Zenshu, an Original Anime by MAPPA, Shares First Trailer

It looks like MAPPA is at it again. While the studio has come to fame with shows like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, it has a healthy few originals on hand. Now, the company has unveiled its next original anime, and Zenshu has fans buzzing already.

As you can see below, the first teaser trailer went live for Zenshu at Anime Japan 2024. It was their MAPPA showcased the rather surprising project. After all, Zenshu seems to be a slice-of-life anime that grapples with tough topics. It follows a girl named Natsuko Hirose as the budding artist finds herself navigating life as an animator and all the challenges it brings.

Zenshu will feature a stacked cast as Anna Nags will voice Natsuko. Other stars like Kabuki Uma, Akin Suyama, and Minor Suzuki have signed on to act. As for the anime itself, MAPPA came up with the story alongside Mitsue Yamasaki and Kimono Ueno. Yamasaki will director the project while the latter oversees the screenplay. So if you want more info on Zenshu, you can read its official synopsis below:

“After graduating from high school, Natsuko Hirose starts her career as an animator. Her talent quickly flourishes, and she makes her debut as a director in no time. Her first anime becomes a massive hit, sparking a social phenomenon and earning her recognition as an up-and-coming genius director. Her next project is set to be a romantic comedy movie themed around first love! However, having never been in love herself, Natsuko struggles to understand the concept of first love, and as a result, she’s unable to create the storyboard, causing the movie production to come to a standstill.”

As you can see, Zenshu will be a unique addition to MAPPA Studios’ catalog, and it has fans buzzing for a rather strange reason. If you are invested in anime at all, you may have heard some drama involving MAPPA recently. The studio came under fire last year with Jujutsu Kaisen season two as a number of animators on the project broke silence about their experience with MAPPA. The animators said the studio had a pretty bad work environment, and they pointed to things like poor scheduling and mandatory overtime as examples. Now, MAPPA is making its own original series about a struggling animator in the industry, and fans are curious to see what the studio’s message here will be.

What do you think about this first look at Zenshu? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!