The long-awaited Winter 2025 anime season has arrived, bringing along a fresh batch of series, including both eagerly anticipated adaptations and bold original stories aiming to make their mark. Among these originals is a new production from studio MAPPA, famous for their work on the anime versions of Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan: The Final Season, named ZENSHU. At first glance, it seems like just another typical isekai-adjacent series. Yet, as soon as you delve into its premiere episode, it’s evident that ZENSHU is an anime with a powerful message, one that can only be conveyed by a dedicated team of artists.
ZENSHU tracks the journey of Natsuko Hirose, a celebrated animator known for her work on a popular magical girl anime, who finds herself in a creative rut as she strives to complete the storyboards for her subsequent project at the series’ outset. Embracing solitude, letting her tresses grow wild and untamed, and consistently missing deadlines, Natsuko’s coworkers become increasingly worried about the project, yet she adamantly rejects any attempts to delegate creative tasks to her team.
In time, Natsuko’s struggle to balance her work and personal life takes its toll, leading to an unexpected incident while she was engrossed in one of her cherished childhood movies, titled A Tale of Perishing. Soon after, she finds herself awakening within the world depicted in the film. It then becomes clear to her that by harnessing the power of her imagination and her deft hand with a pen, she can alter the dismal course of events unfolding in this story.
While ZENSHU Sets Itself Up as a Standard Isekai, Its Presentation & Story Are So Much More
In “ZENSHU” Episode 1, titled “FIRST STROKE,” there was an opportunity to captivate viewers by following a conventional isekai plot with a comedic edge and utilizing MAPPA’s exceptional animation, likely attracting a large audience. However, series director Mitsue Yamazaki (from “Attack on Titan: The Final Season” and “Noragami”) and writer Kimiko Ueno (known for “Delicious in Dungeon” and “Carole & Tuesday”) opted to steer ZENSHU toward an entirely original path, exploiting some of the isekai genre’s most notable flaws as strengths.
ZENSHU aligns itself within the realm of isekai stories, where the main character gets transported into an alternate fantasy world that they are already acquainted with. In this instance, Natsuko finds herself in a world reminiscent of the movie responsible for igniting her passion for animation – a critically-disparaged cult classic known for its melancholic and ominous dark fantasy narrative.
In essence, Natsuko swiftly recognizes that she’s reexperiencing the start of “A Tale of Perishing” in ZENSHU, and decides to leverage her creativity, ability, and passion for the movie. She finds out that she can not only alter the story’s events but also rekindle her affection for art and animation. By skillfully subverting the common themes and conventions of the isekai genre, ZENSHU creates an exceptional and original viewing experience for its audience.
If you’re not typically a fan of isekai anime or simply haven’t enjoyed it in the past, consider giving the premiere of ZENSHU, airing on January 5th, 2025, a chance. The series offers a compelling narrative about overcoming creative burnout and rediscovering passion for one’s art and creativity. In addition to its thought-provoking storyline, the anime boasts an impressive cast of vocal talents. Among them are Anna Nagase, known for her roles as Riko Amanai in Jujutsu Kaisen and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad Isekai, who plays the leading character Natsuko Hirose; Kazuki Ura, who’s also voiced Yoichi Isagi in Blue Lock as Luke Braveheart; and Rie Kugimiya, famous for her roles as Happy in Fairy Tail and Kagura in Gintama , who delivers a powerful emotional performance in the first episode of ZENSHU.
If the series titled ZENSHU maintains its strong start from the first episode, it’s likely to become the standout anime of Winter 2025, potentially vying for Anime of the Year. The opening episode, “FIRST STROKE,” showcases a deep-rooted enthusiasm and dedication towards the art of anime production, demonstrating MAPPA’s exceptional abilities as a studio. It also effectively revitalizes an overcrowded genre, making it feel fresh and invigorating once more.
Rating: 4.5/5
Appreciation goes out to Crunchyroll for giving ComicBook an advanced peek at the first episode of ZENSHU. Don’t forget to catch this series when it starts streaming on Crunchyroll, from January 5th, 2025.
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2025-01-05 21:11