Alternative title: ZENSHU
Anime original by Mappa
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Premise
Natsuki Hirose is a young animator whose meteoric rise has placed her in the upper echelon of the animation industry. However her next project stalls out, struggling to connect to the material in addition to the newfound attention she’s received. After eating a rotten bento, she wakes up to discover she’s been transported to the world of A Tale of Perishing, the childhood anime that inspired her to become an animator.
Gee’s verdict: To What End
On paper, ZENSHU is deploying its isekai premise to ask questions about the motivation behind creative work. If you read my thoughts on Look Back, you know I’m deeply sympathetic to this narrative framing. Unfortunately, ZENSHU has yet to adequately answer what the isekai aspect of the story is adding to that. At her core, Natsuko is a familiar story in the arts; a rapid up and comer who struggles with the expectations that have come with her newfound industry repute. I can tell that the conceit of sending her into the world of her favorite childhood anime is likely meant to reignite her love for the arts. As someone who also believes a great deal in the power of fiction to inspire real emotions and actions, I can appreciate this. Alas, the execution is where it fails to really grip me. The isekai world doesn’t have much going for it and Natsuko herself isn’t particularly compelling either. So far the show seems to just be an excuse to play out the most generic isekai satire while occasionally flexing with Mappa’s undeniable technical artistry. If that’s all there is to ZENSHU, then I’m not sure I’ll have the patience to wait for this story to reach its telegraphed emotional peak, nor am I confident I would even be impressed when it finally gets there. As an artist though, I feel somewhat obligated to see what ZENSHU’s thesis is. Art about art can offer rare glimpses into the interiority of the people making it. If nothing else, Kimiko Ueno is a creator I respect enough to give the time of day.
Jel’s verdict: Is this it?
For me, the only path to redemption for ZENSHU is if they reveal the main girl is not actually dead and she takes back the lessons she learns from the fantasy world, whatever those lessons might be. Otherwise, this was a lot of effort to make a basic ass isekai show. It’s not that this episode was terrible, it just doesn’t do anything interesting or special beyond the visuals and I was expecting more. I’m feeling particularly salty coming hot off watching the fantastic Look Back, as I suspect ZENSHU may tread into some similar thematic territory. Maybe that’s not a fair comparison, but either way I felt disappointed after watching this.
