History YMMV / ZombieLandSaga

** Junko in-universe was revered as a pure and perfect idol who kept herself elusive to fans so that they could admire her from afar. Then you meet the real version of her: an intensely shy, demure girl who gets flustered about love, can't operate a computer to save someone's life, and is constantly being chased around like a cat by Tae. She also has a some very sweet interactions with those closest to her like Ai and Sakura, especially the former.

* BrokenBase: Downplayed. For a very small, non-vocal percentage of watchers, the Yugiri two-parter in ''Revenge'' is considered out-of-place genre-wise (from an idol show to a semi-political PeriodPiece). Some have claimed it breaks suspension of disbelief, makes viewers wonder why they're supposed to care for these new characters, and/or that the supposed ZLS girls' lookalikes are simply a cheap way to remind viewers what show they're watching.

* HypeBacklash: When Zombie Land Saga first premiered, it was met with universal praise, acclaim and interest from anime fans who were drawn to the interesting concept and the rather unique spin of starring zombies as the protagonists as a parody of an Idol group. This popularity escalated after episode 2, where Sakura and Saki engaged in their [[SignatureScene iconic rap battle]]. But then the parody elements slowly peeled back, playing out more like an semi-conventional Idol anime with zombies. While ''ZLS'' was never unpopular, especially in Japan where it's still heavily promoted, the rest of season 1 and season 2 were noticeably spoken about less and less in English forums.

* UncertainAudience: The GenreRoulette aspects of the series can make it unclear who is actually the target audience. The first couple episodes go ''really'' hard on the inherent Horror theme of zombies being gross, decayed corpses, before subverting that to lean into the Idol parody aspect, where the girls participated in a litany of musical genres including heavy metal and rap music with very comedy heavy episodes framing these events. The show since then has bounced back and forth between its different ideas, sometimes leaning closer to a more standard idol show, with some arguing that not sticking to one direction over the other weakens the experience.

* {{Moe}}: Even as zombies, Sakura, Ai, Lily, and Junko are still very huggable. Even Saki and Tae occasionally have their moments of being adorable.

* UncertainAudience: The GenreRoulette aspects of the series can make it unclear who is actually the target audience. The first couple episodes go ''really'' hard on the inherent Horror theme of zombies being gross, decayed corpses, before subverting that to lean into the Idol parody aspect, where the girls participated in a litany of musical genres including heavy metal and rap music with very comedy heavy episodes framing these events. The show since then has bounced back and forth between its different ideas, sometimes leaning closer to a more standard idol show, with some arguing that not sticking to one direction over the other weakens the experience. Indeed, a lot of the humor is actually very safe and child friendly mostly relying on funny faces or reaction shots.

* UncertainAudience: The GenreRoulette aspects of the series make it unclear who is actually the target audience. The first couple episodes go ''really'' hard on the inherent Horror theme of zombies being gross, decayed corpses. The showrunners also went hard on the Idol parody aspect, where the girls participated in a litany of musical genres including heavy metal and rap music with very comedy heavy episodes framing these events. But then that disappears aside from one or two gags in future episodes. Indeed, a lot of the humor is actually very safe and child friendly mostly relying on funny faces or reaction shots. Another point of confusion are some of the character designs, particularly of Sakura, Yugiri and Tae all of whom have very large breasts, complete with a bust size chart in the model sheets. The show is in no-way an ecchi, so their curvaceous figures were probably just AuthorAppeal but more than a few viewers were drawn in because they were told about "the anime with the titty zombies."

* HypeBacklash: When Zombie Land Saga first premiered, it was met with universal praise, acclaim and interest from anime fans. Who were drawn to the interesting concept and the rather unique spin of starring zombies as the protagonists as a parody of an Idol group. This popularity escalated after episode 2, where Sakura and Saki engaged in their [[SignatureScene iconic rap battle]]. But then interest began to drop off in subsequent episodes where it slowly became clear that the show wasn't actually a parody and moreso just an Idol anime with zombies in it. While Saga was never unpopular, the rest of season 1 and season 2 were noticeably spoken about less and less in public forums.

* HypeBacklash: When Zombieland Saga first premiered, it was met with universal praise, acclaim and interest from anime fans. Who were drawn to the interesting concept and the rather unique spin of starring zombies as the protagonists as a parody of an Idol group. This popularity escalated after episode 2, where Sakura and Saki engaged in their [[SignatureScene iconic rap battle]]. But then interest began to drop off in subsequent episodes where it slowly became clear that the show wasn't actually a parody and moreso just an Idol anime with zombies in it. While Saga was never unpopular, the rest of season 1 and season 2 were noticeably talk about less and less in public forums.

* UncertainAudience: The GenreRoulette aspects of the series make it unclear who is actually the target audience. The first couple episodes go ''really'' hard on the inherent Horror theme of zombies being gross, decayed corpses. They also went hard on the parody aspect, where the girls participated in a litany of musical genres including heavy metal and rap music. But then that disappears aside from one or two gags in future episodes. Indeed, a lot of the humor is actually very safe and child friendly mostly relying on funny faces or reaction shots. Another point of confusion are some of the character designs, particularly of Sakura, Yugiri and Tae all of whom have very large breasts, complete with a bust size chart in the model sheets. The show is in no-way an ecchi, so their curvaceous figures were probably just AuthorAppeal but more than a few viewers were drawn in because they were told about "The anime with the titty zombies."

** Contrasting with Junko's amazing (and also rough-sounding) vocal talent, some fans have really appreciated Yugiri's smooth, buttery singing voice. Her signature song, "Saga Jihen", takes this trope UpToEleven due to her amazing performance.

* SoAverageItsOkay: While not completely terrible, the song "Butchakete For You" is considered the most lackluster of Franchouchou's songs due to it being something of a cookie-cutter idol group song as opposed to the "death and rebirth" theme the rest of their discography tends to have.

** For a rare few, the implication of Kotaro's [[AmbiguousSituation (potential)]] romantic feelings toward [[spoiler:Sakura]], even though Kotaro doesn't seem to be trying to pursue anything (because he's keeping his true identity a secret). Them [[spoiler:knowing each other in life]] aside, in the present day she's physically a teenager due to her death while Kotaro is at least a decade older now.

** This very wiki appears to have spawned one particular piece of fanon - namely, the mention on the Funny tab that kiseru were also used to smoke opium has led to speculation that Yugiri's stoned on the stuff.

** Many fans speculate that Junko was much more outgoing prior to her death due to stills of her in the 80's always showing her to be very happy, even backstage.
** It is widely agreed upon that Junko's plane crashed landed into a mountain. There is nothing in the show to support this but Junko's death seems to be heavily inspired by the crash of Japan Air Flight 123 and when keeping with the Bagua philosophy theory, Junko most closely fits mountain. However, the article on her death in ''Revenge'' Episode 7 reported something from the plane was on the coast, and the Japan Coast Guard was responsible for recovery efforts, pointing to it having crashed into the sea.

* OneTruePairing: After their mini-arc in season 1, Ai/Junko exploded in popularity and is easily the largest ship tag related to the series on Pixiv. A lot of fans have grown attached to the pairing due to their contrasting attitudes and synergy when the two perform together. Once they became popular together, a lot of official art with the two was released. Season 2 certainly continued the trend and episode 4 is pretty much nothing but [[LesYay Ai/Junko pandering]].

** ''Revenge'' introduces Maimai, an incomparably upbeat, klutzy, and sweet girl with a massive admiration for Franchouchou. Even the reveal that her idols are ''zombies'' isn't enough to sway her sheer glee meeting them.

* NoYay: The implication of romance between Sakura and Kotaro gets this reaction. Even if the two [[spoiler:knew each other in life and had a strong bond]], Sakura is still physically a teenager while Kotaro is at least a decade older, making the age gap between them a potential squick farm.

* {{Squick}}: White Ryu reacting to Saki's confession by [[JailbaitWait telling her to try again once she's grown older]] rather than dismissing her outright. Leaving aside the fact that Saki is technically in her forties, and the fact that she ''can't'' grow older, for a fifty-something man to say that to a girl who (as far as he knows) is in her teens is...questionable.

** [[FanPreferredCouple Ai and Junko]] receive a ton of this in ''Revenge'', having a two-episode arc that focuses on their relationship with heavy romantic undertones.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was Junko only against meeting fans face to face because that's not how they did things in her time or was her shyness the real motivator? Adjusting from having clearly defined lines to pictures and handshakes is a big jump, but there are many other aspects of Franchouchou that break idol norms that Junko never comments upon.

** Kotaro's shitty managerial techniques once again, in light of the revelations about Studio Mappa's issues with brutal crunchtime and extremely low wages.

* {{Applicability}}: WebVideo/MothersBasement argues that the story is about how different kinds of femininity (like Saki's HotBlooded-ness, Yugiri's openly sexual lifestyle, as she was a high-class prostitute, and Lily's trans identity) should be accepted and celebrated in the Idol industry, opposing its usual ContractualPurity.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The debut of the show came just as the [[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/10/12/national/crime-legal/family-seeks-damages-suicide-16-year-old-member-agriculture-promotion-idol-group/ suicide of a 16-year-old regional idol]] (from Ehime Prefecture in Shikoku) made the news when her parents sued her management for abusive behavior, including for extortionate threats when she decided to leave the group. With that, Kotaro's constant physical and verbal smackdowns of the girls--PlayedForLaughs almost exclusively--may become harder for viewers to swallow.

* HarsherInHindsight: Kotaro's shitty managerial techniques, in light of the revelations about Studio Mappa's issues with brutal crunchtime and extremely low wages.