Common Name: Zombie Land Saga
Alternative Names: Zombieland Saga
Score: 8/10, 4/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Action, Idol, Musical, Supernatural, Horror
Summary: Encouraged by her favorite idol group, Iron Frill, Minamoto Sakura has decided to take a chance and become an idol. Unfortunately, fate has decided her destiny needs to take a short detour. On her way to submit her entry forms, Sakura meets with an accident that knocks her out. When she wakes up, she finds herself trapped in a rundown mansion with a bunch of idols that look strikingly similar to several famous idols and assorted "legendary" individuals. Now, her dream of becoming an idol can come true as she helps some deranged producer lead a unit of zombie idols.
Review: It's always been a rule of thumb for me that I dislike idol shows. Whether it's the lazy character writing propped up by dozens of characters or just the general disgust I feel for the very real idol industry in Japan, something about this genre has always irked me. Or at least that was the case until I watched Zombieland Saga. My conversion to this genre has been a slow one, but I think I've finally reached a point where I can't offhandedly brush off any and every idol show that I come across. It started, I think, with Umamusume, an anime I swore would fade from my mind with time yet has somehow managed to stay firmly planted in the back of my conscious since the Spring 2018 season. Ridiculous as that show's plot was, I can't deny that I actually liked the characters and their designs that felt unique but still close to something I'd recognize as idol-focused. Even though the idol nature of that show was fairly subdued, it still had presence enough to plant that seed in the back of my head. Then came Revue Starlight the following season that had me utterly spellbound by it's aesthetic and killer soundtrack. While I didn't care for the characters nearly as much as I did in Umamusume, the designs and music that drove that show still fed that seed enough for it to finally sprout as Zombieland Saga took center stage this season. The odd thing, though, is that this show artfully lured me in with some top-tier idol-bashing comedy, something I've always been a fan of due to my established disdain for the genre. Then, slowly but surely, this show changed it's tune from an idol parody to a full-on idol anime which has led me to where I am today--reviewing an idol anime and liking it because its an idol anime, rather than in spite of that fact.
I'm a little ashamed how quickly I went from disliking this stuff to eating it up.
To be fair though, I should reiterate that the manner in which this show hooked me was just brilliant. At its start, Zombieland Saga is anything but an idol anime. In fact, it's just kinda this big mash-up of all kinds of things. Within the first episode alone, at least five different tones are set and subsequently thrown away as more and more context is added to the situation Minamoto Sakura has found herself in. In the show's first few minutes, we're given what basically amounts to your standard slice of life drama opening as we are introduced to Sakura and her dream of being an idol. Then, all of a sudden, we're thrust into the realm of horror Sakura wakes up in the middle of some House of the Dead mansion filled with hilariously designed zombies. Then some comedic drama wheedles its way into things as Sakura comes to learn that she's somehow ended up in the Saga Prefecture as a fully sentient zombie. What's more, the comedy aspect continues to grow as the show's standoffish but also bumbling "Producer," Tatsumi Koutarou, gives Sakura the impossible task of rounding up the rest of the show's zombie cast and getting them ready for their first live performance--for a heavy metal concert I might add--they're booked for that very night.
Insanity and contrivances abound in this first episode, but it's just too fast-paced and silly that you're
never really given a moment to pause and care one way or the other.
Following this first episode where everyone but Sakura is just your standard zombie, though, everything steadily approaches what you might consider normal for this show. The rest of the cast "wakes up" and basically goes through the same "what the actual hell" reaction Sakura went through but each in their own unique way. Some, like the veteran idols Konno Junko and Mizuno Ai, wholeheartedly reject this ridiculous plan to "save Saga" with a zombie idol group. Others, like the child star Hoshikawa Lily and biker gang member Nikaidou Saki, are content to go with the flow and enjoy every moment of their newfound afterlife. There are, of course, a few more neutral perspectives present within the series, like the still zombie-like Yamada Tae and the uninterested but supportive geisha Yuugiri, but they do more good throughout the show than harm. I'd be remiss to not mention that Sakura functionally covers the entirety of this spectrum of investment, in that she is interested in becoming an idol but lacks the experience or guts to really put herself out there which leads her to constantly question the sanity Kotarou's master plan. Regardless of where each character falls within this spectrum, though, the plot strings them all along until they inevitably give in to the idea that a unit of zombie idols is going to save the Saga Prefecture.
It really helps that Kotarou, aka the most hilarious and bizarrely endearing asshole
the anime world has ever seen, exists primarily to keep this crazy train chugging.
Yet, again, the show somehow finds a way to do this without really being much of an idol show. Within the show's first few episodes, the cast doesn't even sing what we typically associate with idol music. First, we get them all headbanging at a metal concert while one of the still zombified girls lets out a guttural, godforsaken screech that just magically gets a hall full of metalheads totally invested in this cutesy band of headbanging idols. Then we get a rap battle that took the internet by storm and got hundreds of people interested in this show almost immediately after the subbed episode landed here in the States. Even when it eventually gets around to doing standard idol songs, the show's CG looks so basic its hard to take it seriously as an idol show. That lack of seriousness truly hits its peak, though, as that same idol song gets remixed in a later episode through some auto-tuning shenanigans that are justified via some solidly engaging character drama. As you might have noticed in that list of un-idol-like musical numbers, though, there is actually a purpose to the insanity of this show. It's easy to miss, but all this fast-paced comedy and absurdist humor eventually reveals itself to be nothing but a facade concealing the show's slow, creeping progression from idol-bashing to being an honest-to-god idol anime.
The CG still might not be on par with a pure idol show, but I'll be damned if it doesn't have
that same level of love and passion for genre IdolM@ster and
Love Live! have when all is said and done.
What's really fascinating, though, isn't that the comedy and intention behind the music exhibit this progression from a cynical to earnest love of idols. Rather, it's that every facet of the show exhibits this same slow but sure redefining of what this chaotic journey is about. The comedy steadily shifts from laughing at the idol industry to laughing with it as the same kind of jokes you see in more serious idol shows crop up later in the show. The show's ever-present insanity steadily shifts away from the hijinx of the cast being comprised of zombies and ends up focusing more on the ridiculousness of characters themselves and how they affect the unit as a whole. In fact, once the whole cast has "awakened" by episode 2, the show begins to be less about Kotarou's Saga revival plan and more about drama and comedy of each member of the unit coming to terms with their previous life, death, and who they are now in their own way. After a point, the show might as well be episodic considering how quickly it establishes character drama, builds on it, and then cleanly resolves it by episode's end, making way for another quickfire character arc in the next episode. In all honesty, the only downside to this episodic format that steadily moves from being a joke to being completely serious about its idols is that there isn't enough time to give every character the attention they deserve.
Considering what did get covered and how well the show handled it, though, I honestly can't
say I'm too upset that Tae and Yugiri didn't get their time in the spotlight.
To be totally honest, I went into this show with some trepidation. The first few minutes of the show actually turned me off to it because it felt like it was going for some kind of edgy comedy that just didn't click for me. Yet, the more I saw of the comedy this show had to offer beyond that House of Dead parody, the more and more I became invested in it. Everything, from the comedy and characters to the music and narrative won me over to what this show was selling. Little did I know, however, that what I initially bought into as an idol parody would soon have me legitimately invested in actual idol worship. I don't really plan to seek out any concerts and no intention to start waving around those glow wands but at least I can say that I get it now. My feelings towards idols as an industry hasn't changed all that much, considering the frankly disgusting business practices these people have to put up with, but I see now why people like individual idols or the units they form. When done well, it's an absolute joy following the lives of these people and seeing them grow and develop as professionals. It's an absolute spectacle watching them work alone or together to make things that people might want to watch or listen to. So, while I won't go so far as to call Zombieland Saga perfect in its own right--the slopes and peeks in quality are reason enough to deny it that distinction--but I have no doubt that this will be one of those shows I'll be coming back to over and over in the years to come. At its worst, it's an idol anime. At its best, though, its one of the most hilarious and progressive idol animes this industry has even created. Regardless of whether you hate idols or love them, I feel comfortable enough to say that everyone should watch and experience the beautiful insanity that is Zombieland Saga.