English Dub Review: Zenshu “Zenshu”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Natsuko has to draw one final thing to save the Last Town from its greatest threat.

Our Take: 

What seemed to be another generic isekai anime turned out to be a surprisingly engaging take on the overused yet popular genre.  While it’s a shame that we’ve reached the end of the journey for Natsuko and the Nine Soldiers, I’m also glad that Zenshu didn’t wind up being a victim of effortless quantity like many others.  Considering how many isekai anime I watched, I should at least have a silver lining every once in a while.  With how mostly consistent the episodes have been, this week’s finale had the task of providing viewers a “happy ending” to cap off this inspiring and sublimely animated series.  Unsurprisingly, it did not disappoint.

The finale goes full force with its animation and emotion to display Natsuko’s race against time to save Luke and provide a happy ending to “A Tale of Perishing”.  The result is a thrilling and emotional conclusion that earns its genuine sentimentality.  More importantly, it offered a pretty nifty closure to its despairing journey that wasn’t open-ended like most isekai anime had.  There are also a few other good things worth mentioning, including QJ.  That’s right, folks.  The robot that made the ultimate sacrifice a couple of episodes ago was revived for this occasion, thanks to Memmeln’s allies.

However, it isn’t without some minor issues that kept the finale from reaching its peak.  One was that it broke its own OP rule by having Natsuko draw Luke repeatedly despite being unable to draw the same thing more than once.  Thematic-wise, it functions as a reflection of hope amid the destruction and desperation, but its inability to stick by some of its rules was a bit annoying.  The other minor nitpick I had was its rushed ending, in which Natsuko suddenly returned to the real world despite getting killed by food poisoning in the first episode.  It didn’t show Natsuko waking up or anything.  She’s just fine after she disappeared.  I wish it would’ve shown the process of her returning instead of having it act like her death never happened in the next scene.  It’s a decent choice as it departs from the isekai formula, but the conclusion could have been more thoroughly explored with an extra few minutes in its runtime.

Besides those issues, “Zenshu” draws itself a new path in its isekai formula, and the result is an enticing finale to possibly one of the best anime of the genre, original or otherwise.  Not only that, but it also provided an actual closure that didn’t leave things open for a new season…unless the creators say otherwise.  This is another anime that’s only designed for one season and nothing else, providing us with a beginning, middle, and end, and it satisfies on all fronts.  Regarding its vibrant animation style, solid characters, and thought-provoking themes involving despair, love, and inspiration, Zenshu is the one fate you should draw this year.