ZENSHU Episode 1 Review: An Unexpectedly Profound Deconstruction Of Isekai

The Winter 2025 anime season is finally here, and with it comes a brand-new catalog of series, ranging from long-awaited adaptations to daring, original stories looking to find their footing. Among these originals is a new project from studio MAPPA – best known for their work on the anime adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan: The Final Season – titled ZENSHU that, at a glance, looks like just another arbitrary isekai-adjacent series. However, it becomes clear very quickly in ZENSHU‘s first episode that this is an anime that has a lot to say and does so with a level of passion only a true team of artists can achieve.

ZENSHU follows Natusko Hirose, a renowned animator who rose to fame following her directorial debut working on a fictional magical girl anime, who, when the series begins, is struggling to complete the storyboards for her follow-up project. Adopting a shut-in personality, letting her hair grow unruly and long, and falling behind on her deadlines, Natusko’s colleagues grow concerned about the project, but she refuses to delegate any of the creative work to her team.

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Eventually, Natsuko’s poor work-life balance catches up to her, and she unexpectedly dies while watching one of her favorite films from childhood, A Tale of Perishing. Moments later, she wakes up in the world of the film and realizes that by using the power of her own creativity and skill with a pen, she can rewrite the bleak events of the story.

While ZENSHU Sets Itself Up as a Standard Isekai, Its Presentation & Story Are So Much More

ZENSHU Episode 1, titled “FIRST STROKE,” could have very easily tried to hook audiences by setting up a standard isekai plot with a comedy twist and MAPPA’s masterclass animation that would have easily pulled in a massive audience for the show, but series director Mitsue Yamazaki (Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Noragami) and writer Kimiko Ueno (Delicious in Dungeon, Carole & Tuesday) decided to take ZENSHU in a wholly unique direction, instead choosing to use some of the isekai genre’s greatest weaknesses to its advantage.

ZENSHU fits itself into the niche of isekai series wherein the protagonist is transported to a fantasy world based on a property or “fictional” world that they’re already familiar with. In this case, Natsuko wakes up in the world of the film that inspired her to pursue a career in animation – a cult-classic film that was panned by critics for its depressing, dark fantasy storyline and characters.

Without giving too much away regarding the climax of ZENSHU‘s first episode, Natsuko quickly realizes that she’s reliving the opening scene of A Tale of Perishing and resolves herself to use the power of her own creativity, skill, and love for the film, discovers that she has the power to not only change the events of the story but reignite the love she has for art and animation. ZENSHU expertly takes the typical setup and tropes baked into the isekai genre and completely flips them on their head to craft a truly unique experience for audiences.

Even those who aren’t interested or detest isekai anime should give the first episode of ZENSHU a try when it officially makes its debut on January 5th, 2025. The series tells a powerful story about creative burnout and being able to reignite one’s love of the arts and drive to create something one truly cares about. The anime also features a variety of incredible vocal talents, including Anna Nagase, who previously played Riko Amanai in Jujutsu Kaisen and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad Isekai as the leading lady Natsuko Hirose; Kazuki Ura, who’s also voiced Yoichi Isagi in Blue Lock as Luke Braveheart; and Rie Kugimiya, who’s played iconic characters like Happy in Fairy Tail and Kagura in Gintama as Unio – delivering an emotional gut-punch of a performance in ZENSHU‘s first episode.

If ZENSHU is capable of keeping up the momentum and pace it has in the first episode, it will easily be the best anime of Winter 2025 and could even be a contender for anime of the year. Episode 1, “FIRST STROKE,” is an impactful display of passion and love for anime as a medium, highlighting MAPPA’s strengths as a production studio while managing to even make the most oversaturated genre in the industry feel new and exciting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Special thanks to Crunchyroll for providing ComicBook with early access to the first episode of ZENSHU. Be sure to watch the series when it begins streaming on Crunchyroll, starting on January 5th, 2025.