Kotaro Tatsumi/History

Kotaro Tatsumi is the energetic producer of the idol group Franchouchou. He was the one who resurrected girls from different eras as zombies to become part of his group of idols.

Early Life
There is but little history about Kotaro, except at one point he was classmates with Sakura and the rest remains a mystery. The only info known is that Kotaro is versed as an idol producer with an eccentric demeanor.

Present Day
Currently, his goal in mind is to "save Saga" by forming a group of zombie idols. He started by somehow bringing various girls back to life as zombies: Saki Nikaido of the Kyushu region, Heisei idol Ai Mizuno, Showa idol Junko Konno, Meiji courtesan Yugiri, child prodigy Lily Hoshikawa, and the "legendary" Tae Yamada.

After Sakura died, Kotaro revived her as a zombie and took her in as part of his "zombie idol" project. After forming his idol group, he sent the girls into various events with little regard to dignity in order to increase their public figures. Though he may come across as farfetched and reckless, his ideas allowed him to take up more opportunities with more fittingly idol activities.

Soon after the girls finally hit stardom, he began showing more professionalism and started engaging in formal business opportunities to maintain the girl's careers. Over the course of management, he gave girls useful advice and did all in his power to maintain their feelings by complying to many of their needs.

Especially at the beginning of the story, it is usually by force, and it always tells them where and what to do on the day of the event, just before the event, it makes them practice dancing and singing for just one day, and still Sleep, normal human beings could not, but zombies could. He had a too hasty and improvised schedule in the first chapters because it seems that he is not planning to make a first concert at Geils' house, Solo Sakura just woke up and nothing is organized, but according to the purpose of the event It seems that they are preparing songs death metal style and preparing accordingly.

In fact, he respects girls' autonomy after they feel comfortable as idols. Even when a problem arises in Franchouchou, members tend to attach importance to "choosing of their own free will and winning with their own power." In episodes 6 to 7, which is an intermediate stage, he persuaded Junko, who was concerned about the disparity between the Showa era and the image of current idols, to "pass the idol character Showa."

Even in the first 10 episodes, he is trying to indirectly guide them by giving them special training in snowy mountains, reflecting the current plot situation of Sakura. It seems that direct intervention by yourself to solve the problem is positioned as the last resort after waiting until the last minute. It seems like he usually uses brute force, but he actually cares about the limbs.

It doesn't say anything about why he's trying to save Saga and why he chose the idol business as a means to do so.

He says "Save Saga!", but he was not sure if he was a citizen of the saga (however, he also speaks in the Karatsu dialect, indicating that he is from that city).

Perhaps due to confidentiality, he has almost no colleagues. In other words, he is the only person carrying out "Project Zombie Land Saga." Therefore, organizing Franchouchou's activities, such as gathering people and locating places, sales that receive orders, and advertising what he plans and sells goods and financial management of other projects.

It is not known if the bartender who knows about the project helps him in any way, but presumably he is the one who indicates the optimal places to go. He looked like he was super human because of that, but in the manga version, it is seen that he was sick due to exhaustion and stress due to hard work, which caused an upset stomach.
 * Basically, Kotaro is in charge of doing everything related to idols and the progress of events all by himself.

In the present day, Kotaro resurrected six girls from different eras as zombies. After one of the zombies ran away from his mansion and was shot by a police officer, he rescued her by hitting the policeman with a shovel.

Kotaro explained to Sakura that she and the other girls are currently zombies, and are now part of his idol group in hope of resurrecting the regional idol trend as well as saving the Saga prefecture.

He booked the girls' first performance in a death metal festival, stating that this is the only show he can get them in.

Episode 1
In the present day, Kotaro resurrected six girls from different eras as zombies. After one of the zombies ran away from his mansion and was shot by a police officer, he rescued her by hitting the policeman with a shovel.

Kotaro explained to Sakura that she and the other girls are currently zombies, and are now part of his idol group in hope of resurrecting the regional idol trend as well as saving the Saga prefecture.

He booked the girls' first performance in a death metal festival, stating that this is the only show he can get them in.

Episode 2
Kotaro informs the girls that they will be performing at Saga castle. Displeased with their situation, Ai and Junko attempt to leave in secret, a worried Sakura follows after them. After a near miss with a trigger happy policeman and a group of rappers, it was revealed that Kotaro was watching from the shadows the whole time.

During the performance at Saga castle, things get heated between Sakura and Saki accumulating into a rap battle with Kotaro providing the music by beat boxing.

Episode 3
Kotaro made plans for a live flash mob performance in front of Katasu Station.

After the performance was over, he revealed his terrible driving skills after attempting to turn around in a rush and somehow ending up on the pavement.

Episode 4
With their budget running out, Kotaro sends the girls to perform at a hot spring resort in Ureshino in an attempt to earn a sponsorship deal with a pharmaceutical company.

Despite saying he was going to sight see whilst they practiced (much to their chagrin), it was revealed that he was actually building relations with the pharmaceutical representative at the time.

Episode 5
Although upset the girls ruined his paid sponsor opportunity for them, Kotaro apathetically decides to increase the girls' publicity despite their recent setback. They give them a commercial acting job at Drive-in Tori. Then he sets the girls to compete in the Gatalympics while wearing their group T-shirts—Although he never realized the girls must stay muddy to cover their zombie identities. Regardless, the games went on normally but hardly any publicity to their group.

Episode 6
It is revealed by Kotaro that the girls will be performing at the Saga Rock Festival and that Junko and Ai will be performing a duet, causing the group to feel uneasy.

Episode 7
Junko refuses to practice and locks herself way in a room in the mansion, barricading the door. Kotaro destroys the barricade stating "Zombies belong on the other side of the barricade!" but after realizing he'd accidentally knocked out Junko he quickly settles down.

He explains to Junko that she does not need to follow the modern standards of the idol industry and that she can be her own type of idol, convincing her to rejoin the group.

Episode 8
After finding out that Lily Hoshikawa was born a male, the girls confront Kotaro about it who reveals that he knew all along and didn't see why it was an issue. After rebuking the girls, he throws them out of his office and slams the door.

Episode 9
Kotaro warns Saki about interfering with other people's lives after she had died.

He later turns up at the cliff to pick Saki up after she won the chicken race.

Episode 11
Kotaro is seen talking to a someone at a bar pub where he and the barman talked about the Zombie Land Saga Project. The barman warns him not to have any funny ideas with Yūgiri. It can be theorized the barman is a zombie himself, judging by how he discusses owing Yugiri "a hell of a lot" and the focus on him eating dried squid, one of the first things Kotaro introduces to the idols.

He saves Sakura again from the policeman that shot her and listens to her complaints on how no matter what she does, she always ends up failing. Even after Sakura Minamoto regained her memories and refused to perform, Kotaro refused to give up on her and rebuffs that he has what it takes.

Episode 12
It is revealed that Kotaro used to be Sakura's classmate under the name of Inui, where Sakura couldn't recognize him as he got older and it is possible that "Kotaro Tatsumi" is an alias he used in the entertainment industry.

Zombie Land Saga Saga Awakening Edition
We go back to the past, exactly a few days before the girls woke up, Kotaro is in Takeo's library and is worried about how to generate demand for them for the group to be successful, after listening to a casual conversation between mother and daughter, decides to go to the Drive in tori to eat and do business.

Kotaro arrives at Drive in tori where he sees hungry customers, he arrives with the intention of doing business with the owner of the restaurant and promoting the girls and their idol group. When he asks one of the servers, he tells him that the president is not here and will be here soon, so Kotaro orders chicken from the restaurant to hang out.

After having orgasms with the chicken and the restaurant food, a strange guy arrives saying that he does not know the true power of Drive in tori and Kotaro thinks he is the president of the restaurant.

The mysterious guy sits with Kotaro who feels a strong presence emanating from him and still thinks he is the president of Drive in tori, Kotaro tells him that he wants to save Saga using local idols as Saga's reputation has been declining due to the age of his inhabitants, unemployment, lack of new talents and unemployment, causing the population to be reduced by half in a few years, he says that with the group of girls he will bring excitement to Saga.

The mysterious boy mentions that he has lived in Saga for a long time and that he has felt the blow of depopulation, emphasizing that it is because the big cities are more prosperous than the prominent rural areas in Saga, he tells Kotaro if it is in his capacity and he agrees saying that he has an ace up his sleeve.

The mystery boy gets up when Kotaro mentions that Drive in tori is the true flavor of Saga, he tells Kotaro that he doesn't know the "true Saga". The next page shows Kotaro thinking about what he said to him while Tae bites the bars behind him, thoughtful in his mind he remembers that they all woke up and he must act fast to save Saga.

The weirdo arrives to pick up Kotaro from the mansion and take him to Yobuko, a well-known fishing area in Saga that has a variety of squid.

Kotaro and the mysterious uncle go to Yobuko, which was previously one of the most visited places in Saga with at least one million visits on weekends but due to Saga's loss of reputation, almost no tourists come, the uncle mentions that He used to go there with his family to eat squid, he reflects on how if the popular places in Saga are neglected they will never be the same again.

The reason this happens is because of the distribution of goods since people can enjoy Yobuko's squid without having to go there.

They stop for a moment to eat and Kotaro has orgasms again with the squid calling it the true taste of Saga.

After a short trip he mentions that Kotaro must learn quickly about Saga and waits for the day when he saves Saga, when he leaves he remembers that he forgot to ask him about the collaboration with the girls but before doing something one of the restaurant employees tells him that your president is in the restaurant and that he will attend you in a second. Kotaro confused now wondering the true identity of the boy he met while the real president of the restaurant gets excited about the idea of ​​Kotaro idols

Zombie Land Saga Saga Fierce fighting training
A Kotaro exhausted from all the work he does for the girls collapses with a stomach ache so he turns to a doctor who tells him that his pain is due to stress and he sends him to eat something light for his stomach.

A udon store where he has more orgasms with food, in the end that food managed to free him from stress and stomach pain.

A brief flashback of everything they have done so far is seen, noting that Ai and Junko are polar opposites and the moment will come when their difference of ideals will collide. In this way, Kotaro decides to make a duet song for the two of them but things were not as simple as he thought since the lyrics do not suit an idol group, desperately he looks for the bartender at "Bar new Jofuku"

Once he arrives, he is surprised to see the mysterious boy sitting in the Bar, he mentions that the Bartender is not in those moments but that he will listen to everything he has to say. Kotaro talks about the duo of Ai and Junko and their inevitable clash of ideals, the mysterious guy recommends that he go to Ureshino for inspiration.

Thanks to a hot tofu, Kotaro gets the inspiration to make the song of the duo Ai-Junko.

Kotaro proposes to Franchouchou his new song, Atsuku Nare. But he's worried about how the concert will be, so he goes to a restaurant to climb "Mount Fuji" which is just a dish in a restaurant in Imari.

As he in food orgasm heaven, he realizes that the dish is missing an essential ingredient.

Kotaro makes a sauce for the dish to taste better so he can climb "Mount Fuiji".

We begins with Franchouchou in Saga Rock and Kotaro describing how well the group did for the song Atsuku Nare. Later, he looks to promote the girls more and goes to Tosu Stadium (where Ai died) to eat noodles in a restaurant and imagine yourself being a footballer against bushes.

At the end, and after eating his noodles, the weird boy appears. He appeared several chapters ago, telling him that coming to Tosu means that he is ready for the "test".

The mystery boy tells Kotaro that he must improve his skills as an idol producer, starting from knowing his Saga better. He gives Kotaro some instructions to meet three wise men in Saga who will teach him more about this test, and he must pass them to find the truth of Saga.

We are shown a jump with Franchouchou in the Karatsu Station where the guerrilla concert was held. With Saki almost entering a ramen shop because it looked delicious.

Sakura notes that Kotaro just left but does nothing about it. She believes Kotaro must take care of Franchouchou. One of the wise men is just a boy who runs a ceramic business in Imari that has survived in Saga for many years. He tells him that he must draw his Saga on a piece of ceramic. Kotaro feels that he cannot connect with Saga.

In the end, he achieves his goal by emerging victorious from the first test, recognizing that the answer for this test is Franchouchou and his relationship with him as a producer and passing this test. The first of three.

Kotaro arrives at Matsuura Ichishuzo, the second test place. He goes inside and hears a voice that came from the back of the shop saying: "Please go here".

Kotaro is in at an old motorcycles exhibition, the oldest in Japan. With only 5 of them in that store, the person who attends him is a mechanic who repaired motorcycles in addition to attending a 300-year-old liquor store. The clothesline he asks him the reason why the store has been able to remain open for so long, this being the second test that he must pass.

Searching inside the liquor store, Kotaro looks for the answer to the second test. He must find out how the store has been able to remain open for so long. He finally finds her looking at a Kappa mummy and motorcycles when she realizes that it is still in business because they take good care of things and always repair broken stuff.

He reflects that he should do the same with Franchouchou. By continuing the daily lessons and constant work, Franchouchou will become a true group of idols! Now the next test says "Come to Ureshino".

Kotaro arrives at a bar with a place reserved for him. But that he had reserved in the morning. When he enters, he has a tight position in the bar's central section.

The owner tells him that he will have to stay in the store to pass the test until it closes.

Kotaro, although still pending with the test, gets drunk with the other bar customers. He drinks because he has no idea what to do in this test. Watching television that they pass by the bar, news about the girls is transmitted during Saga Rock. The patrons support the new local idols that are emerging.

Kotaro realizes what the test was and his answer. He finally understood. Idols shine only when there are fans who support them! With the test already solved, he says goodbye to the acquaintances. He leaves happy because he finally found the answer to the test and his Saga ... or not?

Zombie Land Saga Saga Nostalgic Roman Edition
After what Kotaro thought was the last test, he goes to the Ureshino onsen to rest. But when he was about to go, he hears a familiar voice. The mysterious uncle appears in the same onsen where he was, such as the surprise that Kotaro gets scared.

The guy tells him that this is just the beginning. Only the people who passed the test of the 3 wise men of Saga can know "the truth of Saga", where he sends him to Yoshionagari Ruins.

This time at the request of a mysterious guy, he is accompanied by Franchouchou because, according to him, he cannot discover the true Saga by himself. He yells at the girls to stop loafing and start looking for a Saga for their idol activities.

Still confused, Kotaro doesn't understand what kind of "Saga" he should look for this time, and he doesn't know why he sent him to that site.

They give us an introduction of the Yoshinogari park is, being a historical place of Saga that comes from the Yayoi period. They were the first to introduce agriculture and blacksmithing to Japan because they were in contact with foreigners 2200 years ago who taught them these techniques.

We have a flashback of Kotaro speaking in the onsen. This tells him that to find the true Saga, he will have to be accompanied to that place. Even without understanding what to look for, he orders the girls to search each site in the park.

Instead of looking for what Kotaro ordered, the girl go play at the playground as if they were ancient natives, the girls left Kotaro alone. At the same time, he only worries about finding the Saga he is looking for.

Sakura, Junko, and Tae participated in the experience of making dumplings. While Saki, Ai, Yugiri, and Lily participated in the experience of making fire. We have a funny scene of Saki, Ai, and Lily trying to make a fire in a traditional way using the friction of two pieces of wood and a rope while they end up getting tired. Yugiri manages to do it in just a few seconds, leaving the other girls surprised.

Sakura, Junko, and Tae finish making their dumplings while Tae shows her result to Saki what he did, at least she tried. Desperate, Kotaro yells at them again angrily because they are not doing what he asked. He is still searching exhaustively for that Saga. At the same time, Saki, in a mocking tone, says that she already found it establishing her dominance over Saga by doing a T pose on a hill.

The girls enjoy the scenery from the hill and try on the classic Yayoi period clothing while Sakura prevents Tae from eating the decoration food that is on the site, meanwhile Kotaro feels helpless because he has not been able to find that Saga he was looking for so he feels depressed. Sakura notices her attitude and feels strange.

Climbing a tower to think, Kotaro feels that she could not pass this last test while Sakura feels that she is about to do something random like jump from that tower, so worried she runs to prevent Kotaro from doing what she thinks he will do, but accidentally He runs into a raccoon knocking Kotaro out of the tower and causing them both to fall.

With the clumsiness of Sakura, Kotaro and they were about to fall from the tower, Sakura could barely hold onto one arm and hold Kotaro with the other. Kotaro tells him to drop it because or if it is not revealed that they are zombies, the girls stay close until they see what is happening, Sakura falls breaking her arm but luckily Tae manages to save them by taking a huge jump.

When Sakura falls, she tells her concern about Kotaro's attitude, emphasizing that they will always be with him, Kotaro finally realizes that what he was really looking for was for Franchouchou and him to complement each other on their way to save Saga.

At last reunited and with a clearer mind, Kotaro decides to listen to the girls and their experiences in Yoshinogari. Each one tells how they had fun in the park and each one of the activities they did, Sakura tells a small summary of the series from the death metal concert to the present, saying that this is her Saga.

There is only Kotaro left to say what he felt in the park. So far, Kotaro has interacted with saga sages and mystery types and has enjoyed seafood, agricultural products and beautiful seascapes. He realizes that the Saga he is looking for is actually interaction with people and loving them proudly.

After the park event Yoshinogari Kotaro who touched the truth of the saga and identified the saga that he really loved. Now the days of battle as a talented producer have begun again.

Imari, Ureshino, Yoshinogari... The knowledge that he acquired in the famous places of the saga was wonderful, but he is confused because he has gained too much in this short period of time

He wonders who the mysterious uncle is who appears from time to time and helps him with the lyrics of his songs, so for inspiration he looks for something to eat and speak well of food. Meanwhile the girls get the smell of their room and also look for something to eat for themselves. While Kotaro was bathing, Saki brought a cassette stove, a frying pan, a wooden spatula, a plate, rice, eggs, takana (I don't know what this is xd), a gang, salt and pepper and sesame oil to the bedroom of the Franchouchou member to eat themselves, but Tae makes the rice too spicy and ends up burning. Now Kotaro realizes that his food has been stolen.

It is December 31st, being the first time that the series shows us what happened after the Arpino event. The girls talk about the adventures they have had together as an idol group in recent months, there is not much to say since most of the time they spend eating and their post lives as zombies and also Tae spits at Kotaro accidentally.

Zombie Land Saga: Saga future development
Kotaro, happy for the new year, decides to have a bottle of Japanese sake but gets drunk too much and falls into a dream where the Saga tourism mascot "Saga Travel Support" appears. He tells Kotaro about how delicious Japanese Sake is and the food from Saga prefecture, before waking up the Saga Travel Support pet tells Kotaro that Franchouchou has a hidden power that will help him in his mission.

Upon awakening he decides to do something of what this pet told him and demonstrate the value of the girls through a movie (is this an omen of the future?)

With the necessary energy Kotaro decides to write his own story of what he has learned with the 3 wise men and the search for the Saga of him, he takes a pencil and begins to write in the same way as Kira. With the defeated monster Franchouchou starts talking about his victory. Now we have a shot of Kotaro teaching him a government official about his idea of ​​making a movie with the sketches already made but he denies the idea of ​​him.

In a park, Kotaro is exhausted from work and makes a metaphor that he has been mining gold for a long time, an older man offers him something to eat and Kotaro accepts, after a bite they both go to a house and Kotaro is amazed by this food. The next day he and Franchouchou go to a restaurant to prepare this meal and at the same time learn how to make it, in the end it turned out quite well and the owners congratulate the girls. Franchouchou prepares 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 dish!

When Kotaro arrives he finds the empty mansion without any trace of the girls and a note in the room saying not to bother them because they are busy, Kotaro wonders what the girls are doing. Kotaro looks for the girls around the city after they have suddenly disappeared from the mansion because he knows that without them Saga will not be saved, meanwhile Franchouchou walks through the city and visits various places in Karatsu while they talk about the future presentation in the EFS and as that will be their great leap, when Kotaro arrives they all decide to do their best for the EEF concert and well... XD

Episode 13
Kotaro's first appearance this season is set in a bar called "small Jofuku" where he is so drunk that he laughs at a chicken pope that had been served to him previously. Shortly after, Sakura enters to talk to him about making a clean slate at GEILS live where Franchouchou performed for the first time a year ago, and again due to his drunkenness he plays a jester and does not pay attention to Sakura.

Later at night, he goes close to the sea during a strong storm and kneels in front of the waves, and while they break Kotaro tries to conjure something but because of the loud noise you cannot hear his words. Then he goes back to the bar where he was drinking but accidentally enters Yugiri's bar surprising her, Yugiri leaves his bar to talk to him and he only hears about the one who was completely wrong, probably the scene in front of the sea has something to do here.

Again with Sakura, she keeps trying to talk to him and stop him from drinking but her attempts are useless because Kotaro says that "I don't have what it takes" making a parallel to Sakura in episode 11, this makes Sakura sad who goes to do things on their own. A few hours later he meets the Bartender who reproaches him for his condition and tells him to forget about the Zombie Land Saga project since the girls will now be able to live normal lives now but is quickly interrupted by shouting that their time is running out and that now they will not be able to achieve it. As well as his attitude, the bartender then tells him to tell the girls to give up and that they are finished, which makes Kotaro reconsider and think of the group breaking the glass in his hand and running out of the bar saying that he The group's name is Franchouchou.

Finally in GEILS he applauds supporting the girls to sing the new song which annoys the metalheads who give him a beating and starting a fight, where Kotaro's strength is demonstrated by containing 5 people for the time. Finally with the new song "REVENGE" the fight ends and in the mansion he cuts his hair and returns to being the usual Kotaro but still with the marks of the fight he had last night.

Episode 14
A few days later, he announces to the Franchouchou girls, after having annoyed them with a pseudo interview and his microphone, that they will make their public comeback with a television program. Ai and Saki try anyway to find out the reasons that led Kotaro to be depressed for a month, he latter will ignore their questions.

Therefore, Kotaro announces that Franchouchou will film a program to introduce the Yutoku-Inari temple in Kashima, in Saga Prefecture. They are not the only celebrities who present this temple, the famous rocker of Saga, White Ryu will also be present, news that delights Saki in passing. The girls, Kotaro, the show staff, and White Ryu will spend the day together visiting the place. During filming, Kotaro will spend most of his time eating local specialties.

After Saki and Sakura's stint on White Ryu's radio show, he will bring the rest of Franchouchou's daughters to his truck to check that the two of them are okay. He will also attend the taping of the show, now hosted by Saki and Franchouchou.

Episode 15
Iron Frill is coming to Saga soon to inaugurate Saga's new stadium, the Saga Arena. Kotaro can't stand the fact that a group of idols from Tokyo can open a stadium in his prefecture, he manages to find a place for Franchouchou at this concert. Therefore, he decides to break the news to the girls, whom he attacks with a water pistol.

They are upset by the arrival of Iron Frill and their participation in their concert, they seem to doubt their success but Ai reassures them that they can do it.

However, Kotaro also announces that Ai will not participate in this concert, because she was the former leader of Iron Frill, a decision that the other girls dispute. Kotaro doesn't back down from his decision and has already planned solo jobs for Ai the day after this discussion.

He therefore helps Ai during the various idol jobs and categorically rejects all other non-Saga prefectural jobs. Relations between him and Ai are strained, she doesn't understand why he removed her from the group at such an important moment in her career. Kotaro simply replies that Junko and the other girls can do very well without her and will make the concert at the Saga Arena a success. While the girls prepare and participate in this concert, Ai will have to pay EEF's debt with her odd jobs. Therefore, the two begin to argue severely.

Episode 16
When Kotaro witnesses Junko Konno's altercation with a policeman, he comes to her afterward and comforts her in his own unique way — by airblasting her with his guitar and screaming out a motivational speach at her. He convinces her that if she wants to have Ai's loyalty, to stay, that she can't keep devaluing herself, that she must be assertive and take Ai back, to "smash through" any challenge facing her. He then lends her his favorite guitar so she can do just that.



The next day, Kotaro prepares Franchouchou's makeup for them and sends them off, watching the show with Ai Mizuno. She asks him if he was ever really worried about her identity at all, but he simply stays silent as they begin to perform — and excel, with Kotaro urging them on. At the apex of Junko's song, she smashes Kotaro's guitar, much to Kotaro's horror.

Episode 17
Kotaro attempts to give Franchouchou direction once more with a pep talk, walking into the room in snorkel gear, but Lily Hoshikawa has already taken his podium today. He sits glumly down beside the other girls as Lily lays out a plan to try out for the "Japanese Got Performance" talent show. He himself later joins the talent show, appearing nervous on stage before beginning his "act" to impersonate a mudskipper in mating season. Naturally, the judges disqualify him almost immediately.

Episode 18
Kotaro has another meeting with Franchouchou, appreciating Ai, Saki, and Sakura's desire to keep rising, so he suggests they get down to a strategy meeting: except they can't do that, because they're still 20 million yen in debt, which he lambasts the zombies for. Saki insists that the debt is his fault anyway, but he pretends not to hear, and sends them all out to make some money — including Tae Yamada, despite protest. Miraculously, Tae manages to accidentally win 20 million yen at a boat race, which Kotaro accepts to pay off the debt. However, Saki's comment that Tae is far more useful than "shades" does bother him slightly.

Episode 19
At the public showers (wearing his shades even here), Kotaro accidentally drops the soap even as Maimai Yuzuriha accidentally walks into the men's showers, slips on it, and knocks her head on the floor, knocking her out. Seeing this, Kotaro presumes she died, and takes her body back to the Abandoned Mansion. There, he presents Maimai's "corpse" as Franchouchou's newest member. Everyone questions this, refusing to clap when Kotaro asks them to, so he wonders why they'd care about having another dead member in their group (given that they're zombies). Saki insists that they do care, but he assures them that the zombification process is well underway. When asked where he found her, he insists that he was "guided" to her, but the continued questioning causes him to break down and panic, hysterically insisting that he didn't kill her. Suddenly, Ai, Junko, and Sakura start screaming, Kotaro starts screaming in response, then dodges out of the way when Maimai stands up and nearly stumbles into him.



Afterward, in the mansion proper, Kotaro is grilled by Ai and Junko over not confirming that Maimai was dead, and that in fact this is basically just a kidnapping. Maimai eventually surmises that Franchouchou are all zombies, driving Kotaro into a panic. After mastering himself to a degree, he begs her not to tell anyone, and orders the other zombies to join in. Maimai agrees, as long as she can join Franchouchou, so Kotaro puts his hands over his head and smiles comically to indicate his acceptance. Later, when Maimai wants to perform at her local high school, he agrees using the same gesture, much to Saki's aggravation. When she then leaves the group itself, he apologizes for kidnapping her, but she forgives him due to the experience it allowed her to gain. She promises to keep Franchouchou's secret safe, so Kotaro thanks her and leaves.

Episode 21
Near the end of the episode, Kotaro bursts into a staging room and hurries the zombies along to their performance.

Episode 22
Prior to the disastrous EFS performance, Kotaro decided, after a successful show and rising album sales, to try at a new challenge: the Ekimae Fudosan Stadium, where Ai died. He insists that because they're all former stars (except Sakura) that they can succeed, and proceeds with the show without even pre-selling any tickets, instead only allowing them to be purchased the day of. This naturally is a disaster, and drives Kotaro to drink for several weeks straight, even noting one night that they now have 20 million yen in debt.

Back in the present, Kotaro washes ashore with several squid, and is mistaken for a corpse until he spits a squid out of his mouth and staggers away (only to be harassed by seagulls). He presents his disheveled self to Franchouchou and apologizes for his failure at EFS the previous year, and insists that they'll have their revenge concert there this year, on the anniversary of their failure. This time, he has advertisement campaigns to make sure it's a success, and their sales indicates a more promising draw — which will allow pre-sold tickets this time.

Kotaro is later confronted at the stadium itself by Ookoba, with evidence that Franchouchou are zombies, but Kotaro is supremely unconcerned, saying that Franchouchou is unstoppable, and will perform at EFS next month. Afterward, he goes for drinks with Xu Fu, who is surprised no one discovered their scheme sooner. Kotaro and Xu discuss Saga, and Xu's prophecy that Saga will be stricken from memory in some form of cataclysm, but Kotaro seeks to prevent it by making Saga too famous to forget. Soon enough, a storm comes and kills the electricity in the room, with Xu doubling over and saying that it has begun.

Episode 24
Kotaro Tatsumi/Sipnosis Kôtarô Tatsumi/Histoire