[Concerned! Seasonal Anime Review! A collection of great songs full of respect for songs! Zombieland Saga: Franchouche The Best" Review & Creator's Self-Review!

The complete album of songs from the hit anime "Zombieland Saga" "Zombieland Saga: Franchouche The Best" was released on November 27, 2019.

This time, Akiba Research Institute has published a disc review by the writers and a self-review of the songs from the album that the creators picked out as particularly memorable!

Those who have already purchased the CD can listen to the CD while listening to it, and those who are planning to purchase the CD can raise their expectations for the CD through this article.

Zombieland Saga: Franchouche The Best" Disc Review

Zombieland Saga" is an original animation by MAPPA, Avex Pictures, and Cygames. The story of the main character, Sakura Minamoto, who becomes a zombie and forms an idol group to save Saga from a shocking death by being hit by a car within the first minute of the show, has led to an explosive hit, but it is the music that has given this work momentum.

One of the factors that gave the work momentum was the music, especially the flow from heavy metal in the first episode to hip-hop in the second episode and then to idols in the third episode. We are very happy to announce the release of "Zombieland Saga: Franschoux The Best," an album that contains all the songs from "Zombieland Saga" on one disc, plus a few new songs. I would like to review mainly the songs of Franchouche, but let me introduce the members of Franchouche in advance: No. 1 - Sakura Minamoto (CV. Kaede Hondo), No. 2 - Saki Nikaido (CV. Asami Tano), No. 3 - Ai Mizuno (CV. Risa Taneda), No. 4 - Junko Konno (CV. Maki Kawase), No. 5 - Yugiri ( (CV. Rika Korikawa), No. 6 - Lily Hoshikawa (CV. Mimi Tanaka), and No. 0 - Tae Yamada (CV. Kotono Mitsuishi). The songs, which until now could only be heard on the Blu-ray extras of the anime, will be available for your enjoyment. Even if you are not familiar with the anime, the quality of the music is enjoyable enough, and you will want to watch the anime after listening to it.

The album opens with "Welcome to Saga. Before they became Franchouche, the seven zombies took the stage at the live house "GEILS" as "Death Musume (temporary)". At that time, all but Sakura had not awakened from their zombie state, but the impact of this live performance awakened all but Tae to their true selves. The song was probably written with the idea that death metal would be the song that would give such a strong stimulus. Death metal fans (Death Uncle) were so impressed by this song that they said, "Really, they've come up with something really serious! Akio Shimizu, guitarist of the heavy metal band ANTHEM, wrote and arranged this compelling song. The highlight of the song is the screams of Saki, Tae (who probably sings only in this song), and Sakura, which can be listened to while head-banging.

Next up was the opening theme song, "Tochika Necromancy." Being an album version, it includes the mouthpiece that was not included in the single. Many people may have been hoping for this. Sakura's phrase "Even if I die, I want my dream to come true. No, even if I die, I can make my dream come true", which can be said to be the theme of this work, is hot at first. The melody is a song, but the sound is superb, with wind and string instruments raging wildly, thanks to the composition and arrangement by Yusuke Kato, who is also an expert in classical music. Moreover, the OP video was in the style of Sentai Mono, so it began to sound like a Sentai song. Personally, I love the exquisite way the interlude and outro end, but the vocals, which gradually become hotter and hotter, are also extremely emo. The most wonderful thing was the individuality of the six voices. It is actually amazing that the voices are so distinctive and easily distinguishable from each other, even though they are not supposed to be made that much.

In the second episode of "DEAD or RAP! is the song from the rap battle Sakura and Saki had in episode 2. The song is a rap song with a rhythm in the body and rhymes well. Asami Tano's sense of humor is of course excellent, but Kaede Motofu, who plays Sakura and sings the majority of the song, is no slouch either. She manages to put emotion (nuance) into the rhymes, and her voice is very realistic when she sings "Kamikaze captain ohohoh". The music in the first two episodes was not the mainstream of the film, but rather a sort of a seizing point, and music that was only atmospheric would not have resonated with the viewers. But if we had brought only atmospheric music, it probably would not have resonated with the audience. I think this song was important in that sense as well.

The song "Awakening Returner" was the most played song in episodes 3, 4, and 7, and it was the idol song that made the audience think, "What is this anime? It is an idol song after making us think, "What is this anime? Moreover, since "Zombieland Saga" is not a simple story, the song has an intense development within a single song, making it a composition that can be enjoyed for several songs. This kind of progressive feel can also be found in other songs ("Atsukunare"), but I was convinced that this was simply the taste of Kotaro Tatsumi, who is also the music producer of Franchouche. This song also includes a version with a kero voice (Electric Returner). In an interview with music and production producer Koji Sato, he said that he had originally created (Electric Returner) first with the intention of playing it after a lightning strike, but considering the catchiness of the chorus, etc., it matched the situation of an idol singing on the street (episode 3), and the normal version may have been played first.
⇒This is how Franchouche's music was born - an interview with Koji Sato (music production/producer), who supported "Zombieland Saga" in terms of sound!

In the interview, he also talked about how "Atsukunare" was created, and listening to it again, the intro is so grandiose and interesting that it sounds like something you might hear in a boxing movie. The beginning of the song, where the baton is passed from Ai to Junko, fits the storyline of the lyrics. It is as if the D melody of a normal song comes first. The chorus of the song is also hot, so it was a perfect song to play at the climax scene of episode 7. By the way, the guitar solo is also worth listening to.

Next to Ai and Junko's main song was "To my Dearest," which was performed mainly by Lily. The first narrative tone of the song is said to be in the style of Masashi Sada, but it also has a certain famous musical song-like feel to it. Of all the members of Franchouche, I think it is Mimi Tanaka who makes the best voice, and her voice matched this song tremendously. I think it is an amazing talent to be able to bring out the innocence of a child with her voice, and her narration was wonderful. The way she sang the last part of the song without vibrato gave me goosebumps.

The shocking new song was the long awaited Yugiri song "Saga Jihen". Rika Korikawa sang too well!　The A melody reminded me of Akina Nakamori's "Tears Are Not Decorations" and "Tattoo," but the song's groovy, modern approach was more like Ringo Shiina. However, this song is still all about Rika Kinugawa's vocals. I wonder if there are any voice actresses who can do scat-like parts in such a cool way. ...... I think she has been in the background, but when she came to the fore, I realized that she is a tremendous talent. The music video was very well done, and I guess this is an appeal to the staff to look forward to the sequel, "Zombieland Saga: Revenge"! This must be the staff's way of saying, "Look forward to the sequel, "Zombieland Saga: Revenge!

And then there was Saki's "Tokko DANCE ~DAWN OF THE BAD~". Asami Tano was just like Saki herself (although she is not a yankee), and her natural yankee singing was wonderful (*praise intended). The way she put the "ah" in "ah fuu" at the end of the song is so genuine. ...... And the heartfelt "Life is so fragile" is a great quote. It's because he died once that he really felt it and said it. The song itself reminds me of that song by that band, and I think the impact of that song is basically the intro guitar, but this song also has a catchy first guitar phrase that takes me completely there.

The insert song "Yomigaerae" in episode 12 is just so hot. Everyone sings this song with all their might, but the way they slow it down is exquisite: the first chorus relaxes once before entering the second chorus, and then the second chorus drops off from the end of the first chorus and a new, relaxed melody emerges. From there, the structure of three consecutive choruses with an interlude in between is truly intense and emo. It was a fitting climax to the work.

The last song played at the end of the animation was "Let the FLAG Flutter! The song was the most ordinary, or rather, the most beautiful of all the works. This song was the most ordinary song in the work, and I don't think it was intended to convey anything in particular! but it was precious for that reason. Even if Franchouche sings a few songs at their live shows, there must be a few songs that are not played in the anime, and they have that "usual song feel". And yet, I like the big group tune that they always seem to sing at the end of their live shows, where everyone can unite as one.

And then there was "Shine. As those who have heard the collaboration with "Curry Meshi" and "Curry Meshi ver." know, it is a great song without a doubt. I'm amazed that they put the lyrics of Curry Meshi there. ...... But don't worry!　You won't be able to listen to this ver. without tears. It's a "still alive" song about being zombies, and it's a powerful song about their way of life. At the live performance, I wanted the whole audience to sing "wow wow wow" and pump their fists in the air, and I could see Franschoux singing the chorus with their voices in the background.

The last Franschouche song on the album is the ED theme "Hikari He". A choral song that purifies everything. In the anime, the sadness of being a zombie who reunites with someone but can't tell them it's you was depicted several times. This song looks like a graduation song, and in fact it could be a graduation song, but since most of the members of Franchouche died in their teens, there is no "see you later" in "sayonara, see you later". When I think about it, I suddenly feel sad. The final line, "Good-bye, everyone, my precious Diary," is also quite heavy. The lyrics by Furuya, the main writer of many of the songs in this album, make you think about life, and there are always words that stick in your mind, so please listen to the album while looking for them.

Other tracks include old and new songs by Iron Frill, and "Oath! ALIVE Sensation," an idol song sung by Sakura Minamoto, which was used only in the pilot film. Zombieland Saga: Franschouche The Best" is an album full of real music, with a sense of a mish-mash of recent anime songs that transcend genre boundaries, but without forgetting respect for the songs that have been passed down from generation to generation in J-POP. We look forward to listening to this rich and voluminous album and waiting for the next installment.

(Text by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

On the next page, a self-review of representative songs by the creators!
Don't miss this one!