Ai Mizuno/History

"That’s not the kind of legend I wanna be…"

- Ai to Saki,

Episode 1
At the beginning of the episode, Ai appears on Sakura's PC screen with her idol group, Iron Frill. She later appears as a zombie lying in the room, to which a now-amnesiac Sakura escapes as she runs away from Tae Yamada.

Zombie Ai along with the other girls tries to attack Sakura, only to have Ai stabbed in the head with a poker. The next day, when Kotaro formally introduces Sakura to the other zombies, Ai is familiar to her, though she seems to remember nothing more of her former life, but she can't understand why she feels that way about Ai. After their successful performance at a death metal festival, all the zombie girls regain their senses. She wakes up along with Junko Konno and Lily Hoshikawa, but was scared to see Tae.

Episode 2
Finding Kotaro's idea of ​​a group of zombie idols ridiculous; Ai, Sakura, and Junko attempt to escape and head to Tokyo only to strike fear into the hearts of 3 rappers and a Police Officer, after which they run back to the mansion in low spirits. Later, Sakura and Saki enter into a heated rap battle that finally turns Sakura into teasing Ai and Junko for their doubts about the band despite being the “celebrity couple”.

Episode 3
Ai remains in an abysmal mood for much of the episode, vehemently rejecting Sakura's recommendation that she becomes the band's leader and only reluctantly participating in the rehearsal for a short time before Lily puts the new name to the group, prompting her, which convinces Ai that the newly named “Franchouchou” is doomed to failure. She later responds to Junko's belief that the band should give up by saying that she herself believes that the other girls' performance will still be appreciated if their efforts are sincere, but she remains skeptical of that sincerity. When the time comes for the performance, she and Junko sit back but observed the others with hope. The acting was not good, but at the last moment when Sakura forgets her lyrics, Ai steps in to save the song with a bright smile, like an idol, and together with Junko she manages to bring the show to a close. After the performance, Sakura is deeply grateful for the couple's help, and after everyone else leaves the room, Ai smiles to herself, apparently ready to commit to her new band.

Episode 4
A month after the events of Episode 3, Franchouchou embarks on a promising commercial adventure in the city, where Kotaro leaves them alone for several hours. By majority vote, the band decides to use their first outdoor experience they had in a month as an opportunity to have fun in the city instead of practicing. Ai does not offer her opinion vocally about the rest of the group's decision but is shown following the band at a certain distance and sighing at almost all stops, indicating that although she did not speak to prevent the girls from having fun, she personally preferred them to be practicing.

The group stops in a foot bath, where the conversation largely turns to her and her opinion on the possibility of the band succeeding. She hesitates to answer, Sakura reminds the others that they need to practice, and again when Sakura solemnly affirms her commitment to making the band a success. She is then shown enjoying a successful performance with others on stage. The final scene of the episode shows her even sharing a laugh with the band in Tae's accident with Saganship Z.

Episode 5
The band launches an advertising campaign of their own by participating in a commercial for Drive-In Tori, a famous restaurant, as well as Gatalympics, a popular series of mud sports activities. Junko expresses her doubts about the way they dress for the commercial, but Ai points out that, ridiculous as it may seem, it has merit to do so, since it will help them dress appropriately in the future, perhaps making a difference. The first time that Ai agrees with something that Kotaro has planned. The commercial requires multiple takes since Tae acts continuously and ruins the performance, but Ai can identify a change that can be made in the harmony of the song so that Tae plays correctly, indicating advanced skill in the musical arrangement. Later in Gatalympics, the group collectively performs poorly on the bike track and only a few perform well on the Tarzan swing, Ai is not one of them due to slipping off the rope almost immediately despite Sakura's trust in her.

Early life
Ai was the leader of the idol group Iron Frill. The group quickly became popular, filling 10,000-person venues within a year of its inception. The group will even perform in the famous concert hall, the Budokan.

During a concert in Saga, and more precisely in the EFS, Ai is struck head-on by lightning in front of her audience. She died minutes later, in the ambulance that was preparing to take her to the emergency room. Since her death, a memorial has been posted on the official Iron Frill website, so as not to forget the young woman.

Present
Ai has become the main dance instructor and choreographer for the whole group because she is the best dancer in the group. The group, particularly Junko, has trouble pairing.

They accompany her on the new song, one in which they share the lead, but she responds patiently and cooperatively. As Sakura watches Ai review the dance on her own, another memory that focuses more directly on Ai flashes through her mind. Later, Ai invites the group to snoop online using Kotaro's computer while Tae keeps him busy, an activity in which she claims to have participated several times. The gang discusses the currently diminished state of the idol business, a talk that worries Sakura, to which Ai offers encouragement. The group stumbles upon “Saga Rock”, a large open-air festival that turns the conversation into the possibility of performing there. A brief debate ensues between Junko and Ai; Junko indicates a preference to start smaller and take the time to achieve their perfect performance before taking the stage, Ai sides with the enthusiasm of others to get on stage as soon as possible, citing the methods used by her former band, Iron Frill. It quickly explodes in popularity, and fans' preference for watching bands improves as they overcome pure perfectionism. Then she learns that Iron Frill will, in fact, be playing in Saga Rock. The next day, Kotaro announces that the band is starting to gain online followers after its ad campaign, a fact that Ai probably missed out on, finding her website too “lame” to revisit. A small performance is organized followed by photo shoots with each member of the band, during which Ai is reflexively backing away from the flashes of the camera, something that takes her surprised. Later, Junko runs away from the operation, not wanting to participate in family activities with fans offstage.

Ai and Junko fight hotly over the ordeal, with Ai emphasizing disagreement with Junko's Showa period “above all” way of thinking who, in turn, she leaves the building leaving the gang in disarray. Ai is pictured below on the outdoor balcony reflecting on the online readings of her death and the lasting impact it had on the idols of her time, especially those close to her; Readings that the end of her legend rejects as no. After a brief confrontation with several members of the gang, she also leaves the building but ends up caught in a sudden storm, causing her to panic. Saki finds her and the two take refuge from the rain inside a small playground. Ai then tells Saki the details of her death, who died on stage in front of tens of thousands and possibly on live television to a lightning strike that almost completely incinerated her; a death that, to her chagrin, now appears to be the most prominent piece of her legend. The episode ends with the news that Kotaro managed to get them to the newcomer list in Saga Rock around the corner, and that they will be performing outdoors; The news both excites the band and visibly sparks concern from them given the uncertain state of Junko's continued involvement and Ai's post-traumatic stress disorder-like reactions to the memory of her passing outdoors.

Episode 7
Junko has been locked away for two weeks and the rest of the group is hesitant to continue without her and let Ai rehearse alone and plan to do a version of the duet she was supposed to sing with Junko alone. The group worries about their new drive as it grows from a simple drive to an unhealthy zeal to overcome both their past and their fear of what may happen in Saga Rock. She is shown absent from her bed at night and is reported to have practiced relentlessly for the two weeks following Episode 6, causing her body to literally crumble at one point and hallucinations of thunderstorms at another.

Junko finally joins in for the acting and the two are shown on speaking terms once again as the band watches the new Iron Frill incarnation perform from a distance. Ai tries her best to bury her fear as the storm clouds begin to accumulate just as Franchouchou is about to take the stage while the rest watched with obvious concern. The song “Atsuku Nare” begins and Ai struggles with all her might to sing both her part and Junko's, but the repeated thunder proves too much; causing her voice to break throughout the introduction. At last, she collapses, but Junko rushes to her aid and continues where Ai left, reaching out to help her to her feet with words of comfort. Ai recovers her feet and voice, but is still unable to smile like the others for the rest of the song. When it ends, a massive lightning bolt strikes the gang, seemingly affirming Ai's fear, but due to her strange zombie physiology, lightning is not only harmless to them, but it automatically tunes their voices, gives them a radiant profile, and allows them to direct light currents out of their fingers. Initially, the crowd is stunned, but eventually goes wild at the show before them as the group performs “Mezame Returner” with Ai smiling from ear to ear.

The performance was a huge success, Ai and Junko comfort Sakura, who is overcome by tears of joy at her breakthrough, and the group becomes the highlight of the event.

Episode 8
Saga Rock's performance has essentially become the group's true debut and is now getting quite a bit of press, a fact Ai mentions will come with both good and bad reviews. After Lily has an encounter with her father, Ai mentions that being recognized out in the open could happen to anyone in the gang, especially her and Junko. While Sakura reflects on this thought, another flashback appears in her mind that makes her look briefly at Ai, who notices but does not pursue the subject. Lily comes out to the band as a trans girl later that night, and Ai sighs at Saki's fit of laughter at the ironically masculine names that run in Lily's family. Furthermore, she is the first to question the implications that this transgender disclosure could have in terms of whether Kotaro knew about this and what it could mean if he didn't know. However, the concern quickly disappears, as Kotaro knew this and is very supportive. As the group gathers around Lily in worship, Ai reflects on how they never realized despite how close they were, but together with everyone, agrees with Saki's declaration of acceptance. When the band is upset by simply letting Lily's situation with her father go unresolved, Ai claims that the answer to what they can do for her should be pretty clear, and along with Junko, suggests writing a new Lily song to Takeo and advises recruiting Kotaro for the project. Ai is shown training Lily directly for her lead role in “To My Dearest” before the show, which finally runs smoothly.

Episode 9
Ai does not appear prominently in this episode. Franchouchou begins taking steps to improve their image to the considerably large Saga elderly population, to which Ai admits that she had never heard of an idol group with a large base of elderly admirers, but seems happy to get involved with them. During the return trip, she seems somewhat annoyed by Lily and Tae from the turmoil in the van, and reacts in shock when Saki jumps out of the moving vehicle. During Saki's solo song at the end of the episode, Ai is shown with an extremely bright smile.

Episode 10
Ai continues to run the band's rehearsal and after finishing a number, she proudly exclaims that the group performed well. She, Saki, and Lily share a brief conversation in which Saki indicates that Lily is giving Ai more trouble (probably true given that she was shown to have struggled with footwork in previous episodes), but the conversation remains Kind and cheerful. In Sakura's internal monologue, she says that Ai (as well as Junko) has been very tense since Saga Rock and continues to recall her lost memories, showing another brief memory of Ai and Iron Frill. The group later learns that they will be hosting their first solo show with approximately 500 attendees, which surprises the others, but Ai says she believes the band is ready and on time. The location of their performance is revealed to be Arpino, the location where Ai acted in Saga for the first time, as well as a location that is familiar to Sakura. The two do not dispute it, but their memories overlap, indicating that Arpino is the setting where Sakura's faint memory of Ai comes from. The connection to her memories, as well as the hope of a successful show, also shakes Sakura, which concerns both Ai and Kotaro, who watches their conversation. Kotaro sends the group to the mountains, hoping to teach Sakura a lesson in teamwork. While on the mountain, Ai proves to have significantly sharper eyes and ears than the other zombies, as well as being unexpectedly resourceful and skilled at hunting. She manages to create a fully functional bow and arrow without any tools and demonstrates an almost pointed shot with it, although in part due to Sakura's interruption, she never manages to shoot the boar she aimed at. After the group returns to the mansion, Ai again has to stop the rehearsal when Sakura still doesn't match their timing, leading Sakura to get mad at the gang, misperceiving that it was the rest of the gang who was neglected. Ai leads the girls to check out their choreography for the next show on Arpino and seems pretty happy that the others are coming up with their own ideas, unlike when she was doing it alone in Episode 6. After Sakura witnesses the gang's teamwork, she finally syncs up with them. Excited by the progress, she wakes up to run early in the morning.

The next day, Ai warns her to be careful with traffic. Sakura ends up being hit by a truck anyway and recovers all her memories of life, including several of seeing Ai admire, but at the cost of all her memories as a zombie.

Episode 11
Sakura wakes up inside Franchouchou's mansion and is scared to see each of the girls in the bedroom. A rumble of thunder can be heard in the background which seems to indicate that Ai's fear of lightning has subsided, but when Sakura picks up the same iron poker she threw at Ai's head in the first episode, Ai reflexively recoils from the trauma, indicating that she somehow remembers the event. The girls struggle to understand Sakura's awful reaction towards them, but just before Yugiri slapped her, Ai finds out what could have happened to her. Sakura drops the poker and utters words of defeat before passing out, waking up later to find Ai sitting next to her in full makeup. Sakura finds a moment of joy in the midst of her despair when she wakes up next to the idol that she admired so immensely, but the moment is interrupted when Ai urgently explains everything she can about her situation. Ai returns together with Sakura to the others and explains to the rest what happened, but a rift forms within the gang when Sakura, who turned out to be severely depressed before she died, says that the gang should continue without her. Ai is visibly concerned about Sakura's defeatism, but she continues to assure others that she believes Sakura will come alone and that she is the only member of the gang who is not trying to force an individual conversation with her. The repeated efforts of the other make Sakura flee from the mansion, where she remembers her memories of life. It is revealed that Sakura struggled with unfortunate coincidences that robbed her of success repeatedly throughout her life, ultimately leaving her in a state of sheer hopelessness. However, one day, by chance, she saw a televised interview with Ai whose attitude and raw determination reignited the spark inside her. She became a great admirer of Ai and used her message as inspiration to remind herself and try once again to find success as an idol; unfortunately, only to die in an accident on the way to her idol audition.

Episode 12
Sakura's despair continues, as does Ai's passive treatment of her; just asking at one point what she thought of seeing the group dance, to which Sakura had several flashbacks but did not respond verbally. The others, especially Tae, continue to try to awaken Sakura's spirit or comfort her, but largely only manage to annoy her, with Ai at one point claiming that she knew her efforts to make Sakura sleep in the middle of everyone were going too far. After Tae and Yugiri begin to be forceful in their efforts to reach Sakura, Ai finally steps forward with a conference of her own. She points out the mutual nature of their collectively unfortunate lives and, to cap it all, reaffirms the same words of determination that Sakura valued so much when she was alive. Finally, realizing how those words still applied even in their situation, Sakura's fist finally opens and her guard drops; responding hesitantly but cooperatively for the first time. The seven of the band rehearse together for the first time since Sakura's memory swap, and it goes perfectly, to which Ai attributes the muscular memory of extensive training. The cracks in the mirror, which Sakura takes as a bad omen, but the others continue to provide support, culminating in a look of determination after Ai reassures her again. A heavy snowstorm haunts the venue and shortly after the performance begins, the stage begins to break down. A violent tremor shakes the gang and along with Junko, Ai catches Lily who is about to fall and offers the little girl a reassuring smile as they head to the front of the stage together. During a part where she holds an extended high note, Ai seems to know that the stage is in imminent danger of collapse and seems to signal a group of girls in the front row to back up on stage in an emergency. The girls back off and immediately after, the stage collapses. The audience watches the scene frozen in concern, while in the background, a slow applause from Kotaro begins in an effort to continue the show. Before long, Ai resumes chanting and stands up again, and one by one, the rest of the gang follows her lead, stopping for Sakura as she waits for her to get up too. Sakura ponders the words offered to her by Ai, Yugiri, and Kotaro before she finally gets up and resumes the show in full.

Fierce Fighting Training
Kotaro leaves the girls in the city of Imari to walk and entertain themselves while he goes to do business. The girls happen to enter a ramen restaurant following Kotaro's warnings.

Nostalgic Roman Edition
Together with Franchouchou and the other girls, they go to Yoshinogari, but even without knowing the purpose of the trip, they are a bit puzzled. But without being able to ask Kotaro about his aggressive attitude, they restrict themselves to following his orders. However, the girls are distracted when they see that the park has many places where they can relax while they search for Saga's secret. Little by little the girls become distracted by the attractions and Ai enters with Lily, Yugiri, and Saki in an old-fashioned fire-lighting competition. But due to their little experience, they only manage to get a little smoke out. Yugiri instead manages to light the fire. Now, with Kotaro depressed the girls continue with their activities, Ai talks to Junko about what Kotaro is planning for them. Sakura notices Kotaro's attitude in those moments and wonders what is happening to him because it is not his normal attitude, but Saki says that it is only temporary.

Together with the other girls, they see how Kotaro and Sakura are about to fall, but luckily Tae jumps up and manages to catch them in the air. With Sakura crying because she just saved them from being discovered hugs Tae, Sakura decides to help Kotaro with his problem of finding Saga's secret by getting engaged to the other girls.

With their attention now, Franchouchou decides to discuss the experiences they have had until Yoshinogari's trip. It is where Kotaro realizes that the secret he was looking for is the team experiences and the entire journey that has led them there. Finally satisfied with the answer, he decides to take more into account the opinion of the girls and not get carried away so much by himself.

In the mansion, they continue training for a concert during the night. At the end of the practice they decide to cook something for them since it is almost the new year. They prepare a Saga soup and eat it while they talk about their experiences as Franchouchou.

It's New Year's Eve, the girls wake up hungry, and Junko, Ai, and Sakura discuss their experiences with Police Officer A. Following several panels on how to prepare a new soup, the girls decide to eat it, but Tae chokes and Sakura she goes to help her (even though they are already dead), but accidentally, she hits Kotaro with what Tae spat; however, he only screams a little and gives them more food for the new year, leaving only crumbs.

The Future Development of Saga
Kotaro takes Franchouchou to a restaurant to prepare a meal that an old man from Saga taught him and at the same time learn how to make it. Overall, it turned out quite well and the owners congratulate the girls. At the mansion, and with their new food on the table, they decide to go practice their new song.

Now, Franchouchou is preparing for a big concert, while Kotaro watches and decides that now they will stop being idols to participate in a restaurant to promote themselves through food. Now the girls will have a judge in a bird costume who will decide which of the girls will prepare the best meal to win. At the end of the contest, the girls unite and win. Later, Kotaro checks social media to see Franchouchou's performance.

In the training room, the girls discuss the concerts and the places where Kotaro has taken them, they decide to thank the busy manager and leave the mansion, leaving a note in the room for Kotaro to read when he arrives. As Kotaro searches for Franchouchou throughout the Saga, the group searches various Karatsu locations as they discuss the upcoming EFS performance and how that will be their big leap. When Kotaro arrives, they all decide to do their best for the big concert and make the name of the group great.

Episode 13
Arriving at Kojima's food company on a scooter, Ai gets ready for her new workday and greets her colleagues. When she is changing her clothes, one of her co-workers from the plant tells her if she is eating well because she always has pale skin and that she should eat more seaweed from Saga. On the terrace of the building, the head of the company selects “Tatsumi-Kun” to sing the daily company anthem.

Already in the mansion, Ai is the one in charge of bringing the squid for the other girls and sits next to Junko waiting for Saki to come out of the shower. While the other girls eat, Ai mentions that little by little they will be able to pay the great debt they have on top of the failure of the EFS. Later and after another unsuccessful attempt by Sakura to bring Kotaro back, the girls seek ideas to stay on their feet. However, Ai says that maybe the reason he becomes depressive is not because of money and that it was weird that Kotaro took them to that stadium so early; he probably didn't say something important to them. Thanks to Lily's idea, they go into the manager's room. But the only relevant thing they find is a Tatsumi recorder with the new Bis that they were going to sing in the stadium, so thanks to Sakura, the girls decide to cheer him on at the GEILS concert. Unfortunately, Sakura's attempts to cheer him up fail, and they decide to go without him, to which Ai nods her head.

In GEILS the girls are getting ready for her new concert, but they are not well received by the public and although Sakura doubts it, Ai encourages her to continue with her concert. However, it is a failure, and they ask them to leave the establishment, but from one moment to another Kotaro arrives to cheer them on and his actions trigger a fight in the place while the girls are encouraged to sing.

After the incident, in the mansion, they discuss the performance of the concert until Tatsumi appears completely renewed but still with the mark of the beating they gave him at night.

Episode 14
A few days later, Kotaro gathers the girls in the basement of the mansion to give them a fake interview about their return to public life, which infuriates Ai. Therefore, he interviews Ai, asking her what kind of activity the group should do to make up for a lost time, to which she replies that it is necessary to continue with their current jobs while she accepts new ones. Kotaro nods and announces to everyone that they are going to film a TV show at a local temple with rocker White Ryu. She doesn't seem very convinced of the rocker's look and attitude.

Accustomed to this type of exercise, she will conduct most of the shots of the program with Lily, who also knows the world of television well. She will therefore spend the day showing the places of the temple. Back at the mansion, Ai notices that Saki is depressed. Lily thinks that Saki is in love with White Ryu, then she follows a conversation about love and idols between Franchouchou. For Junko, love for an idol is forbidden. Ai tells her that back in her time, idols hid their romantic relationships, a revelation that surprises Junko. As for Ai, she doesn't seem to be against dating idols. After this discussion, she suggests that the girls leave Saki alone, while she recovers from her emotions.

After Sakura and Saki's adventures on the radio, on the edge of Kotaro's truck, Ai, and the girls check that they are both okay and attentive. A few days later, Franchouchou performed again at the Geils hall and Saki took on the most famous title of White Ryu, “Do you hate windy days?” Ai and Franchouchou now host Ryu's radio show.

Episode 15
Ai admires the performance of other idols, Iron Frill, her former group from before becoming a zombie, but keeps it hidden from Sakura and Junko. In all other respects, her own group is succeeding, hosting a radio show and regular appearances filling their schedule. However, Ai warns them not to get complacent and to keep honing their skills. Everyone agrees and begins to practice more. As they train, they trust Ai for advice on how to be successful, and she begins to lead everyone in the group. Kotaro then arrives and shoots them all with a squirt gun, and begins to discuss the new Saga Arena location, where Iron Frill will be performing. Better yet, Kotaro has managed to book Franchouchou as the opening act for Iron Frill. Determined, Ai accepts the challenge and inspires everyone to succeed, only for Kotaro to say that Ai will not perform because she was previously the famous Iron Frill central artist and would be recognized. The other girls protest this, but Kotaro is unmoved, insisting that he has solo acts for Ai and that they should get to work immediately. Dejected, Ai instructs Junko to lead in her place. After several solo acts, including an interview in which Ai is unaware of her similarity to the Iron Frill center, Ai talks to Kotaro and questions the group's division from her in such an important performance. Kotaro then questions her faith in the rest of the group, and when she admits that she believes they are talented enough to succeed, he ignores her concerns. The discussion escalates, but when a stage manager enters, they both turn with artificial smiles and cheerful attitudes toward the man. Before Junko and Sakura can reach Ai, one of the Iron Frill group approaches Ai and walks with her, telling her that her appearance is almost identical to their former center, Ai Mizuno. She says that Franchouchou is a bad group for Ai and that she should join Iron Frill, awaiting Ai's decision after the show. Junko and Sakura witness this and are restless.

Episode 16
In the afternoon, Ai sees Junko outside and asks her why she's not practicing. Junko tries to get away from her, but Ai stops her and insists her to reveal what is bothering her. Instead, Junko asks if Ai preferred being in Iron Frill over Franchouchou, and when Ai doesn't give a direct answer, Junko accuses her of not declining her invitation to join. Junko then flees angrily, and finally reaches a beach, where the water accidentally washes her makeup. After an excellent first song, Junko dramatically breaks the guitar on stage, horrifying Kotaro, and invites Ai to join them. Ai rushes to the stage and takes Junko's hand, but her arm almost slips out of her place (being a zombie), and they both fall to the ground. There, they find a sparking electrical wire and use it to impregnate themselves with electricity, which makes Franchouchou's entire group glow as they dance for an electronic number in this round. Shiori herself is impressed by this, wondering about their special effects, but she still offers to invite Ai after Franchouchou is done. However, Junko now confidently pulls Ai to her side and says that she will not leave, the other Franchouchou girls stare at Iron Frill, so they take this as a rejection and go on to perform their own series. In an interview after the fact, Shiori identifies Franchouchou as their main competitors in the future.

Episode 17
Kotaro plays swimming in the room to lecture Franchouchou, but Lily Hoshikawa is already on the podium. He sits with Franchouchou dejected as Lily presents a plan to try her luck at “Japanese Got Performance,” a national television show contest where she hopes to spread Franchouchou's fame even further. The group agrees to move on, although Kotaro suddenly feels left out.

When they arrive at the theater where the contest will be held, Sakura highlights her fanaticism with Ai teaching her how to support whoever is on stage.

Episode 18
Kotaro Tatsumi; Feeling that despite having their own radio show, an opening performance against Iron Frill, and auditions, it was not enough to cover their debt, worth 20 million yen. He reiterates that they all must continue working to pay off their debt to garner enough revenge for their failed performance at Ekimae Stadium, including Tae Yamada (which Sakura insists Yamada is on vacation but has never actually done any work). Ai leaves on her scooter to continue with her work and returns in the afternoon, surprised that Tae solved the debt in a single day.

Episode 19
In the mansion, Tatsumi; in his emotionally unstable state, he presents Yuzuriha's “corpse” as number 7 of Franchouchou. When the girls asked him how she died, Tatsumi angrily insisted that he didn't kill her. At that moment, the “corpse” suddenly wakes up and starts running, scaring Kotaro, Sakura, Ai, and Junko, causing Tae Yamada to bite the corpse and remove the bandage from her head, which causes Maimai to see Franchouchou in their zombie forms. While Yuzuriha was able to see Franchouchou's true identity as zombies. Ai and Junko later confront Kotaro about why he didn't check to see if she was still alive before bringing her to the mansion.

The next day arrives and Maimai skips school to see Franchouchou. Despite remembering most of Franchouchou's songs, her body can't stand those dance moves performed by the group. Still, she is willing to follow Ai's practices to become the seventh member of Franchouchou. After her first and last performance with Franchouchou, she finally leaves the group and says goodbye to the girls.

EFS disaster
The episode begins in the time before Franchouchou's first performance at the Ekimae Fudosan Stadium. After a recent and successful album, hopes are high, but Kotaro does his best by insisting that they perform at a 25,000-capacity stadium, EFS. Ai is skeptical, claiming that such an act is impossible for Franchouchou at the time, Kotaro insists that everyone in Franchouchou was once a legend (except Sakura) and that they can succeed. Afterward, most of Franchouchou have doubts about their chances, but Sakura convinces them to do their best. However, Ai remains restless, since she died in this stadium when it still had the name “Best Amenity stadium”. Saki comes to speak with her and calm her spirits, ensuring that everything will be fine by the time they do the concert, Junko listens to the conversation hidden and is willing to help the girls with this new challenge. On the eve of the performance, Kotaro reveals that he did not sell any tickets and that instead, sales are available only on the day of. Naturally, the crowd the next day is small, and the performance is terrible. Indebted and dejected, Kotaro begins drinking for several weeks straight, leaving no food for the zombies (who need no sustenance in any case). However, Tae Yamada manages to put on makeup without Kotaro and goes out seeking for food. This inspires the other zombies to recover and not depend so much on Kotaro, Ai reconsiders and accepts that her glory from her past as a member of Iron Frill is over, and now she must have her revenge for the EFS.

Present
Kotaro is taking EFS's next concert very seriously (scheduled for the anniversary of the ruinous first attempt). Ai tries to claim him for trying to do a new concert in that stadium but Kotaro replies that this time he has planned it better by investing in advertising campaigns to attract sales, using merchandise sales as a predictor of audience attraction, and, this time, allowing pre-sold tickets. He apologizes to Franchouchou for his personal failure last time, insisting that it will be different this year.

Episode 23
Franchouchou's mansion drifts towards the Hamasaki shore before collapsing, destroying their supplies and makeup. The girls are found by a coworker from Ai's part-time job, who takes them to a makeshift shelter for those who lost their homes and power in the storm. After several days, the last makeup of the girls disappears and the clay masks are shattered in front of their audience. However, the children do not believe that they are really zombies and accept them anyway. Ai, moved by this, reacts quickly and says that this was all a joke to raise the spirits of the refugees while turning around in tears because she realized that people don't see them as monsters. Kotaro reunites with the girls and reapplies their makeup, telling them that their revenge concert is still scheduled to restore Saga's morale.

Episode 24
Saki gathers Franchouchou to promote the concert on her radio show while the girls are bathing in a barrel, Ai enters with them along with Romero to take a bath, encouraging anyone who hears them to attend the concert. On the day of the concert, Franchouchou walks to the stadium and finds it seemingly empty until people from all over Japan begin to fill it. The girls' broadcast has also gained international attention. The concert becomes a phenomenal success, with the Saga repairs underway afterward; before their encore performance, Kotaro tearfully congratulates the girls as he reminds them that Saga has yet to be saved.

Ai Mizuno/Historia Ai Mizuno/Histoire