Characters / Zombie Land Saga: Major Characters

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Franchouchou (Sakura Minamoto) | The Living & Others - Major Characters | Gaiden Characters

Romero

Voiced by: Yasuhiro Takato (Japanese), Alejandro Saab (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E01

Born: November 1
Died: December 9 (age 3)
Cause of Death: Unknown
Height/Weight: 33cm (1'1") / 3kg (7 lbs)

"Arf"

Kotaro's pet zombie toy poodle, who helps guard the mansion and keep a close watch on the girls.

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• Angry Guard Dog: In his monstrous form he can scare off unwanted passerbys quite easily, and whenever he's with any of the girls it's to keep people from finding out they're zombies.
• Art Shift: He switches from a cartoonishly adorable design to a more realistic, terrifying one when he eats.
• Attractive Zombie: Leans more towards cute than attractive, except when he changes art style.
• Big Eater: Comes with being a dog — and a zombie dog at that — but he's always welcome to receiving treats.
• Cuddle Bug: He enjoys snuggling with the girls. In particular he'll spend a lot of time with Sakura, Lily, and Tae.
• Extreme Omnivore: Much like Tae, he'll usually try to eat things that aren't even meant to be edible. In Episode 6 he swallows a baseball whole, and in Episode 10 it's implied that he ate a grasshopper that was unfortunate enough to go near him.
• Eye Scream: His left eye is missing, and when he undergoes an Art Shift, his remaining eye is shown to be bulging from the socket.
• Funny Background Event: He tends to be doing something funny or adorable off to the side of any given scene.
• Interspecies Friendship:
  • Tae and Romero show some form of friendship, with the former being a human zombie and the latter being a zombie dog. They spend a whole episode of Revenge running errands and interacting with locals together.
  • He's also shown to be friendly with Sakura, joining her on her morning jogs and becoming fiercely protective of her after she's hit by a truck in Episode 10.
  • He also snuggles with a cat in Revenge.
• Killer Rabbit: He may be an adorable little puppy, but he's an adorable little zombie puppy, and he becomes extremely dangerous when hungry.
• Mysterious Past:
  • We don't learn anything about his life and death, or which time period he comes from, until "Saga Incident, Part I". He's been around since at least the Meiji era, and hung around Jofuku back in the day.
  • It's also unclear how Kotaro came to care for him. Though it's likely Jofuku had a hand in it.
• Named After Somebody Famous: His name is a nod to zombie movie director George A. Romero.
• Non-Standard Character Design: He has the most cartoony design out of any character, at least until he turns ravenous.
• Precious Puppy: Quite cuddly and cute (At least when he doesn't look absolutely terrifying).
• Raising the Steaks: A (usually) cute little dog who's also a zombie. Presumably, the same methods were used to bring him back as a zombie as with the girls.
• Really 700 Years Old: He's been around as a zombie ever since 1882 at the latest, when he was the pet of Jofuku.
• Series Mascot: He serves as this both In-Universe and out; in Episode 6, Kotaro sells Franchouchou merchandise that has pictures of Romero on it (and he's notably drawn in a much cuter art style).
• Team Pet: He is the mascot of the zombie idol group, and is fittingly a zombie himself.
• Undying Loyalty: Again, pun aside, he's very loyal to both Kotaro and the girls. After Sakura gets hit by a truck again, he attempts to attack the driver.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: All the girls have to wear full-body makeup to appear like living people. For some reason, Romero -— who is blue, missing an eye, and has visible bandages and stitching -— is able to go out in public with no disguise. For the most part he seems to get a free pass with no one picking up on him being a zombie, but on occasion someone does notice how much more horrific this dog looks than others.

Policeman A

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese), Austin Tindle (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E01

Born: November 14, 1982 (age 36)
Height/Weight: 167cm (5'6") / 65kg (146 lbs)

The first living person who learns of the existence of zombies after an encounter with Sakura.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: He tries to hit on a distressed Junko... only to back off thinking she's underaged.
• Big Damn Heroes: He rescues Kotaro and Jofuku from the flooded New Jokufu bar following the typhoon in Episode 11 of Revenge.
• Casanova Wannabe: He seems to think he's some hotshot when it comes to getting the ladies, with him occasionally attempting to flirt with them. Not only do all the girls he interacts with have no reaction to him beyond his policing job, Sakura is outright afraid of getting near him since he reacts poorly to her without make-up. In Revenge he tries unsuccessfully to hit on Junko when she's down about Ai, though to be fair, he starts backing off when he starts to think she's underage.
• Dirty Cop: A mild example. His freewheeling ways see him take Tae and Maria to go betting on boat races, excusing his presence as a cop's duty to "aid Saga's citizens" (in spending their money, and getting a small cut if Tae wins any more). He predictably gets chewed out by his superior over the radio when he's caught, and the ensuing conversation implies that he also regularly bets on horse races while on-duty.
• Exact Words: In Episode 6 of Revenge, his superior radios him and demands to know whether he's off gambling at the horse track. He repeatedly insists that he isn't. He's actually off gambling at the boat track.
• Have We Met?: When he meets Sakura again in Episode 3 in makeup, he seems to recognize her but can't remember where. Little does he know she was the zombie he tried to gun down twice.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Policeman A hits on Yugiri when she's working, unaware she's one of the zombies he's terrified of.
• Named by the Adaptation: Similar to the Metalheads, Policeman A has no canon name however, the Funimation subs give him the name "Dirty Harry" after his letter to White Ryu in episode 2 of Revenge.
• Nice Guy: He's shown multiple times to be a polite and friendly cop when he isn't terrified out of his wits, such as when he freestyles (somewhat poorly) with a group of hooligans in Episode 2 to admonish them for staying out late and picking on girls.
• No Name Given: The show never mentions his name, and he's only credited with the kind of name someone with Nominal Importance would have.
• Not a Zombie: Inverted. Whenever he sees one of the zombies he immediately becomes terrified out of his wits and tries to shoot on sight, completely disregarding the fact the zombies are clearly intelligent enough to be distraught.
• Out of Focus: After the third episode of S1, he's relegated to filling gag roles and doesn't directly confront the zombie aspect of the show until Episode 11.
• Police Are Useless:
  • He shoots Sakura out of fear for being a zombie, despite Sakura showing human intelligence and speech, and gets knocked out from behind afterwards.
  • Subverted when he confronts a biker rally. Despite comically failing to threaten them, they still disperse since he apparently killed the mood.
  • Subverted again later: he braves the flooded areas of Saga hit by the storm, looking for people who might be in trouble. This allows him to save Kotaro and Jofuku from the flooded bar, which they were stuck in for three days.
• Recurring Extra: Despite not having a name, he still makes appearances in multiple episodes.
• Snap Back: For a guy who looks as though he's been traumatized each time he has a run-in with one of the zombies, he seems remarkably cheerful and otherwise mentally well by the time he shows up in another episode.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Normally he only shows up for bit appearances, but twice he's managed to help Franchouchou without either party realizing it. One being that taking Tae, Maria, and the latter's friends to the boat race allowed Tae to inadvertently win 20 million yen (allowing them to pay off their EFS debt), and another being that he's the one who saves Kotaro and Jofuku from the flooded bar after Saga is hit by a massive storm.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Even though he is more of a threat to the zombies than he realizes they are to him, his reasons for repeatedly shooting them on sight are perfectly understandable, as he's just an ordinary, usually affable cop scared out of his mind.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: He seems to think he's stumbled into a horror story whenever he runs into the girls, even though they're in no mood to harm anyone when he does.
• Zombie Apocalypse Hero: He seems to think he's one, always ready to shoot the one of the zombie girls on sight whenever he stumbles across them out of makeup. He's lucky he's not in a real Zombie Apocalypse, as he'd make a very poor one considering how quickly he loses his nerve at the sight of zombies.

The Metalheads

Metalhead A voiced by: Mitsuaki Kanuka (Japanese), Cris George (English)
Metalhead B voiced by: Setsuji Sato (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E01

A pair of Death Metal fans who are present during the zombies' very first performance. They then become some of their biggest fans.

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• Accent Adaptation: In the English dub, the skinny metalhead speaks with a Birmingham accent not unlike Ozzy Osbourne.
• Amazon Chaser: When the metalheads witness Saki dropkicking Takeo, the chubby one says that this is why Number 2 is the best in his opinion, and claims that it must be nice to be on the receiving end of that, while blushing of course.
• Audience Surrogate: In a more meta, show-specific way than Sakura. Complete outsiders to idol fandom, they're initially confused and irritated when the advertised darkness turns out to be a facade, only to quickly come to love the girls and their work as much as their other interests.
• Fanboys: They become Franchouchou's first dedicated fans after their first performance as Death Musume and have been present at all their biggest performances.
• Fat and Skinny: One's thin and pale, the other's chubby and warm.
• Kevlard: As shown by Revenge Episode 1, the fat metalhead's chubby body is cushioned enough with fat that being punched in the gut just causes the attacker to be rebounded away, while leaving him completely unharmed.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Despite one being lanky and the other being fat, the massive melee in Episode 1 of Revenge shows that the two are actually very capable in a brawl as a metalhead should, and the skinny one mentions frequently fighting in such a fashion in the past.
• Made of Iron: During the brawl in Episode 1 of Revenge, the larger fan stops fighting so he can watch the girls and takes a shot right to the chin. He ignores the punch, then grapples the guy who hit him and forces him to watch the show with him.
• Manly Tears: Franchouchou’s performances have moved them both to tears on multiple occasions.
• Metalhead: They start out as Death Metal fans, and initially latch onto the girls thinking they are a death metal group. In Revenge it's shown that while they are major Franchouchou fans they still have a preference for more rock-oriented music.
• Named by the Adaptation: Funimation's press release for the Revenge dub calls them Bulk and Skull.
• Nice Guy:
  • They both are, showing worry for Ai when she becomes visibly afraid of lightning in Episode 7 and for the entire band in Episode 12.
  • Taken to another level in the first episode of Revenge where they join Kotaro in cheering for an encore from Franchouchou despite the angry crowd that was already beginning to assault Kotaro for his relentless cheering, even escalating as far as to fight alongside Kotaro while outnumbered by the entire crowd just so Franchouchou could perform their song without being booed off stage.
• No Name Given: The show doesn't give their names... but Funimation's press release names them after a different Fat and Skinny duo. See Named by the Adaptation above.
• Older Than They Look: Assuming it's not a case of Generation Xerox, they were highschoolers in 1989 according to the spin-off, which puts them in their late 40s by 2018.
• Recurring Extra: Much like Policeman A, both of them appear in multiple episodes despite having little screen time.
• Those Two Guys: Pretty cut-and-dry example of this.
• Undying Loyalty: They’ve stuck by Franchouchou ever since their first-and admittedly disastrous-performance at the metal venue. Even as the girls hit rock bottom in Revenge, these two still refuse to give up on them. To make it even clearer, they are the first people to arrive at Ekimae Stadium and the girls know them by sight alone, the only other ones with that distinction are those who are personally close to them.

Arata Okoba

Voiced by: Toru Nara (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E05

An ordinary reporter who catches wind of Franchouchou after they appear in a commercial.

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• Agent Mulder: The more he digs into Franchouchou, the more convinced he is that something strange is afoot. And then he watches Tae's head pop off.
• Ascended Extra: He goes from a Recurring Extra in the first season to a major player in the plot of Revenge, being one of the few humans to know about Franchouchou's secret.
• Bait-and-Switch: When he first recognizes one of Franchouchou, the camera doesn't show who he spotted. Then at the Gattalympics he watches them with a pair of binoculars, Sakura is in focus in the shot and is the only one of the group facing towards him which makes it very easy to assume that she's the one who stood out. It's only at the end of the episode that we find out that it's really Junko he noticed.
• Expy: Starting to build up in Revenge to being this to Carl Kolchak, an Intrepid Reporter who finds himself digging deep into the Urban Fantasy world.
• Expy Coexistence: In-universe, he's this to Seijiro Itou. Okoba and Itou both disagree with Kotaro and Kiichi's plan to revitalize Saga respectively, beliving that their actions is immoral to society. Where they split is that Okoba didn't even know Kotaro a lot, while Itou was very friendly to Kiichi and even secretly supported him.
• Hero Antagonist: Towards Kotaro Tatsumi, believing he's unethically desecrating the dead by resurrecting them as entertainment and threatened to reveal the truth to the public. Though he gradually phases out of this dynamic as he observes Franchouchou perform during the storm, even agreeing to help Kotaro and Franchouchou.
• Intrepid Reporter: Starts investigating Franchouchou after getting a familiar feeling from "Number 4". The Stinger of the season shows him fully aware of not only her looking identical to the long-dead Junko Konno, but "Number 3's" and "Number 6's" resemblances to the more recently deceased Ai Mizuno and Lily Hoshikawa. When he returns in Episode 6 of Revenge, he tries to dig up more dirt on the group by following Tae around. He succeeds in figuring out something is up after Sakura accidentally knocks off Tae's head. It's followed up on next episode where he very much realizes they're all dead.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a gruff, sometimes surly individual who isn't afraid to expose potentially reprecussive information on others. But he also cares a lot about Saga, and eventually warms up to Franchouchou. Even when he could've exposed them as zombies to the world, he decides to hold off and instead help them aid the healing of Saga after the storm.
• Last Disrespects: He thinks Kotaro's formation of Franchouchou via necromancy is this, as he believes it is a desecration to their initial passings and how he thinks Kotaro's doing it out of fame and fortune. As he watches Franchouchou perform in the storm shelter though, even after a very close call, he gradually realizes that this isn't about those things at all, for Kotaro or the girls.
• The Needs of the Many: Episode 11 of Revenge strongly implies that he intends to drop his attempts to expose Franchouchou's identities, partly because he's realised that the girls genuinely enjoy their idol career, but mostly because, in the wake of the devastating flood that hit Saga in the previous episode, the public needs Franchouchou in order to lift their spirits.
• Poor Communication Kills: Downplayed. When he finally confronts Kotaro about raising the dead, he accuses him of exploiting them for fame and fortune. Kotaro doesn't even try to deny it, leading to Okoba declaring his intent to stop the revenge concert. It works out in the end, but Okoba still doesn't trust the mysterious manager.
• Recurring Extra: In the first season, documenting Franchouchou's exploits from the side while trying to learn more about its members. This is before gaining a larger role in Revenge.
• Secret-Keeper: He decides to hold off on revealing Franchouchou being zombies, instead helping them promote their second EFS concert to help a reeling Saga after the storm.
• Spell My Name With An S: Okoba's name is alternatively translated as "Ookoba" in Episode 5. In episode 8, his given name was mistranslated as "Shinta".
• Supporting Protagonist: Seems to be shaping up to be this in Revenge as Franchouchou's escapades are told from his viewpoint during his investigation and eventually discovering their secret as zombies in Episode 6.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Towards Kotaro Tatsumi, out of thinking he's desecrating the dead.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Kotaro by the finale of Revenge. Okoba admits that he still doesn't fully trust Kotaro yet, but is willing to work with him to help raise the morale of Saga's people after a devastating storm.

Shiori Baba (Unmarked Spoilers)

Voiced by: Sora Tokui (Japanese), Jad Saxton (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E07 (Cameo), Zombie Land Saga Revenge E 03 (Major Appearance)

Shiori as part of Iron Frill

The current lead singer of Iron Frill.

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• The Ace: Not unlike the idol who inspired her, Shiori is set on becoming the best idol she can possibly be, seeing Ai's work as a standard to live up to, and eventually surpass.
• Ascended Extra: She first appears in season 1 performing before Franchouchou at Saga Rock. Come Revenge, she becomes a major character through episodes 3 and 4.
• Ascended Fangirl: She grew up watching Iron Frill performances, developing an attachment to their lead singer, Ai Mizuno. Fast-forward a decade and she's now in the same position Ai used to be.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Downplayed, but while on stage she is as Fun Personified cheerful and enthusiastic, behind the scenes she's an underhanded, manipulative, and unfettered Smug Snake.
• Chekhov's Gunman: She and Iron Frill first appear as a cameo in episode 7, then make their first plot-important appearance in Revenge, with Shiori kicking off a two-episode long conflict involving Ai and Junko.
• The Diva: She is determined, nay hell-bent, on making Iron Frill bigger than even its golden days in 2008, even if she has to resort to selfish means.
• Dramatic Irony: The idol she tries desperately to recruit is her lifelong hero, Ai Mizuno, but she considers her to be nothing more than an Identical Stranger.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She appears in the first season, but has no role outside a brief but significant snippet of Iron Frill's performance in Episode 7, building up to her much meatier role in Revenge.
• Establishing Character Moment: Her interview in episode 3 of Revenge gives a glimpse of her personality.
  "I don't think there are any absolutes in this world. I think it's our responsibility to keep moving forward and continue to evolve. Saga's a significant place for Iron Frill. I want to be sure we're one of a kind and beyond compare to our legendary original center, who I'm sure is watching over us all.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: She seems to think that all it would take to convince Ai to leave Franchouchou and join Iron Frill was the offer to join a more successful idol group. She fails to consider that Ai's relationship with the rest of her group is much deeper than just working together for the sake of business.
• Evil Counterpart: Non-villainous example, but she can be considered to be this to Ai. They both have similar traits like pride, ambition, and high standards. But Shiori is a lot less restrained in expressing those traits to others, making her come off as more ruthless and insensitive than Ai.
• Fangirl: For Ai when the latter was part of Iron Frill. Though she continues to hold her in high regard to this day, she wishes to elevate Iron Frill beyond what Ai once achieved.
• Foil:
  • To Sakura. Both of them idolized Ai and are determined to become great idols like her and elevate their respective groups. While Sakura is a Nice Girl who works to elevate Franchouchou through her own hard work and supporting her group members, Shiori is a much more ruthless individual utilizing more competitive methods to elevate Iron Frill, including fishing for members from rival groups and convincing others that they are above one another through talent and skill.
  • She and Ai have much in common being similarly ambitious, determined, and The Ace of their respective groups. And they're focused on elevating their groups by outdoing both the competition and their own past feats. While Ai is set on becoming an idol again to relive her glory days with Iron Frill, Shiori's goal is to one day have Iron Frill surpass that point of their history. Shiori also shows what happens when Ai lets her ambitions get the best of her, not being considerate of those around her and assuming Ai is only with Franchouchou for the sake of business rather than a true love or kinship for her group mates. This causes her to antagonize the rest of Franchouchou when they think she's there to take away Ai.
• Intergenerational Rivalry: Played With between Ai and Shiori. Chronologically Ai is around a decade older, but she remains sixteen due to being revived as a zombie. The two play their rivalry straight however as Shiori's goal is surpass Ai's insurmountable legacy that made Iron Frill the heavy hitter it is, creating a Superior Successor dynamic between the two.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: When it's clear Ai has no intention of leaving Franchouchou, and her bandmates refuse to let her be taken, Shiori decides to back off on her offer and leaves Franchouchou in peace.
• Manipulative Bitch: Tried to persuade Ai to rejoin Iron Frill and make her think she's above Franchouchou.
• Noble Demon: She's quite ruthless as The Rival, but at least she has several scruples like her decision to Know When to Fold 'Em when it's clear Ai will not re-join Iron Frill. And eventually, she decides to help boost Franchouchou's relief concert at EFS.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: She has some fears that no matter what the current Iron Frill does, they will never be as good as the Iron Frill Ai led before she died.
• Pet the Dog: She attends and helps promote Franchouchou's relief concert in the season finale.
• The Rival: The straightest example in the show. Her debut arc has her antagonizing Franchouchou by trying to recruit Ai into Iron Frill. Her goal to make Iron Frill the best idol group puts her at odds with the zombies who are trying to recover from a massive pitfall in their careers. She then publicly declares them rivals in a TV interview, putting Franchouchou under an unprecedented spotlight. She also serves as a Foil and slightly darker counterpart to several Franchouchou members.
• Smug Snake: Towards Franchouchou, boasting about Iron Frill being the better than them.
• To Be a Master: She's determined to make Iron Frill the best idol group possible.
• Underestimating Badassery: In Shiori's eyes, Franchouchou is just some group of lesser performers that's holding Ai back from achieving her full potential. Not long after, she finds herself wowed by the group's opening act.
  Shiori: "We came here to give the best performance possible! But... Franchouchou without you is just a bunch of nobodies!"
  Beat
  Ai: "You shouldn't underestimate Franchouchou. They've been growing this whole time. Even I have I need to be careful if I don't want them to leave me behind."
• The Unfettered: She's so darn ruthless in getting Iron Frill as top dog in the idol industry that she places her own ambitions above everything else, even if she have to resort to underhanded and unethical methods to do so.
• Villain of Another Story: Well not exactly a villain per say, but made an Early-Bird Cameo in the first season before being formally introduced in Revenge, which reveals her more-or-less amoral, unethical and shady colors that could pose as a threat to Franchouchou.
• We Can Rule Together: Non-villainous example. She believes Ai is wasting her talents on Franchouchou when she could instead be with a more successful group like Iron Frill. Ai almost considers her offer before finally refusing.
• Worthy Opponent: She considers Franchouchou to be Iron Frill's biggest competition upon seeing their successful opening act at her group's show.
• You Remind Me of X: She can't help but think Franchouchou's "No. 3" looks identical to Ai Mizuno whom she had admired growing up. This connection is partly what motivates her to offer No. 3 a spot in Iron Frill. Of course, the truth is a little more complicated.

The Bartender (Major Unmarked Spoilers)

Xu Fu aka Jofuku

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (Japanese), R. Bruce Elliott (English)
First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga E11

"The world of man will always be shaped by the actions of men..."

A bartender acquaintance of Kotaro's who runs "New Bar Jofuku". He's actually the former court alchemist of Qin Shi Huang, currently an immortal who's been maintaining Saga for centuries.

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• Accidental Misnaming: He has a habit of misnaming Kotaro's idol project. It gets Played With in Revenge Episode 1 since his act of misnaming the Zombie Land Saga Project (as "Genkai Zombie Energy Park Project") and Franchouchou (as "Sagantosu", the name of the local pro soccer club) are actually intentional Reverse Psychology attempts at getting Kotaro back to his usual self.
• All Myths Are True: Being the Xu Fu of legend implies the existence of other supernatural entities besides zombies in Saga, which First Zombie backs up with the Sagako.
• Ambiguously Human: While he is indeed an immortal being, how he got that immortality is unclear. While the fact his bones often snap like the girls imply he might be a zombie, it's also possible he's a case of Age Without Youth thst's kept going solely by the Immortality Field of Saga, making him biologically still human.
• The Bartender: He currently runs an obscure bar somewhere in Saga that Kotaro frequents. Jofuku's introduction is consoling Kotaro on the latter's attempts to save the prefecture, and later helps the latter out of a Heroic BSoD the next season.
• Big Good:
  • Of the anime, both the first and second seasons, as he's responsible for resurrecting the zombie idols, and the existence of Saga is directly tied to his own.
  • In Gaiden, he's revealed to be influencing the Sagako Busters, having warned them about the curse and the prophesized destruction of Saga.
• Brutal Honesty: After seeing a depressed Kotaro abandoning Franchouchou for a long time, he reminds him that the "zombies-as-idols" project was a crazy idea right from the start. He does manage to help Kotaro get back to his senses near the end of Revenge Episode 1, allowing the idol producer to return to his girls.
  "To begin with, it all started with your ego. Therefore, you have to end it with your ego too."
• Cool Old Guy: While a bit grumpy and snide, he's a genuinely helpful individual who works to keep Saga and its residents alive and well. Exemplified by his support for Kotaro and Franchouchou.
• Creepy Good: He's a gaunt, mysterious individual who can raise the dead. He's also the closest the show has to a Big Good.
• Cryptic Background Reference: A walking one, in that he's our first hint there's a wider story to the setting beyond the girls, and Kotaro is a part of it.
• Elderly Immortal: He's in pretty good shape for a man well over two thousand years old, though just how old he appears is tied to the well-being of Saga itself. In the early 1880s, when Saga's name has been wiped from the map and it seems destined to be "eastern Nagasaki" until the end of time, he's frail, sickly, and completely bald. On the other end of the spectrum, in the late 1980s at the height of Japan's postwar economic bubble, he's fit, healthy, and has a full head of hair, looking late middle-age at best. In the modern day, when Saga is doing OK but not great, he's somewhere in between.
• Fisher King: Inverted. Jofuku's health and power are tied to the health of Saga—if Saga is suffering, so will he, and if the idea of Saga dies, so will he. When the "disaster at the start of the Reiwa era" part of Saga's curse activates, he visibly doubles over with pain.
• Given Name Reveal: In his first two appearances, he's simply known as the "Bar Owner" (Master) in the credits. Come Episode 8 of Zombie Land Saga Revenge, he's finally identified in the credits as Xu Fu (Jofuku in Japanese).
• Greater-Scope Paragon: He is The Man Behind the Man to Kotaro and source of the necromancy which brought the girls back to life.
• Grumpy Old Man: When Saga was on the decline after the rebellion, he became incredibly sickly, making his attitude take a turn for the worse as well. He seems to get over this in the present though after Saga is saved by that time.
• Historical Domain Character: Jofuku/Xu Fu was a Chinese alchemist who went to Japan in search of an elixir of immortality for Qin Shi Huangdi and never returned. Here, he's immortal, bound to Saga, and capable of raising the dead.
• Immortality Field: His life's linked to the existence of Saga as a prefecture; when it got dissolved for several years in the Meiji era, his health declined until he was near death.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He and Yugiri bonded back in the Meiji era, and she's the reason he can continue to exist due to Saga successfully regaining its prefecture status. The two are still close in the modern day now that Yugiri has been revived.
• I Owe You My Life: Yugiri helping Kiichi restore Saga keeps Jofuku from fading away himself. He thus remains indebted to her, and makes sure Kotaro treats her well.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's very blunt and snide, especially towards Kotaro, but he's a nice guy deep down.
• Mysterious Past:
  • Kotaro told him about the Zombie Land Saga Project, he knows that Yugiri's part of it—when as seen in previous episodes the zombies aren't allowed to give their real names or interact with others outside of being idols—and he's protective of her, warning Kotaro to keep his hands off her because he owes her a lot. He's also familiar with Kotaro going on about the good old days, a trait he doesn't show around the girls. It's subsequently revealed that he knew Yugiri in her living days, making him at least 150 years old.
  • His adopted grandson Kiichi was implied to be Yugiri’s lover.
• Necromancer: Implied to be the true necromancer of the story. He apparently became unable to do so himself when Saga lost its name in the 1870s, saying he could have raised the dead easily if he still had his old powers, though he has since recovered at least some of his powers.
• Oh, Crap!: How he reacts whenever a disaster is about to strike Saga, because he'll literally feel it when it happens.
  "Oh hell, here it comes!..."

  -Jofuku as a storm is about to strike Saga.
• The Omniscient: Downplayed Trope. He claims to be able to decipher the desires of the heavens and can predict the actions of the curse. But ultimately he states that it's up to the people of Saga to make their own destiny.
• Parental Substitute: He seems to have a knack for taking in children whose parents fell victim to the Curse of Saga, raising them into people with the potential to do great things as well. At the very least, we know of Kiichi in the Meiji period, along with Tae in the Shōwa period.
• Rapid Aging: When Saga was on the decline after the rebellion and subsequent merger with Nagasaki, Jofuku became noticeably older and frailer, resorting to a lot of bed rest and medication to stay lucid. He would've died outright if not for Yugiri's intervention, which let Kiichi survive to carry out Saga's restoration.
• Really 700 Years Old: Revenge Episode 8 finally confirms him being immortal, having him turn up in 1882 looking almost the same as he does in 2019 (although his 2019 version appears to have got some extra hair from somewhere). Also, in a conversation with Kotaro, it's revealed he's been around for thousands of years.
• Screw Destiny: In his words, "the world of man will always be shaped by the actions of men", believing that humanity, including the people of Saga, can only shape its future through their own actions rather than answer to any greater destiny.
• Seers: He has precognitive abilities of some kind in regards to the curse, able to predict when it will strike Saga.
• Synchronization: His life force is linked to Saga, meaning any damage to the prefecture hurts him too. Saga being at risk of fading in the aftermath of the rebellion causes him to become older and sickly, and a destructive storm hitting Saga is akin to a heart attack.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Dried squid, not unlike what the zombies eat. He snacks on it in his spare time and when chatting with Kotaro in episode 11.
• Walking Spoiler: His existence reveals there's a much deeper story to the series setting than what one may think, requiring the Unmarked Spoilers tag.

The Curse of Saga (Major Unmarked Spoilers)

First Appearance: Zombie Land Saga Revenge E10

"With the beginning of the Reiwa era, Saga will face a cataclysmic threat. A cataclysm wherin no one will think of Saga anymore, and it will vanish from their memories."

Jofuku's prophecy of the curse

A mysterious and malevolent force that aims to erase Saga at all costs.

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• Ambiguous Situation: It's never revealed just exactly who or what placed the Curse on Saga, nor how and why. It's implied that despite knowing of it, not even Jofuku knows all the details.
• Arch-Enemy:
  • Jofuku's been combatting the curse for centuries, as the curse threatening Saga means his life is on the line as well.
  • As Franchouchou is made up of people it killed for having the potential for saving Saga, it is very determined to do everything in its power to destroy their careers, since as zombies it can't just kill them again.
• Big Bad: Is the greatest obstacle in the show to both Franchouchou and the people of Saga.
• Create Your Own Hero: Does this twice. First killing Tae's parents is what inspires Tae to create the Saga Sagako Busters, fighting against the physical manifestations of the curse, the so-named Sagako. Later, in 2008, when it kills Sakura, it causes Kotaro to meet with Jofuku leading to the creation of the Zombie Land Saga Project, and Franchouchou.
• Godzilla Threshold: The curse throws everything it has to stop Franchouchou including lightning, blizzards, and a devastating flood that wrecks Saga. When none of those work, it instead manifests an Alien Invasion.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The curse is responsible for endangering the people of Saga and trying to make the prefecture cease to exist. Franchouchou's bad luck is partly caused by the curse, doing whatever it takes to keep them from succeeding and spreading Saga's name. Once its subtle manipulations reach the point of no longer being able to make Franchouchou fail, it starts going for more direct attacks like "natural" disasters, elevating it to a straight-up Big Bad.
• Hero Killer: Allegedly responsible for the girls' deaths in life, killing them so they won't go on to make Saga world-famous. Kotaro reviving them as zombies throws a wrench in this plan.
• Hope Crusher: Its entire goal is making Saga fade into obscurity and eventually stop existing as a prefecture, and while it mostly does so through killing people, it's also open to manipulating situations to mentally break people so that constant contrived deaths aren't needed to destroy Saga. It basically made Sakura into its own personal Cosmic Plaything so that she'd never accomplish anything before it eventually got her in a car crash, and the fact Lily got far enough to start bringing fame and recognition to Saga, only to have her career tragically cut short, heavily implies that it intentionally held back and gave some Hope Spots for the prefecture so that it could instigate some reputation-destroying incidents. Even Ai and Junko, rising stars who were merely visiting Saga as part of their rise in fame were killed due to the fact that their respective concerts there would've been major platforms of their careers that would be enough to give Saga the prosperity it needed.
• It Can Think: Its actions are calculated to destroy any hope of Saga gaining recognition including killing both upcoming or potential celebrities. Since Franchouchou can't be killed again, it instead bends the forces of nature to incapacitate them and inhibit their progression as idols.
• Knight of Cerebus: After it's properly namedropped by Jofuku, the curse manifests a devastating storm that wrecks Saga and leaves Jofuku incapacitated.
• Sentient Cosmic Force: It doesn't seem to be a living being in the traditional sense, instead being a force of nature that can influence the events of Saga and its people.
• Walking Spoiler: Similar to Jofuku, its existence reveals there's a much deeper story to the series setting than what one may think, requiring the Unmarked Spoilers tag.

The Blessing of Saga (Major Unmarked Spoilers)

First Appearance: Zombieland Saga Gaiden: The First Zombie chapter 5 (mentioned), Zombie Land Saga Revenge E 01 (first possible manifistation)

The force opposing The Curse of Saga.

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• Greater-Scope Paragon: Even beyond Jofuku, as the opposing force to The Curse of Saga. It is much more discreet and subtle than its more malevolent counterpart, but like The Curse, it was born from the people wishes for Saga's immortality. Due to its more subdued nature, its acts are less obvious than The Curse but its effects are well recorded as it is responsible for giving the power of the Hyodo Farm's onions the power to seal the Sagako that the Saga Sagako Busters fought against, as well as the incredible good fortune that Kotaro and Tae have. Interestingly, the onions lose their power once the Sagako stop being a danger, which implies the Blessing's powers are only there for when they're needed at best, or temporary at worst.
• Winds of Destiny, Change!: Its main power is to impart supernaturally good fortune upon others in order to help the salvation of the Saga prefecture. This is first seen in episode one of Revenge as Kotaro is able to get nothing but green lights on his mad run to Geils, all to ensure the girl's first concert after the EFS bomb goes without too much of a hitch. The next time is Tae hitting a 666.7:1 bet getting Franchouchou out of their 20 million yen debt caused by the same disaster.