Zenshu episode 1 was one of many anticipated series premieres to kickstart the Winter 2025 season. The idea of an original anime series animated by studio MAPPA about this animator prodigy seemed intriguing at first. But the sort-of-but-not-really isekai theme thrown into the mix was definitely a decision.
I wouldn’t necessarily slam the gavel down on the ole sound block for Zenshu and discount the series before it has a chance to really get off the ground. The premiere simply left me feeling completely indifferent in many ways. So let’s talk about some positives, some negatives, and what I hope to gain out of Kimiko Ueno’s and Mitsue Yamazaki’s latest original work.
Zenshu – The Positives
Of course, there have been anime about both the manga and anime industries. So in that regard, the series itself isn’t necessarily unique. That being said, Zenshu episode 1 still did a good job, albeit quickly, of selling me their main character in Hirose.
Everyone around Hirose treats her like she’s a celebrity genius and tip-toes their way around criticizing her, probably a real-life scenario behind the scenes when staff is working with someone they admire, whether it be anime, movies, TV shows, etc. More importantly, she has an ego that clashes with the obsession of not being at the level she wants to be at. Then adding in the little things, like having a love for food, makes her an interesting and relatable MC right off the bat.
The hair covering her face, setting aside why it is, would’ve been great had the anime not shown some of her face in the marketing. So when we’re “surprised” by her looks, it doesn’t hit home as much. However, that being said, the moment when her face is revealed is downright fantastic, music, colors, animation, impact, and all. The production team undoubtedly did a marvellous job at making that moment as grand as possible.
Another light in this whacky world is that the end goal was well established. I’m not particularly a fan of stories where we don’t know what the end goal really is until way later in the story. With Zenshu? Nope. We dive into it almost straight away. She’s behind on production for this big-time movie and she has to complete this storyboard on a tight deadline—perfect. I love it.
Another positive from episode 1 of Zenshu is that I could relate to Hirose in some ways. She’s finding inspiration for the storyboard of her movie by immersing herself in the story of one of her favorite creators’ work. It put a cool little twist on an isekai genre that is drastically oversaturated with the same nonsense.
To me, it’s something I’ve had to do with my own writing and I think Zenshu‘s attempt at portraying how a creative mind takes that course of action was executed extremely well—almost like a detailed daydream, except in this series she’s unconscious and not looking out of a window.
The moments with her as a kid in the theater experiencing the work while also being part of it was extremely creative as were some of the scene transitions between where she’s currently at and where she is sitting in the theater. It was an exceptional display that sort of added different dimensions to how she perceived this work and how it could possibly help her with her own storyboard for the movie.
Zenshu – The Negatives
First and foremost, the story of Zenshu, at least in episode 1, is in its own way an isekai even if Hirose herself didn’t think of it as such. Originally being marketed as an anime about the life of an animator working behind the scenes, that’s what I thought it was going to be focused on before the whole fantasy world came about in the marketing, and I wish it would’ve stayed like that in some ways. But I understand why it’s not in others.
I get that this could be taking a real-life experience and putting it into Zenshu itself, but why isekai-fantasy specifically? I’m begging the industry at this point for something “isekai themed” to be something other than knights, dragons, and cobblestone roads. We get it already. At one point during the episode, I couldn’t help but think the word “isekai” was just for anime fans’ heads to slightly turn and give it a shot.
My second criticism of the Zenshu premiere was that it ended in a way where it felt like we were going to be in this “isekai world” for quite a while. With characters that couldn’t be any more generic, whether for the cliche intent or if it was supposed to be serious, even though the episode clearly established it was one which people of Hirose’s (real) world didn’t particularly like, but she did, still makes me, as viewer, go—really?
If she is going to remain in this world, we’re going to have to sit through this cringe display of trash fantasy regardless of whether it’s part of Hirose’s creative process or not while she’s unconscious. That’s another thing, we know Hirose didn’t die because she still has to finish her storyboards. So my guess is she’ll awaken with a plethora of ideas and create the perfect storyboard for the movie, which is fine. Again, I love the established end goal.
Her love for this “trash anime” was similar to Shangri-La Frontier in a way that the main character loved playing terrible video games that nobody else really wanted to play. He saw the joy and the creativity in them despite their obvious flaws and it made him a better gamer entirely.
It almost seemed like Hirose was like that during episode 1. She showcases her knowledge of each scene, who is moving in the background and when, despite this being a project so many people didn’t care for.
Zenshu – What I Hope to See/Gain
Zenshu has an opportunity to paint, in a bright light, an animator’s creative process, especially when they feel stuck. It can help anime fans learn certain terms and understand certain conditions behind the scenes of what it’s simply like to make an anime come to life. The different people involved, who does what, etc. I can imagine it won’t be 100 percent accurate, but it can still paint a general picture for fans interested in the subject.
Something else I hope to gain out of Zenshu is another original anime that ends with more applause than boos. Well-done original anime, both story and production-wise, are few and far between nowadays. There aren’t many original anime that made me come away saying “eh, it was okay.” They’re always either Metallic Rouge-horrible or Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song-wonderful—but it ultimately falls down to the script.
If the story of Zenshu itself can hit a home run then all of the other pieces will fall into place. I have no doubts that an anime about animation production (in a broad sense) will deliver anything but piss-poor quality on that front. If the story can hold up, Zenshu can be something great. But I recommend viewers let Zenshu get off its feet first. Don’t drop it from the first episode or even the third. This could potentially be something that is enjoyable and well thought out.
Zenshu Season Premiere Wrap-Up
All in all, Zenshu wasn’t my favorite premiere of the Winter 2025 season. I think it hit the nail on the head sometimes while hitting its own thumb during other moments. Viewers who have taken a much deeper dive into what, or who, this anime is based on might appreciate some aspects that I possibly overlooked. But from a general fan perspective wanting to try something different, it had its hits and misses.
Episode 1 rating: 7/10
Zenshu episode 2 will air on Sunday, January 12. If you enjoyed episode 1 then be sure to vote for it in our weekly poll! Zenshu is currently streaming on Crunchyroll with new episodes released every Sunday.
Screenshots via Crunchyroll
©ZENSHU/MAPPA
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