English Dub Review: Zenshu “First Stroke”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

An up-and-coming anime director, Natsuko Hirose, is busy trying to storyboard a rom-com-themed feature film, but because she’s never experienced first love, she can’t seem to progress with her storyboards.

Our Take:

If there’s anything involving the creation of a film or television show, especially anime, chances are it’ll immediately grab my attention.  The latest original anime from animation studio MAPPA appears to be no exception.  Of course, it’s also not without an isekai subplot added in to cater to fans of the popular genre, as the show’s protagonist, an animator-turned-director named Natsuko Hirose, is transported into the realm of her favorite childhood movie, “A Tale of Perishing”, after being choked to death by her own food.  However, based on its title alone, it doesn’t exactly scream “child-friendly”.  I suppose that’s what happens when you grow older.  You start to see the things you experienced as a child from an entirely different perspective.  But, thanks to her magical storyboarding skills, Natsuko is able to change how the story is written by saving Luke Braveheart’s ally, Unio, from an invasion.

“First Stroke” offered an interesting way of introducing its protagonist, in which her face was covered by her really long hair.  It isn’t until she unleashes her miraculous storyboarding skills at the end of the episode that her face is revealed.  It certainly provided that mystery vibe to the anime’s soon-to-be heroine regarding the character design instead of having a bare-bones introduction to the character like most anime.  Of course, it can also be concerning about the lack of expressions on account of her extensive hair covering her face, but the series seemed to have found a way to make it work, thanks to Madeleine Morris’s vocal performance and Mitsue Yamazaki’s direction.  Besides that, the episode plays out like you expected from an iseaki anime narrative-wise.  However, it also may have the potential to be 2025’s first hit in the genre due to its characters and MAPPA’s animation style, especially the latter for Natsuko’s magical storyboarding ability that’s straight out of a magical girl anime.  Considering MAPPA’s track record, especially with Attack on Titan and Chainsaw Man, it’s unsurprising that its presentation would provide a style as artistic as a storyboard.