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"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action." -Mother Teresa
“There's no place like home,” -Dorothy, in the classic film, “The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
How far would you go to achieve your dreams? If life gave you a second chance would you take it?
How far would you go to help your neighbor? How heavy of a burden would you be willing to carry to do so?
There are many stories that inspire us about the lives of successful people. The stories often include the sacrifices the successful person made. They talk about how hard they worked to get to where they did. In many cases, it was: strong will, tenacity and luck.
Luck is often a factor we don't always think about. Some of the most talented people in the world were not the most lucky. The names of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and James Dean are all remembered as talented people who lived tragic lives and died long before their time.
Some of the greatest minds of the world were not the most lucky. Socrates is remembered as one of the greatest thinkers and teachers of Ancient Greece, but he ran afoul the local politicians and it cost him his life. Leonardo da Vinci was literally kidnapped as a war trophy because of his mind. Sir Francis Bacon died from stuffing a chicken with snow, in an early revelation about using refrigeration to preserve food that cost him his health. Nikola Tesla was known as a brilliant inventor, but not so good at selling his ideas, all the way to his grave.
There are no shortage of painters and artists that are not recognized in their lifetime. Yet, there are many far less talented people that are celebrated for being far greater than they are.
Luck does not grace us all, no matter how talented. After all, as we all known, life isn't fair.
These questions are worth asking and thinking about, because it involves the central premise of the story to unfold. It is a place, literally cursed in the story due to the pettiness of ancient enemies. It is also the story of seven women who lost their lives each tragically, as a result of that curse.
Due to a Necromancer's crazy scheme, these women will be raised from the dead. This within itself would be considered the worst of luck by many as the unfolding story itself says they will be forced to wander the earth for eternity.
So, you awaken in horror, to being returned from the dead. You are not a living being anymore. You are literally the walking dead.
Could your mind handle it? Could you deal with being a cursed being made up of undead flesh?
Could you deal with the lack of a heartbeat? Could you deal with the loss of your once human looks?
That is the situation these girls gradually awaken into after being raised from the dead. Their Necromancer tells them that it is to save the land where they died, a place called saga.
This is where the tale begins. It is a tale of heart, make up, music, second chances, friendship, and love.
Buckle up, dear watcher, you are in for one hell of a ride. Welcome to the world of the Zombie Land Saga Project...
P.S. The story of the anime itself, isn't even the whole story. I'll add more the posts to follow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_Land_Saga
In the year 2008, high school student Sakura Minamoto is abruptly killed by a truck on the morning she plans to submit an idol application. Ten years later, Sakura, along with six "legendary" girls from various eras of Japan's history, are brought back as zombies by a man named Kotaro Tatsumi, who seeks to revitalize Saga Prefecture by putting together an all-zombie idol group that would become known as Franchouchou.
ZOMBIE LAND SAGA | OFFICIAL PREVIEW
Mother's Basement's:
Zombieland Saga - Idol Anime's Gateway Drug
Let's take a look at where the background story starts, before we go into the music of this work. Zombie Land Saga was started as a project for the Saga Prefecture due to a directive from the Cygames CEO Koichi Watanbe being from there and wanting to make a anime about Saga.
First, let's acknowledge just how much of Japan is taken by Tokyo alone. https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/tokyo-population
The Greater Tokyo metropolitan area is estimated to currently have a population of 37,194,105. Japan's has a total population of 125,416,877. The Greater Tokyo metropolitan area is about 29.65% of Japan's Total Population.
Let's also take a quick look at how Japan is changing Demographically. It's a declining country expecting to drop from a population of 125 million currently to 88 million by 2065 due to low birth rates. That's a loss of 29.6% of the population in the next 42 years, when a near equal percentage of the country's total population tends to center in Tokyo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
Japan has a population of almost 125 million, of which nearly 122 million are Japanese nationals (2022 estimates).[226] A small population of foreign residents makes up the remainder.[227] Japan is the world's fastest aging country and has the highest proportion of elderly citizens of any country, comprising one-third of its total population;[228] this is the result of a post–World War II baby boom, which was followed by an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in birth rates.[229] Japan has a total fertility rate of 1.4, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, and is among the world's lowest;[230] it has a median age of 48.4, the highest in the world.[231] As of 2020, over 28.7 percent of the population is over 65, or more than one in four out of the Japanese population.[228] As a growing number of younger Japanese are not marrying or remaining childless,[232][233] Japan's population is expected to drop to around 88 million by 2065.[228]
The changes in demographic structure have created several social issues, particularly a decline in the workforce population and an increase in the cost of social security benefits.[232] The Government of Japan projects that there will be almost one elderly person for each person of working age by 2060.[231] Immigration and birth incentives are sometimes suggested as a solution to provide younger workers to support the nation's aging population.[234][235] On April 1, 2019, Japan's revised immigration law was enacted, protecting the rights of foreign workers to help reduce labor shortages in certain sectors.[236]
In 2019, 92% of the total Japanese population lived in cities.[237] The capital city, Tokyo, has a population of 13.9 million (2022).[238] It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the biggest metropolitan area in the world with 38,140,000 people (2016).[239] Japan is an ethnically and culturally homogeneous society,[240] with the Japanese people forming 98.1% of the country's population.[241]
So, with the area he is from in decline, the CEO of Cygames decides to do something about the much smaller area he's originally from.
https://zombieland-saga.fandom.com/wiki/Zombie_Land_Saga_(Anime)/Production_and_development
At that time, it had nothing to do with Saga. This is how it started, but the project had not yet received the green light within the company [Cygames]. The CEO, [Koichi] Watanabe-san, is from Saga and had mentioned in past conversations that he wanted to make an anime about Saga.
So, they had this “zombie idol” project that was not approved, and they also had the instructions to create an anime about Saga, so they tried to put everything together to see if the project was approved. And that's how the Zombie Land Saga project got started.
When the location search process began, they contacted the municipal government and asked if they could show them around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygames
株式会社Cygames Kabushiki gaisha Saigēmusu Type Subsidiary Industry Founded May 9, 2011 Headquarters Shibuya, ,
Japan14 Koichi Watanabe (President
Yuito Kimura (Executive director)
Kenichiro Takaki (General Manager, console division)Owner
- CyberAgent (69%)
- DeNA (24%)
- Nintendo (5%)
3,354 (2023) Parent CyberAgent Divisions Osaka Cygames
Cygames Saga Debug Center
Cygames Saga Studio
Cygames Korea
Cygames Taiwan
Cygames America
Cygames EuropeSubsidiaries CyDesignation, Inc.
BlazeGames, Inc.
WithEntertainment, Inc
Citail, Inc
CygamesPictures
Kusanagi, Inc
LogicLinks, Inc.
Cymusic, Inc.
Cysharp, Inc.
Scoop Music Corporation
CyFoods, Inc.
CySphere, Inc.
flaggs, Inc.
Cygames Capital, Inc.Website cygames.co.jp
In this context, Saga Prefecture reminds me of an American Song from John Mellencamp.
John Mellencamp - Small Town (Official Music Video)
Let's also look at the state of Japan's declining economy. Since most of the wealth is centered in the Capital of Tokyo, this is also has a huge stake in what we are talking about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decades
wiki quote:
Economic effects
Despite mild economic recovery in the 2000s, conspicuous consumption of the 1980s has not returned to the same pre-crash levels. Japanese firms such as Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba, which had dominated their respective industries from the 1960s to the 1990s, had to fend off strong competition from rival firms based in other East Asian countries, particularly South Korea, and China, since the 2000s. In 1989, of the world's top 50 companies by market capitalization, 32 were Japanese; by 2018, only one such company (Toyota) remains in the top 50.[21] Many Japanese companies replaced a large part of their workforce with temporary workers, who had little job security and fewer benefits. As of 2009, these non-traditional employees made up more than a third of the labor force.[22] For the wider Japanese workforce, wages have stagnated. From their peak in 1997, real wages fell around 13% by 2013,[8] an unprecedented number among developed nations.[citation needed] Surveys by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed that household income in 2010 had fallen to 1987 levels.[23] According to Teikoku Databank, Japan's largest credit rating agency, the aggregate sales of all companies in Japan decreased by 3.9% in 2010 compared to 2000, or a decrease of 13,848.2 billion yen.[24]
The wider economy of Japan is still recovering from the impact of the 1991 crash and subsequent lost decades. It took 12 years for Japan's GDP to recover to the same levels as 1995. And as a greater sign of economic malaise, Japan also fell behind in output per capita. In 1991, real output per capita in Japan was 14% higher than that of Australia, but in 2011 real output had dropped to 14% below Australia's levels.[25] In the span of 20 years, Japan's economy was overtaken not only in gross output, but labor efficiency, whereas previously it was a global leader in both. In 2018, labor productivity of Japan was the lowest in the G7 developed economies and among the lowest of the OECD.[26]
In response to chronic deflation and low growth, Japan has attempted economic stimulus and thereby run a fiscal deficit since 1991.[27] These economic stimuli have had at best nebulous effects on the Japanese economy and have contributed to the huge debt burden on the Japanese government. Expressed as a percentage of GDP, at ~240% Japan had the highest level of debt of any nation on earth as of 2013.[27] While Japan's is a special case where the majority of public debt is held in the domestic market and by the Bank of Japan, the sheer size of the debt demands large service payments and is a worrying sign of the country's financial health.
More than 25 years after the initial market crash, Japan was still feeling the effects of Lost Decades. However, several Japanese policymakers have attempted reforms to address the malaise in the Japanese economy. After Shinzo Abe was elected as Japanese prime minister in December 2012, Abe introduced a reform program known as Abenomics which sought to address many of the issues raised by Japan's Lost Decades. His "three arrows" of reform intend to address Japan's chronically low inflation, decreasing worker productivity relative to other developed nations, and demographic issues raised by an aging population.[28] Initially, investor response to the announced reform was strong, and the Nikkei 225 rallied to 20,000 in May 2015 from a low of around 9,000 in 2008. The Bank of Japan has set a 2% target for consumer-price inflation, although initial successes has been hampered by a sales tax increase enacted to balance the government budget.[29] However, the impact on wages and consumer sentiment was more muted. A Kyodo News poll in January 2014 found that 73% of Japanese respondents had not personally noticed the effects of Abenomics, only 28 percent expected to see a pay raise, and nearly 70% were considering cutting back spending following the increase in the consumption tax.[30]
In early 2020, as Japan began to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic, Jun Saito of the Japan Center for Economic Research stated that the pandemic's impact delivered the "final blow" to Japan's long fledgling economy, which had resumed slow growth in 2018.[31]
In the summer of 2022, the Japanese economy faced further uncertainty following the assassination of Shinzo Abe and the weakening of the yen at the nominal effective exchange rate for the first time in 32 years and at the real effective exchange rate for the first time in 52 years.
This is not unlike our own rust belt experiences here in America:
Billy Joel - Allentown (Official Video)
Let's also take a look at where we are talking about:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_Prefecture
wiki quote
Saga Prefecture (佐賀県, Saga-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu.[1] Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefecture to the southwest.
Saga is the capital and largest city of Saga Prefecture, with other major cities including Karatsu, Tosu, and Imari.[2] Saga Prefecture is located in the northwest of Kyūshū covering an isthmus-like area extending between the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea.[2] Saga Prefecture's western region is known for the production of ceramics and porcelain, particularly in the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita.
wiki quote
Geography
Kyushu's prefecture, Saga, is located on the northwest corner of the island, bordered by the Genkai Sea and the Tsushima Strait to the north and the Ariake Sea to the south. Saga's proximity to mainland Asia has made it an important gateway for the transmission of culture and trade throughout Japanese history. Largely rural outside of the two largest cities of Saga and Karatsu, agricultural and forested lands comprise over 68% of the total prefectural land area. There are six prefectural parks and one quasi-national park in Saga.
wiki quote
Municipalities
See also: List of cities in Saga Prefecture by population
As of October 1, 2007, there are 10 cities, six districts, and 10 towns in Saga Prefecture, a total of 20 municipalities. As a part of the Great Heisei Merger, the number of municipalities has decreased since January 1, 2005. On March 20, 2006, the village of Sefuri merged with the city of Kanzaki, leaving Saga with no more villages.
wiki quote
Cities
Ten cities are located in Saga Prefecture:
Name Area (km2) Population Map Rōmaji Kanji Imari
伊万里市 254.99 54,907 Kanzaki
神埼市 125.01 31,981 Karatsu
唐津市 487.59 117,663 Kashima
鹿島市 112.1 30,159 Ogi
小城市 95.85 45,638 Saga (capital)
佐賀市 431.84 232,736 Takeo
武雄市 195.44 48,845 Taku
多久市 96.93 19,202 Tosu
鳥栖市 71.73 72,755 Ureshino
嬉野市 126.51 26,937
wiki quote
Towns
These are the towns in each district:
Name Area (km2) Population District Map Rōmaji Kanji Arita
有田町 65.85 18,989 Nishimatsuura District Genkai
玄海町 36 5,855 Higashimatsuura District Kamimine
上峰町 12.79 9,589 Miyaki District Kiyama
基山町 22.12 17,398 Miyaki District Kōhoku
江北町 24.48 9,524 Kishima District Miyaki
みやき町 51.89 25,534 Miyaki District Ōmachi
大町町 11.46 6,680 Kishima District Shiroishi
白石町 99.46 23,606 Kishima District Tara
太良町 74.2 9,125 Fujitsu District Yoshinogari
吉野ヶ里町 43.94 16,117 Kanzaki District
wiki quote
Economy
Agriculture, forestry, and coastal fisheries form a large portion of the prefectural economy. Regional agricultural specialties include Saga beef, onions, and strawberries. The prefecture is the largest producer of mochigome (sticky rice) and greenhouse mandarin oranges in Japan.
According to 2002 figures, regional trade exports are focused primarily towards North America (29.3%), Western Europe (26.1%), and the Newly Industrializing Economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (19.9%). Imports come principally from North America (40.6%), the ASEAN nations (23.3%), and the People's Republic of China (12.2%).
wiki quote
Demographics
In 2002, the census recorded a population of 873,885 in Saga. Of these, 15.9% were aged 0–14, 62.7% were aged 15–64, and 21.4% were over 65 years old. There were 3,596 foreigners (0.4%) and 307 exchange students (0.03%) living in the prefecture.
It should be noted as an average Japan has a large amount of the world's natural disasters. It does so while being a tiny percentage of the world's land mass.
quote:
Although Japan only accounts for 0.28% of the world’s land area and just 1.9% of its population, it is the site of 18.5% of earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 or greater and 7.0% of active volcanoes. This was the finding of a 2014 white paper on disaster management.
This is important, because the story will be adding an additional note. There is one final note before the music, it is a major subtle plot point that SAGA is suffering from a curse.
https://zombieland-saga.fandom.com/wiki/The_Curse_of_SAGA
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The Curse of the Saga Prefecture (佐賀の呪い, Saga no noroi), also known as The Curse of Saga, is the primary antagonistic force which has plagued the Saga Prefecture since ancient times and continuing into the present day.
Its opposite is The Prosperity of SAGA, which manifests itself through the prosperity of people and places. The curse ensures that anyone who can bring prosperity to Saga will be struck down before they do so, effectively condemning Saga to a path of ruin and destruction.
The Saga curse (as it is known in the Zombie Land Saga universe) is inspired by the historical accounts of Xu Fu, an ancient Chinese alchemist who supposedly visited Saga on his quest for the Elixir of Immortality [1]. The curse also seems to be directly related to Jofuku, as he is visibly shown to suffer as a direct consequence of its power.
The curse takes different forms over time[2]. For example, during the Meiji era, the curse manifested as natural disasters, and tricked people into going to war and destruction[3]. In the late 1980s, when there was a period of relative normality and prosperity, the curse was embodied by Sagako, curses with physical forms that terrified the residents of Saga.[4]
Currently, the curse appears as natural disasters and/or freak accidents that point to the ascension of Franchouchou.
Without getting too far into spoilers, there is more on the site wiki that not only condenses the story from the anime, but that from the manga that came afterward as well. The curse has already killed every member of Franchouchou.
As the series goes on, the curse and the spirits it manifests make multiple attempts on the life of the Necromancer. It also attacks Franchouchou directly with bad luck right that would fit with the ideas of the Final Destination Horror movie franchise.
Final Destination Trailer (2000)
There is a mythical force at work here trying to remove all memory of Saga. It has almost completely destroyed the concept by warfare before, with Saga having literally been removed from the map and most of human memory at that time, once before. When the girl's attack a giant creature in the first season's opening, they are metaphorically fighting the influence of a Kami (Greater Spirit) of Calamity.
The title of Zombie Land Saga Revenge in season two, may literally be them fighting against the forces trying to destroy them for inspiring Saga. Their "Revenge" is to refuse to allow themselves or Saga, to be removed from human memory by its power.
So let's go to the music...
So, with that background in place let's move on to the show. The musical impact of this one is massive, so I'm going to have to limit some of this work to no more than 4 clips of the same work. This will be original, singer markers, live concert, and good English covers or dubs when possible.
Let's start with the opening:
ZOMBIE LAND SAGA – Opening Theme – Adabana Necromancy
"I want to fulfill my dream even if I die
No, dreams can be fulfilled even if they die
Is it despair? Or is it hope?
Getting over the harsh fate and keep going even if you don't have a pulse
That is because it's our saga. "Who will treasure? The dead ground is far beyond
Dream that broke silence and budded
Swearing and overlapping dead
Until the height reachesAdvocate even though the decayed flowers grow
I will not let you depart Soten's Glory
Unleash hunger
Even if it dies it can be called life to run
Definition of survival not shouting in the sky
Shoot the bones and cut the darknessSamba's winning machine shining in the clouds
Puncture preparedness to destiny
Saga saga crazy in heaven[Full Version Continues:]
It's foolish to have a hand without a single scratch
Throw away your will, your freedom, and your bodyProtect it, Do not retreat,
Until we build
A myth without tears or bloodBurn Carnage flower
In this lifeless world.
Rudely cut your way through the chains of rot
Know that losing heart is death
Although idols may be masters [of their craft], they are transient
Open your eyes in order to see, and bare your fangs!Someday everyone will be a sacrificial pawn falling like a flower
Glow! Spark of a momentary eternity
It is a saga surging in troubled times
SAGAWhat is blasphemy?
We are not allowed to judge.
Make hope ring out loudly;
More so than breathing, it is proof that we livedMoan fruitless flower
Advance even if you rot and crumble into dust
Unleash your hunger
On those who ridicule a dignity that can't be taken away
Life is to keep on running even if you die
It is the definition of an after-life screamed into the sky
Slay the darkness even if you are made to cut through your own bonesIt's the rebellion's chance to win that shines in the rift between the clouds
Thrust [your] resolution at fate
Dash through the wastelands! Challenge troubled times!
It's a saga that blooms unseasonably throughout the whole world.
SAGAsource: https://www.animesonglyrics.com/zombieland-saga/adabana-necromancy
Adabana Necromancy | FranChouChou | Full ROM / KAN / ENG Color Coded Lyrics
[ซับไทย] Franchouchou Adabana Necromancy | Zombie Land Saga LIVE
The above was the actual Japanese voice actresses. They threw themselves into this project in more than just the recording studio.
Zombieland Saga - Adabana Necromancy (ENG Dub)
Episode 1: 1st appearance of the group as Death Musume
