#Aniplus Cafe: Zombie Land Saga Report

Aniplus Asia opened the third edition of their collaboration cafe on 6 August with Zombie Land Saga. Similar to the previous collabs with Saekano the Movie: finale and BanG Dream!, the cafe featured an exclusive themed menu and new anime merchandise for sale. The Zombie Land Saga collaboration is set to run for eight weeks, with a song cover competition open globally. 

Stepping into the cafe gave the impression of, “Wow, this really is Zombie Land Saga.” The walls and tables were covered with the characters and the TVs showed stills from the episodes. It was pleasant to see Singaporean fans visiting the cafe despite uncertain times, which shows that Zombie Land Saga has quite the reach within the community here. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 regulations, videos could not be played in the cafe. Customers could walk in to find a seat, but must check in via a government app for contact tracing while staff must take the customers’ temperature, as per regulations. Seats were also limited due to the COVID-19 situation, but there was no need to make reservations.

The cafe seemed to come together in a way that was very, for a lack of a better phrase, Zombie Land Saga-ish. The visuals decorating the walls had paint dashes, which were artfully placed to showcase the group’s fun persona. There were individual character stands all around the cafe to take photos with, as well as a photo wall that featured all of Franchouchou! 

The cutouts of the chibi characters that were stuck onto the Zombie Land Saga merchandise shelf were really cute as well! It was very fitting to see bright colors all around the cafe. It not only showcased the individual members’ personalities but was also sorely needed in the era of a pandemic.

It was tempting to buy the exclusive Zombie Land Saga acrylic stands, which were part of the merchandise sold in the cafe. The Aniplus staff revealed that the designs were actually exclusive to the Zombie Land Saga museum in Japan, so it was fortunate that they could bring it over to Singapore. Taking into account their exclusivity, size, and designs, the cute acrylic stands were worth the price.

There also were other anime merchandise sold in the collab cafe, such as BanG Dream!’s albums, Fate/Apocrypha badges and keychains, and Saekano the Movie: finale blankets. A wide array of anime merchandise was available at the cafe, and, since the last collab, they seemed to have added more merchandise.

As with all collab cafes, there will always be a themed menu. Lo and behold, the cafe menu presented not just one or two drinks, but the cafe had seven drinks to choose from, each representing one character from the Franchouchou group. Three mains dishes and a dessert were offered on the menu as well. Every collab menu item came with a character coaster from week one to four of the cafe, while week five to eight will come with a character trading card.

The staff recommended Drink No.2, which was a milkshake with blended ice cream that tasted creamy, yet light. The Drive-in Tori Bowl, which came with three chicken yakitori sticks atop a bed of garlic butter rice, was inspired by the Drive-in Tori restaurant that Saki was a big fan of before she became a zombie in the anime. Fun fact: Drive-in Tori is an actual restaurant in Saga Prefecture that is known for its yakitori menu and chicken rice.

The Franchouchou T-Shirt Idol Waffle looked quite aesthetically pleasing. It, too, was inspired by a scene in the anime where the group received their rainbow T-shirts. However, it was a pity that the waffle was quite hard, though the staff later shared that they were tweaking the recipe. Drink No.6, which was Lily Hoshikawa’s drink, had a mix of orange and blue which changed to a beautiful turquoise blue after a period of time.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, mostly because of the layout and design of the cafe, plus the premium gifts. The drinks certainly helped to make the experience even more enjoyable, but the food had a ways to go when it came to taste and was relatively pricey. While one might think twice about the food, the merchandise is definitely worth getting for Zombie Land Saga fans.

Disclaimer: Anime Trending received a free invitation to the cafe from Aniplus Asia, where food, drinks, and premiums were provided.