Zenshu Episode 3 Has Some Fun With Its Genre

Summary

• Amid a festival in the Last Town, danger looms as Natsuko confronts a surprise Void attack.
• A romance subplot involving Luke and Destiny unfolds, influenced by Natsuko.
• A mysterious secret involving Memerun hints at potential betrayal within the group.

Quick Links

• A Harvest Festival Reeks of False Security

• True Love (and Luchadors) Enter The Ring

  • Natsuko Influences Destiny (No Pegbar Required)
  • Serval Cat Mask Saves the Day

• A Cliffhanger Hides One Character’s Secret

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers for Zenshu season 1, episode 3, “Destiny,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Zenshu’s first two episodes spent most of their efforts in exposition. Episode 1 provided the anime’s meta-isekai premise. Then, episode 2 proved Natsuko’s (JP: Anna Nagase, EN: Madeleine Morris) powers are not a fluke, earning the trust of her comrades. Now that Zenshu’s protagonist has settled into the Last Town, its storyline is gaining momentum, and viewers finally get to see what the magical animator can really do.

Season 1, episode 3, “Destiny,” introduces A Tale of Perishing’s archetypal ‘damsel in distress,’ Destiny Heartwarming. Fortunately, Natsuko’s modern views and flair for anachronism encourage the young maiden to demand more for herself. Genre-defying humor and the implication of a traitorous ally will give viewers a reason to return for episode 4.

Related

Zenshu: A Millenial Burnout Isekai Adventure

Are spoiled clams the secret to unlocking your potential? (No. No, they’re not.) Natsuko Hirose is about to find out in Zenshu’s series premiere.

Posts

A Harvest Festival Reeks of False Security

Close

After subverting an aerial assault meant to spread pestilence across the Last Town, Natsuko enjoys a colorful harvest festival instead. It’s a welcome moment of brevity from the tragic story the animator is familiar with from A Tale of Perishing. However, her new compatriot in the Nine Warriors, Luke Braveheart (JP: Kazuki Ura, EN: Ryan Negron), is ill at ease.

Anticipating another Void ambush, Braveheart pushes his comrades to abandon the festivities and assume guard. However, according to Natsuko, the next Void attack occurs during rainy weather. QJ (JP: Akio Suyama, EN: Derick Snow), the floating sentient computer, confirms rain is not due until next month. So, everything should be fine, right? Not exactly.

In Natsuko’s altered reality, what should have been a funeral for a slain Unio is now a town-wide party. Every danger she subverts intensifies the Butterfly Effect. How many altered futures will it take for Natsuko’s predictions to become unreliable? A chance meeting between Natsuko and Elder Baobab (JP: Hisako Kyoda, EN: Linda Young) emphasizes the consequences should the animator become too cocky.

True Love (and Luchadors) Enter The Ring

Close

Natsuko and Baobab’s chat promptly moves to the next story beat when a scantily clad heroine with cotton-candy pink hair swirls arrives. Darting across a castle bridge, she collides with Braveheart, initiating a meetcute. Natsuko already knows what’s to come, and she’s not thrilled.

That soft-spoken pink-puffed princess is Destiny Heartwarming (JP: Manaka Iwami, EN: Dani Chambers), Luke’s love interest in A Tale of Perishing. She’s the consummate ‘damsel in distress,’ always finding herself in perilous emergencies that Luke must save her from. A series of film premonitions indicate that her death breaks the young soldier’s morale, leading to disastrous consequences.

Natsuko Influences Destiny (No Pegbar Required)

In the next scene, Destiny informs her father, the mayor of the Last Town, that she will marry the Chairman (a polygamist metrosexual Lord Farquaad with eight wives played by Japanese and English actors Junichi Suwabe and Reagan Murdock, respectfully) in exchange for him building an orphanage. Of course, that doesn’t prevent the magnetic attraction between her and Luke, which (literally) illuminates the entire dining hall.

Natsuko understands and accepts the connection between Luke and Destiny (despite what Unio’s (JP: Rie Kugimiya, EN: Luci Christian) jibes may imply). However, that doesn’t stop her from looking at Destiny as an enigma. Fortunately, the two become fast friends, and Natsuko rubs off on Destiny significantly.

When the Chairman returns to meet his fiance, Natsuko pokes a hole in one of A Tale of Perishing’s plot points. Why does Destiny need the Chairman to build her orphanage when she can do it herself? The Chairman dresses down Natsuko in response, prompting a declaration from the animator that visibly inspires Destiny:

I’ll dress as I want and live how I want. That’s my definition of beautiful.

Serval Cat Mask Saves the Day

Destiny’s feminist awakening gets interrupted by QJ, who warns of a Void in the nearby area. Natsuko discovers the Void disguised as a priest, an event meant to occur much later in A Tale of Perishing. A drunken Braveheart is in no shape to battle (thanks a lot, Destiny!), leaving the Last Town’s fate in Natsuko’s hands.

But what can Natsuko draw strong enough to face the gigantic crab-like Void? Serval Cat Mask, of course! The anime aficionado creates a luchador wearing a feline face covering and provides color commentary as the wrestler suplexes the Void into oblivion.

Of all of Natsuko’s creations so far, Serval Cat Mask feels the most out of left field. This character feels better suited to a shonen anime like Dragon Ball than A Tale of Perishing’s fantasy landscape. Observing the match unfold, the inebriated Braveheart bursts into laughter. Even he understands Natsuko’s creation is blaring, genre-clashing, and non sequitur.

Destiny also takes notice of Serval Cat Mask’s prowess, staring at him in awe. After Natsuko awakens from her animation coma, she meets a cat mask-wearing Destiny at breakfast. The luchadora informs her that she broke off her engagement with the Chairman and plans to build the orphanage herself. It appears the ingenue is learning how to fight her own battles.

Related

ZENSHU English Dub Cast Revealed

Crunchyroll announced a same-day release of the dub of the MAPPA-produced ZENSHU, which aired on January 5. Here’s the full English dub cast.

Posts

A Cliffhanger Hides One Character’s Secret

Close

Season 1, episode 3 is mostly a good time. Even the episode’s most perilous moments get played for laughs. But, while it’s nice to see Natsuko’s creativity expand beyond A Tale of Perishing’s confines, that joy is short-lived. A telling exchange between Natsuko and Memerun (JP: Minori Suzuki, EN: Alexis Tipton) foreshadows what’s to come.

When the green-haired elven woman enters the kitchen, Natsuko asks about her whereabouts during the festival. She wasn’t present during the Void attack, an odd absence considering her responsibility as one of the Nine Warriors. Unio reminds Natsuko that Memerun was signing with a choir to heal the souls of the dead. However, the look on Natsuko’s face conveys that she’s unconvinced.

Can Natsuko and company trust their teammate’s alibi? This B plot takes up very little of episode 3’s screen time. However, its impact feels highly significant. In a mysterious scene, three hooded figures with pointed ears similar to Memerun’s meet with the Void in an alleyway outside the festival, implying these hooded figures provided the Void’s effective camouflage.

As Zenshu’s central conflict unfolds, the Voids’ role as antagonists diminishes. Does Natsuko know something about Memerun that the rest do not? Or does Memerun’s knowledge expand beyond the meta? In stories with divergent futures, a purist often works to maintain the original timeline no matter the cost. It seems Memerun is in a position to play this role.

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Your comment has not been saved

ZENSHU

AnimationActionFantasyDrama

Release Date

January 5, 2025

Cast

Anna Nagase, Kazuki Ura, Rie Kugimiya, Minori Suzuki, Akio Suyama

Main Genre

Animation

Character(s)

Natsuko Hirose, Luke Braveheart, Unio, Memmeln, QJ

Studio

MAPPA

Japanese Title

Zenshuu.

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Creator(s)

Kimiko Ueno, Mitsue Yamazaki

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime