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Zombie Land Saga (TV) (all seasons).


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Treeborn



Joined: 30 Mar 2013
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 3:35 pm Reply with quote
An I see, I see. I guess I just didn't consider it enough of a musical track to actually require licensing. But it makes sense. Hopefully it's added into the physical release then.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:40 am Reply with quote
Episode 6

This is something only this series could deal with, some of the girls dealing with their idea of idol is one that is outmatched, and also their trauma of having died before. Junko on how at her time, idols had more of a distance from their fans, along with the need to appear perfect from the start, while Ai is more familiar with growth with fans, although arguably she herself is not entirely current either. As mentioned by the reporters in the start of the episode, none of them have social media, meaning they have a poor net presence, which I assume makes them a little out of their time for 2018, probably more about their producer. Actually heard an interesting look at the producer recently from Nearly On Red, that appears he is acting like an ass, largely because he thinks that is how a producer is meant to act, as shown of saying he was sightseeing, while actually networking, the guy is hiding how out of depth he is.

On the second part, Junko is frightened of I think trying again after dying so out of her control from a plane crash. As I assumed when seeing Ai react to the flashes of camera, it was also tied to how she died, which was apparently being struck by lightning while on stage, which is pretty metal, but not the legend she wants. They seem to have earned a chance to do a show at a rock event, which is something they all considered was quite a bit off, but a good chance, Junko is facing some of her fears that seem to have bubbled up, but Ai's may be even more extreme, the event being out in the open. One can imagine what might happen if the weather starts to go bad.

Tae did not do a huge amount this time, but her seeming to be well liked by fans for her rooster call was funny, as was her bringing laundry detergent instead of shampoo.
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Yttrbio
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Joined: 09 Jun 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 10:41 am Reply with quote
Ai's problems are even worse, since her old band is performing at the rock event.

There is something hilarious about that image of an idol burnt to a crisp pointing at the sky.
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Treeborn



Joined: 30 Mar 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 12:29 pm Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
Actually heard an interesting look at the producer recently from Nearly On Red, that appears he is acting like an ass, largely because he thinks that is how a producer is meant to act, as shown of saying he was sightseeing, while actually networking, the guy is hiding how out of depth he is.


I could see that being true. I also came across a different theory that his over the top and abusive behavior may be a result of him wanting to keep the idols alert. Seeing as how they needed to be jump started to regain consciousness, maybe they need to be constantly exposed to certain stimulus in order to remain active. Don't know how likely that is, but I think that'd be neat.

Another theory is that Tae may be a deceased relative of his that he is having issues letting go of, which is why he simply introduced her as "Legendary" without giving any background on her. That would hit me right where I live Crying or Very sad
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
Posts: 734
PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:59 pm Reply with quote
Treeborn wrote:
which is why he simply introduced her as "Legendary" without giving any background on her.


He did gave her a backstory, it's just that Sakura wasn't paying attention.
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Ahoshi



Joined: 02 Jul 2018
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:33 pm Reply with quote
*sigh*
It's a struggle to watch. I like the manager though. He's funny. But really the opening credit scene...the actual anime is no where near what it implies. I'll watch to the end to be fair...but *sigh* really.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 12:16 am Reply with quote
Episode 7

The low framerate CGI is still a little bit of a problem, yet perhaps of interest that the other idol group was standard 2D with dancing, and when characters are moving stiff and such in dancing, this seems to be something noticed in universe. The CG did add some pop to their routine, though. But real standout of their performance, was the surprise use of their standard song, with them getting hit by lightning before it, it added a new electro pop (I think that is the term) to the song, and it was actually pretty cool.

Kotaro still acts like an ass at times, like him refusing to help them try and get Junko out of holding herself up. But, he ended up being the one to do it, where showed that he really is insightful, and revs Junko up for what she wants to be, even saying she can turn down the parts she is uncomfortable with, because she is a Showa idol. I think this does fit that he acts worse than he really is. Also, him breaking the door, telling her to fix it, and we see her do just that. And another addition, him saying he needs to get a good look at them, before spraying them all with waterproof shoe spray.

Good Yamada Tae moment of the episode, her copying Saki, with random blabbering instead of words. It does look like Sakura may be moving to having her memories return.
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Panino Manino



Joined: 28 Jan 2018
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 7:34 am Reply with quote
#7

This episode made me mad.
Really mad... with Hanebado.
Seriously, I was not believing that I was seeing Kotaro being a better coach (not that I doubted him) than the Coach in Hanebado that REFUSED to do anything for Ayano, even after the supervisor went to him to complain about his neglect.
sigh...

Also about Kotaro... he hitting Junko with the car was a "red herring" for the idea of him being the one who killed Sakura?

And it may be part of the joke, "bad on purpose", that Iron Frill is animated in 2D while Franchouchou gets "ugly" 3D, but it's not a funny joke.

About the characters, yeah, Junko can't be anymore the type of idol she was, but I have to say, despite Kotaro saying that she can refuses to do the things she don't want to do, how often is this a possibility on that industry? If a girl refuses to do idol things is she still an "idol"? Would she be just an "artist"?
That scene were Ai's body falls apart and she says that it's normal and she is used that is not a subtle criticism.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:08 am Reply with quote
Well the preview that showed them doing a handshaking event, I could not see Junko, so wait and see if she is able to refuse. Honestly, it feels pretty wasted that Kotaro has tried to fit the girls squarely into what idols should be, when the quirks of where they come from, and their zombie nature, probably would be good for the group. Possibly fitting that Kotaro has been largely trying to play the part of what he thinks a manager should do, while he is capable of more.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:06 am Reply with quote
Episode 8

Lily Episode. I actually thought that we would get some minor reveal of something about Lily, which I was guessing might be that she is more bratty than she lets on. But in the end, I was kind of surprised, that we learned that she is actually a trans girl, and done right by the fact that this does not seem to define her. Junko seems to be the one most shocked by it, which does not seem like a big surprise, due to her time period. The real meat was her relationship with her father, who she took to showbiz to make him smile, but she had started to grow disillusioned by from the fact he did seem more into the TV thing rather than her as a person. But there is still love between them, and even now she wants him to smile, which is sweet.

Not sure what to think by the fact she seemed to die from a heart attack from getting a hair on her face, a trans person would have to give more thoughts. I guess they also pointed out that she was exhausted, and had been overworking herself. And although kind of at her expense, it was kind of funny that her birth name was so masculine sounding, that the group found it funny, and yet everyone still sees her as Lily. Kotarou even seemed to have prior knowledge about it, and never said anything, goes to show again that as bad as he can appear, he is not the worst. If only he would stop harassing like he tends to do at their meetings.

Looks like next episode will be about Saki, which is great because I think she is one of the more popular characters.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:38 pm Reply with quote
Episode 11

Would it be right to say that Sakura not only went backwards, but ended up behind the starting line? She got the memories of her life back, in doing so she forgot her time as a zombie up till now. Beyond her initial fear like when she first awoke to the zombie around her, something else changed, she gave up, she ran for a bit but she didn't fight much. It would seem that in life, despite how hard she tried, Sakura seemed to always fail, she would be the star but would lose when it counted. and totally giving up was where she was until seeing Ai say that failure is a chance to do better and not itself just a bad thing. She allowed herself to be excited to try once more, before she died, and Sakura seems to have given up.

Thing is though, Sakura has arguably been the most fundamental in pushing Franchouchou forward, her strength being in that she was not so much afraid of failing, like despite forgetting what inspired her by Ai, she had internalized it in some way. She may have not been the leader, but she pulled everyone up, it was kind of what made it so powerful when Saki could not get to her, because Sakura was who convinced Saki this crazy thing could happen. Gave Sakura the confidence she can achieve anything, reminded Ai to not give up in face of failure, affirmed Lily as being cute, and I guess some minor things like being able to manage Tae. The arc that just happened with Sakura could be argued as the problem she has usually suffered from, that she gets so blinded with working hard and stuff, that she seems to inevitably fail in the end, where she was sort of saved by seeing the rest of the girls in that Sakura really is not alone, that they are a group and working as a group is just as important as the individual work.

As an aside, we also seemed to get the first mention of someone else who is in on the zombie thing, another possible necromancer along with Tatsumi, with hints to what his real nature may be. The man seeming to have a more direct link to Yugiri, who was an odd duck for her era, even if he looked old, he did not seem as old as to know her in life despite what he said. Could be that he and Tatsumi are older than they look. Still nothing about Tae.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:42 am Reply with quote
Episode 12 (finale)

Yeah, fight against that bad luck! Kind of feels like it would not be worth it if things didn't go bad, with the stage falling apart, their zombie nature protecting them from any real danger, not that the audience would know that. It was awesome when as I pointed to in my other post, Sakura was instrumental in pulling up all the other girls, and in addition she also finally gave Yugiri a chance to slap someone who really needed it. And really, Tae was totally adorable in this episode, she was doing the chicken ad dance, she was showing the article about their performance, and even tried to walk her through the steps Sakura put her through earlier. As silly as it sounds, it was really sweet in seeing how Tae is certainly very attached to Sakura, looking physically upset about her, and apparently was touched by the effort Sakura put into helping her earlier. What was a throw away joke of Tae being the only one at first that Sakura could get to follow, her being a mostly running on instincts zombie, turned into a big moment in this episode. Certainly was cool when the rest of the group showed they were not stopping after the mess in the performance, and Sakura got up also.

The music performances were great, a good swan song for their performances of this season, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't sure if this was the end. Sakura seemed to complete an arc, but it feels like things are just about to kick into a higher gear. The reporter seems to be onto who some of the girls were in life, and we learned that Kotaro was apparently Sakura's classmate, and seemed to have been touched by her optimism. The theory that Kotaro made the group partially for Sakura to fulfil her last dream of being an idol, does seem to be a likely thing now. And at this point, along with whatever Kotaro's arc may be, it also feels like we should something for Yugiri, and Tae for good measure. So I am strongly hoping we get a sequel, with the dropped threads seem to be a sign that the creators want to make one also, and I hope what I am guessing a success should make that more likely.

At this point, going to go into what this series was like as a whole. It was a crazy idea, they pretended like this would be a survival horror anime, before revealing that it would be a dark comedy that would take risks. For example killing the main character in the minute or two in an incredibly violent way, gruesomeness would not be something it might shy away from. No one could have thought that the crazy idea of mixing zombies with an idol anime, with a finish of region restoration. Could it even pull of trying to promote the Saga prefecture when it otherwise is quite satirical? I think it did, it started out kind of acting sort of jaded, being aware how nuts it all sounds, and having fun with being crazy, before I think kind of turning that despite those things, it unironically things those things have value. Putting focus on icons of the Saga prefecture in a way that feels kind of down to earth, all the eyecatchers have flashes to things without a sense irony, and places like the chicken restaurant sound interesting. Despite starting out crazy, it also seemed to also think the whole idol thing does have value, and expressing how it can pick people up.

It did kind of shift gears after the first couple of episodes setting up awesome moments like the death metal concert and the rap battle. I would maybe have liked more of an incorporation of different genres like that. But it did set things up, such as I would say Sakura being cool in some inelegance, and later that they could each bring the idol they believe in wanting to be, into the group. It kind of exploded in the (English) fanbase, but otherwise treated like not such a big deal in the show, but I think the whole Lily thing was a big deal. What other shows could have such a reveal for one of the girls, that she is spoiler[a trans girl], and not make it into something that she is some joke, but still part of the girls like nothing happened. It didn't act like it wants to be pat on the back, and that feels like all the more reason it probably should. it created a stir in the fanbase, especially over a certain word in use of the English fanbase, and while it could be a bit insensitive, I hope that this has helped move the English anime community to a healthier place. It would take some conflict to actually have a discussion, although I think it is pretty clear that the progressive stance is correct answer, and that the discussion should be over already.

There may not have been anything super fancy animation wise for this show, but now doubt that certain aspects of aesthetics in this show broke convention so much, like the zombie characters falling apart, that I think regardless it should earn some points. The lyrics to songs were meaningful, with okay music and attempts to overcome concert CGI, with some stiffness actually having narrative relevance. But, I still think that it could have leaned more heavier into the fringe, the metal and rap, that especially felt great from Sakura's frustration, and probably Saki. Not enough said about Saki, a biker chick who has come to be a leader of an idol, giving off this confident strength and unashamed passion for things she likes. It is a cool character, with a respect to charisma, that likely only finds expression in rebelling, but should not actually be talked down to.

I really liked Zombie Land Saga, it was the mightiest surprise at the beginning of this season, and although I would not say it was a consistent surprise throughout , it is certainly worth focusing on. I give a rating of Excellent (9/10). If you are in the anime community and have not checked it out, then why the hell not. It is not a full blowout in all regards, I only pick the highest as deserving of full points, but I have confidence that maybe if they can improve things from the success and attention it has for a final shot, such as a second season or movie, it can reach there.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:34 am Reply with quote
A reminder Season 2 (Zombieland Saga Revenge) starts today!

For some reason, I couldn't find this thread in the index.
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Lizuka



Joined: 27 Jul 2018
Posts: 257
PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:54 am Reply with quote
It's up on Crunchyroll now, just now turning it on.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:18 pm Reply with quote
Stark700 wrote:
For some reason, I couldn't find this thread in the index.

My fault. I had it bookmarked for indexing, but my list is alphabetized, which put it towards the bottom of said list, and I've still got dozens of others shows I'm still adding.

Since this is current though, I added S2 Encyc. link and indexed it.


Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:44 am; edited 1 time in total
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