Zombieland Saga Revenge

The highly anticipated sequel to Zombieland Saga not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded all expectations. Cementing itself among the best idol series in recent memory. The original Zombieland saga made waves with its unique ensemble premise and cast, promotion of a somewhat unknown area(to foreigners) of Japan, and incredibly well executed humour. Season 2 does a great job of building upon the already established characters. As with any idol series, Zombieland Saga Revenge dedicates several episodes to each character’s development, bringing us even closer to the girls we know and love. In contrast with season 1, however, Revenge takes a darker approach tostorytelling. While there are definitely still plenty of hilarious moments throughout, there’s much more of a focus on genuine serious issues this time around. Several episodes had me genuinely in my feelings because of how well they were pulled off, particularly Saki, Junko and Ai’s backstories. While we got introduced to all the girls in season 1, we didn’t really get a whole lot of development. Season 2 solves that issue and by the end, you can’t help but feel that you’ve been right there along with the girls. The more mature story combined with good old humour and ridiculousness we’ve come to expect from Zombieland Saga, made Revenge an absolute blast to watch. As with any idol show, however, it’ll be judged on the quality of the music produced. I personally think Franchuchu’s music this time around was even better than season 1. I would’ve liked for the girls to get some more solo songs a la love live, but the group performances and finale were phenomenal. The CGI for the performances was about what you’d expect from an idol show. Definitely noticeable, but didn’t negate my experience overall. For the rest of the series, you’ve got the usual MAPPA quality art and animation. Overall, Zombieland Saga Revenge takes everything that made season one such a fun and unique time, and improves it by adding a more mature story, improved character dynamics and development as well as offering a satisfactory conclusion to the cast’s story arc. While I’m not sure if we’ll get more of these girls in the future, I definitely think Zombieland Saga has the potential to expand into a legitimate idol project with a wide variety of cast members. Only time will tell. Zombieland Saga Revenge gets 10 Mics out of 10.

This review contains some spoilers. If you were around during Anime Expo back in 2018, then you might remember a strange franchise introduced to the world. It's Zombieland Saga, and at the time, most of us didn't know what it was. The producers and staff were very secretive about the project until it's revelation. And that is...Zombieland Saga is comedic horror anime about idols. Flash a year later and we got announcement of the sequel. Now here we are in 2021 with the return of zombie idols who takes...revenge? No, that's not quite right. If you remember this show for what it was at all, then you'llknow that Zombieland Saga isn't your typical horror. Or in fact, this is hardly horror at at all given the lighthearted context. Franchouchou, the iconic idol group, returns again with its familiar cast and is still a sensation. Why? That's because these girls have shown that even as zombies, they are a talented group. Organized by their ultra flameboyant producer, Zombieland Saga knew what it wanted to show us. Let's start and say that even after the 2 year break, the sequel still retains a vibrant energy with the colorful personalities of the cast. From Sakura to Saki, or the famous Tae Yamada, every single member of Franchouchou is an important part of the group. Unfortunately, their group has a rocky start at the beginning of the sequel. They have a debt and even Kotaro, their producer has lost hope to regain their former glory. It isn't until a series of events that convinces him to reorganize and give the idols a chance at their careers. Speaking of which, these idols are no longer the newbies we've known before. They have professional experience now but the sequel also explores some of their personal issues. This includes but not limited to Saki dealing with a relationship, Junko's insecurities, or Lily struggling to maintain her idol image. While this anime throws common sense out the window, some of these personal issues can be relatable in real life. In a more lighthearted way, this sequel shows that being an idol always has its challenges, both for its individual members or the group as a whole. And let's not mention, financial issue remained a major problem until Tae Yamada made the save. Despite the seemingly recurring elements and cartoonish comedy, Zombieland Saga Revenge contains a short arc that stands out differently than any other episodes in the franchise. The Saga Incident (episodes 8-9) throws the characters into the Meiji Era as it explores the life of Yugiri. Not only do we get to see her character origins but also learn about the ancestry of various character altogether. The arc was memorable for its time setting but also with how it presented itself. You'll have to see it for yourself but let's just say that the Saga Incident can make us really understand Yugiri for who she is. Indeed, Zombieland Saga has always been about showcasing its cast without leaving everyone in the dark. It always remembers that Franchouchou is about more than just the group. Like the previous season, Zombieland Saga Revenge doesn't hold back with its comedy and humor. After all, this is advertised as a comedic horror show with elements of idol performance and drama. Watching this sequel reminds me to enjoy the overall popcorn entertainment just like the first season. With our colorful cast, there's an immense amount of character chemistry with everyone. Thanks to the personalities of certain characters such as Tae Yamada, you'll rarely run out of moments without laughter. In essence, this sequel proved itself to be able to do what it's best at: entertain. Are you entertained? That's for me to know and you to find out. But as a fan of the first season, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Zombieland Saga Revenge is worth waiting for. Franchouchou is here and isn't holding back again to show the talents of its cast. With every episode, we see the way this show entertain us just as it once did before. Bless MAPPA for creating this franchise because the anime industry needs more zombie idols.

Very poorly executed and lost sight of itself. Season 2 of ZLS attempts to make more plot without committing and more spotlight on new supporting characters. After a very strong start ZLS 2's episodes lose structure and meander constantly while taking out the main characters almost completely. A great example is the biker gang episode with Yamada where she kind of just shows up around the supporting characters and doesn't do anything. Compared to the yakitori episode from season 1 the execution is devoid of stakes, compelling characterization, humor, setup+payoff and the horror references they liked to play around with. The only reason the episode even feelslike it was worth it was a throwaway scene showing a grave with possibly Yamada's ancestor that goes on to mean nothing. This goes double for the Yuugiri flashback two parter where they spend two episodes shoving a plot you don't care about down your throat but making her completely passive. As the most underutilized character in the show, for 40 minutes of anime to do nothing for the character both moving forward and in hindsight is unacceptable. Artwise ZLS 2 is also a big downgrade from its predecessor. The opening is Mappa saving budget with minimalist premiere pro graphics and again we pretty much never get extensive horror segments like the bathhouse section of season 1. The animation gets choppy and the CG doesn't innovate much either. As for music we also downgrade to poppy crap. The season 1 rap wasn't even attempted to be topped as ZLSR settled into a comfortable bubble. This is a great show if you have no experience with good idol shows like Idolmaster and Idolmaster Cinderella Girls or Super Sonico and can tolerate the CG but if you have the time just rewatch season 1.

Alright, so to start with, I like Zombieland Saga's 1st season as much as the next guy. So I had high expectations from the 2nd season... which unfortunately never met after watching this second season. The 1st season, although it's very low quality with it's animation, had the heart and soul without stooping as low as copying the generic idol-anime formula. It had the general theme of being able to do the regrets that people had when they died. It was a great premise that was executed very well. But what does the second season did that I didn't like? Well, nothing much really. They justcontinued to where they left off. But that's my problem. They didn't do anything outside of that. They took a much safer route that is too safe that it's boring. They only did the things that already worked in the 1st season without taking too much risk. It had new addition and new background stories for Saga and some of the characters, but it was introduced so late to the season that the first half of this season seems like it's a waste of time imo. The story, just like I said, was pretty lackluster. It took what worked before and didn't risk new things. It's decent at best. The characters are decent. They are likable and memorable, but I really don't like some of them as well as the side characters. It's not like they are bad, just a bit inconsistent at times. jk, they are also pretty bad lmao Let's talk about the main characters. Their developments are pretty much non-existent. It's not them that develops, it's the one-off side characters that gets barely develop because of them. That's not bad, but it's really cheapens them as characters because of how focus they get, yet they don't really do anything. I probably worded that wrong, but it's really hard to explain. It's not that they are bad, but just really lackluster and probably one of the weaker main cast in the recent times. The animation is pretty disappointing. The 1st season is pretty low budget but it still managed to be interesting in direction-wise. But here, there's really no stand-out scenes. And the CG models are abominable. It's just not something that should exist in 2021 (as well as coming from MAPPA). The music is also quite a letdown. The 1st season had so many bangers that I expected some bangers in this season... but sadly, there wasn't that much bangers in this season. It had some great ost and insert songs, but that's about it. Overall, just a disappointing sequel for a series that I actually cared about. (4.6/10)

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes