MAPPA’s Zenshu May Show How Anime Knowledge Helps in an Isekai

Isekai series are incredibly common in the anime world. Ones in which the person transported to another world also is familiar with games or anime, so they can exploit elements or rely on that knowledge to succeed, are likewise quite prevalent in the genre. With Zenshu, MAPPA’s latest anime now airing on Crunchyroll during the Winter 2025 season, things go a step further by having someone responsible for creating anime being the individual transplanted in another world for an isekai story. The result is us getting to see how that additional layer of knowledge assists a new resident and gives them an edge.

Editor's Note: There will be some minor spoilers for early parts of the first episode of the MAPPA anime Zenshu below.

Natsuko Hirose is a prodigy. The Zenshu anime begins with us seeing her at work on a series, with her explaining she went from a graduate to nearly immediately being accepted in the animation world as an animation director, storyboard artist, episode director, then director. She’s an absolute phenom dedicated to her art and work. Her first creation Sukeban Magical Girl: Darkness Academy became a huge hit, and she’s working on an original animated movie called First Love as the show begins. 

However, Natsuko is a bit of a failure as a human being, since her hair completely covers her face, especially with a hoodie down, she gets consumed by work and the grind, and even avoids eating. In cases where fixes are needed, she’ll be unclear about direction and just do it herself. Blockages are keeping her from completing the storyboards for the movie. As a result, she’s ignoring caring for herself and cutting her hair until that’s done. In a case of foreshadowing, she reads about director Kametaro Tsuruyama, creator of Tale of Perishing, dying at 60 due to food poisoning. But even though she has that warning of what can happen when someone so driven doesn’t take care of themselves, she continues on her current path and refuses to allow others to help her with the work and storyboards. 

The in-world series Tale of Perishing is one Natsuko admired. It was designed to be a depressing work following Luke Braveheart as he fought against the Great Void, which kept it from widespread popularity. She loved it and rewatched it, as well as admired Luke. It’s as she is rewatching this that she doesn’t realize the bento she is eating is expired. She passes out and wakes up in the world of Tale of Perishing, the work she admired for years. Before a monster can kill her there, Luke and his allies Memerun, QJ, and Unio save her and eliminate the void there.

What’s great in the rest in the first episode of Zenshu is how it handles both good and bad elements of a creative like Natsuko being part of an isekai story. She quickly identifies the authenticity of the characters upon meeting them. Since she’s so familiar with the series, she can pick out when everything will happen. It’s little technical details she picks up on and is aware of, and the initial episode makes me suspect she’ll continue to draw on her experience as an animator and background with the series for her journey in a satisfying way.

However, it also is fantastic because it means pitfall can be noted as well. Natsuko not caring for herself before being transported to this world means she’s appearing as she last did. Her appearance befuddles those she meets. She still has the same bad habits. She’s also so tied to her own identity that she assumes people would know of her fame. She ends up being left behind because of her people skills, forced to deal with things on her own.

I have high hopes for Zenshu, and I hope this anime ends up setting itself apart from other isekai anime due to its heroine. The concept of someone who is not only familiar with the location and people in “another world” paired with experience about creating and developing could result in some new takes on the genre. I hope MAPPA takes it to some interesting places.

Zenshu is now airing in Japan and streaming on Crunchyroll worldwide.

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