r/ZombielandSaga

A reminder to everyone of how Zombie Land Saga tricked us into watching an idol anime

To promote their new original anime, the Zombie Land Saga staff decided to make the trailers and promotional posters give the impression that the plot would be about girls surviving a zombie apocalypse. All pre-premiere publicity and the official synopsis pointed to this—until the first episode aired.

It turned out to be an ingenious ruse to get unsuspecting otaku to watch what was actually a zombie idol anime. The funniest part is that the trailers DID feature actual scenes from the show, but they were edited to create a much darker atmosphere. Even the official synopsis makes more sense after seeing the first episode.

But was it all planned? As revealed in a later interview, the staff didn't have high hopes for the project, so perhaps this was a way to attract an initial audience and make it profitable. What they didn't expect was for their little stunt to lead to the show winning the award for Best Anime of 2018 and selling over 60,000 Blu-rays (combined).

With that first episode, the legend of Zombie Land Saga began.

u/lechepicante — 11 days ago

Life-size posters of Franchouchou for a pop-up shop celebrating the movie's anniversary

The exhibition includes a cardboard cutout created specifically for this event, as well as panels featuring some of the original illustrations of the girls and Kotaro. The actual flag used at the “Yumeginga Festival” concert is also on display.

There is also an exhibition area featuring the movie-themed zip-up hoodie and a life-size poster of Sakura.

u/lechepicante — 12 days ago

Who the hell is Tae Yamada? A 29-year-old idol?

Unlike the others, she speaks of protecting Saga from a real threat she fought against while alive, yet she is very vague about the details surrounding that threat.

In case anyone is wondering who she was in life, there is a manga called “The First Zombie” that covers her life and the threat she fought against.

u/lechepicante — 13 days ago

Yamada-senpai makes her debut on the Yoshinogari tourist information board!

An unveiling ceremony was held for the Yoshinogari Park information board, featuring a collaborative design starring Tae Yamada. This marks the second such collaboration, following one featuring Tae-chan last year.

Merchandise featuring Tae with this design was also sold.

Here is the video of the inauguration: https://x.com/houkibo4zls/status/2106624334978769263

u/lechepicante — 11 days ago

Today, 8 years ago, the first season of Zombie Land Saga premiered!

This original anime from MAPPA and Cygames premiered on October 4, 2018, with a first season consisting of 12 episodes. Following the success of the first season, a second season was produced for 2021, followed by a movie released in 2025.

What was expected to be a failure for the studio ended up becoming one of the most beloved original anime series among fans.

Happy eighth anniversary!

u/lechepicante — 12 days ago