Zombie Land Saga Yumeginga Paradise Film Opens October 24

The Zombie Land Saga: Yumeginga Paradise (Dream Galactic Paradise) film is almost here, and the team marked the occasion on Wednesday with a “climax” promotional video. It spotlights a brand new song from the zombie idol group Franchouchou called “Yūkyū Never Die,” or Eternal Never Die.

The staff also revealed a new face. Daisuke Ono voices Naomasa Amabuki, a worker at the Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum Yumeginga. He happens to be the father of Maria Amabuki and the husband of Reiko, who is the best friend of group member Saki Nikaidō.

The movie opens in Japan on October 24 with the familiar cast returning. Takafumi Ishida and Takeru Satō are directing at MAPPA, Shigeru Murakoshi wrote the screenplay, and longtime contributors like character designers Fumihide Sai, Jinshichi Yamaguchi, and Kasumi Fukagawa are back, along with composer Yasuharu Takanashi.

For newcomers, the franchise has a wonderfully odd premise. It follows Sakura Minamoto, a girl who dreams of idol stardom until she is hit by a car and wakes up as a zombie. A mysterious man named Kōtarō Tatsumi then drafts her into an idol group made up of undead girls gathered from across different eras of Japanese history.

The series began back in October 2018 as a project from MAPPA, Avex Pictures, and Cygames, with a sequel, Zombie Land Saga Revenge, following in 2021. Both seasons streamed on Crunchyroll, and the world has since grown to include manga side stories and even a stage production.

My take: Zombie Land Saga has always balanced silly idol energy with surprising heart, so a film feels like a fitting way to give Franchouchou the big screen. That new song title alone has me ready to cheer them on one more time.