REVIEW: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 4 — “ETERNITY”

ZENSHU Episode 4 is another entertaining episode that does a good job of highlighting one of its main characters in a way that gives them more depth. The episode starts with  Natsuko (Anna Nagase) casually drawing Memerun while Luke (Kazuki Ura) voices his suspicions that someone disguised a Void and snuck it into the village in the last episode. Hearing this, Natsuko gets nervous, making it obvious she knows something. Memerun (Minori Suzuki) announces she’s leaving for choir practice, and Natsuko also leaves the room squeamishly while Luke stares daggers at her.

After the opening, we see Natsuko spying on Memerun and tailing her to her destination. Exposition explains that in the original A Tale of Perishing storyline, the elves successfully brought a Void creature into The Soul Future tower. However, Luke vanquished it before it could cause any damage. However, the Void transforms into the “Ultimate Void,” and after Luke kills it, it turns out that it was just a transformation of Memerun.

Natsuko offers several revelations in ZENSHU Episode 4.

Natsuko also explains that Memrun’s intentions were never revealed in the movie. Luke catches up to Natsuko and asks why she’s tailing Memerun. She responds by revealing all she knows and saying she intends to find out why Memerun is siding with the Void. They both eventually hit a dead end and arrive at the cemetery, where it’s rumored the Choir meets up for practice.

Luke finds a hidden door behind a large statue and the two press on. The cemetery’s art direction, specifically its layout and the amazingly detailed statue, easily grabs attention. The background track played during this scene also noticeably elevates it and evokes a sense of otherworldly medieval whimsy.

Luke and Natsuko press on into the catacombs and hear singing. But instead of an angelic and melodic tune you’d expect from a choir, the hooded group loudly sings an unsettling song about no longer wanting to be alive and wanting “nothingness.” It turns out that this song was part of a ritual to summon the Ultimate Void, and Memerun is leading the group. This unsurprisingly shocks the two, and they argue about how they can stop Memerun. However, before they can finish the conversation, Unio (Rie Kugimiya) appears, and the two have to distract him by getting beers so he doesn’t hinder their investigation.

The next scene shows Natsuko and Luke continuing their conversation, with Natsuko telling Luke not to get in the way as she fears what happened to Memerun in the movie could happen again. The two get into an argument about who has a better chance of saving the day. Luke decides he’ll try to solve the situation his way while Natsuko scoffs at him.

Natsuko and Luke’s rapport works wonders in ZENSHU Episode 4.

The conversation and argument between the characters is funny and entertaining. Natsuko and Luke’s rapport improves with each episode as they get more comfortable with each other. This scene also does a great job of displaying the intricacies of their personalities. Natsuko is all too comfortable with teasing and belittling Luke and looks like she’s enjoying herself in the process, while the overly defensive Luke is bashful but tries to hide it with pride. Their interactions are fun to watch, and it even reveals subtle details like a potential, albeit seemingly one-sided, budding attraction from Luke.

The next scene shows Luke giving Memerun cake and trying to start a conversation with her but to no avail. Natsuko barges in and asks Memerun directly why she is trying to summon the Ultimate Void. Memerun then reveals she is tired of her eternal life span and all the pain of losing loved ones over the years. She wishes everyone could be wiped out at the same time.

Natsuko rightfully criticizes Memerun for being selfish and voices her disappointment. This is yet another excellent display of Natsuko’s strengths as a protagonist. She is direct and confident in calling out what is wrong, unlike Luke, who sympathizes with Memerun even when she’s clearly wrong.

Afterward, Luke comes up with a plan for Natsuko to summon a fake Ultimate Void that will convince the group not to go ahead with their plot. He visualizes the plan with some crudely drawn illustrations. Natsuko laughs at the drawings and plan but decides to go ahead with it anyway. They both head back to the cemetery and before the elves arrive, Natsuko voices out her concern about whether she can draw again this time. Luke responds by saying there’s no rush either way since they aren’t going to die today. This triggers another memory of Natsuko at her desk from her old life, visibly making her sad.

Memerun threatens to transform into the Ultimate Void.

The elves arrive, and Luke disguises himself and infiltrates the group while Natsuko prepares to draw. It’s then revealed that Memerun plans on going ahead with the ritual. She begins transforming into the Ultimate Void. However, she has flashbacks to her memories with the Nine Heroes and gets cold feet. At that moment, Natsuko draws in a male idol who mesmerizes the whole room with an excellently animated and engaging musical performance meant to convince them and Memerun that life is worth living.

Once it ends, Natsuko approaches Memerun and shows her the drawing of the idol, stating that even if she dies, the character will still live on. She introduces her to the concept of media and how some things will always live on, even when we die, in hopes of inspiring her to keep living. Natsuko then passes out, and Luke proposes to a crying Memerun that they all go home together.

ZENSHU Episode 4 presents an interesting and somewhat dark subject: the downsides of having a long lifespan and its mental effects, specifically for fantasy beings like Elves. While the episode could have gone more in-depth on the subject, it still does a great job of breathing more life into Memerun as a character and showing how depressed elves can be quite dangerous.

The idol scene is another masterfully animated sequence by MAPPA. It’s mesmerizing and really funny to watch. Given the setting, seeing a fantasy character burst into a musical number with beautiful visual effects and fluid motions is quite unexpected.

The next scene shows Memerun and Natsuko discussing the idol character she drew and its origin in her world. Natsuko offhandedly reveals how brutal it was working on the idol show but claims Memerun’s happiness with the idol made it worth it.

This is notably the second time Natsuko highlights her unhealthy work past in the episode. She also noticeably always says “good job” when she passes out after drawing, which also indicates her past life. All these subtle signs make the narrative more interesting, but it is also admittedly tone-deaf from MAPPA, given its history and work culture.

The episode ends with Luke bringing Unio up to speed on all that happened, and Unio claims he thought Luke and Natsuko were dating, which sends Luke into a panicked state. All in all, ZENSHU Episode 4 is a highly engaging episode that does a good job of simultaneously entertaining viewers and highlighting its characters.

ZENSHU Episode 4 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.