REVIEW: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 8 — “CONFESSION”

Zenshu Episode 8 is another incredibly engaging and entertaining episode that provides an excellent viewing experience. As the anime approaches its end, the narrative gets more captivating, the characters develop further, and the animation stands out in ways other episodes haven’t been able to compare to.

Zenshu Episode 8 finally sees Natsuko (Anna Nagase) confronting the bird that’s been hounding her for the last three episodes. With the help of Destiny and some of the Nine Heroes, Natsuko captures the bird. The bird is confirmed to be Kametaro Tsuruyama, the director of A Tale of Perishing.

Unsurprisingly, she’s not too happy about Natsuko’s influences and changes to the film’s world. This new revelation, while not shocking, as several details leading up to it could be seen throughout several episodes, is still executed in a fantastic way. Not only is the start of the episode. Specifically, the exchange between Natsuko and the director is hilarious, but their dialogue is also intriguing. The highlight of the scene was the performance from Kametaro’s voice actor as her demeanor while teasing Natsuko is funny and extremely well executed.

Kametaro’s presence in this fantasy world after her death could suggest Natsuko could also be dead after all. However, Natsuko using Kametaro’s Pegbar is a bit too coincidental and might suggest that she’s likely here for a specific reason. Kametaro’s comments support this even more as she claims that Natsuko’s reincarnation isn’t like hers because Natsuko never gained anything from coming to this world.

The relationship between Natsuko and the bird grows in ZENSHU Episode 8.

This suggests we may not yet know the full details about Natsuko’s presence in A Tale of Pershing and her true purpose in this world. However, it’s great to see how Zenshu Episode 8 finally addresses this mystery in a more engaging way through the new character. More details are slowly being revealed, enough to even make conclusions at this point.

While Natsuko has yet to fully come to terms with these new revelations, she also has to deal with Luke (Kazuki Ura), who finally decides to let her know how he truly feels about her. Unfortunately, him doing this in the rather awkward way of constantly yelling that he loves her every time he sees her doesn’t help. This quickly makes things uncomfortable between them, and it’s clear that Natsuko, who has never been confessed to, has no way of confronting these feelings, so she just avoids him.

This moment in the anime makes all the build-up in the previous episodes regarding Luke and Natsuko satisfying. Luke finally addresses his feelings, and Natsuko is finally forced to address love for the first time. The awkwardness between these two is displayed excellently with intricate and accurate facial expressions.

This dynamic is further enhanced when Luke and Natsuko go to a hot spring, with Luke completely intending it to be a date. The outing is incredibly tense, especially after the extremely tropey act of accidentally seeing each other naked in the hot spring. However, things get better pretty quickly as they talk more, and Natsuko also realizes her feelings for Luke.

By discovering her feelings, the road may open up further for Natsuko.

Viewers can see the bond between the two characters evolve into something more romantic, and the feelings of uncertainty, shyness, and fondness are clearly visible on their faces and body language. These feelings are portrayed extremely well throughout the episode through some impeccable animation from MAPPA. Additionally, Zenshu Episode 8 featured many great background songs, but the background track heard during this scene takes the cake as it enhances the scene flawlessly.

Zenshu Episode 8‘s most outstanding visual element, however, is its art direction. This is chiefly seen with the turquoise hot springs, which beautifully contrast the intricately designed desert sand at night. This sight evokes an ethereal aesthetic that’s unlike any other seen in the anime thus far.

Natsuko and Luke’s bonding time is interrupted by a badly timed invasion by a rogue Void creature. Despite unfavorable circumstances, they team up seamlessly and take on the creature. Natsuko draws up a giant mecha this time, which provides great support for Luke. He uses his grand moment of glory while vanquishing the Void to profess his love for Natsuko one final time in the episode. This time, however, it hits the hardest, and Natsuko visibly swoons.

The final fight between the heroes and the Void was yet another brilliant display of MAPPA’s animation prowess and is another captivating moment in the anime. The fight featured fluid motions and beautiful visual effects. It is also a big moment for Natsuko, as this is the first time she’s ever felt any romantic feelings, and shows some great character development.

All in all, Zenshu Episode 8 is another fantastic episode with great character development and impeccable production quality. It also satisfyingly cultivates many details that have been building up for several episodes. The new dynamic between Natsuko and Luke will likely change the narrative moving forward, along with the new revelations seen in this episode.

ZENSHU Episode 8 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.