https://blacknerdproblems.com/zenshu-episode-1-review/

After graduating from high school, Natsuko Hirose starts her career as an animator. Her talent quickly flourishes, and she makes her debut as a director in no time. Her first anime becomes a massive hit, sparking a social phenomenon and earning her recognition as an up-and-coming genius director.

Her next project is set to be a romantic comedy movie themed around first love! However, having never been in love herself, Natsuko struggles to understand the concept of first love, and as a result, she’s unable to create the storyboard, causing the movie production to come to a standstill. One day, she passes out while working on her storyboard and wakes up in the world of her favorite childhood anime movie “A Tale of Perishing.”

This is a mostly spoiler-free review of ZENSHU. The first episode debuted Sunday, January 5, 2025 on Crunchyroll.

A big thanks to Crunchyroll for the early access!

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When Crunchyroll unleashed a wave of new trailers last month, there was one that a friend sent my way, fellow BNP writer and anime fan Mikkel, that spoke to me–that reaaaallly spoke to me. The trailer that I saw was flashy, brilliant, and followed an anime fan…achieving her dream and the fantastical events that followed. The story follows an up-and-coming genius young anime director and the fantasy world she gets sucked into. This was the third official trailer, vastly different in the first two previously released and truly it was the trailer that cemented my interest in watching. I love a good Isekai and/or transmigrated or reincarnated character into a fantasy world and that’s what we’re getting here with MAPPA’s new original anime series–with a twist.

“FIRST STROKE”

The first five or six minutes or so of his very first episode of ZENSHU really set the scene in introducing our protagonist Natsuko Hirose. She’s a highly talented animator, whose talents carried her up the ranks in the animation industry to where she is now, a whole director. Within the first few minutes the audiences are treated to her personality: she’s a workaholic but unwilling to accept help or work with her team. The studio is behind on this latest feature film, a coming-of-age film featuring romance, but Natsuko is behind on the storyboards. We get to see her experiencing so much with such a short time: possible burn-out, the shock and grief of learning bad news, and writer’s, her animator’s block that is keeping her from being great.

It is not lost on me MAPPA is showing such characters working in the animation industry in distress feels incredibly on the nose. I say this because despite the incredible powerhouse the studio has proved itself to be in recent years, the studio has not avoided criticism regarding the controversies about its brutal work environment which include overworked employees, tight schedules, and the like. While we are not in Natsuko’s animator’s chair for long, I could not help but wonder if the narrative will return to the woes that animators and those in the industry face (or perhaps the particular ones that Natsuko suffers from) later in the series with more depth?

ZENSHU is equally thrilling to look upon and also intriguing to watch. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this original anime series and this first outing proved to be an amusing and colorful ride into MAPPA’s new era. I did find that the episode was so much fun to watch with comedic spots to move along the pacing to the more serious animated sequences of the episode. Fun fact: The original screenplay for this series was created by Kimiko Ueno, who wrote the anime adaptations for Delicious in Dungeon and 2024’s Ranma ½. 

I love learning that fact that those series are known to fans as anime with much humor, drama and flair which ZENSHU is showing us glimpses of so far. Natsuko’s emergence in this world of one of her childhood favorite animated worlds is worth dipping into as it is a fleshed-out world with lots of fine details and creatures. I’d want viewers to tune in also for the dynamic growing between her and Luke and crew–the heroes in a doomed world that she knows so intimately. I’m here for world building–as I am in any fantasy setting–yet I am also here for seeing Natsuko take off the rose colored, I mean nostalgia-colored glasses from her youth and confront what is in front of her.

ZENSHU ain’t got no reason to look this damn good via its animation. Seriously, from the battle sequences to the rapid fire back and forth moments that the female animator has with others, particularly the heroes in the “A Tale of Perishing”–the episode had many moments that shined. The later half of the episode features big battle scenes along with a brilliant realization of one’s power that carries the rest of the remaining runtime with ease. I wasn’t expecting MAPPA to drop the ball here with the animation. I was more so curious if their usual high level, quality of animation would be enough to hold those who aren’t quite sold on the new series. Especially since it is an original anime and not adapted from an uber popular manga that fans have been salivating over.

“We can always use more fantasy and this first episode of ZENSHU brings an ordinary young woman in a fantastical tale, on her own brilliant journey to become the hero she never knew she needed to be. MAPPA’s newest era brings us an engaging, humorous expedition into an original work that looks to bring a lot of heart and potential.”

Verdict

Natsuko is an unlikely hero–one of my favorites in anime–thrust into a world she knows so well. We can always use more fantasy and this first episode of ZENSHU brings an ordinary young woman in a fantastical tale, on her own brilliant journey to become the hero she never knew she needed to be. MAPPA’s newest era brings us an engaging, humorous expedition into an original work that looks to bring a lot of heart and potential. I can’t help but wonder if a two-episode premiere was needed to further bring along those on the fence about watching. (I suppose the alternative question to ask is what anime fan is NOT going to tune in for a MAPPA production?)

I obviously enjoyed watching ZENSHU: I do like what I’ve seen so far and where MAPPA is going with this original series. I am loving the visuals, the energy, and the combined elements that the audience sees only a taste in this first episode.  I am curious to see whether the narrative threads about an animator changing the story, changing the game, bringing new agency into her life holds up in future episodes–and in real life. ZENSHU checks off a bunch of boxes for me, as it should for other viewers in this new year and new season of anime. Time will tell if this new original series has the spine to stand tall and succeed in an already stacked anime season or will it end up being a series that needs to go back to the storyboards to be great?

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ZENSHU

Premiering on Crunchyroll

January 5, 2025

– PRODUCTION STAFF –

Directed by

Mitsue Yamazaki

Script Written by

Kimiko Ueno

Character Design and World Setting by

Yoshiteru Tsujino

Character Design and Chief Animation Director

Kayoko Ishikawa

Chief Animation Director

Etsuko Sumimoto

Kazuko Hayakawa

Shuji Takahara

Assistant Director

Sumie Noro

Art Director

Akio Shimada

Color Design by 

Ayako Suenaga

Director of Photography

Kenta Fujita

Editor

Mutsumi Takemiya

Music Composed by

Yukari Hashimoto

Sound Production

dugout

Casting Manager

Makoto Tanimura (Sound Wing)

Animation Producer

Takahiro Ogawa

Animation Production by 

MAPPA

– SONGS –

Opening Theme Song “Zen” Performed by

BAND-MAID

Ending Theme Song “Rest in peace.” Performed by

Sou

– JAPANESE VOICE CAST – 

Anna Nagase as Natsuko Hirose

Kazuki Ura as Luke Braveheart

Rie Kugimiya as Unio

Minori Suzuki as Memmeln

Akio Suyama as QJ

Romi Park as Justice

Manaka Iwami as Destiny Heartwarming

Kentaro Tone as Chingosman

Masashi Yamane as Ganger

Katsuhisa Hoki as Capitan

Sayaka Ohara as Admiral

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About Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is the global anime brand that fuels fans’ love of anime. With the ambition to make anime an even bigger part of pop culture, Crunchyroll offers fans the ultimate anime experience and destination centered around a premium streaming service. Crunchyroll has the largest dedicated anime library, an immersive world of events, exciting theatrical releases, unique games, must-have merchandise, timely news, and more. Anime is for everyone and is accessible to stream across territories through Crunchyroll—whether on the go on mobile, through gaming consoles and big-screen devices at home, or on desktops anywhere.

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.

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Cover image: ©ZENSHU/MAPPA

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The post Welcome to MAPPA’s new era: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 1 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.