MAPPA studios’ ZENSHU is one of the most popular isekai anime of Winter 2025 and certainly among the ones with a unique premise. It features the young and prodigious animator, Natsuko Hirose, who is spirited away to the land of her favorite childhood anime film, A Tale of Perishing. There, she is gifted with the magical ability that allows her to use her talents as an animator to create things that will aid her new friends in battle.
Because Natsuko has watched and studied A Tale of Perishing so thoroughly, she has extensive and accurate knowledge of the characters, as well as every major event that will take place. With this knowledge, coupled with the power to bring her illustrations to life, Natsuko can heed her magical pegbar’s words and “draw new fates” to change the course of her favorite story.
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Natsuko Hirose Saved Unio’s Life With the Power of Ghibli
ZENSHU Episode 1, “First Stroke”
After Natsuko Hirose was isekai’d into the world of A Tale of Perishing, Luke Braveheart and the rest of the Nine Soldiers had initially written her off as a bumbling, gremlin-like creature (because of her hair). Because of their distrust, they refused to believe her when she warned them of the impending Void attack.
With her prior knowledge of the events that would take place, Natsuko had recalled that this same attack would lead to Unio sacrificing himself to wipe out the massive onslaught of Voids. At the cusp of Unio completing the spell that would cost him his life, Natsuko’s pegbar spoke to her, and urged her to illustrate a different path to victory.
In ZENSHU Episode 1, Natsuko creates a giant warrior reminiscent of the one seen in the 1984 Miyazaki film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, to defeat the remaining Voids. This marks the first time that Natsuko put her “magical girl” powers to use, as well as the first instance where she spared one of the Nine Soldiers from their tragic pre-written fate.
Natsuko’s Anime Wrestler Convinced Destiny to Start Taking Initiative in Her Life
ZENSHU Episode 3, “Destiny”
Destiny Heartwarming is the sheltered daughter of The Last Town’s mayor and the love interest of Luke Braveheart in the original A Tale of Perishing story. Despite her love for Luke, she was meant to accept a rich chairman’s offer to become one of his many wives in exchange for assistance in starting an orphanage for the unfortunate children of The Last Town.
Natsuko had angrily expressed to herself that Destiny was a stereotypical damsel and possessed a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This appeared to be the case during the third significant Void attack in ZENSHU, which Natsuko overcame by summoning Serval Cat Mask—another weaponized illustration referencing the 1969 wrestling anime, Tiger Mask.
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Serval Cat Mask’s epic defeat of the mantis-like Void enraptured Destiny, and Natsuko’s earlier speech about living how she pleased served to completely reinvigorate Destiny’s spirit. After the attack, Destiny turned down the chairman’s marriage offer and decided to open and run the orphanage herself, which she named Serval Cat House, after the figure that inspired her to become a more powerful version of herself.
Natsuko Uses Handsome Anime Men to Turn Memmeln Into an Idol Stan
ZENSHU Episode 4, “Eternity”
Memmeln is one of the Nine Soldiers and is an immortal elven warrior. Due to her long life, she has experienced the loss of countless friends and witnessed the death of many. At some point in A Tale of Perishing’s original plot, she found solace in the idea of summoning the Ultimate Void to destroy reality while she could still cling onto her last shreds of happiness.
When Memmeln began sneaking away with her other elven friends, Natsuko was quick to remember that their “choir practice” was actually a pretense to meet with the Void cult to prepare for and complete the summoning of the Ultimate Void. This would have eventually left Luke no other choice but to kill Memmeln, but Natsuko managed to draw something that changed Memmeln’s (as well as the rest of the Void cult’s) mind.
Using her prior experience from working as an animator for the Uta-Men (a reference to the idol anime, Uta no Prince Sama), Natsuko drew “Sir Exister” to charm and woo Memmeln. This was a successful attempt to inspire Memmeln and convince her that there were too many beautiful things left to look forward to in the future and that allowing the Ultimate Void to destroy everything would put an end to it all. Afterward, Memmeln became a devoted fan of Sir Exister and resolved to “stan him for all eternity.”
Natsuko Reignites Justice’s Heroism After Years of Drowning in Despair
ZENSHU Episode 6, “Change”
Justice, a towering, dragon-esque figure who had previously joined Luke Braveheart and the other Nine Soldiers in fighting Voids. Justice was also the soldier that Luke had most looked up to; however, a battle that resulted in the death of Ganger, another fellow soldier, also led to Justice’s wings getting damaged and costing him his ability to fly.
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Eventually, Justice fell from grace and made his home in The Last Town’s District of Despair, where he sunk into the mind-numbing pleasures of pursuing lust and drinking. His life would not start to turn in a more positive direction until Natsuko demanded his help in supporting Luke and Unio in the battle of ZENSHU episode 6.
This time, Natsuko didn’t create anything to save Justice’s life, but instead, her determination and insistence that Justice be present for his companions gave him the push he needed to regain his heroic spirit and change for the better. Rather than wasting away in the slums, he became a protector for the Serval Cat House orphanage.
Natsuko Unintentionally Painted the Path Toward’s QJ’s Demise
ZENSHU Episode 9, “Hero”
Originally, QJ was the only one of the Nine Soldiers in A Tale of Perishing who didn’t die prior to the cataclysmic ending written by the creator, Kametaro Tsuruyama. He also didn’t have a very integral role in the story until he became a closer friend to Natsuko Hirose. QJ became Natsuko’s confidant after she officially met Tsuruyama and was told that A Tale of Perishing’s original ending was inevitable.
After this, QJ tries to reassure Natsuko that her effect on everyone thus far is proof that it is more than possible to rewrite fate and avoid the ending where Luke transforms into the Ultimate Void. In ZENSHU’s heartbreaking plot twist, a Void that Natsuko and the Nine Soldiers had previously defeated returned. The situation that set up the conditions for Unio’s initial demise was recreated, except instead of Unio succeeding in sacrificing himself, QJ ended up taking his place by self-destructing after allowing himself to be consumed by a Void.
Natsuko Became Luke’s Love Interest & Spared Destiny From Death
ZENSHU Episode 8, “Confession”
Luke Braveheart, in the unchanged story of A Tale of Perishing, was a much more serious and dour character than the Luke that Natsuko grew to know over the course of ZENSHU. A long history of fighting and watching his comrades die slowly worked to crush his spirit and, eventually, his will to keep playing the hero that everyone relied on.
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At the end of A Tale of Perishing, Luke’s sanity was hanging by a thread, which snapped with the death of Destiny. However, Natsuko’s arrival redirected the course of his character. After Natsuko saved Unio from dying during the first void attack, Luke’s hopes had nowhere to go but up. She eventually became his first love, replacing Destiny in her initial role as Luke Braveheart’s ill-fated romantic interest.
Natsuko’s Love for Luke Rewrote A Tale of Perishing’s Epic Finale
ZENSHU Episode 12, “ZENSHU”
Despite replacing Destiny and doing everything she could to prevent A Tale of Perishing’s original ending, Natsuko was still unable to stop Luke from falling into despair and becoming the Ultimate Void. Natsuko and Unio had managed to survive after being swallowed by a void, but Luke had already started his pre-written descent into madness before he could witness their return.
ZENSHU’s finale played out almost exactly the way Kametaro Tsuruyama had planned for A Tale of Perishing to end. The last shreds of the world became consumed by Luke’s pain and slowly disappeared into nothingness. Unio and Memmeln, the two major characters that Natsuko had initially saved, became a key part in overcoming the reign of chaos that Luke was spreading across The Last Town.
With the help of her friends, Natsuko was able to illustrate another “new fate” at the very last second; she had drawn the image of Luke during the moment she fell in love with him. This final illustration allowed Natsuko to defeat the Ultimate Void, which resulted in the creation of new Soul Futures and the complete revival of the world of A Tale of Perishing and everyone in it, thus giving the very inspiration for her career a happier and brighter tomorrow.
All episodes of ZENSHU are streaming on Crunchyroll.
