First Impression: Zenshu

Natsuko Hirose is a young hotshot animation director who skyrocketed to fame with her first production—one that was so relevant it became a cultural phenomenon. Her next series is set to take the world equally by storm—except that she’s suffering from writer’s animator’s block. Time is getting tight and her hair is getting long (she’s sworn an oath, Nazirite-style, not to cut it until she’s finished storyboarding), when, during a lunch break starring suspiciously colorful seafood, Natsuko collapses to the floor, choking, her face turning as iridescent as her ill-fated lunch. When she stirs, she’s in The Tale of Perishing, a failed anime from her childhood, and her single favorite work of art on account of its sheer incomprehensibility. Natsuko barely has any time to do herself and all otaku proud by geeking out appropriately over her surroundings and beloved cast, when the enemy strikes en masse, and a vital plot point—the critical death of the OG series—is set to unfold. But what can a lowly animator who looks like Cousin It in a purple hoodie do in such a scenario? It’s not like she has magical powers or anything…right? Right?! Wait, what is that in her pocket, glowing gently? An animator’s peg bar?!? Queue transformation sequence montage!

Ok, wow. Now that was a fantastic premiere! I was entranced from the word go. This is an original series by studio MAPPA, fittingly co-created by two women, director Mitsue Yamazaki (Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun) and writer Kimiko Ueno (Ranma 1/2 (2024), Dungeon Meshi). We always get a little excited around here at BtT when a new original anime is premiering—there is something so refreshing about the lack of source material and potential for spoilers!—and this one, I wager, is going to prove to be a really fun ride! It neither feels, looks, nor sounds like your typical reincarnated into a novel/video game/isekai series, despite building on that tried and true storytelling framework. For starters, the initial real-world setting is fully developed, with a cast of characters who feel full-bodied enough to carry a series a la Shirobako, rather than the token “pre-reincarnation” segments more typical of the genre. The destination world too has that dash of originality in that it is a problematic work by a renowned animation director (perhaps akin to Goro’s/Ghibli’s Tales of Earthsea?), in contrast to the bland worldbuilding mechanics endemic to many series.

The animation is vibrant and smooth, with rich color design, befitting a series that starts out in the hallowed cubicles of an animation studio. The music, by Yukari Hashimoto (Toradora, Mawaru Penguindrum), adds unexpected depth that hints at serious drama and horror at some points, alongside the more predictable action and comedy. Speaking of which, the humor lands really well, with quick-witted dialogue (particularly well-delivered by Natsuko’s seiyuu, Anna Nagase) and effective visual jokes alike (the unicorn butt sticking out of the desert sand post-battle is priceless). The high point of the episode though, is the transformation sequence, which is one of the most painstakingly set-up payoffs I’ve seen in a long time: scene after scene, we watch Natsuko interact with not just one but two whole worlds through the protective veil of her hair, when finally, as she explodes into her final form—the super productive animator—the wind whips her hair about to reveal her face. This moment, combined with the way the sequence visualizes the release of the power of creativity and animation to save the world, was stunning. I actually teared up a little. I’m excited to see how this series will explore the power of art to transform and bring hope, and I’m also giddy with anticipation for all the little Easter eggs for anime otaku and sakuga geeks that this series is destined to deliver. We have a winner here! 

“Zenshuu” means “complete works”—I wonder what wondrous works Natsuko will finally be able to complete on her adventures!

Zenshu is streaming on Crunchyroll.

claire
Latest posts by claire (see all)

4 thoughts on “First Impression: Zenshu”

  1. Up front I has to say the transformation and action sequence when her power activates it beautiful! I got to hand it to MAPPA, the animation on this one is stellar, even if none of the characters leave footprints on the sand, but I digress. Story wise, this one is a nice twist as it’s an isekai where the world isn’t some parallel universe but the world of an anime that she was utterly devoted to and knows every detail of. This starts out helping her to accurately predict and change the future, but as you would guess, doing so throws off the timeline and now she is having to react and use her knowledge to tip the scales in her favor for a good result. There are some tropes you would expect in here from the pretty boy main character to the scantily clad, top heavy princess, but oddly I am okay with it. Here it feels like they are doing it not because they want the eye candy for the men, but because frankly an anime like that would have those elements in it, so it feels natural and not forced or out of place. And finally the comedy. The comedy in this one is solid, the interactions between the characters are excellent, and they show growth and change as the episodes move forward. I love her drawn creations, some are nostalgic but all fit the situation and trade on main stays of other animes in order to win the day (god solider from Nausicaa anyone?). I am definitely in for this one, seeing how off the rails the anime within the anime gets because of her interventions, and if she can bring a happier conclusion to it all.

    1. 100% agree! Nicely put. The comedy is so well handled—she makes me laugh every time with her otaku insights. Hope you continue to enjoy it—I know I am!

Leave a Reply