Zombie Land Saga Revenge

Episode 8

Zombies? In Meiji era Saga? It's more likely than you think. Okay, excepting one patchwork pupper, there aren't any obvious examples of the walking dead in this week's episode. Nevertheless, the seeds of Zombie Land Saga lore are scattered throughout these streets of yore, as the show swerves yet again into new aesthetic territory in the service of Franchouchou's eldest member.

In other words: welcome to the Yugiri episode. We've finally made it.

There's a lot going on in this arc, but my foremost impression is of how straightforwardly the series plays these period piece tropes. Yugiri, as we already knew, is an oiran of unparalleled repute, introduced in full courtesan regalia lit by the warm glow of the pleasure district. By contrast, the anime paints Saga in pastoral colors, with streets full of dirt and fields full of vegetation. Yugiri's new house is large and empty, her loneliness emphasized wordlessly against a setting sun. The town, however, is still bright, and a brilliant red pinwheel captures her attention and inadvertently leads her to her first Saga friend. These developments and images aren't novel, but they are a lot more artfully crafted than I had expected. This episode looks good. Not virtuosic or anything, but exceptional within the context of Zombie Land Saga as a whole.

I'm also surprised by how much real historical context this story utilizes. I'm not a scholar of any Japanese history, Meiji Restoration or otherwise, but the cursory research I've just done lines up with the exposition we're given. Since it was located so close to the port city of Nagasaki, Saga did indeed modernize and industrialize faster than the rest of Japan, which made it a key player when the Meiji Restoration overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate. On the other hand, this modernization created a particularly disaffected local samurai class, which turned Saga (and the rest of Kyushu) into a hotbed of rebellion in the 1870s. All of these revolts failed, but the constant unrest probably influenced some of the decision-making as the government continued to fine-tune its new prefectural borders. I couldn't find any confirmation why Saga “disappeared” during this time period, or why it eventually returned as a permanent prefecture, so I'll just have to default to whatever the show says and does in this arc. Sure, it's probably not wise to put my faith in an anime about functioning necromancy, but I'm also not here to learn about post-feudal history. I'm here to laugh at funny zombies.

And speaking of those zombies, we see a lot of familiar faces this week—which is surprising, considering the 140 year gap. Given Zombie Land Saga's predictable unpredictability, it's impossible to say whether this is a fun series of visual gags featuring Franchouchou's past relatives/reincarnations, or whether it portends an even stranger twist down the line. I'll be pleased with any answer, honestly. At the very least, Romero is confirmed to have been around for quite a while, and the same goes for that mysterious old bartender, who apparently has a history of taking care of dumb Saga-obsessed kids voiced by Mamoru Miyano. Kiichi has nothing on Kotaro's penchant for max-volume vocalizing, but both men possess plenty of vim and vigor for the revitalization of their homeland.

It's important, however, that Kiichi's goals are defined in opposition to the various rebellions that had taken place in the prior decade. Those revolts were conservative in nature, propagated by embittered samurai who felt that the influx of Western influence meant the erosion of fundamental Japanese values. The Saga Rebellion in particular began because an architect of the Meiji Restoration, Shimpei Eto, wanted the military to invade Korea, yet was refused by the government. Kiichi, unsurprisingly, holds no fondness for the revolt that killed his father, and he instead visualizes a progressive and redefined Saga full of possibility for everyone. Admittedly, this goal is just as vague as Kotaro's desire to “save” Saga, so it's hard to map any sort of unified political vision onto it. The obsession with the name “Saga” even seems to run counter to Kiichi's professed desire for a fresh start. This is a comedy series, so it's not like consistency in its political theory really matters, but these are the critiques that are going to pop up if you decide your backstory is important enough to devote a two-parter towards.

There's another consequence to this area of focus: Kiichi, not Yugiri, more closely resembles this story's protagonist. Whatever the Saga Incident ends up being, Kiichi is the person who is going to be at the center of it. This is a little disappointing if you (like me) were expecting more Yugiri content and context, but the episode also isn't bereft of that. I actually like that much of Yugiri's character and development is communicated wordlessly, and the episode's above-average production values suggest that this was an intentional creative choice. It fits her persona. And given that this is only part one of the story, it's entirely possible she'll be more proactive in the next part.

The other important figure in this episode is Kiichi's friend Itou, who's the dark and cynical contrast to Kiichi's breathless optimism. Itou is skeptical of Japan's ability to move forward, citing its “twisted” and “barbaric” nature, no doubt remembering the bloody revolutions of the prior decade. However, he's making moves behind the scenes too, secretly handing off a faded note to a spy in a back alley. We have too little information to pin his motivations, but my guess is he's also working towards some kind of revolution. Unlike Kiichi, however, Itou doesn't believe it can be bloodless, and he's either working with (or against) the former samurai in the region to make it happen. Whatever it is, it will no doubt come to a head next week. One last interesting note: Itou, unlike the rest of this episode's cast, doesn't have an obvious present-day analogue.

Overall, it's hard to comment definitively on part one of the Saga Incident, except that it's yet another example of Zombie Land Saga blazing new trails for the idol genre. By mostly eschewing comedy and evoking a period drama, the episode feels as out of place as Yugiri does in the modern day—yet like Yugiri, it's also beautiful and oddly captivating. And considering zombie Yugiri has a very pronounced decapitation wound around her neck, I expect that the conclusion to this story will only prove more melodramatic. In our real history, Saga separated into its own prefecture again in 1883, about one year after the events of this episode. In zombie history, however, anything can happen.

Rating:

Zombie Land Saga Revenge is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is hungry for anime and on the prowl for Revenge this season. Learn about this and more (i.e. bad anime livetweets) by following him on Twitter.