
Zenshu Ep 7 Review
By this point in the story, itâs evident that Natsuko Hirose was brought to the World of Perishing for a reason. Sheâs not just there to turn the tragic ending into a potentially happy one. Sheâs also been sent to that world so she can learn to overcome her negative character traits. I.E., to teach her the values of friendship and love. While the last two episodes have seen success on getting her to work with others, when it comes to love, she remains clueless. As this episode dives into Natuskoâs past through the eyes of others, itâs revealed that her inability to understand love is something sheâs dealt with her entire life. And, for extra irony, sheâs made more than just Luke fall for her without even trying!
Also, this episode likely gave us the identity of the overall antagonist, AKA that mysterious bird that keeps appearing.
Natsuko is Winning Over EveryoneâŠ
Through a series of flashbacks, this episode gives us a look at Natsukoâs life from the perspective of four people. Each of them ranges from a childhood friend of hers all the way up to her boss at her animation studio, but they all have one thing in common. That thing being that Natsuko manages to evoke strong, often romantic, feelings from each of them. Granted, one of them, a senpai from a college, uses those feelings to fuel his (failed) attempts to surpass her, but thatâs beside the point. The point is that Natsuko has been capable of making people fall for her, and never realized it.
As the main protagonist, Zenshu has given viewers a pretty good grasp of Natsukoâs personality by now. She can come off as rude and abrasive at times, but, as it should be evident by now, itâs less out of malice and more out of not understanding social cues or personal space. Yet despite these shortcomings, her upfront nature, dedication to her craft, and overall passion also make her very charismatic without even trying. Enough to make multiple people fall in love with her.
Which makes her own inability to understand what itâs like being in love all the more ironic.
âŠBut Has 0 ROMANTIC XP!
As the final flashback of the episode demonstrates, Natsuko is utterly clueless on what itâs like to be in love. So what does she do? She turns to romance manga, harasses people on their own first loves, and attempts to play out romcom tropes in real life. Including âthe running into someone while carrying breakfast in your mouthâ routine!  But if finding love could be forced to happen like that, then nobody would be single in this world. Sadly, it doesnât work like that, and all she does is annoy her coworkers.
The funny part to all of this is that Natsuko doesnât even need to force romance. If she had paid more attention to the people around her, she would see how many people of both genders are attracted to her. Though truth be told, it seems like the events of Zenshu are setting her up for her own first love: Luke. In fact, given her obsession with A Tale of Perishing, it seems like she was always in love with Luke but didnât realize it. But as the episode ends in the present day, with Natsuko celebrating with the Nine Soldiers, there might still be hope for her.
Assuming that the mysterious bird thatâs been appearing doesnât have anything to say about it.
Who is that Weird Bird?
Over the past few episodes, Natsuko has been repeatedly visited by this mysterious-looking bird with big eyes. It keeps saying that all her attempts to give the story a happier ending wonât work, and it seems to be the one actively changing the story to ensure it returns to its âcorrectâ path. And this episode might have revealed who this being might be.
We donât get a good enough look at her, but based on the drawings of the creator of A Tale of Perishing that Natsuko looks at, this bird might be the avatar for the filmâs own creator. And for whatever reason, she seems to be bent on ensuring things play out as she envisioned them. Which in and of itself could be seen as meta-commentary on creators who actively shut down any and all attempts by fans to improve their story. Or it could all just be a coincidence. Either way, with Zenshu now in the back half of its episodes, things are going to start ramping up. Will Natsuko find a way home? Will she understand the meaning of love? Is all of this a dream as sheâs recovering in a hospital bed? Hereâs hoping we find out!
This ending is so good đ
Zenshu ed pic.twitter.com/S619dC4dMrâ đANURAAAAAGG (@AnusamXX) January 6, 2025
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