From Chainsaw Man to Jujutsu Kaisen, MAPPA has produced top-notch anime in the Shonen genre. It is one of the finest animation studios in the Japanese industry, hailed for finesse and craftsmanship. But there is an anime that remains a victim of the middle child treatment.
To be specific, Zenshu has the cold shoulder when it comes to Winter anime. The series has good animation, plotline, and story, and yet failed to gain popularity. But that doesn’t define it as a failure in any case, especially when it comes to its unique tropes of storytelling.
MAPPA’s anime gets the cold shoulder treatment
When we hear the word MAPPA the first thing that comes to our mind is excellent animation. There are only a handful of animation studios that live up to the standards and it is one of them. Through Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Hell’s Paradise and Banana Fish, it raised the bar high.
Over the years, they have ventured into different genres ranging from Shonen and Seinen to Shojo. Some of these include Fruits Basket, Vinland Saga, and Kakegurui which adds to the studio’s versatility. But the studio isn’t exempt from controversies and contentions in any case.
In particular, this has to do with overworked and underpaid animators. The studio drew flak from fans be it readers or viewers. Quality is important, yes but not necessarily at the cost of debilitated health. But what’s ironic is its anime on animators which was given the cold shoulder among winter anime.
On X most fans praised the series despite it being ignored by the masses.
“Solo Leveling” & “Re:Zero” makes sense – I don’t know ANYONE who is watching “Zenshu” – haven’t seen any Memes, Cosplays, Fan-Arts??? “Red Ranger”, Dr.Girl solves a mystery, & 100 Girlfriends have WAY more fans. That Rie Takahashi “Solo Boss killer” show was a fun surprise hit
— WEEB_World_News (@WEEB_World_News) March 16, 2025
Zenshu has a good storyline. It’s unique. If people aren’t watching it then imo they’re missing on it
— Rupali⁷ in her brainrot era (@the_stargazer27) March 16, 2025
It’s a great show tbh, plenty of other bangers this szn that have flown under the radar too; like the other guy said, can’t judge solely off of popularity
— Richmulaa🙄💫 (@richavellii) March 16, 2025
Zenshuu is great.
— Titanism (@Titanism69) March 16, 2025
Did you expect the first season anime that had no hype leading up to it (as a result of being an original plotline) to get everypne talking about it?
— Novavoid Wh (@NovavoidW53519) March 16, 2025
Interestingly, the move isn’t deliberate considering the sheer amount of animes being produced in a year. From Solo Leveling to Sakamoto Days, the series in the Shonen genre took the internet by storm. It is only natural that Zenshu was overlooked but does that make it a bad anime? Let’s find out.
Where animation meets Isekai
When Zenshu was announced, almost everyone considered it a joke and even ironic. This is true for the fact that the series was produced by one of the finest yet controversial animation studios. An anime about an animator is another inception altogether but we have barely scratched the surface with this one.
The story follows the journey of an animator Natsuko Hirose who reads A Tale of Perishing. What happens after is the most isekai thing to happen to any protagonist. She dies through food poisoning just like the author and is transported into another dimension.
It might remind viewers of No Longer Allowed In Another World. There are literary references and both MCs are artists. They can maneuver the moves accordingly, yet both are different in other ways. To sum it up, Zenshu is an offbeat Isekai anime that deserves attention and appreciation.
Zenshu is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Webnovel.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
