Yes it is the return of of perhaps the only idol anime I care about watching, Zombieland Saga: REEVVEEEENNGE. And it has been a while since the first season aired (two and a half years to be exact), so waiting for me to see what happens next with these zombie idols left me feeling a bit anxious to see if they could capture the magic that made season one such an enjoyable surprise. Would it be as unconventional as before? Would the songs be able to top season one? WOULD THE LEGENDARY TAE YAMADA WAKE UP THIS SEASON? Well from the word go really, I knew it would relive the charm of this series and we would be in for another wild ride.
Sit back, relax, get your necromancy books out and sing to your hearts content as I present to you the anime review for Zombieland Saga: Revenge. Let’s begin.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Story: 8/10
After ending the Arpino show on a high note, Franchouchou’s next plan was performing at EFS (Ekimae Fudosan Stadium) to let Japan know that Franchouchou is here. However, it bombed. Quite spectacularly as they were only able to attract 500 people in a 25,000 capacity stadium. Crashing down to Earth and in massive debt, this is the story of how our group of idols get back on their feet, get back at the world for not acknowledging them and to let them know they are still here. This is their REVENGE.
That’s the main theme surrounding this new season of Zombieland Saga. “When we hit rock bottom, how do we pick ourselves up again?” Throughout this season, we see how our characters try to get back their lost momentum and get back to the point they were at the end of season one and then some. It definitely does still do some unconventional things rather than just strictly singing and still has some whacky s**t to keep the viewers entertained but also has plenty of heart to it to help get attached to the characters even more, helped by the fact that they each get their own time to shine to make you love them even more. It is done effectively so it doesn’t feel hollow and we do get to know about their backstory and thought process more this season. So it doesn’t feel like reusing stuff we already know but actually give us new stuff to learn more about them.
The humour is also on point once again as well with plenty of humorous scenes on par with season one (anything with Tae is pure gold). As well as the zombie aspect plays a part in it as well with one of the subplots and the comedic gags with it are still funny. Although, there is a suspicious lack of horror spoofs to make it even more funny. Then again, Franchouchou’s faces are more well known now, so I get their absence. But still, they were comedy gold and I do miss them.
Characters: 9/10
The characters haven’t really changed much, which by no means is bad. They are still the lovable characters we’ve come to root for. Koutaro is still best boy and Saki remains my favourite girl of the bunch. Like I said, similar to last season, they each get their own time to shine to get better attachment to them. They get a similar situation where we see what happens when their back is against the wall? We see them all tackle back to back situations and how they would tackle them and they were enjoyable to see them unfold. My favourite one is how Lily overcomes her situation and how she copes. The results from her actions makes for one of the best moments from the entire series.
Now this season actually addressed one of my criticisms from season one and we actually got a backstory for Yuugiri as well as finding more about the history of the Saga prefecture. Honestly, I do appreciate that we get to more about Yuugiri because with the attention more focused on the other girls, Yuugiri felt more and more like a background character. Getting her own two dedicated episodes makes us appreciate Yuugiri even more as a character and proof that all these girls are special in their own way. You remove one and it would feel like something is missing. Unfortunately though, no backstory episode for Tae Yamada, but she does get her own dedicated episode this season that shows her at her best and why we love her.
Animation: 9/10
There isn’t a lot to say here, the animation for season two has been consistent with how good the animation was in season one. Of course, that was back before MAPPA jumped into the general public’s conscience as one of the best studios in the industry. Although the most notable thing is that when it comes to Franchouchou’s performances, there is less use of CG and more use of rotoscoping. There is still some CG use so it’s not been completely replaced but at least it does not look bad although the CG animation when using a guitar could be better.
Sound: 9.5/10
Same goes with the sound department. There are some songs that return and the background ost remains the same from season one, but the new songs are just as notable. Lily’s solo performance at the end of episode 5 was the resident unconventional song from this season, similar to the rap sequence from last season although not as memorable but still good. I also loved the song played during episode 4 which would transition into what would be now considered Franchouchou’s signature song now.
The opening is something of note as well. It was going to be hard to top “Adabana Necromancy” from season one and its absolute craziness. And while not being as crazy as season one’s opening, season two’s opening, “Taiga yo Tomo ni Naitekure” is in my opinion, better than season one’s OP. It mainly comes down to the animation which is simply superb and feels like one big flex from MAPPA and their production quality (Yeah, I saw what you did there MAPPA). Song as well being catchy as hell with an excellent performance from Franchouchou and being just as good as Adabana Necromany. This would probably be my choice for OP of the season. I think it’s that good. Seriously, that animation is gorgeous to look at it unfolding for your eyes.
The ending though is nothing of note here. It’s the usual calm song with still images. Nice looking images but one I didn’t particularly keep watching after a couple of times.
Conclusion
Zombieland Saga: Revenge continues to be the one and only idol anime I’m willing to watch and acts as a great follow up of one of my favourite anime from 2018. It keeps the momentum going while tackling new challenges and situations and still keeping the charm of the series. It’s story is still unconventional but effective, it’s characters are still great and the production quality is still top notch. It is more of what made Zombieland Saga great in my opinion with a couple of improvements with some focus on characters that weren’t really focused in season one. It is still an excellent anime that improves on a couple of things from season one to make it even better. So I think it was worth the wait.
My Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall Score: 9.1/10 Recommendation: Go F**king Watch It
