Story (7.5/10):
It takes a lot to maintain a good and consistent plot, and to be honest, “Zombieland Saga” while not of a mature or serious setup and doesn't have a long run to it either is still doing just about decent handling itself in term of consistent writing and story progression.
A bunch of mysterious “idols” from different periods of time gets resurrected somehow into mildly-sane zombies and put in a quest of saving this town called Saga. Don't even ask me how can simply being an idol save anything either.
As we start at the first episode from a blank starting point, we basically know nothing about their world or the main character cast, but just the idea of seeing everybody open up to one another and strengthening their bonds is one quirk of Zombieland Saga that does right, it's nothing to take lightly as to wake up one day and be told that you're dead and are now a zombie, and seeing these girls not only getting over that, but still have a strong spirit to even dare grow as individuals on a greater scale is astonishing, and the sense of achievement that comes throughout the series is just that inspiring.
Art (7.5/10):
For me at least, Zombieland Saga nailed its own art style, I'm confident enough that I could distinguish it from tones of other similar shows, it's just how they play with colors here. So you get theri zombie form that has all of those could and lame colors, and as soon as they put up some makeup to cover that up, you could swear their flesh is now more lively and vibrant, as the colors get stronger and outline them even better.
I feel that it was a shame for a great art style as that to fall short on animation on some of the big moments.
This is a show about idols, so you know it's going to involve some intense performances on the high scale, and they better have some clean shots in store for that, unfortunately, the use of cheap CG really kills the mood sometimes, you'd be having a great close up on a character's face in mid-performance and then it suddenly becomes a really zombie-fest of a visual with those ps2 graphics. Relying on pure 2D would have saved this show a lot of hassle.
Sound (8.5/10):
Music takes a huge cut from this show, so the vocals better be rocking it alright. And that's where I was right.
Unlike the sometimes horrifying visuals, the featured songs were spot on, you could almost get the same excitement of their live audience as if the voice acting cast were some sort of real world band that know what they are doing. Speaking of which, not only their singing sequences were great but also the rest of voice acting, the sad and fun moments were equally emotionally strong, and probably the star there would be Miyano Mamoru that voices the manager Tatsumi (Also famous for voicing Okabe from Steins;Gate).
I really enjoyed both the opening and ending theme songs, the opening was a bit questionable for me as a first exposure, it had that strange mecha-power-rangers feel to it, but it really does stick to the mind and the ending had a really strong nostalgic feel to it, it almost makes you feel bad the show will have to end one day, and it did for me.
Characters (8/10):
Probably what this show nails to the bone the most. Every. Single. Character. Man, that's a lot of favorites, I just can't pick one, they are all superb and similarily fleshed out.
First of all, their design, they do look like a group of idols for starters, and yes, they have that special main character aura to them as well. I really like their attire, and even reflects the period each one of them belonged.
My favorite part was their impactful backstories, I thought I signed up for a fun and goofy show, and I ended up pulling on my third tissue box by the end, man, those were some depressing and reflecting backstories that explained a lot of their individual treats, something I never expected from a show like this, but still appreciated to the core.
Enjoyment (7.5/10):
I'm not big on moe, nor am I that huge on idols shows, I probably only wanted to watch this because I had some extra free time and I needed to fill, I had already picked up more interesting shows and I needed another one just to make it an even number, but I never expected it to rank even higher than other picks, I really had my fair share of laughs, I spared some tears as well, I even got as far as changing opinions I had on a lot of other things prior to watching Zombieland Saga.
This is something I'm likely to get back to later, mostly for the fleshed out and lovable characters.
Overall (7.8/10):
Zombieland Saga proved to be something unlike the generic musical idol series, some would say it's another hit or miss entry, but it really not.
However I try to look at it, its emphasis on well-written characters really is something you rarely see in a lot of good shows, and its plot, in general, is something of a great rewatch-ability value, I myself I'm planning to get into the dubbed version as soon as I'm finished writing this review, because apparently, I need more managers screaming of good mornings and shaving squids up my face for no apparent reason.
