Japanese schoolgirl zombie fighters?

Fans of AKB48 are in for a special treat this spring. AKB48 members Nana Owada, Rina Kawaei, Juri Takahashi, and Mion Mukaichi will star in the new TV Tokyo live-action series, Sailor Zombie, which will premiere April 18.

Set in post-apocalyptic Japan, three girls at an all-girls high school must try to survive and adapt in a world invaded by zombies. The drama's theme song is sung by Milk Planet, a newly formed subunit group comprised ofAKB48 members Mayu Watanabe, Yui Yokoyama, and Karen Iwata. The pictures below show the members of Milk Planet transformed as zombies for their debut music video promoting the Sailor Zombie's opening song.

Sailor Zombie is based on the video game, Sailor Zombie ~AKB48 Arcade Edition~, which was just released into Japanese arcades this April. In the game, players are given the task to save non-zombie AKB48 members as well as shoot vaccine bullets at AKB48 zombies. Bandai Namco Games announced on Friday that an arcade game titled Sailor Zombie ~AKB48 Arcade Edition~ will arrive in Japanese arcades in April. Each play costs 200 yen (about US $2).

Sailor Zombie ~AKB48 Arcade Edition~features members of idol group AKB48 as zombies. Players are able to play alongside one out of seven members (Yuko Oshima, Mayu Watanabe, Yuki Kashiwagi, Rina Kawaei, Anna Iriyama, Mako Kojima, Miki Nishino) of the group as they work together to shoot the zombies with an antidote and turn them back into humans. Along with fighting large monsters and curing members of AKB48 from the zombie infestation, there are also in-game rhythm games that must be completed at random points throughout the story. "Gingham Check" and "Flying Get" are among the four songs available.

The 3-D zombie faces were created using a scanner to obtain the facial structures of the real AKB48 members, off which each zombie was based.

A playable version of Sailor Zombie ~AKB48 Arcade Edition~ will be showcased at Japan Amusement Expo 2014 on February 14 and 15. The twelve episode series will begin on April 18th and will be broadcasted every Friday on TV Tokyo. For more information about the live-action drama, Sailor Zombie, check out the official website.