Commemorating the release of "Zombieland Saga" Blu-ray Volume 2! A special round-table discussion of the divine episodes 5-8 with the main staff!

The "Zombieland Saga" that has brought a zombie boom to Japan and is still spreading like a pandemic. Its second Blu-ray volume was recently released.

Volume 2 is the fifth episode featuring Saga specialties such as "Drive-in Tori" and "Gatalympics. Episode 6 and 7, the back-and-forth volume, which mentions the view of idols in the Showa and Heisei eras, as well as the successful performance of an emotional live show overcoming the trauma of love. And episode 8, in which Lily's unexpected secret and her love for her family make us cry and laugh, all of which are divine episodes that are well worth watching!

To commemorate the release of the second Blu-ray volume, we asked Munehisa Sakai (director), Shigeru Murakoshi (series composition), Takuya Masumoto (screenplay), and Nobuhiro Takenaka (producer) to gather together and talk about the behind-the-scenes production of the middle part of "Zombie Land Saga" again.

The interview was over 10,000 characters long and overflowing with everyone's love for zombies!

Q: How do you feel about the current "Zombieland Saga" fever?

Sakai: The other day I went on a bus tour to the locations where "Zombieland Saga" was filmed, and the people I went with as well as the fans I met everywhere I went showed me how much they love zombies. I've even seen illustrations on ema (votive picture tablet) at shrines, which has made me realize how much I appreciate the event.

Q: Did you expect it to be this exciting?　Of course you were aiming for that.

Sakaide: Yes, we were aiming for that. I think that every time I make a film, it's a game, and we talked about "This is interesting, isn't it? We talked about "This is funny, isn't it?

Masumoto: It's not every day you get a laugh out of a joke, is it?

Murakoshi: There was no compromise in getting to that point.

Sakaire I was wondering if there was anything more I could add.

Murakoshi I was very happy that we were able to work within a limited time frame without making any compromises until we reached the point where we thought, "This is interesting. I think we were only able to do this because of this team.

Q: Because you were a part of this team, you were able to work on the scenarios to the fullest.

Masumoto: It was quite difficult to adjust the sharpness of the scenario. We didn't want it to be too sharp, but we also wanted something more. That's why I was happy that "nice bird" was accepted.

Q: As in episode 5, there are a lot of ideas. I thought there must have been a lot of ideas from a lot of people.

Murakoshi That's exactly right. From my point of view, everyone except myself has great spontaneity. I am not a quick thinker, so I would take my ideas home with me and add a bit of material to them. Anyway, I was overwhelmed by everyone.

Masumoto: I had read the script before meeting Murakoshi-san, and I was surprised to see how normal he was (laughs). I was expecting him to be more sharp and dangerous, but he was so friendly and kind that it made me feel insane (laugh). (Laughs) I enjoyed the gap between the two every time.

Q: As a producer, what did you think of the work site?

Takenaka: I saw the team as a very good one. The director and Mr. Murakoshi are both very serious, and of course they have the responsibility of giving shape to the work. I had nothing to do as a manual worker (laughs), so I was joking around with Manabu Otsuka of MAPPA. I was joking around with Mr. Manabu Otsuka of MAPPA, but I also wanted him to be more flexible in his thinking. I also think that character designer Kajun Fukagawa threw out ideas that were outside the box. Masumoto-san would throw out some surprisingly varied ideas, and then we would all think about them together (laughs).

Q: So it was the director and Mr. Murakoshi who put all these ideas together? This time we are going to look back on episodes 5 to 8, which are included in the Blu-ray.

Murakoshi: Rather than episodes 5 to 8, we decided to build up the excitement once in episode 7. Since this was the first back-and-forth episode, I was aware from the beginning that if we did not build up the momentum here, we would not be able to move on to the second half of the story. From episode 8, we focused on the individuals and went to the final climax of the story.

Sakaida: I knew that if I didn't get things going in the seventh episode, the work would be lost.

But in reality, the excitement started in the first two episodes (laughs).

Takenaka: The first episode ends with the feeling that I saw something I honestly didn't understand! But in the second episode, I had to show a direction, so I was very conscious of that.

Q: In terms of the music, the follow-up from death metal to hip-hop was really effective. Death metal alone is still imaginable, but the seriousness of hip-hop after that. That was amazing.

Sakaide In the second episode, the other main characters are finally introduced, so I had to show them in a well-balanced way to draw them in. I think that's how the blinding power of the rap at the end came to life.

Murakoshi: Before I joined the project, Sakai-san, Takenaka-san, and Otsuka-san had a guideline of what they wanted to do and what kind of story they wanted to tell, so we all discussed how to make that into a story.

Episode 5: A Nice Bird in Your Heart SAGA

Q: In episode 4, there was a story about a local area, and episode 5 is also a story about a local area, and Masumoto-san wrote the script for this episode, right?

Takenaka: We had originally planned to use local stories, but I remember that we wanted to show the individuality of the characters and carefully depict each person's participation in competitions.

Masumoto: I had such a "list of things I had to do. I think the rest of the sessions were like a test of the range of the comedy that had appeared so far. I felt like we were trying to decide what was OK up to this point, and what was not.

Q: As I mentioned earlier, you packed a lot of material into this episode.

SakaiI didn't really know what to expect when I was making episode 5. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I was thinking "Is this the right way to do it?

Masumoto: I didn't know what the right answer was (laughs).

Takenaka: Don't worry!　I didn't know if it was the right way to do episode 5 even after it was finished (laughs).

Sakai I thought that part A and part B were the same story. It's about the same as .......

Masumoto: That part was a complete double feature.

Koutarou's appearance in the story started from this point, didn't it?

Masumoto: That baseball and saga-jenne stuff became a rule as I wrote the plot several times.

Takenaka: It was like we were going to do a different story each time. Then, Masumoto-san decided to do it.

Murakoshi That's right. It was something that was part of the flow of the show. How did you do that so suddenly (laughs)?

Masumoto: I must have been thinking too much and going crazy. When I realized that Kotaro was swinging the bat as hard as he could.

Takenaka I wasn't playing baseball with all my might (laughs).

Murakoshi Since that part was shown in the preview, viewers said, "The next episode will be a baseball episode" (laughs). But they said it would end only at the beginning.

Q: The script is interesting, but it becomes even more interesting when you put it on film. And then you add Miyano-san's acting to it, so the addition is amazing.

Masumoto: The ball was fun to play with, and Miyano's acting was great.

Takenaka: "Dirt, dirt" was ad-libbed, you know. That picture was there, but they put it in between. I had him ad-lib a lot of the parts where there was pretty much no lip-synching, and I used most of it.

Q: Did you give a lot of thought to the direction of the gags when you made the video?

SAKAI: I went to see the Gatalympics and saw what they were doing, and I thought that even if we did it exactly as it was, it would be just one color and it would be too quiet, so I asked the director, Ken Sato, to make it more interesting and playful.

I talked with the director, Takeru Sato, and asked him to have a lot of fun with them.

Sakaida: That was also a request from Sato. I felt that I would lose if I said no to this work, so I asked him to try it, and if he didn't like it, we would think about it again.

Takenaka: But I don't remember saying no to any of the gags. We discussed a lot of things in terms of direction, but I don't think I ever said anything about how the cuts were made.

Sakaida That's how deep in the heart of the work he was. No matter what I did, I could get into it.

Q: Conversely, the setting was so solid that anything could be done.

Sakaï I think that was part of the reason. The characters were well-developed, so we could do anything we wanted, and we were able to show that anything was possible in one or two episodes.

Takenaka If anything, we showed it in the first two minutes.

Murakoshi Actually, the setting was very detailed. I don't know if I'll show it, but there are many parts of .......

Takenaka But if you ask me if I have a memo that properly describes it, it's not really that, it's just an accumulation of what I discussed with everyone over the course of four years. It's a collection of things that we all discussed over the past four years.

Q: Could you tell us about Yugiri sometime? Personally, I love Hiroyuki Yoshino as Police Officer A. "Peace to Mutsugoro" at the Gatalympics was funny and .......

Sakai That one had more lines. It was a line that ended with "I'm here to protect the peace of Mutsugoro," but Mr. Yoshino (laughs).

Takenaka: He had too many lines (laughs).

Masumoto: Ha-ha-ha (laughs).

Sakaida And then the MC said, "Yes! And then the MC would say, "Yes! And then the MC would say, "Yes!

Takenaka During recording, Yoshino-san said, "There's nothing in it at all. ......," but I said, "OK.

Q: In the booth where the director is, it seems like you are laughing a lot, doesn't it?

Sakai I was recording, so I didn't laugh out loud because I thought I had to listen as much as possible, but these people in the back were laughing. ......

Takenaka That was a little too much fun, so I can't show it to people. ...... (laughs)

Episode 6 But But Sentimental SAGA
Episode 7 But Zombie Mental SAGA

Q: And then in episodes 6 and 7, I thought we finally got to the serious stuff.

Sakai Here we were firmly determined to do a passionate drama as idols.

Takenaka It's not so much the serious part, but the drama part. I wanted to show that.

Sakai So when I was making the pictures in episodes 6 and 7, I was thinking about how much I could keep the gags in mind. The characters and the story are serious and passionate, but I didn't forget the little jokes.

Takenaka: We talked about the tempo of the work to make it easy to watch. We tried to keep a good balance of gags so that the overall impression would not be too heavy. Also, we had originally planned to make it a story about idols of the Showa and Heisei eras.

Murakoshi: That's what you said you wanted to do.

Q: This is your script, how did you like it?

Murakoshi: I was worried about the differences and conflicts between Showa and Heisei idols. I presented what I felt and what I thought was the right way to go about it, and asked everyone to check each of my ideas as I wrote the script.

Takenaka: In the beginning, I told everyone that the focus would be on pins and groups, didn't I?

Sakai That's right. It is the easiest to understand as a contrast.

Takenaka I said that I did not want to go too far into the mud, and that it would be good if both sides were correct in their assertions, and Mr. Murakoshi did a good job of organizing the work.

Murakoshi It is not that one of us is actually wrong, so I hope I was able to convey that properly. I wanted to convey how the sense of distance with fans has changed over time through episodes such as the check meet.

Q: You expressed all of these ideas in Kotaro's line in Part A of episode 7. I really liked that part.

Murakoshi That's when he suddenly starts talking.

Takenaka: We did that part many times. I think we talked a lot about whether it would really work in terms of direction, since there are a lot of lines. I don't know how the director felt about it, but I was worried until I dubbed it.

Murakoshi That's true. When I went to the post recording, I heard the director actually speaking, and for a moment I wondered if the audience would be able to follow the lines I had written all the way through to the end. The work is very fast-paced up to this point.

Sakai But there are long lines like that, and I wondered if it was the way I presented them or the direction of my performance. Then there is the way you put the music. I was able to visualize that from reading the scenario, so I wasn't that worried.

Takenaka That's right. When the music was added, I thought it was going to go smoothly.

Q: So the director was able to see the final picture. Miyano-san's performance was also great, wasn't it?

Takenaka It was very good.

Saka I think I was able to show that part in the best way possible by having the actors act rather than just moving the characters around.

Kohtaro doesn't lie when he says serious things. I like that.

Sakai Kotaro sometimes just jokes around, but when he says something like this, he expresses his feelings in a serious manner.

Q: What else did the director want to express in this episode?

SAKAI: Besides the drama, I think it was a time to delve into the characters. So I wanted to make sure that after watching episodes 6-7, the viewer would want to root for Franchouche.

Takenaka But I thought there was no final hook. I was thinking that I needed some kind of hook, and then Mr. Murakoshi came to me with the idea of ●●●●● (a certain techno-pop idol unit). When that came in, I knew that I could definitely go for these two episodes. It was good to begin with, but I felt that I was able to make it even more unique to this work.

Murakoshi: Of course it is sad that the girls died, but I was always thinking about how to make it more interesting as a positive element rather than a negative one. When I was thinking about episode 7, I first came up with the idea of Ai, who was killed by a lightning strike, being struck by lightning once more and overcoming her trauma, but I felt that there was something to it up to that point. When I was thinking that I wanted something more, I thought, why not be like a certain idol anyway? We also thought that it might be fun to discharge electricity. In the finished film, instead of discharging electricity, a beam was emitted from the fingertips, and I thought, "Wow, I've done it all" (laughs).

Laughs* "●●●●● (a techno-pop idol unit)" means that your voice is kero, doesn't it?

Murakoshi Yes, that's right. The fact that the voice is numb and has an effect like a certain idol unit's on the natural voice is something that has never been done before in an idol work. If I had anything to contribute to this work, it would only be here (laughs).

Takenaka No, no, no (laughs).

Masumoto: In that scene, Kotaro's line "This is the idol's bridge ....... The line "It's started, hasn't it?" was interesting, and I laughed when I read the e-mail. ......

Murakoshi That's a mystery too. It was like, "Let's say it, let's say it.

Takenaka But that part didn't catch on as much as we thought it would (laughs).

Murakoshi That's right.

Takenaka I was so moved by it that I laughed out loud when I read the book, but when I actually saw it on film, I found it to be very easy to follow.

ーーI didn't go through with it either. ...... I was moved by those two songs no matter what.

Takenaka That's right. It was a really good story.

Murakoshi The connection between the story and the songs was something I didn't know when I wrote the script. When I saw the finished product, I was also impressed.

Ai had been saying "I'll follow you" in "Atsukunare," but when she couldn't sing anymore and Junko said "I'll follow you," I couldn't watch the scene without crying.

Masumoto: "Awakening Returner" was the song Sakura couldn't sing in episode 3, wasn't it?

Sakaï At that time, she was still singing and dancing poorly, but here, she was determined to finish the song.

Ai's face has improved a lot, hasn't it?

Sakais That's right. Her facial expression during the "cut-in" is much better. We were talking about making a difference there.

Takenaka As I recall, Fukagawa-san corrected it. I think it was Fukagawa's correction, because he thought it was necessary to show that Ai had overcome her trauma in that last cut.

Ai: And it didn't end there. The scene where Sakura, who wanted to be an idol but couldn't, is told that "idols are supposed to bring smiles to people's faces" was very moving. And then she is featured in a magazine and becomes a legend, so there is already too much in the film (laughs).

Murakoshi: It is packed tightly (laughs).

Takenaka: It was always crammed in or out of the way.

Q: What is your favorite part of the two episodes?

Masumoto: I really like the part in episode 7 where Kotaro jumps Junko with a car after Kotaro said a very nice line. After making her cry and moving her so much, how should I look at it? I was like, "What am I supposed to see after making her cry so much?

Murakoshi: It was Mr. Otsuka and Mr. Takenaka who came up with that idea.

Takenaka: All I did was "Get up, Junko.

Murakoshi Otsuka-san said, "Let's just bounce it off! and then Takenaka-san would add his own ideas. That happened a lot in this production. When I was thinking about this scene, I didn't think of putting in a gag, and it was going to be a very serious scene, but the two of you looked over my shoulder and told me that I should put in something a little like "Zombieland Saga" here. You guys were able to put ideas in where it was all too coherent.

Takenaka I don't even remember if I said it myself, I'm just kidding. ......

Murakoshi But as a result, that's the "look" of it. What kind of emotion am I supposed to see in this? I mean, how should I look at it?

Masumoto: There was definitely a "like-ness" to it, and maybe that's why I liked it so much.

I'm not dying, or rather, I'm already dead. ...... Personally, when Kotaro breaks down the barricade and tells them to fix the door, I thought, "You're the one with the door! I thought, "You're the one who broke the barricade!

Murakoshi: It's funny because Junko really fixes the door after that.

Q: The cut to the scene where Junko is fixing the door is also very uncompromising.

Murakoshi In the scenario, she used a hammer to fix it, but in the video, she used tools to fix it in earnest.

Sakai Shimizu-san, the director, said, "Isn't it definitely more interesting this way? (laughs).

Q: You also put the tool cases in the film.

Murakoshi: The director's playfulness broadened the range of the characters, and I thought the synergy was great.

Episode 8 GOGO Neverland SAGA

ーー Episode 8 (script by Shigeru Murakoshi) will be the Lily episode, and in fact, the story of Kotaro's appearance is continuing. ...... (laughs).

Murakoshi: That's right. It's really hard to come up with that idea. ......

Masumoto: That's right. Every time we did it .......

Takenaka We didn't know what would happen because we hadn't stopped. But the script said SE, but Miyano-san said, "Can I say it myself?" Mr. Miyano said, "Can I say it myself? At first, everyone wondered what he meant. But then he said, "Boo-oh-oh," and we all laughed.

Sakai: Mr. Miyano also said that it was hard to say a different "Ohayo gozaimasu" each time (laughs).

Laughs* It became clear that Lily was actually a boy, but there was some foreshadowing as well.

Murakoshi: In episode 2, when she is reading a book about heavy machinery, and in episode 4, when the hot springs are mentioned, she stiffens up.

Q: Who originated this story?

Murakoshi This was there before I joined.

Takenaka: It was pretty early on. It is more from the cause of death rather than from the boy. It is a sad thing to begin with, but we think about it from the point of view that it would be better if it were not heavy, like a lightning strike. Airplane crashes are also heavier than we thought they would be, and we reflected on it a lot when we made the film.

Sakaida: We had drawn the plane crash on paper, but we decided not to do that.

Takenaka: So, we wanted to lighten the cause of death, and when we decided what to do with Lily, we decided that it would be okay if she were a boy and grew hair or had a voice change and died. We also decided that it would be good to have a character who sees zombies in a positive light, so we combined all of these ideas together and settled on that.

It is interesting that the character dies because he is surprised by the beard, but the story is very moving, unfortunately (laughs).

Sakai: We decided to make it a moving story. We wanted the audience to experience the roller coaster of laughing, performing, and crying! We wanted the audience to experience the roller coaster ride of laughing, performing live, and crying.

Takenaka: The story was decided at the planning stage. I told them that I wanted to tell a story about a zombie idol whose relatives come to him and tell him their feelings through song because they are unable to tell him who they really are! I told them that I wanted to do that in about 8 episodes. Mr. Otsuka wanted to make a joke of the first episode, and the scenario was pretty much structured from the beginning to how to connect the first 8 episodes. So I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do. There were some changes, such as the fact that it was actually a boy, but the theme itself has not changed.

Sakaire But I was worried about the boy character when the episode went on the air. It was pretty good until the 7th episode. ......

Takenaka That's right. It was like they might not be expecting it (laughs).

(Everyone laughs).

Takenaka But early on, I had the feeling that it would be a bad idea to go along the default route (of idol animation)! So I thought it would be more like "Zombieland Saga" if it was a boy. I thought it would be okay because the story would definitely be moving.

Sakai That's right. The story is solid, and the characters are actually not bland. Even though we know that they are boys, they take it in a positive way and play an active role, so I was thinking that it would be okay to make the film.

Takenaka: You can't joke around about it, but I took it seriously.

Q: Your new song "To my Dearest" was also wonderful.

Murakoshi I was surprised by that song too. The lyrics fit perfectly, and the way it was narrated. I had never received a white box (a finished video for staff confirmation) until then.

Takenaka That's a problem (laughs).

Murakoshi No, this is not a complaint (laughs). But I received a white box from Mr. Otsuka for the first time in episode 8.

Sakai Haha (laughs).

Murakoshi He said, "Look at this, it's really good.

Takenaka He put his all into it (laughs).

Murakoshi So you saw it and were actually moved by it.

Takenaka I was also very moved by it.

Murakoshi It was the song, wasn't it? The melody, lyrics, and vocals were great.

Sakai In the scenario, Lily had to say a few lines after she finished singing. But when I heard the song, I really wanted to include that line in the interlude, so I had Koji Sato, the music producer, make a short version, and I asked him to make a long version as well. I thought, "If I put that line in there, this one is definitely better! So, even though the length of the song was tight, I cut out the rest of the song and put it in.

Q: I was very moved by the MC between songs. Volume 2, which contains the 4 episodes, will also include footage of the Gatarinpic, in which Maki Kawase, Rika Korikawa, and Mimi Tanaka took on the challenge. It will also include a CD with the song "To my Dearest" on it.

Sakai I went to the Gatalympics with Masumoto-san the year before, but when Kawase-san and the others went, I was in the middle of production, so I couldn't go. I haven't seen the video yet, so I am looking forward to it.

Takenaka: The numbering of the numbers on the numbers was also done by the director, wasn't it? Lily wore the number that Mr. Tanaka wore.

Lily's saying, "Anyone can participate," was also good.

Sakai Should I have said "Anyone can come in second place"?

Takenaka Well, you can't, though (laughs).

Saka When Masumoto joined, it was like a village of eight graves. (*The live-action image in episode 5 was Masumoto's.)

Masumoto: I was teased by the moderator (laughs).

How do you like the bonus CD?

Takenaka: For some reason, it has "Drive-in Bird (Franchouche ver.)" on it.

Sakai We played the full version of "To my Dearest" for the first time on the bus tour, and the excitement of the fans listening to it was incredible.

Q: There will be a live performance at the event on the 17th, could you give a message to those who have bought the second volume and those who are interested in buying it?

Takenaka: First of all, I want to thank those who picked it up. It is not cheap. However, it also contains songs from the play, and I think you will be able to appreciate the message that the girls were conveying more fully there, so I would like you to listen to it. We would have loved to use the full version of the song, but it was difficult to do so. We hope that the live performance at the event will be exciting as well.

Murakoshi: I thought it was my role to create lines for the characters so that people would support Franchouche, so I would be happy if you would continue to support us.

Sakai I hope you will watch the film over and over again. Also, as Takenaka-san said, I hope you enjoy the full chorus of the songs. To my Dearest" really makes me cry when I hear it in full, and "Tokko DANCE ~DAWN OF THE BAD~" (a song performed in episode 9. (also included in the Volume 2 CD) is also a hot song, and if you watch the main story, it will slowly bring tears to your eyes. Also, the package picture is cute!　Fukagawa-san, you did a great job.

Takenaka: He really went for it (laughs).

Sakai So I hope you will enjoy every bit of it, both inside and out.

--Lastly, Masumoto-san, please give us your best wishes.

Masumoto: Volume 3 is also serious both inside and outside. We look forward to working with you.

(Reporting and writing by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Product Information

Zombieland Saga Saga 2

Now on sale

Price: 14,000 yen (excluding tax)

Contents: Episodes 5 to 8

＜Included: Episodes 5-8

Saga Prefecture Campaign: Maki Kawase, Rika Korikawa, and Mimi Tanaka take on the challenge! Gatalympics footage, Kaede Motofu and Maki Kawase attack! Food report "Drive-in Tori" footage

＜Permanent bonus

Special CD: "Drive-in Tori" (Franchouche ver.), "To my Dearest", "Tokko DANCE ~DAWN OF THE BAD~".

<First time specification

Three-sided back case with new illustration by character designer Kajun Fukagawa

<Included in the package

Special booklet

Please note that the contents of the bonus and product specifications are subject to change without notice.

Distributed by: Avex Pictures, Inc.

© Zombieland Saga Production Committee

We are giving away a Blu-ray volume 2 "Zombieland Saga Saga 2" signed by the director, series composition and scriptwriter!

<Prize

Blu-ray Volume 2 "Zombieland Saga Saga.2" signed by Munehisa Sakai (director), Shigeru Murakoshi (series composition) and Takuya Masumoto (screenplay)

Number of episodes: Episodes 5-8

Bonus footage: Saga Prefecture Campaign

Maki Kawase, Rika Korikawa, and Mimi Tanaka take on the challenge! Gatalympics footage

Kaede Motoi and Maki Kawase attack! Food report "Drive-in Tori

Perpetual bonus: bonus CD (Drive-in Bird (Franchouche ver.), To my Dearest, Suicide Attack DANCE DAWN OF THE BAD)

Initial specs: Three-way back case with new illustrations by character designer Kajun Fukagawa

Initial bonus (enclosed): Special booklet

＜Application Guidelines

Application period: March 18, 2019 (Monday) - March 25, 2019 (Monday) 23:59

Number of winners: 2 persons

Announcement of winners: Prizes will be sent to the winners.

Prize shipping: Prizes will be shipped by the end of May 2019.

How to apply: Use the dedicated application form below.