Zombie Land Saga

Episode 12

There's a moment in the middle of Zombie Land Saga's finale where it cuts to an eyecatch with the words “Idolhood is realized in the face of death” scrawled across the background, and that's a perfect encapsulation of the show's ambitions. It's examined idols as kitschy local sideshows, as tools of capitalism, as projections of fan obsessions, as presumed automatons, as hardworking entertainers, as messengers of hope, and as a loose collection of misfits trying to survive. Idol culture overflows with absurdity on all sides, and it's by running with that central absurdity that Zombie Land Saga has been able to both celebrate and critique its industry while remaining alternately funny and sincere. It began as a beautifully bizarre joke about raising zombies from the dead to become idols, and it ends as an outstanding example of its genre.

This episode picks up right where the last one left off, with Sakura still deep in the throes of her amnesia-induced insecurity. I felt pretty negatively about this development last week, but it clicked better for me this time around. While I still think it's not the most graceful of plot twists to throw in at the last minute, the cyclical and oppressive nature of Sakura's anxiety speaks to me as a potent metaphor for impostor syndrome. She spends the entire show working towards becoming an idol, gaining confidence and skill while doing all sorts of difficult and silly things with the rest of Franchouchou. Suddenly, however, in the week before their biggest concert yet, she shuts down entirely. She can't join the others because she knows that she'll fail. She can't even imagine a time when she was up there performing with the rest of them. That couldn't possibly have been her. There must have been some mistake, and it's her fault. She's an idiot for even considering this path. This is all textbook impostor syndrome, and it even prevents her from heeding her friends' reassurances that she does belong and that she can perform with them. There's some contrivance in its setup, but these are certainly relatable feelings.

All of the zombies try to help Sakura return to her former self, but Tae is the absolute MVP of this episode. She follows Sakura around like an abandoned dog, dropping reminders of all the fun times she had experienced with Franchouchou. She tries so hard to help her, and it's heartbreaking to see Sakura continue to stonewall her attempts, but even The Legendary Yamada Tae has her breaking point. Sakura can try to isolate herself all she wants—Tae is still gonna jump through that window and drag her back to her friends. Franchouchou's strength is the bond they all share, and it's not a bond born from their spectacular proficiency at being idols. As Ai gently reminds her, nobody here is blessed with good fortune, because they're all freaking dead. They're strong because they're a group of failures who found a way to support each other and work through their individual failings, in the process becoming an idol group for all of the failures out there. They don't define themselves by their failings, but by their ability to keep going in spite of them, and this group is something they've all worked hard to create. Tae instigates this moment, but it's Yugiri who delivers a cathartic slap to Sakura and reasserts that Franchouchou would rather fail with her than succeed without her. Franchouchou is an idol group for weirdos and misfits, and they didn't get this far by leaving anyone behind. When Sakura causes their mirror to crack, Saki deliberately punches it to break it further. Their fate, whether it's good or bad, is their own to define now.

That brings us to the big concert at Arpino, and in true Franchouchou fashion, it's both a spectacular failure and an awe-inspiring spectacle. I was expecting a bombastic finale, but I wasn't expecting a blizzard to tear through the venue walls and collapse the entire freaking stage before they even had the chance to get through their first song. Sakura of course blames her cosmically bad luck and retreats into despair, but the rest of Franchouchou get up and continue singing a cappella. After all, it's not about failing, because everyone fails—it's about getting back up. This also happens to be the message of the song they're singing, and it brings into sharp relief the meaning behind them being zombies. If they've already come back after death, then what else is there to worry about? It's frankly incredible how Zombie Land Saga is able to turn a 3DCG idol concert into a nail-biting, spine-chilling affirmation of its core themes. The tension of Kotaro's clapping ringing out of the silence, the framing of the collapsed stage's harsh angles, the smoky lighting penetrating the debris, and the idols' strained yet resilient performances all work in tandem. I'd already been convinced that this was a special anime, but its climax's dramatic absurdities make it among the season's best for me.

That's it for Zombie Land Saga for now, but you'd better believe I'm waiting for a second season to be announced. This episode has a few moments that tease the possibility of more to come. I mean, there's the out-of-nowhere revelation that Kotaro used to be one of Sakura's classmates, which raises far more questions than it answers. The post-credits stinger also shows the journalist character making connections to the girls' previous lives. Additionally, we have characters like Yugiri and Tae who didn't really get their own focus episodes, so there are plenty of plot threads left that a second season could pick back up. However, I'm mostly coming from an angle of loving all of these characters and the show's weird, morbid sense of humor. There's never been an idol show quite like Zombie Land Saga. It made me laugh, made me cry, and made me shout “WHAT?” more times than I can count, so I hope it's a saga that will continue to delight and confuse fans in the future.

Rating: A-

Zombie Land Saga is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is an anime-reviewing zombie who can be found making bad posts about anime on Twitter.