Episode 22

"Listen, the battle that begins now will be written in Saga’s history as the greatest event that ever happened. Even if Saga gets swallowed up in the darkness of despair at the end of a harsh fate, you will be the light that shines upon them! You are the zombies that I have chosen to save Saga! The revenge that Franchouchou achieves will be a sign of great rebellion for Saga!"

- Kotaro to Franchouchou, during the morning assembly.

The SAGA of How These Zombies Will Get Their Revenge (ゾンビたちはどう復讐するのか SAGA, Zonbi-tachi wa Dō Fukushū Suru no ka SAGA) is the tenth episode of the second season of Zombie Land Saga and is the twenty-second episode overall.

Synopsis (Kotaro’s Diary)
"I knew this day would come. I can no longer lie or make half-hearted excuses. Besides, zombies don’t need the truth, all they need is their indomitable spirits. A year ago, I made a grave mistake. But, on that day, I don’t have any regrets about choosing and reviving them."

- Kotaro Tatsumi,

EFS disaster
The episode begins back in time before Franchouchou's first performance at the Ekimae Fudosan Stadium. After a recent successful album, hopes are high, but Kotaro jumps the gun by insisting they perform at a 25,000-capacity stadium, EFS. While Ai Mizuno is skeptical, Kotaro insists that everyone in Franchouchou was once a legend (except Sakura) and that they can succeed. Afterward, most Franchouchou are dubious about their chances, but Sakura convinces them to try their best. Ai remains unsettled, however, given that she died at this stadium, but Saki and Junko comfort her.

On the eve of the performance, Kotaro reveals that he didn't presell any tickets and that instead, the sales are available only on the day of. Naturally, the crowd the next day is tiny, and the performance goes terribly. Indebted and dejected, Kotaro takes to drinking for several weeks straight, leaving no food for the zombies (who do not require sustenance at any rate). However, Tae Yamada manages to apply makeup to herself without Kotaro and goes out to get food. This inspires the other zombies to bounce back and not rely so heavily on Kotaro.

Present
Kotaro washes up on shore surrounded by a bunch of squids, presumed to be a carcass. Kotaro spits out a squid and stands up as if he's fine, but with some difficulty. Inubashiri mentions this to Ookoba, but he has bigger fish to fry: the story about how Franchouchou are all dead. Meanwhile, Kotaro is taking the upcoming EFS concert (scheduled for the anniversary of the ruinous first attempt) very seriously, investing in advertising campaigns to draw sales, using merchandise sales as a predictor of audience draw, and this time allowing pre-sold tickets. He apologizes to Franchouchou for his failure last time, insisting that it shall be different this year.

At the stadium itself, Ookoba corners Kotaro and confronts him with his knowledge and evidence of Franchouchou being zombies, intending to expose him for abusing the dead for profit. Kotaro himself doesn't care and insists on going forward with the show anyway, which Ookoba vows to see shut down. Afterward, Kotaro has a drink with Jofuku, where he mentions Jofuku's immortality, attachment to Saga, and his ability to raise the dead. Kotaro wants to put Saga on the map again with something unforgettable, to prevent a prophecy from coming true, one that tells of Saga being erased from memory.

Suddenly, a strange storm arrives. Franchouchou notices it and worries about Kotaro, while Kotaro himself notices the power at the bar go out. Jofuku doubles over in pain at the same time, saying that it is starting. The power outage starts spreading to the rest of Saga, next being at Ookoba's office, just before he can publish his story on Franchouchou being zombies.

Characters

 * Kotaro Tatsumi
 * Romero
 * Franchouchou
 * Sakura Minamoto
 * Saki Nikaido
 * Ai Mizuno
 * Junko Konno
 * Yugiri
 * Lily Hoshikawa
 * Tae Yamada
 * Journalists
 * Arata Ookoba
 * Inubashiri
 * President of Pharmaceutical Company (flashback)
 * White Ryu (flashback)
 * Maimai Yuzuriha (flashback)
 * Skull and Bull (flashback)
 * Takeo Go (flashback)
 * Dorami Biker Gang (flashback)
 * Korosuke Biker Gang (flashback)
 * Iron Frill (flashback)
 * Momozaki Family
 * Kiichi Momozaki (pictured)
 * Jofuku
 * Shojiro Ito (pictured)

Locations

 * Saga Prefecture
 * Franchouchou Mansion
 * Ekimae Real Estate Stadium/Best Amenity Stadium (flashback)
 * Arpino Stadium (flashback)
 * Karatsu Station (flashback)
 * Hotel Kasuien (flashback)
 * Drive-in Tori (flashback)
 * Saga FM (flashback)
 * Saga Arena (flashback)
 * Saga City Cultural Hall (flashback)
 * Saga Minami High School (flashback)
 * Journalists’ Office
 * New Bar Jofuku
 * Tokyo (mentioned)

Songs

 * None

Instrumentals

 * TBA

Trivia

 * Instead of its supposed release date of June 10, 2021, the schedule was pushed to the following day due to a last-minute change in scheduling.
 * It is revealed that their performance at Best Amenity Stadium took place on March 8, 2019.
 * The events of this episode take place sometime in Mid-February to February 17, 2020.
 * Kotaro’s diary entry for the episode is written sometime after Okoba confronts him on the real identity of the girls as zombies.
 * It is revealed by Jofuku that Kotaro met him when he was sick and bitter about something when he was around his teens, to which he believed the former’s story and agreed on wanting to save Saga.
 * This is the first episode to end in a cliffhanger.

Dub Differences

 * TBA

Cultural References

 * TBA

Continuity

 * This is the sixth episode to not have the word “Saga” at the end of the title.
 * Their failed performance at the Ekimae Stadium during “Episode 13” is brought up, again.
 * The flashback montage at the beginning included the following scenes: Sakura witnessing the awakening of the rest of the girls at the end of “Episode 1”, Kotaro’s morning assembly and the rap battle from “Episode 2”, their guerrilla performance from “Episode 3”, the president of the pharmaceutical company seeing Saki and Junko as zombies in “Episode 4”, the girls shooting the commercial for Drive-in Tori and realizing they accidentally washed off their makeup during the Gatalympics from “Episode 5”, Junko and Ai’s disagreement from “Episode 6”, their performance at Saga Rock in “Episode 7”, Lily performing “To My Dearest” from “Episode 8”, Saki performing “Tokkou DANCE ~DAWN OF THE BAD~” from “Episode 9”, Yugiri slapping Kotaro from “Episode 10”, Kotaro telling Sakura that he will never leave her side as well as the girls cuddling up to her in her sleep from “Episode 11”, their performance at Arpino Stadium from “Episode 12”, Kotaro in his depressed phase laughing at his own joke from “Episode 13”, Saki and Sakura conversing with White Ryu in his station from “Episode 14”, the girls performing “Electric RETURNER “Type R”” from “Episode 16”, Lily performing the revised version of her chosen song from “Episode 17”, Maimai Yuzuriha performing alongside the girls for the first and last time from “Episode 19”, the girls performing “The Saga Incident” from “Episode 21”, and finally, Arata Ookoba having gathered pictures of the girls in his office from “Episode 18.”
 * During Saki and Ai’s one-on-one conversation, they recall their first conversation at the park from “Episode 6” as well as Saki performing the stunt that killed her in “Episode 9.”
 * Jofuku recalls Franchouchou incorrectly again, this time as “Mifuneyama Zombie Rakuen Project.”
 * The framed picture of Yugiri, Kiichi Momozaki and Shojiro Ito is seen again in Jofuku’s bar.
 * Saki recalls having to use shoe spray in order for their makeup to not get washed off from “Episode 7.”
 * This is the third episode to not feature any songs outside the opening and ending themes, be it performed by Franchouchou or an insert song playing in the background.

Errors

 * TBA