Mipon recently had an interesting interview with Shigeru Murakoshi (writer) and Nobuhiro Takenaka (producer), the geniuses behind “Zombie Land Saga!” In the interview, they share how Miyano Mamoru plays an important role in the “Zombie Land Saga” show, as well as the thrilling behind-the-scenes secrets about its creation process!
The show follows the story of seven zombie girls who form an idol group to achieve their goal — Save Saga! But wait… Zombies + Idols!? That’s the weirdest combination you’ll ever hear. How would it even work? Well, it turned out to be a unique, funny, and entertaining anime hit! The creators at MAPPA, Avex Pictures, and Cygames, together with talented voice actors such as Miyano Mamoru, gained “legendary” success for “Zombie Land Saga”. It’s even given love and recognition to the Saga prefecture.
Miyano Mamoru as Kotaro
The essence of “Zombie Land Saga” is of course the idols, but… not exactly. The show wouldn’t be whole without this one unique character — Tatsumi Kotaro. He is loud, extraordinary, and eccentric. According to Murakoshi and Takenaka, he is the “key to the whole story” because he’s at the center of it all. He is, after all, the manager/songwriter/producer/make-up artist and the most passionate to save Saga!
Of course,” Zombie Land Saga” and Kotaro get better when Miyano Mamoru comes in to perform perfectly. The incredible portrayal brought a unique and comedic tone to the show. His intense energies are definitely second to none. Notable lines like “Good Morning,” ” Nice Bird,” and “Go Go Go!” are unforgettable. Even now, I can hear them at the back of my head.
The interview also mentions that they initially wrote Kotaro’s character with Miyano as the voice in mind. Miyano is famous for roles such as Yagami Light (Death Note), Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs), and Rintaro Okabe (Steins;Gate). He’s known for being confident in what he does, which was what they needed for Kotaro’s comedic script. So when his name was mentioned during discussions, the creators agreed that if anybody could do it, Miyano could.
They asked Miyano to play the role, schedule permitting. And then, the rest is history.
Why Zombies, Idols, and Saga?
The interview also discusses the inspiration behind the anime. Aside from their CEO requesting a Saga-inspired story, the writers wanted a show which revolves around the culture of idols. And then, adding the “zombie” to upend that archetype. Idols + Zombies — it just fits weirdly well, right? Plus, the fun Saga specialties and locations too. In the end, the anime managed to combine all of its well-crafted characters and ideas into a neat storyline.
One highlight of the show that the interview discusses is how the girls come from different places and eras. It’s an interesting detail and while they admit it was difficult to work with, it was a lot of fun. For instance, they said Yugiri’s character had a lot of thought and cultural research into it. Her two-episode arc in season 2 was an absolute fan favorite. It just goes to show how well the writing team worked.
Aside from Kotaro, there is another notable character in the show we all absolutely love for the simplest reason — the Legendary Yamada Tae! The interview shares the casting process of Kotono Mitsuishi’s role with no lines and all garbles.
Finally, the article shares “Zombie Land Saga’s” fate for the future. Will we get a chance for a third season or a spinoff? Takenaka answers that he is not so sure, but he said the same thing when season 1 ended, so… who knows? Anyway, these are just some of the interesting parts of the interview, so feel free to check out the rest! The full interview is available on Mipon’s official website. Go Go Go!
About the Anime
“Zombie Land Saga” follows the story of a zombie idol group in Saga. One day, Sakura Minamoto dies in an accident. She wakes up ten years later and discovers that she is resurrected as a zombie by Tatsumi Kotaro. Coupled with six other girls, they become an idol group called Franchouchou and go on a mission—they must save Saga!
There is also a second season titled,” Zombie Land Saga: Revenge.” In addition, a manga spin-off has been recently released. The anime is available to watch on Crunchyroll in selected regions. It is also available for free on the official YouTube Channel of Muse Asia. Read more Zombie Land Saga stories from our site.
The “Zombie Land: Revenge” cast will also be having a live event this October. In addition, Blu-rays have also been released. More information is available to read on their website.
Source: Mipon
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