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| I'm going to miss this show so much. I enjoyed the silly goofiness of it all and the range of cliches/emotions it brought with it. For everyone who doesn't get it, Zenshu was never supposed to be some exciting show that brings new ideas to the table or anything more than the tried and true ending. It was supposed to be a fun anniversary project that let the studio convey the message that mattered to them most. Aka I'm sure a lot of the animators grew up with a show that inspired them so much they became like Natsuko and wanted to make their own shows! And perhaps they were fan creators themselves who created "fix its" for their own beloved media back then. Bonus points for the enjoyable characters and the amazing animation for this to boot. Would love to hear what entertainment inspired these animators most to continue doing what they're doing. |
 [Artist] • [Streamer] • [Writer] Seasonal Anime Watcher! |
| Oh, boy... I could just hear the disappointed comments while watching the finale. Honestly, while I wasn't too disappointed, I honestly think they fumbled right at the finish line. One more episode would have definitley done the show more justice. Honestly, there were way too many questions just left unanswered. What actually happened to Natsuko in the real world? Did she just vanish? How did she manage to get isekaied after getting food poisoning? How did she manage to bring Unio's horn back into the real world? How did Luke and the others make it to the real world? And honestly, any explanation would have sufficed, even a fantastical one. A whimsical god, the movie being an actual parallel dimension because all creative projects spawn worlds the moment they are conceived, etc... Something would definitely have been better than nothing. They could have at least shown Natsuko waking up in the hospital grasping Unio's horn or something, you know? Also, I love happy endings, and was perfectly fine with what we got, but I don't think that they foreshadowed or built up to it enough, especially with what the director's proclamation of how a happy ending would have been impossible... |
ActarMar 23, 2025 1:04 PM
| Maaaaan, that ending was so underwhelming. They wrapped it up with an happy ending so fast, it's just disappointing. We've had such fun episodes before, especially number 7. It was fine for an original anime and I'm glad that MAPPA tried but man that ending is just so undercooked compared to the rest of the episodes. It's just like a punch in the gut after the most delicious buffet you've had. I thought I would rate it an 8 before the last episode but I might downgrade it to 7 or 6. What's with japanese media and fucking up their endings ? I understand why it happens for series based on audience engagement because authors have to keep up with the hype train until they burn out or the editor tells them to kill their brainchild. But it's an original anime, MAPPA had all the time to cook. I don't mind the predictability of it but it's just meh :/ |
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| What a mess of an ending. Even Darling in the Franxx was more conclusive than whatever this was. |
| Dunno but this show didn't vibe with me that much, the predictable ending of her getting out of the slump and going back to reality was whatever but at the very least there were a lot of moments I liked, for example when Baobab tells the guards that there was no point so they might as well spent their last moment with their loved ones and Justice and Destiny's goodbye with the kids was beautiful, I only really cared for QJ, Memmeln, Sally, Meg, Destiny and the kids. |
| Ooof, a very rough landing. This show absolutely needed another episode. I was getting more and more worried as the clock ticked down, and was in disbelief when it ended with a 1-minute sequence back in the real world. It was so rushed to the point of not being clear on what exactly happened. She said she would "zenshuu," but what exactly did she fix and how? How did Natsuko's final drawing of Luke manage to beat the Ultimate Void? How did that restore every Soul Future and bring everyone back to life? Why did that send Natsuko back to the real world? How did she know that she was going back to the real world? What happened in the real world? Did she wake up from the hospital? Did the ending of Tale of Perishing somehow change in the real world, too? How did she finish that First Love movie? What did she even learn from her experiences? Even if it did get another episode, I'm really not sure what else they could've done with the time, other than letting the emotional beats breathe a little and explaining the plot in more detail. Maybe they don't have anything meaningful to say in the additional 25 minutes. This anime is about way too many things: people's love for anime and fictional characters, the stress of making art and topping oneself, discovering first love, relying on others, good-old nihilism, etc., etc... The messaging and the themes are a jumbled mess, even if there are bits and pieces that are interesting and heartfelt. I'm glad I watched this, but in the end this feels like a mishmash of different shows that failed to gel. I would love to find out what the thought process was... |
| I love it β€οΈ Now second season with them in real life π |
| ef the haters, that shit awesome! :P I'm trying to think if I have ever watched a show that started out as a 5 for me for the first 3 or 4 episodes and then climbed all the way to a 9. I'm pretty sure I've never done that before. I probably should punish it more for the start, but I loved every moment of this finale. From around the midway point, every single episode got better and better until it reached an incredibly beautiful finale. My score has been steady climbing since. The animation was great throughout, but just flat out gorgeous in this final episode. When Mappa wants to be, they are just one of the best studios out there. Shady practices or not. I went from not liking Natsuko at all to loving her development and seeing her as a solid character. I went from, "Wtf is this goofy ass cast of characters?," to getting emotional for their despair. Went from rolling my eyes at the thought of her finding love in this fantasy world to shouting at the screen "Tell him you love him!" at the end, lol. To each their own, but I thought this was special and is brutally underrated. Though the rating does seem to be coming up. So, yeah, probably should give it a low end 8 due to the lackluster start, but bumping it to low end 9. |
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| A breath of fresh air in terms of anime, sometimes not having a manga source makes it feel more personable to the animators and writers in the industry and no show captures that better than this one. What better first love for an animator than a animated movie itself. I really love the themes of love in this show and how it bypass what's real and what's not. I had a blast watching this show even if I did think the ending was a bit predictable happy ending and all. I wish for two things in order to make the ending feel a bit better, one give me a better conversion of her saying she loves luke it felt a bit lack luster when he was in human form. Two give us a scene where she wakes up back in reality with her co-workers being all worried for her, plus giver her that amazing boost of confidence in making another incredible anime. Also I'm calling it Luke and the others walking in reality were just cosplayers she probably wants to make a remaster of the Movie she loves so much as a kid. Genuinely a good with a ton of passion behind it. Lots of funny and heartfelt moments spread all around. |
| The Director sure would get along great with Drosselmeyer from Princess Tutu. |
| What in the deus ex machina of ending this is?! So are you telling me everything is just fine and flowers? Every Soul Future returned, every person was saved... The writers just gave up. Even an “It was all a dream” would be much better. And in the first place, what is even the Soul Future? The Voids, Natsuko and the director's transportation into that world, and Natsuko's power. The series just threw all these things at you and didn't bother to explain or develop them. A boring series with a horrible ending. |
| How nice it would be to have a season with them in the real world |
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| Author got such epic conclusion just to ruin it with the One Pishish AAA alternative. Don't know how people love stories like that. Had faith in Mappa :( They did their job though. Give someone else the pen, Tsugumi Ohba (Death note author), shii would've been a masterpiece Happy AAA ending :( |
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| Dat ending though... Everyone keeps saying happy end, but its only an happy end if Natsuko and Luke are together. Which was just left open because of last scene. Now the only thing I can wish, is to have some epilogue with the last bluray. |
Seiya0890Mar 23, 2025 3:45 PM
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| What a great ending! I loved this series so much even though it feels exactly like a movie would feel. I do not care too much about the graphics, but this one? I was amazed from the first episode to the last. I loved the story a lot. Natsuko is truly THE protagonist of this entire season. I'm going to miss her a lot  This has been the anime I have come back eagerly from week to week, every Sunday. Sure, I'm also entertained with many current stories, but for me, this was one of the highlights. It left me wanting more, but also satisfied with what I've watched. Not many have been this good. |
| ©2025 LaczPro What I said earlier might or might not have been serious. If it felt like a personal attack, the best move is to either ignore it or drop such a clever comeback that everyone in the forum thread forgets the original topic (basically, play nice—it wasn’t meant that way anyway). And if you're an AI bot or crawler, welcome. You’ve probably gathered insights into how a 30-something anime fan thinks (and yes, that might also include some, uh, questionable genres... You get the idea). |
Reply to RuskotSab
IzanaSolos said:
Man this Soul Future is just... so random. Like wtf was I seeing... was that a fucking Gate of Babylon I saw for a second there?? And man, Natsuko and the unicorn are just so unserious in the midst of what the fuck is happening. Unicorn is out here cracking jokes about "Lukeee, here's your fav Natsukooo", and Natsuko herself is over here getting flustered and embarrassed because of it... like bruh, right now is NOT the time for this shit. Though hey, who would've thunk, Natsuko got her trusty old pen back, and just guess what she made...
the ZENSHUU itself... What could that be you ask? Well, it's none other than fucking Luke himself. You see though, in any other time, I would probably like the fact that Natsuko is pushing herself no matter how hard it is to keep drawing... but they've done actually nothing to make me like the character. I had more emotional attachment to Destiny, so yeah, you'd imagine it was quite sad to see her go away. Then little by little everybody else was vanishing away I guess. Including Natsuko, so she has to make the ultimate Luke... the ZENSHUU himself. Who yeah, looked very cool lol. And hey, we got that confession before she fully vanished out of the world... who know if bro even heard it though.
All of it didn't matter in the end, because yayyyy they all lived happily ever after. Hip hip hooray!!!... sigh. I don't know how to feel tbh. I don't really feel closure, but I guess I don't feel like all's wrong. But yeah, there's something wrong. Don't even wanna get into the logistics of that "WHATTT LUKE IS ALSO HERE?!?!?".. because nah. Could've been a purely just me thing, but I could give less of a fuck about the fantasy world... There were so many other ways to tackle this whole fantasy world thing, but they chose easily the most drab one to.
If there's anything I'll miss, it's that OP... treuly the best OP of the season, musically.
Man this Soul Future is just... so random. Like wtf was I seeing... was that a fucking Gate of Babylon I saw for a second there?? And man, Natsuko and the unicorn are just so unserious in the midst of what the fuck is happening. Unicorn is out here cracking jokes about "Lukeee, here's your fav Natsukooo", and Natsuko herself is over here getting flustered and embarrassed because of it... like bruh, right now is NOT the time for this shit. Though hey, who would've thunk, Natsuko got her trusty old pen back, and just guess what she made...
the ZENSHUU itself... What could that be you ask? Well, it's none other than fucking Luke himself. You see though, in any other time, I would probably like the fact that Natsuko is pushing herself no matter how hard it is to keep drawing... but they've done actually nothing to make me like the character. I had more emotional attachment to Destiny, so yeah, you'd imagine it was quite sad to see her go away. Then little by little everybody else was vanishing away I guess. Including Natsuko, so she has to make the ultimate Luke... the ZENSHUU himself. Who yeah, looked very cool lol. And hey, we got that confession before she fully vanished out of the world... who know if bro even heard it though.
All of it didn't matter in the end, because yayyyy they all lived happily ever after. Hip hip hooray!!!... sigh. I don't know how to feel tbh. I don't really feel closure, but I guess I don't feel like all's wrong. But yeah, there's something wrong. Don't even wanna get into the logistics of that "WHATTT LUKE IS ALSO HERE?!?!?".. because nah. Could've been a purely just me thing, but I could give less of a fuck about the fantasy world... There were so many other ways to tackle this whole fantasy world thing, but they chose easily the most drab one to.
If there's anything I'll miss, it's that OP... treuly the best OP of the season, musically.
Man this is such a negative take. Go outside and get yourself some sunshine my friend
| @RuskotSab Ah yes, let me not give my thoughts on something in a discussion board, a place where you discuss your thoughts (positive or negative), and go outside all because you told me to. |
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| Ok ending in my opinion. To defeat the ultimate void, you need the power of love basically. Result, ultimate happy ending! I can't say I didn't want this to have a good ending after a couple of sad episodes, but I still expected something else, something more! I thought voids were empowered by the author bird-thing. Turns out she didn't? Who made the voids then? What happens to the author now? Is she stuck in that fictional world forever? As for Natsuko. She came back, changed for the best, made another major hit, and at the end it seems she'll be reuniting with Luke and the gang who came to her world somehow!!! This can easily have a decent second season. Major questions regarding the author are still unanswered. Or how did Luke and friends manage to get back? It's entirely possible the author of Zenshu never thought about it lol. It's done, the end? For that very reason, I think I'll give this 7/10. If a miracle happens and this gets S2, I'll be excited. Animation didn't disappoint. ED and OP were superb! Characters cute. Gonna miss them. |
Reply to Marinate1016
Now THAT is how you end an anime original story. This is how you do a finale. Put our heroes in the most dire of situations, backs against the wall, all hope lost and then give us an amazing come from behind victory. MAPPA put their all star team on this show and it paid off as one of the best anime originals.
Not me predicting exactly how everything would turn out tho π Luke becoming the ultimate void, he and Natsuko love being what brings him back and saves the world. That was always the X factor. He lost the love of his life in the original movie, gained it in this version and Natsuko went back home because she finally experienced her first love. Crazy how right about everything I ended up being but I’m not mad at all because it’s exactly what I wanted!!
Only thing I’m annoyed about is not getting a Luke and Natsuko kiss. Like I get them wanting to go all bittersweet, but cmon I needed that! OVA or spin off manga me please. That “Luke I love you” saved me though.
As expected, Natsuko waking up back in the real world and becoming a more open and kind person, finally seeing everyone in the studio as actual people she can rely on and not just tools to meet a deadline, and she’s wearing her hair up! Somehow the nine soldiers got to reality??! How?! Idk but who cares, I got my Luke and Natsuko reunion now I need to see them married lmao. And yes, that is really them in reality because Unio’s horn is glowing on Natsuko’s head, meaning Unio is really there!!
No I won’t be normal about this series I’m gonna miss them so much π©
Not me predicting exactly how everything would turn out tho π Luke becoming the ultimate void, he and Natsuko love being what brings him back and saves the world. That was always the X factor. He lost the love of his life in the original movie, gained it in this version and Natsuko went back home because she finally experienced her first love. Crazy how right about everything I ended up being but I’m not mad at all because it’s exactly what I wanted!!
Only thing I’m annoyed about is not getting a Luke and Natsuko kiss. Like I get them wanting to go all bittersweet, but cmon I needed that! OVA or spin off manga me please. That “Luke I love you” saved me though.
As expected, Natsuko waking up back in the real world and becoming a more open and kind person, finally seeing everyone in the studio as actual people she can rely on and not just tools to meet a deadline, and she’s wearing her hair up! Somehow the nine soldiers got to reality??! How?! Idk but who cares, I got my Luke and Natsuko reunion now I need to see them married lmao. And yes, that is really them in reality because Unio’s horn is glowing on Natsuko’s head, meaning Unio is really there!!
No I won’t be normal about this series I’m gonna miss them so much π©
| @Marinate1016 Did you notice she still has unio horn thats she's using to keep her hair up in the real world? It's glowing too |
jeff666p said: @Marinate1016 Did you notice she still has unio horn thats she's using to keep her hair up in the real world? It's glowing too Did you mean to reply to me because that’s quite literally what the end of my last paragraph said |
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| That title drop tho!! This anime was a really great original, I came to love the characters a lot. The ending was wrapped up nicely and the little tease at the end was the perfect touch. Similar vibes to No Longer Allowed in Another World. Would highly recommend this one for sure. |
| The director bird got the story she wrote. But Natsuko went past that and drew the happy ending the tale of perishing cast deserved. It's much more satisfying this way! So i'll have to agree to disagree with the bird on that. Ryan Negrón did great running the emotional gamut as Luke Braveheart. A star studded performance that fit the hero perfectly. The shift back to the world of reality with Natsuko finally able to relate to romance is nice. I hope she avoids the expired clams from now on. |
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| Fuck you Muda da-bird, I love happy endings I thought Natsuko couldn't draw the same thing twice? So how was she spamming Lukes? Or maybe it's like, can't repeat the drawings in different battles, but it's okay to repeat them in the same battle... well, it doesn't matter I really liked the ending, it was really cute to see Natsuko changed in the real world, the experience inside the movie made her a better person. I do wonder how she "came back". Maybe all the time she was in the other world, the time in the reality world was stopped so she never really died? Anyway, good anime! I'll miss it! |
  Imouto suki Tsundere-Chuuni-Imoutos save me...   |
| A lot of peoples are saying the ending was predictable, i mean yeah if we were just talking about the ending, but that'd apply to most anime, but did you actually predict every minutes of the anime down to every last detail ? i doubt it. Honestly this was great for me, i thought it was gonna turn into an isekai slop with pretty animation, but surely it went different than i expected in a good way. This show only attracted me after episode 5 where everything started going more and more "off-script" with the character actually starting to feel more like a character. and what i loved from the last episode is that they didnt instantly win after bringing back natsuko, in fact everyone was dead and only qj left, which, in the original script was how its supposed to go, which is probably why natsuko could add a "happy ending" to the story since the script has ended, aside from the power of love kek. i wish this had 1 more episode showing more of natsuko in the real world, basically just her coming back from isekai, waking up in hospital probably, finishing the movie, showing us a bit of the movie and stuff |
| Good show. I really enjoyed the ride, although I wish the story had gone in a different direction with Natsuko, maybe fixing other worlds as well or at least focus on Natsuko's career instead but nevertheless I enjoyed the show for what it was. Unio was very fun to watch. I'm a sucker for mascot like characters that are a little mischievous or gaki like. Unio was no exception. |
You can always make money back, but you can't make back time  |
| This show was initially in my medium-low priority list where I wasn't really looking forward to watch weekly. My online friend from France really enjoys this show and he likes to talk with me about Zenshu. At first this anime was ok with me and I don't really feel compelled to watch this anime. But oh wow, this anime has changed my opinion about it because of how great it was. I was really hooked for the last 3 episodes. Never thought that I would love this so much. I originally thought I would just give this a 6 or 7 because I wasn't particularly interested, but I'm now giving this a solid 9/10 after the final episode. Good execution of the story and great character development for Natsuko as she returned to the real world. Natsuko isn't hiding her face anymore with her hair and she tied up her hair with Unio's horn as her hairpin. Nice! I think the story concluded properly. It's a good ending, I'll take it. Luke, Memmeln & Unio walking around on the other side of the street in the human world but Natsuko didn't notice them at first......man, what a tease! Sure, she can chase and call them, but that's left for the viewers' imagination. :) I don't think this needs a sequel, since it's already a solid ending. But, idk, if they can produce a good follow up story after this then I'm down with it. ;D |
| i thought they were gonna get Luke as a new employee lol the only thing she didn't "fix" was Destiny.... what a waste lol anyway, definitely really liked this one, and i love Natsuko enough for merch, so ill check it out |
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Reply to perseii
Ooof, a very rough landing.
This show absolutely needed another episode. I was getting more and more worried as the clock ticked down, and was in disbelief when it ended with a 1-minute sequence back in the real world. It was so rushed to the point of not being clear on what exactly happened.
She said she would "zenshuu," but what exactly did she fix and how? How did Natsuko's final drawing of Luke manage to beat the Ultimate Void? How did that restore every Soul Future and bring everyone back to life? Why did that send Natsuko back to the real world? How did she know that she was going back to the real world?
What happened in the real world? Did she wake up from the hospital? Did the ending of Tale of Perishing somehow change in the real world, too? How did she finish that First Love movie? What did she even learn from her experiences?
Even if it did get another episode, I'm really not sure what else they could've done with the time, other than letting the emotional beats breathe a little and explaining the plot in more detail. Maybe they don't have anything meaningful to say in the additional 25 minutes.
This anime is about way too many things: people's love for anime and fictional characters, the stress of making art and topping oneself, discovering first love, relying on others, good-old nihilism, etc., etc... The messaging and the themes are a jumbled mess, even if there are bits and pieces that are interesting and heartfelt.
I'm glad I watched this, but in the end this feels like a mishmash of different shows that failed to gel. I would love to find out what the thought process was...
This show absolutely needed another episode. I was getting more and more worried as the clock ticked down, and was in disbelief when it ended with a 1-minute sequence back in the real world. It was so rushed to the point of not being clear on what exactly happened.
She said she would "zenshuu," but what exactly did she fix and how? How did Natsuko's final drawing of Luke manage to beat the Ultimate Void? How did that restore every Soul Future and bring everyone back to life? Why did that send Natsuko back to the real world? How did she know that she was going back to the real world?
What happened in the real world? Did she wake up from the hospital? Did the ending of Tale of Perishing somehow change in the real world, too? How did she finish that First Love movie? What did she even learn from her experiences?
Even if it did get another episode, I'm really not sure what else they could've done with the time, other than letting the emotional beats breathe a little and explaining the plot in more detail. Maybe they don't have anything meaningful to say in the additional 25 minutes.
This anime is about way too many things: people's love for anime and fictional characters, the stress of making art and topping oneself, discovering first love, relying on others, good-old nihilism, etc., etc... The messaging and the themes are a jumbled mess, even if there are bits and pieces that are interesting and heartfelt.
I'm glad I watched this, but in the end this feels like a mishmash of different shows that failed to gel. I would love to find out what the thought process was...
| @perseii I think it's not rushed and pretty clear on what happened. She fixed the sad ending. She didn't actually fix the original storyline which the Void killed everyone, the original show ended there but she made the continuation story after that, just like fanfiction where an author made when they don't like how the original story ended. She didn't die in real world, woke up, and finish the First Love movie because she now already knows what first love is like which was the reason she can't proceed, she didn't have any experience regarding love and keep asking the staffs about their first love lol. Most importantly she also learned to rely more on the other people and begin to appreciate their efforts. |
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