 200 years old.
 * It is revealed by Ito that a war once took place in the Saga Prefecture regarding its territory.
 * It is mentioned by Kiichi that the war took place eight years before the events of this flashback.
 * Kiichi’s memorandum that acts as the episode synopsis is written sometime after he first meets Yugiri.
 * It is revealed that Kiichi was the one who gifted Yugiri the small comb with the floral pattern, in which she uses throughout the series.

Dub Differences

 * TBA

Cultural References

 * The book that Yugiri can be seen reading at the beginning of the episode is “80 Days Around the World” by Jules Verne.

Continuity

 * This is the fourth episode to not have the word “Saga” at the end of the title. Instead, it is put somewhere upfront.
 * The origins of Yugiri’s small red comb which first appeared in “Episode 2” is revealed in this episode.
 * This is the second episode to not feature any song outside the opening and ending themes, be it performed by Franchouchou or an insert song playing in the background.

Errors

 * During the scene wherein Kiichi tries to save Yugiri but falls into the river instead, his hair and shoulders get covered in mud. In the next shot, however, only his shoulders are dirtied while his hair has somehow cleaned up by itself.