Entries From the Dead: Zombieland Saga

I’m fully aware of the irony in the name of this post in conjunction with the post topic. It was half the reason I decided to write on it.

With its second season currently airing and my interest in anime partially revived, time seemed to bless me in finally giving this series a try. Zombieland Saga has actually been on my radar since around the time it started airing—the idea of an idol group consisting of zombies? That synopsis by default makes it more interesting than most.

Ideally, this sort of “zombie” shtick would make for some humorous situations in which their true identities would end up hampering their performances or daily lives. However, I was a little let down by the fact that only one of the group members—Tae-chan—acts like a typical zombie in most occasions. The rest “awaken” by the end of episode one/start of episode two.

So the zombie aspect essentially boils down to “I am actually a zombie, yet retain all the intellectual benefits of humankind with only slight physical obstructions. I cannot let this secret get out!” Granted, I did not watch this whole series so I’m not sure if or to what extent they play with this. Nevertheless, the most they did from what I viewed was have one of them be decapitated onstage (funny) and headbang to unnatural degrees (quirky).

To make it clear, I watched four episodes of this before dropping it. And though I suffered this fate, I wouldn’t even immediately dissuade people from picking this show up. While not revolutionary by any means, there’s a nice camaraderie between the members of the idol group that I enjoyed, and the humor is actually pretty solid. In terms of pure comedy, this is among the funnier anime I’ve seen. (Disclaimer: I do not find anime funny.) A lot of this is from the benefit of the absurd plotline and over-the-top vocal performances.

However, there was one thing, one—single—thing, that made dropping Zombieland Saga a joyous, blissful thought: the dude in shades.

I hate this character. I hate how integral he is to the whole thing. I hate how he is always, constantly screaming. HAHA, ISN’T THIS FUNNY? I AM TYPING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I AM A LOUD AND CRAZY PASSIONATE PERSON. YOU ARE ALL GOING TO LISTEN TO ME BECAUSE I AM YELLING. MY ENTIRE PERSONALITY IS DEFINED BY ME HAVING A SCREAMING MATCH AND VERBALLY ABUSING THE PEOPLE I’M USING FOR MY OWN GOALS. AREN’T I SO WACKY???

For context, this “dude in shades” is supposedly responsible for bringing this team of idols-to-be back to life. His goal? He wants to revitalize some particular area in Japan or something. I guess a big idol group will let him do that. How did he revive these girls? I don’t know. It’s never answered. One of those situations where it just adds to the absurdity of the premise. Everything is conveniently established and not questioned (it’s actually questioned a little) for the hijinks to ensue.

Anyway, indeed, this one character made me drop the show. His voice is just too obnoxious, too shrill for me to tolerate, even though that, generally, he’s only onscreen for maybe five minutes per episode. Now you may ask, “If his voice was the issue, why don’t you just mute it?” If a series has to make me mute it to enjoy it, that’s on it. I’m not dealing with that. Others may say, “Well, that’s the point. He’s supposed to be annoying.” Again, I don’t care. I’m not watching something that makes me want to rip whatever hair I have left out.

But, for the sake of optimism, I will reiterate: I wouldn’t dissuade people from trying this series. One particular trait of this was enough to have me abandon it, yet there were other qualities that almost made me stick it out. A nice, wholesome message of trying hard for the sake of a dream and a satisfying bond that tends to occur when part of a team. Kind of like what those other idol-like shows are about, yeah? I should maybe watch one of those…

So far, skeletons in anime > zombies in anime.

Thank you for your time. Have a great day.