MAPPA has lately been known for animating action-packed, gritty hit series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and Hell’s Paradise. But now, they are going where they have not been before by making an anime series about making anime called ZENSHU. This storyline is really intriguing for its nuanced look at the personal and professional journey of an animator, shedding light on the pressures and complexities of the animation industry.
ZENSHU centres on Natsuko Hirose, a budding professional animator who is known for her shut-in personality—represented by her long hair covering her face. Despite that, she strikes gold when her first anime, “Sukeban Magical Girl Darkness Academy” (a parody of Sailor Moon and other magical girl anime) is an instant hit. She finally gets the chance to direct a new animated series, only to find herself struggling with the project because it’s a romantic comedy—her least favourite genre to work with.
After rejecting every draft and overworking herself, Natsuko eventually dies of exhaustion. Natsuko later wakes up in the world of “A Tale of Perishing”, her childhood anime series that led her to becoming an animator. Disillusioned with experiencing the sheer hopelessness of the anime’s storyline in person, she later discovers that she has the power to re-animate scenes in order to alter the storyline to survive the cruelness of being in her childhood anime’s world.
ZENSHU is roughly translated in English to “redo everything”, reflecting the artist’s relentless pursuit of perfection. Natsuko’s story is a reversal of fate, as her initial success only intensifies the pressure to replicate it. Despite facing overwhelming obstacles, she remains determined to overcome them on her own terms. This first episode reflects every aspect of this for Natsuko, as she also tries to rewrite the story she gets isekai’d to, knowing what is about to happen.
The first episode is titled FIRST STROKE, which was fitting for a story about an animator’s life in the industry. Speaking of the animation, the animation started off fairly normal-looking—typical style for a slice-of-life anime series. The hint of the animation in a fantasy world was teased in a preview clip of Natusuko’s first hit anime. Where the animation goes crazy is when Natsuko is transported into the world of A Tale of Perishing.
Playing with the aspect ratios was a great choice to emphasize the cinematic format of the isekai world was a smart choice to distinguish the show-within-the-show. Like many isekai anime series, Natsuko has powers, and it was beautifully animated. Parts of this moment reminded me of Okami’s use of Sumi-e ink art, but mixed with the sparkling glamour of Oshi no Ko and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. The MAPPA animators must have also felt inspired by their previous colourful art style from Hell’s Paradise.
I can already see the merch being made of the cute little unicorn character Unio. Much like Chainsaw Man’s Pochita, Unio is super adorable but serves as an integral part of the hero party in A Tale of Perishing. Unio is a powerful mage, but also utilized for her ability to transform into a flying mount—making her very versatile. Every other character in the hero party or in the real world felt generic so far, but will obviously be fleshed out later on. Unio was the immediate standout.
ZENSHU’s score is composed by Yukari Hashimoto, bringing a whimsical and sombre style to match the series’ vibes. This is on-par with the context that Natsuko’s life is a funny-sad one, but the isekai world she gets transported to is almost as dreadful a world as Attack on Titan or Berserk. The opening theme song is Zen by BAND-MAID, known for also creating the opening themes for other major anime series such as Log Horizon season 3 and Platinum End.
“ZENSHU’s score is composed by Yukari Hashimoto, bringing a whimsical and sombre style to match the series’ vibes.”
The ending theme song is Rest in peace by Sou (Dead Mount Death Play). I only heard this ending theme, and it was an emotional one that reminded me of the opening theme of Tokyo Ghoul, Unravel by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure. Sou’s voice was so soft with the rock drums and violins matched the emotional beats I was getting from the show so far. While Natsuko adds a certain comedic, endearing element to the story, I have a feeling that there will be some tear-jerking moments in this anime—based on some of the narrative beats and exposition.
Taking everything into account, ZENSHU did not grip me from this first episode. It has some intriguing aspects, and I am curious how the narrative will open up a conversation on Japan’s animation industry or the animation industry in general. I found it ironic for MAPPA to be producing this show when they have been facing multiple controversies of unethical work practices. Is this a self-commentary of the pressures of the studio itself?
On a positive note, I am enjoying the personality of Natsuko. I appreciate that the leading production staff on ZENSHU are two notable women in the industry: director Mitsue Yamazaki (Bleach) and writer Kimiko Ueno (Delicious in Dungeon). A good portion of the anime I appreciate comes from these two industry leaders, so I can trust that the character-building of ZENSHU should be strong in its own right. This anime series looks promising, and those who love a compelling protagonist will enjoy this show. However, I think this is a show that needs a couple of episodes to really get invested in it.
ZENSHU episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.