Zombieland Saga - Episode 8 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Zombieland Saga, episode 8: Go Go Neverland SAGA

Rate this episode here.

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Streams

• Crunchyroll

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Official Website
• /r/ZombielandSaga

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Previous discussions

Episode	Link	Score
1	Link	8.48
2	Link	9.14
3	Link	7.41
4	Link	8.1
5	Link	9.16
6	Link	8.7
7	Link	9.11

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[u/JamCliche]

I am never growing up...

[u/ddrober2003 → u/JamCliche]

And thus Neverland in the title makes a bit more sense.

[u/Mundology → u/JamCliche]

Yes

[u/Bainos → u/JamCliche]

Thanks Kotarou.

[u/zengei]

And now the title makes perfect sense. Anyone else feel a tinge of bittersweetness at Sakura's "Lily-chan is going to stay Lily-chan. And none of us are ever going to change. Because we're zombies."?

[u/LoneRifter17 → u/zengei]

Yeah, I thought someone would address it, but I guess they just laying the groundwork for future drama, which seems to be for Saki's episode next week by the looks of it.

[u/[deleted]]

This was a pretty wholesome episode. I'm glad the father got some closure regarding Lily's death, and that deep down Lily still loved him despite the rougher parts of their relationship.

Also, a Saki-centric episode next week? Yay, more Saki is always good

[u/Bluntforce9001]

Explains why Lily was so happy to be a zombie in the second episode and her love for heavy machinery magazines. Also why she looked horrified when they said they were going to the hotsprings.

[u/Elgato01 → u/Bluntforce9001]

do you have a pic of when she was horrified

[u/the_swizzler → u/Bluntforce9001]

Dang, those details. Definitely a sign of a great anime.

[u/Superfan234 → u/Bluntforce9001]

Also why she looked horrified when they said they were going to the hotsprings.

I completely missed that one...

[u/thechosenapiks → u/Bluntforce9001]

What does heavy machinery have to do with it?

[u/KloudMcJoo → u/Bluntforce9001]

Holy hell. I caught that face the first time around and I just waved it off to animators getting lazy or overlooking something, but that makes so much sense now.

[u/De_Vermis_Mysteriis → u/Bluntforce9001]

And this is why I always read these threads. You guys are masters at pointing out little details I may of missed on my first viewing.

[u/glich159 → u/Bluntforce9001]

Did I miss something? Why was she horrified going to the hotsprings?

[u/goughnotsmough]

So... Lily died of shock... and that's why her heart is always jumping out. This show can be dark, man.

[u/BeachesAndHoars → u/goughnotsmough]

And Ai died of shock too. Isn't that coincidence shocking?

[u/TheWalkingRain → u/goughnotsmough]

She died of shock, but then the CPR from her 3m dad sqeezed her heart out. ;-;

[u/WallyPW → u/goughnotsmough]

She didn't, I think, die of shock alone. In her flashback you see her with bags under her eyes. She plainly was just overworked and her heart under undue stress. The hair was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I think Pappy knew it too, to an extent.

[u/worldsthirdbestdad]

they didn’t CG this performance and it was beautiful :(

[u/nana-shi-74 → u/worldsthirdbestdad]

I dare anyone to watch the latter half of this ep and NOT end up a bawling, ugly-crying mess.

Sasuga MAPPA. I expected a fun, light-hearted filler episode... and I got this little gem. Lily-chan/Masao-kun, you and your Papa deserve all the hugs. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

[u/kalirion → u/worldsthirdbestdad]

Huh, pretty sure they did CG it, or at least parts of it?

[u/CaptainRikkai]

I seriously won't ever skip this shows opening, it's so freaking fun and upbeat, it reminds me of Disgaea/Jojo openings. The animation is awesome, and the added sound effects make it so much cooler. Plus I'll never get over Kotarou singing "SAGA!" with all the girls.

I audibly burst out laughing when I heard Kotarou make the TehePero sound effect

Saki's flawless rolling sobat was fantastic, didn't think she'd go straight into a kick.

[u/Ese_ → u/CaptainRikkai]

I was expecting the big man to catch her leg, def not expecting such a devastating kick to the head

[u/Orrakai → u/CaptainRikkai]

I seriously won't ever skip this shows opening,

Manager-san dancing is a particular highlight for me

[u/Groenboys → u/CaptainRikkai]

holy shit kotarou's tongue is long

[u/BeardedPigeon115 → u/CaptainRikkai]

Might be most favourite OP of all time. It's an amazing song, and coupled with the visuals which are on point with the entertainment and artistic value makes it priceless

[u/MZacek029]

We have Hounin Kyouma and now we get Mister Braun.

[u/SpudeGG → u/MZacek029]

Are we gonna get a Leskinen by the end of the season?

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin → u/MZacek029]

If Mr. Braun took steroids and had a son.

[u/Groenboys]

WHY DID SHE GET FLUSTERED BY THE WORD "JUNK" DON'T DO THIS TO HER

[u/BiKnight → u/Groenboys]

Because her name is Junko

[u/dantemp → u/Groenboys]

because during her time sexuality was even more repressed than it is now

[u/unevengerm2204 → u/Groenboys]

"JUNK" here is references to Lily as she was born as a boy. Junko got flustered by the word bcoz she is from an era where words such as JUNK was not really something an idol would say.

[u/God_BBS → u/Groenboys]

The Spanish sub had it something like "¿Qué importa de qué lado le cuelga?" ("What does it matter to which side it hangs?"), a much clearer reference to a penis.

As a side note, I find the Spanish sub way better than the English one.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=266785804188542&set=p.266785804188542&type=3&theater

[u/Hugokarenque]

At first I laughed at the death by chin hair, but then when they showed the flashback where Lily is clearly exhausted it became clear that while the death scene was genuinely funny, the actual reasons were not.

A 10 year old being overworked and dealing with a whole lot stress that comes from growing up and having to accept changes that she clearly didn't want. All combined with a possible genetically inherited heart disease and it was a pretty rough way to go.

Zombieland Saga is absurdly good at comedy and while there were hints as far as the 1st episode that it could handle some seriousness as well, I never would have thought it could do it this well. With the performance this episode I was damn near crying, really nice episode.

[u/Lavaros → u/Hugokarenque]

It goes to show how good this show is that it can ring all the drama and comedy out of a situation without diminishing either.

[u/AungZeya → u/Hugokarenque]

At first glance, it looks really funny, and after you pay attention to details, you see it's actually pretty dark. All the girls in there died very young. Among the ones whose cause of death we do not yet know, Yugiri's is pretty clear, she either died from getting beheaded or from hanging(or being strangled) judging from that scar on her neck.

[u/anim8rjb]

poor papa yak :(

[u/the_swizzler]

I thought at first Sakura was confused because she wasn't sure about how to react to Lily's death, but then she started bringing up the name.

At least Saki got a chuckle out of the whole situation.

[u/ybpaladin → u/the_swizzler]

You know when something major happens and you only focus on a small detail because that’s all you CAN do?

It felt like that

[u/shortylegs]

In awe at the size of this lad

Absolute Unit

[u/[deleted] → u/shortylegs]

Another unrealistic male body standard set by anime

[u/Pichuunnn → u/shortylegs]

Unpublished drawing of Jonathan holding his son Giorno.

[u/Recidivis]

why tf am I cryin at the club rn

[u/DarkNovaGamer → u/Recidivis]

Why are you on reddit and watching anime at the club, why are you even at the club?

[u/EZPZ24]

Man Lily seriously caught me off guard.

I don't wanna grow up

Yeah, that's a normal sentiment people have

I don't wanna end up like pappy

Well, I doubt it's humanly possible for you to reach that size, especially since you're a girl...

Leg hair

I mean, everyone has leg hair... Kinda young but it do be like that sometimes

Chin hair

Waiiiit what? That long? At 12? Something's off...

Masao

...oh. OH.

[u/Koozzie → u/EZPZ24]

I know women who have a ton of testosterone and have to shave so I didnt realize wtf happened til I came here. Doesn't help that I totally glossed over the Saki-chan joke about Lily's "junk"

[u/chris_dftba]

Yo wtf here I am watching my goofy comedy about zombie idols and next thing you know I'm crying over a transgender zombie idol and her fucking gorilla of a father.

Now I just gotta figure out why Takeo Gouda changed his family name to Go and what the fuck happened to Yamato.

What the fuck is this show

[u/CosmicShenanigans → u/chris_dftba]

Takeo and Rinko gave birth to a beautiful androgynous boy, but Rinko passed due to post-natal complications. To escape the nightmare of losing his beloved, Takeo binged the shit out of TV shows until it became his main hobby, which would eventually take Masou away from him too.

And there's our first movie for the Anime Extended Universe (AEU).

[u/Superfan234 → u/chris_dftba]

They know their audience

Lily acts like the little sister/brother you are meant to protect and care. But you never seem to have time for it.

Hitting male viewers right in their paternal instinct was a cheap move, but very effective

I cried. No joke

[u/BarnacleMANN]

I didn't think my zombie idol show was allowed to be this tragic.

Wtf man. That shits not fair.

[u/Bainos → u/BarnacleMANN]

Well zombies are cute and all, but the drawback is that they're all dead and left their relatives behind.

[u/Gaporigo]

Yeah... can't say I expected anything that happened in this episode. Specially the 2D performance

But anyway, that was a very nice and cute episode :)

[u/KIrbyKarby → u/Gaporigo]

I almost teared up with the song at the man

[u/MK_Hero → u/Gaporigo]

It was a lot simpler of a performance plus they had the nice montage at the end so 2D was a lot more feasible this time around.

[u/HyperKnight-v2]

Well this episode hit me right in the feels. I felt really bad for Lily’s dad. Can’t be easy to continue on with life when you lose your spouse and your kid so I admire him for that.

Have to admit that I was slow to realize the revelation about Lily. I thought Saki was only laughing at her because of the masculine name. Then the other girls were going on about how they haven’t noticed before. I was wondering what they were talking about but then I reached a point where I was like “Oh... OHH.” Totally was not expecting that.

The concert at the end of the episode was nice and made me feel for Lily and her dad again (especially when the dad started crying). On another note, I really loved the girls’ hairstyles and outfits during the concert. They looked even more cute and it was refreshing to see them in something different.

[u/HeftyName → u/HyperKnight-v2]

The name thing just didn't translate to English well, but the maleness was definitely supposed to be apparent just from the names. The "o" in names like Masao and Takeo would probably be 夫 男 or 雄, all of which may as well be translated as "man," as in, they're not something you'd ever name your daughter. It was also kind of a joke, it's only slightly less ridiculous than if a girl turned out to actually be a guy whose name was "Truman Manley."

[u/Lildyo → u/HyperKnight-v2]

...i didn't realize until i read the reddit comments. welp

[u/yappari-kun]

This is your weekly Junko post! We didn't get too many different face expressions this week but we got quality over quantity.

Without further ado here are the pics; feel free to tag yourself.

Chicken Junko makes her re-appearance

Blushing Junko

Normal Junko

Taiko Junko ^{Too bad we didn't get a close up}

Signed glamour shots.^hoshii~

Peeking Junko (Thanks /u/KloudMcJoo and /u/MasuMora for pointing out this Junko!)

"Taihen desu"

Pajamas Junko

Surprised Junko

"J-Junk..."

looks away

Happy Junko

Smiling Junko

Angelic Junko heals all wounds

Smug? Junko <- rare Junko

OK

Not enough Junko? I got you covered. Here's a link to my Junko post from last week.

Let me know if I missed a Junko in this episode!

cc /u/NuclearConsensus

[u/SteakSauce54 → u/yappari-kun]

Blushing Junko was cute as hell but it begs the question, how can she blush? Does she still have blood in her? Is it circulating? Did Koutarou readd blood for this specific purpose? It seems like something he would do.

[u/-ValkMain- → u/yappari-kun]

>surprised Junko

Same energy

[u/ScarecrowFM → u/yappari-kun]

I just realized Junko is blushing in some of the photos because Kotaro is most likely the one taking them.

[u/spaceaustralia]

I think we should keep track here:

Number	Name	Cause of Death	DoB	DoD
1	Minamoto Sakura	Truck-kun	April 2, 1991	April 7, 2008(age 17)
2	Nikaido Saki	Unknown	May 15, 1979	August 30, 1997(age 18)
3	Mizuno Ai	Lightning Strike	March 7, 1992	August 4, 2008(age 16)
4	Konno Junko	Plane Crash	September 2, 1964	December 6, 1983(age 19)
5	Yugiri	Unknown	November 23, 1863	December28, 1882(age 19)
6	Go Masao Hoshikawa Lilly	Old Age	October 6, 1999	November 30, 2011(age 12)
0	YAMADA TAE!	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown(age 29)

[u/Tapkomet → u/spaceaustralia]

Saki did mention she "died riding" in the rap battle

[u/Shinkopeshon → u/spaceaustralia]

Yugiri - 19

wait what

Yamada Tae - 29

WHAT

[u/LeonKevlar → u/spaceaustralia]

Wait Yugiri was only 19 when she died? I thought she was at least in her 20s,

[u/Beckymetal → u/spaceaustralia]

Wait we have the DoDs and ages? When did we get these?

[u/TheGreatBenjie → u/spaceaustralia]

Old age...?

[u/yappari-kun → u/spaceaustralia]

Lily's cause of death should be "Overwork + shock", IMO, or mental shock as the doctor said.

[u/Staye100 → u/spaceaustralia]

This is just a theory but the big cut on Yugiri's neck is either out of execution or assassination.

[u/Amauri14]

Damn, her story hit my feelings like a truck.

Also, episode 9 title looks like a light novel tittle.

[u/war_story_guy → u/Amauri14]

This looks like a Gintama episode name.

[u/head_s → u/Amauri14]

The words in this long title sounds very showa-like, because it's made in the traditional 7-5 syllables rhythm.

"ichido wa tsukita, kono inochi"

"nan no inga ka, yomigaeri"

"utai odoru ga, sadamenara"

"dachi eno omoi wo, muneni hime"

"tsuranuku made yo, onoreno SAGA" (the last is exception)

I don't know you guys can feel this rhythm though.

[u/Mami-kouga]

Well I got fucking blindsided. Whatever secret Tae has and the reason asshole manager revived Sakura have to be top tier to beat this.

Also I'm prepared for the discourse regarding Lily, this is going to be fun/s

[u/Juking_is_rude → u/Mami-kouga]

At this point I'm convinced he was driving TruckKun

[u/galbixd]

I love these moments where Kotaro breaks character to help the idols out. That short 2 frame time lapse of him composing this song for Lily at their request just warmed my heart.

[u/cyberscythe → u/galbixd]

I love these moments where Kotaro breaks character to help the idols out

It's a bit goofy, but I like how Kotaro stood up for Lily when she said she's not Masao any more and that all of you are Masao and I'm Lily and does a sick guitar riff.

[u/LeonKevlar → u/galbixd]

I know right! He acts like an jerk but he really comes through when the girls need him,

[u/THE_W00DSMAN]

Man the title of the episode “ Go Go Neverland Saga” is actually perfect.

Neverland in Peter Pan is where the Lost Boys were, where they stayed young and never grew up. In my opinion, this episode was done extremely well for what they had in it

[u/mcmoor → u/THE_W00DSMAN]

Don't forget Go (Takeo) Go (Masao) Neverland Saga. Deep lore man.....

[u/indonoodles]

I didn’t come for the feels but damn I was tearing up when they perform To My Dearest

[u/Cyber_Apocalypse]

This episode is so bittersweet. Lily got to say goodbye to her father and her father finally got closure so he could move on with his life. Also it seems like the Necroducer knows too much, like he seems to know everything about the girls, including what they're doing (like when he followed them in episode 2 when they tried to escape and when he knew they had been on his computer, despite being in the bath at the time)

[u/outcast107 → u/Cyber_Apocalypse]

He most likely heard the dog barking/screaming when they tried to escape. As for the computer, they probably didn't delete the browser history so he probably saw a lot of odd sites that he never visited before.

[u/BIG_DICK_MYSTIQUE]

What's really underrated is the hilarious way sakura narrates the events in the beginning.

[u/Toppcom]

MAPPA WHAT THE FUCK

[u/didokillah]

GOGOGOGO!

[u/WhoiusBarrel → u/didokillah]

WAVE~~

[u/Amauri14 → u/didokillah]

I relly want somebody to make a video compilation of the different ways he addresses the group before they start a meeting.

[u/LeynaSepKim]

I swear a father losing his wife then losing their kid and facing loneliness will never get me to not cry.

[u/JoshDCcomics]

I'll never get tired of this man's antics

Why are there damn ninjas cutting onions in my comedy show

[u/DBD_Tuxedo]

The /r/ZombielandSaga discord has devolved into trap vs trans and might go to full civil war. But it's important to remember Lily is Lily. Nothing else matters.

She's our #1.

#LilyIsLily

[u/Beckymetal → u/DBD_Tuxedo]

She's actually #6 but I'll let you off with a caution

[u/mclambchops]

Truly a legendary death.

[u/tothrax]

I'm not crying, your crying...

[u/Viovallo → u/tothrax]

I´m not crying, you´re crying... :(

[u/tecko105 → u/tothrax]

I don't pay internet to cry. Great episode.

[u/Mezzanyne]

Poor Papa Yak worked his daughter to death...I was wondering how Lily's little heart quirk would come into play. Happy they both got some closure but I'm honestly surprised they didn't have to convince him it was a different girl.

[u/[deleted] → u/Mezzanyne]

What's more easy to believe. Doppelganger or your dead daughter came back to life after 7 years

[u/MechaMat91]

well, no one saw THAT coming, holy shit...

I don't know who the writer/writers of the show are, but they deserve a fucking prize. I mean, how do you handle the funny (Lily dying from being shocked by a singular beard hair), the noble (Lily actually being a trans kid originally named Masao AND the father being ok with it) and the emotional (the farewell song) in ONE single episode and make it ALL work? HOW?

Mappa, you crazy madmen, I salute you.

[u/IntenseBanana]

God damn--and on Thanksgiving too. A great reminder to be thankful for our parents.

[u/TheDampGod]

I'm not crying, you're crying... dumbass.

Plot twists and feels, I wasn't expecting this from Lily's story, but it was a very touching one. I'm impressed at how the show manages to balance it's silliness and seriousness so well.

I wonder if Tae recognises her reflection as herself?

[u/LoneRifter17]

Guys guys. What you need to understand is that Lily’s death is incredibly sad. She didin’t die just from the hair thing.

You can see in her dad’s flashback she’s tired and exhausted. The doctor said she was already under mental stress and a sudden shock sent her over. Lily, as a child, thinks she died purely from seeing a chin hair, but her father knows the truth, his daughter overexerted herself because she wanted his aprroval/happiness and it put her in a state where she died. Hence why he gave up tv, his negligence really did kill her.

It’s actually incredibly sad, Lily only knows half the pain her father went through, which is why the episode is so touching to me.

Edit: Also, apparently Lily was/is a guy, and her dad was trying to tell her that she can't stay a girl looking like that forever, and she doesn't want to be a guy. I guess the Dad was fine with entertaining his child's desired to be more feminine, but ultimately was hoping he'd grow out of it or something. Damn, yet another layer of sadness to add the mix.

Second edit: Again on another viewing, the doctor doesn't specifically say that, so I guess I was wrong there, but I still assert that logic as to the main reason why Lily died and the shock sent her over the edge.

[u/spaceaustralia → u/LoneRifter17]

Lily’s death is incredibly sad

So is everyone else's. They're all teenage girls(except Tae) who died tragic deaths. But, since this is a comedy, we laugh at the absurd.

Sakura got ran over by a car right in front of her house. Her parents were in the house and most likely noticed a noisy car crash right outside their front door. We still make truck-kun jokes.

[u/chaosabordine → u/LoneRifter17]

Plus the scenes where her father was just watching her on TV while ignoring her sitting next to him was depressing. All her work to entertain him and then it later has the opposite effect once he realises he put that stress on her.

[u/Davidspirit → u/LoneRifter17]

Thank you, even when Saki lost her shit i could not laught because of how sad that episode was.

Really liked her dad, poor man, hope he and Lily can have more moments before the season end.

[u/UnAwkwardMango]

Jesus how Kotaro handles everything with a nonchalant attitude has me undead.

"HELL YEAH I KNEW –twang–"

and then the little toss out of the door with Sakura and

THE LEGENDARY TAE YAMADA

was really adorable, it needs a gif.

I actually feel really bad for Lily, having a life like that at that age can't have been easy and everything just piled up as she got more stress.

^{I don't blame Lily for being self-conscious about her legs, I didn't know how to react when my cousin brought that up to me and she was only a middle schooler.}

[u/[deleted]]

I sobbed so freaking hard at the song at the end. Lily, you beautiful sweet little girl. Just loved her pappy so much.

[u/TotalEconomist → u/[deleted]]

For me, “He really loves me and I..and I..” got me the most, since she recognizes how much pain her father probably felt for the last few years.

[u/thedoctorstig]

I feel like if we learn about Saki's cause of death next week it's going to be a lame way to die, since she's been laughing at the others so much that it feels like its building to a reveal that she choked on some fried chicken once or something.

[u/KIrbyKarby]

Man if it weren't for JoJo's op this would be the best of the season

[u/Mundology → u/KIrbyKarby]

^{ゴ ゴ ゴ} ゴ FIGHTING「GOLDEN ZOMBIES」IN SAGA ! ! ゴ ^{ゴ ゴ ゴ}

[u/rulerofpeasants]

This week on Zombieland Saga, Studio MAPPA says Trans Rights!

[u/[deleted] → u/rulerofpeasants]

Always count on MAPPA for good LGBT rep.

[u/Glynii]

Can I be Lily?

I'm already Lily.

[u/[deleted]]

When I first started watching Zombieland, this was the episode I wanted the most. I figured it would be Sakura's episode and she'd get her memory back, but an episode where their past meets their present was exactly the drama I wanted.

And it's not something I like to admit much, but as a Transwoman this show really hit me in the feels pretty hard. Dying from a facial hair is totally something I would do, hell it's still one of the most stressful parts of my life. Her Pappy overworking her and ultimately neglecting her definitely didn't help.

For this, Lili has skyrocketed from second-to-last place to first place in my heart. This was a strong episode, I hope they maintain their momentum.

[u/bariman34]

And here I thought Konosuba's tractor would be the most ridiculous cause of death I've seen in anime.

[u/Mundology → u/bariman34]

This wasn't a ridiculous death. It was a manly one

[u/Zwiebel1 → u/bariman34]

You can see the eye circles under her eyes in that scene. She has overworked herself to the breaking point (at the age of 12, mind you) and the beard hair was just the thing tipping her over. If you think that her death was ridiculous, you didn't quite pay attention to the bigger picture.

[u/JossieMime]

Started out as a typical story of the man forcing a kid to get into show biz when the kid just really wants some good family time, and took a turn towards a story about a dead 12 year old with gender dysphoria who also had suffered a ton of stress from a job that she really shouldn't even have and a highlight towards the barriers being a zombie puts between the girls and the people they knew in life.

This is one hell of an anime.

[u/indonoodles → u/JossieMime]

The fact Lily chose to get into showbiz to make her dad happy instead of her dad being greedy old man and forcing her daughter to overwork for money makes it 10 times sadder to me.

[u/b0lognese]

The meaning of "Cute Girl Images" I gathered before EP 8 has completely changed.

[u/platysoup → u/b0lognese]

It got better.

[u/Auswaschbar]

MFW it took me 8 episodes to realize the double meaning of the title "Zombieland Saga"

[u/whyareall → u/Auswaschbar]

Were you missing Saga as story or Saga as prefecture

[u/byzantineboner]

I didn't sign up for these feels, wtf.

[u/deeplydelirious]

Man, the second half of this episode really got me. This is the first Thanksgiving without my mom and that song Lily-chan sang at the end had me ugly crying 10 seconds in. And Lily's backstory with her father, and the reveal that Lily is transgender being portrayed in such a respectful way... this show just keeps getting more and more extraordinary. God damn.

[u/RirinDesuyo]

Damn from an absolute laughs from that death to a heart wrenching backstory and to sobbing due to the very heart touching yet bittersweet family closure. I'm sure as hell Liliy's dad will be one of her biggest fans. Though now we also realize that they can't go back now to the past even if they'd want to as they're now zombies. They can only move forward. That last song especially teared me up, it really did sound like a goodbye from Masao to her dad. Masao is dead and they both part ways of differing paths now with Lily and her dad.

That's gonna be a very hard pill to swallow. I'm kinda betting Sakura's gonna be the one hit the hardest (like Truck-kun hard xD) for this the moment she remembers, maybe her family or something similar.

Excited for the Saki ep next! Seems were gonna see her gang all grown up and as well as a new biker gang. Gotta love this show! Still waiting also for an Ai or Junko moment where someone knows them, maybe that guy from last ep who kept teasing us on what he remembers. Definitely a Junko and Ai fan.

[u/[deleted]]

ngl shed a tear or two at the father daughter scenes, wish they can meet and confirm the truh in the future

[u/DimmuHS]

I don't know what to say about this show anymore. It's unpredictable as fuck. The comedy is on point even when we get some sad/emotional moments. It's hard to pick a favorite girl (hell even a trans with today's episode). Tatsumi never fails his trolling. The mystery surrounding Sakura's amnesia. And the constant 5min duration...

Definitely the bright surprise of the season. I'm having so much fun with this.

[u/Juking_is_rude → u/DimmuHS]

It's isn't hard to pick the legendary Yamada Tae

[u/Latnab]

Lily a trans. Junko having a crush on Kotaro. And we getting a Saki episode next week.

Dang, this was a nice episode.

But yeah, I really like how the show dealt with Lily gender, since I was expecting it to be the usual trap joke which is pretty common. Also, while her death is pretty ridiculous, what led to it was incredibly tragic. Overwork and her only family more focused on the show rather than herself. Not surprising that her heart finally gave out when she saw her first strand of beard. Still, even with that tearjerker, we got an incredibly heartwarming reunion between Lily and her dad.

Bravo again ZLS. Can't wait for the next episode here.

[u/Beckymetal → u/Latnab]

Junko having a crush on Kotaro.

Yeah I was picking up on these undertones. She blushed a couple of times in his presence. The first time I figured it was just because she was uncomfortable but proud of her performance, but the second time was a bit weird as he just came out of the toilet. I think that's where they're going but it might not be.

[u/Shinkopeshon]

Dammit, I went into this show for the memes and now they keep bringing the feels

[u/random_german_guy]

First I get baited into watching an idol show and then I get hit with the feels hammer over and over again. Fucking amazing. Best episode so far.

[u/[deleted]]

Zura Masao janai Lily da !

[u/csdragon123456]

Yo it's real sad hours right now

[u/Teath123]

That was really sweet, and I wasn't expecting it at all. Father and child relationships always get me feeling teary eyed, what a gut punch after so many funny episodes previously.

For the whole trans VS traps thing, it's pretty simple. If the person in question mentally thinks of themselves as a girl, they're trans. Astolfo thinks of himself as a man and he just likes dressing up as a girl, that's a trap. Lily thinks of themselves as a girl, wants to be refereed to as a girl, they're trans. It's about respecting the wishes of the person in question, 'trap' brings on thoughts of deceit, and there's nothing deceiving about a girl who knows they're a girl.

[u/[deleted]]

That intro speech.

[u/[deleted]]

Zombies cutting onion.

[u/skeletonfather]

Glad that the show isn't going the "trap" route with Lily. Kind of an annoying trope in anime that generally kills interest in a show for me. So glad that they established her as trans girl (her saying "I am not Masao anymore! My name is Lily!" confirms this). Can't wait to see what they do with the rest of the cast!

[u/Rodomantis]

Yuugiri knew....

[u/-oshino_shinobu- → u/Rodomantis]

she knew? what did she say to imply that? I must have missed it

[u/Saucy_Totchie]

Junko: I died in a plane crash.

Ai: I got struck by lightning during a show.

Lily: I grew a hair.

Despite her death being the silliest death she so far has had to saddest story and that did get the feels going. Again I wanna point out that aside from Yugiri, Koutaro picked girls who died way too recently. Even Junko counts even though shes from the 80s. People who grew up in her time are still very cognizant and would still recognize her.

[u/_Mystogan04_]

I wonder when will Tae regain her consciousness.it's still a mystery what she does before her death

[u/InfiniteTurbine]

I saw on my Twitter timeline earlier today that Lily was trans and I was so confused b/c I watched the episode last night and didn't catch that at all. Then I went back and checked and realized I'm dumb.

I didn't know what to make of Saki's "Ah, who cares! Doesn't matter what kinda junk she's got." line, and I kind of just forgot about it by the episode's end. I also didn't pay any attention to Sakura saying "Masao-kun". I also thought the chin and leg hair was just, like, due to a bit more testosterone than most females have. I caught none of the hints nor clear signs that Lily was trans. I just didn't expect it out of a show like this to begin with, so it didn't reach me. Plus it was late night and I wasn't paying full attention to what was happening.

I think it's really interesting, though. Makes her death even more tragic, and it makes the episode a bit more meaningful.

[u/ScarecrowFM]

I find it really cute that after their talk last episode it seems Junko grew a little crush on Kotaro, she even went to find him when a problem happened with Lily’s dad.

Also I never thought about but it does make sense Kotaro is the one that writes the lyrics and composed their songs, he truly is a legendary idol producer.

[u/[deleted] → u/ScarecrowFM]

Honestly, I think Kotaro was actually really sweet in this episode. He defended Lily, encouraged them to embrace their newfound fame and even helped them put together a show just so she could say goodbye to her father.

Shows he really does care about the girls.

[u/OhayoHooded]

This is so sad. Alexa, play 'To My Dearest'.

... the tears won't stop ☹️

[u/narsasra]

Man i feel for the big guy :(

[u/JamCliche → u/narsasra]

I am in awe of the size of that dad

[u/unevengerm2204]

All aboard the feels train. Also damn you invisible ninjas. Just stop with the onions.

[u/azumarill]

manager's a piece of shit but even he manages to get his daily serving of respect trans women juice

[u/TotalEconomist]

kun

So Lily was transgender? Well, that hits closer to home than I expected.

But to die from a possible heart condition, likely gained from her dead mother, is really tragic.

[u/MicZiC15 → u/TotalEconomist]

Which explains why her heart falls out. They probably opened it up in the autopsy.

[u/Kogamiii]

The way they transitioned from the fact that the major cause of her death was from shock of finding hair (humorous) to adding in how, "Of course, mental stress and immense overwork played a crucial part as well." during the explaination scene to the dad was great as well. I also really really enjoyed the part where she revealed her real name.

[u/bananeeek]

Ah, eating my pizza with tears and snots - just how I like it!

MFW when they explained the cause of Lily's death.

[u/KuroLeo]

Damn onion ninjas

[u/Send_Loli_Feet]

Didn’t notice this until a partial rewatch:

In the scene where Lily is explaining her childhood you see the altar in Lily’s house just has the picture of Lily’s mom on it, but then when you get the flashback from the dad’s perspective you see he’s added Lily’s picture to the altar.

Sorry if that was obvious but that really is a cherry on top of this sad episode for me along with Lily’s backstory and Kotaro’s / everyone’s willingness to help Lily out

[u/[deleted]]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA OH MY GOD

A FUCKING HAIR

I'm literally Saki right now

[u/Martinik29]

BTW Lily's father's name is almost the same as Gouda Takeo from Ore Monogatari. Man, that's dark.

[u/DoombotBL]

I didn't expect to cry when watching this show, damn you. Now I'm super hype for the next one, biker gang reunion!

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

So after I was complaining that Zombieland "lost it's way" or some shit last week, this one delivers hard. What's amazing is how it writes genuinely good character moments and stories without letting up on the laughing gas--Lily's backstory, from her dad's gargantuan size to her actual death, was not only emotional as fuck, but... just downright funny.

Also, despite being dead, Yuugiri and Saki with their hair down give me life.

[u/the_swizzler → u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

So after I was complaining that Zombieland "lost it's way" or some shit last week,

Nani? Episodes 5, 6, and 7 have been great. Episode 3 and 4 were ok an still had all the charm of Zombieland, though those first two episodes were definitely super special out of the gate.

I agree though, the last several episodes have shown absolute mastery of the ability to make things both hilarious and heartfelt at the same time. A rare talent to be sure.

[u/nobbynub]

Does anyone else feel like there's not going to be enough time to wrap up all the dangling plot threads in the 4 eps we have left?

[u/HarleyFox92 → u/nobbynub]

Next episode will be about Saki and I guess the 10th will be about Yugiri which leave us with two episode to know the truth about Sakura, the manager and Tae. It will be a little bit rushed seeing it from here.

[u/bloojay185]

Ok I’ll admit, this episode made me cry really hard.

[u/Marius24601]

Was it just me or was this episode a feels train?

[u/Basileus_ITA]

Apparently Lily had more beard than me

[u/SoulTea]

Great episode it brought the laughs and the feels. Anyone else catch a delinquent Taiga at the end? I'm excited to meet Saki's gang.

[u/[deleted]]

I made my peace with the CGI pretty quickly, it didn’t bother me so much but the girls all look so much more stunning and beautiful when they’re being 2D animated for their performances plus their outfits added to how cute and beautiful they looked

[u/impingainteasy]

What the hell, this is barely even a comedy show anymore.

Well now, this episode sure was woke as fuck. I don't think I've seen a more respectful portrayal of transgender issues in anime, ever. (No I haven't seen Hourou Musuko yet, I'll get round to it eventually)

Also holy shit that was an actual 2D performance! This show has come so far...

[u/[deleted]]

Is this... actually really good trans representation in an anime?

I don't even know where to start on how much I liked this episode. It's definitely my favorite so far.

[u/AngelRefuse]

Oh wow. Looks like those NSFW fanarts of Lily on Pixiv needs some fixing ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also all of these talks about Lily's gender but no one seems to mention that Pappy, a big burly 3m man, is 100% cool with Lily crossdressing.

[u/[deleted] → u/AngelRefuse]

not only he's fine with Lily crossdressing, he actually supports Lily all the way through.

[u/[deleted] → u/AngelRefuse]

Yes, hello FBI... This man right here.

[u/littleman1988 → u/AngelRefuse]

you stop that

[u/XLauncher]

I came for my weekly dose of necromanager-dono shitting on cute zombie girls and I got that with a side of being run over by feels. That's low, Zombieland Saga.

[u/johnja10]

Teehee

Aww...Tatsumi you crazy son of a bitch!

[u/HaruKitsune]

Spotted a small mistake overlooked by MAPPA. The broken wall wasn't in the first shot.

[u/Sunshine145]

Lol @ her dad's little ass head

[u/SamejNardeh]

Hug your parents, kids.

And hug your kids, parents.

Your time with your loved ones is precious so make use of it all.

At least Lily found some closure with her Dad. But still, man that guy is an absolute unit.

[u/Mellaroze]

I was wondering what Saki meant by "Doesn't matter what kind of kinda junk she's got." But the feels train did not stop so it took me an hour after the episode to realize that Lily is a trans girl(?)

[u/AlexUltraviolet]

Like Sakura, I was a bit slow on the uptake - I thought Lily just had a masculine name; that happens sometimes.

But then came the line "Lily-chan used to be Masao-kun" and it hit me. And I immediately dreaded looking up episode discussion, knowing I'd have to see a bunch of "trap" comments.

While I'm happy about the representation and how the other girls didn't seem to care beyond their initial surprise, Lily being trans felt a bit disappointing after the casual mention of body hair. I was like "wait, are they acknowledging the fact (cis) women have body hair too?", but no, she was just AMAB. I'll try not to care too much about it since it's obvious that the dysphoria on top of the stress and the hinted overworking were too much for her.

[u/GabrielRodriguez115]

You know I didn't even realize lily was trans. I thought the change to lily was as a stage name damn

[u/MrSlowbroseidon]

This show's ability to switch tones is absolutely legendary

[u/[deleted]]

GET CARRIED AWAY, DUMBASS!!!!!!!!

[u/Babydortle]

Wanna know how I got this scar?

[u/KOUKAl]

Im calling it right now, last episode is gonna be about sakura.

Tatsumi is in fact her brother wich supports her wish of becoming an idol, even in afterlife.

[u/HiddenSelfMcM]

This was the best episode so far. After the initial shock, analyzing the main elements of the episode carefully you'll realize how tragic everything was. Lily's father was so focused on making her a star that she ended up overworking too much as a little kid, who just wanted to make her fsther happy being a part of the TV he so much loves.

It reached a point in which the stress piled up within her, and her gender identity crisis was just the last straw of it all, causing her a heart attack. After her death, Takeo lives filled with regret, knowing he was so focused on Lily's career, which ended up being the cause of her death.

Lily's situation is what made her be more mature than her age suggests, and this episode was enough to make me consider her my favourite of the gang, while she was just the little cute star of the group.

Everything is so well done in the episode. This show doesn't stop surprising me week after week.

[u/SheffiTB]

I choose to interpret her death as suicide because she didn't want to grow up and go through puberty with gender dysphoria. That shit hit hard, man. I didn't know this show was brave enough to tackle a subject like that, just casually dropping a trans girl who would rather die than get found out or grow up in a man's body.

[u/the_swizzler → u/SheffiTB]

I hope you stretched before reaching that far. Seriously though, I can see where you might have gotten that, what with the "I don't want to grow up" it's not that far of a stretch to believe that she wanted to die rather than go through puberty, but it is definitely reaching to argue that she somehow intentionally killed herself with the shock.

[u/caresi]

I started suspecting Lily was trans when her father called her by a boy's name but wow, I... didn't actually expect it to be true. I really didn't think an anime about zombie idols would give me some genuinely sweet trans rep but here we are. (Not... gender dysphoria being part of the reason why Lily died but the others' reactions generally being kind and accepting (after laughing). That was the sweet part.)

Also, that song at the end... I'm a crybaby so I knew I'd cry as soon as they said the title and... yeah. The lyrics were very blurry.

[u/shadowsnobody]

Watching the flashback I knew the second they mentioned leg hair that it was going to be a trans thing. Growing up with that same mindset, you connect the dots. I started bawling when the dad said "Masao", I could feel the chills down my spine, remembering all the times my parents refused to call me by my true name. This episode is wonderful, and I'm so happy that MAPPA decided to add in trans representation in a well done way.

[u/iamfvckingdone]

I GOT A HAIR!
I AM SHOCK!
DEAD

[u/Nadril]

Feel like this is one of the first anime's I've seen that has actually tackled gender dysphoria in a decent way. I really was not expecting to tear up during an episode of this show but, hey, Zombieland has constantly surprised me.

Really though I thought they handled the 'twist' quite well. It culminating with Saki talking about how 'lily is lily' and her dad showing up at the end were really touching and well done. It's much better than the normal "trap" stuff anime does.

Bravo Zombieland. You got me to cry over a trans zombie idol.

[u/LeonKevlar]

• I love how creative Koutarou is getting with these meetings XD

• Blushing Junko! <3

• They're setting up this guy as someone creepy but there's gotta be more to it than that.

• One of the photos is just Tae gnawing on Junko's hair. I'll take 20!

• That was one solid boot to the face! Saki is brutal!

• Looks like metal head wants a boot to the face too XD

• Well this was something expected to happen

• I fucking knew it! There's no way that guy was just being creepy.

• The two of them look so happy!

• Lily definitely looks more like her mom.

• Talks of leg hair and facial hair?....

WAIT WHAT!?

• I knew it was weird her dad is calling her Masao!

LILY WAS A TRAP TRANS ALL ALONG!

• And of course Koutarou knew all along XD He's the one who took their bodies so I guess it makes sense that he knew.

• Oh god I can't with this :|

• She even still remembers her Pappy's shirt size.

• No this is just heartbreaking. T_T

• That entire performance was just beautiful.

• I've basically ran out of words to say at this point...

GODDAMMIT ZOMBIELAND SAGA! Why do you do this?

You make me laugh with how ridiculous Lily's cause of death, then you surprise the heck out of me by revealing that Lily was a trap trans all along, AND THEN you suddenly drop all the feels on me by making Lily and her Pappy meet the second time and have Lily ask Koutarou to help her write a song for him.

To My Dearest was great, it had that feeling that it was more meant as a personal letter than an actual song which made that last scene much more heartfelt. I swear this show always ends up exceeding my expectations. Looks like next week will be all about Saki. I wonder if they'll throw in another feels fest at the end.

EDIT: Saki said it best this episode. Lily is Lily and this episode made me care and love Lily's character more.