First Impressions: Reflecting on Zenshu After Two Episodes

Isekai is a well-known genre in the anime/manga community. You die in the real world, only to respawn into a fantasy-like scenario with a ridiculous English title that makes a joke out of the genre. ZENSHU, to me, is a twist on that genre.

An original story by the studio (Mappa) who gave us Chainsaw Man, Hell’s Paradise, Jujutsu Kaisen, and the last half of Attack on Titan. Zenshu follows the story of one of their animators-I mean, an animator, by the name of Natsuke Hirose. A prodigy in the animation business who achieved the role as a director in a big animated movie, whose deadline is coming up fast. After finding out another animator died from food poisoning, Natsuke suffers the same fate and supposedly dies only to spawn in an animated film from her childhood. The film in question is “A Tale of Perishing”. Lovely title right? Well, given the title and the utmost perishing events that she knows will occur during the film, Natsuke gains the power to change events in hopes of a better future.

Now again, it’s an original story. Good chance this will be a 12-episode one-and-done story. Two episodes are currently out and so far, Mappa delivered on something that has a lot of potential to deliver something gold. Given their track record on the stories they do animate, it’s a breath of fresh air.

The character of Natsuke Hirose is voiced by Anna Nagase in Japanese. Her credits come from playing Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad Isekai Anime and other projects such as Bakugan, Jujutsu Kaisen S2, Shy, and Blue Box. However, I watched it in English dub which this anime does have dub and sub releasing at the same time. Her voice actress in English is Madeleine Morris. Her credits go to the likes of My Hero Academia, How Not To Summon a Demon Lord, How Heavy Are The Dumbells You Lift, Otherside Picnic, and many others. For just two episodes so far, Madeleine delivers a strong performance to a character who comes across as independent, a little selfish, and nerdy with a hint of humor when it comes to her hunger.

The other characters shine as well in these first two episodes. Luke Braveheart, the lead hero of A Tale of Perishing, is voiced by Ryan Negrón. Unio is the small but brave unicorn who is voiced by well-known actress, Luci Christian (One Piece, My Hero Academia, Fruits Basket). Then you have Memmelin, the archer of the team who is voiced by another known actress, Alexis Tipton. Then lastly, you have QJ, the robot of the team, voiced by Derick Snow. While the last two characters haven’t had much reason to shine yet, Luke and Unio shine the most in these first two episodes alongside the MC.

Now while it did just start, I can’t get into spoilers much. Episode one was covered for what to expect, but episode 2 titled “Defend” has Natsuke having to prove her self-worth with her ability that she can’t call upon willy-nilly as the enemies of the story come to attack the kingdom in just three days.

I do recommend this as a watch for anyone who loves isekai, or stories that are made self-aware of their predictement. Natsuke makes comments about the predicament she finds herself in, while also giving valuable knowledge of how animation works which is something I appreciate.

Zenshu is available on Crunchyroll with new episodes coming out every Sunday.