REVIEW: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 10 — “CHAOS”

Zenshu Episode 10 takes an even more depressing turn after the end of the previous episode. Things become exceedingly more chaotic and tensions rise with Natsuko in a precarious position as all her efforts leading up to this episode seemingly become undone.

The episode begins with The Last City trying to recover from the last Void attack as the last of the Nine Heroes grieve QJ. Natsuko (Anna Nagase) understandably takes it the hardest and regrets telling QJ the true story of A Tale of Perishing right before his death. On the other hand, Luke (Kazuki Ura) keeps himself busy helping citizens, forgoing his own health, and caving under the pressure of being “The Great Hero.”

The opening scene does a great job of displaying how dire things are and how everything has been thrown off the rails. Several have died, the heroes have lost yet another member, and The Last City is on the brink of collapse. All of this is portrayed through the environmental storytelling of the struggling villagers and dialogue between the characters whose faces truly showcase despair.

The situation in The Last City grows dire. 

What makes things worse is that the villagers’ minds are poisoned by the Voidists, the cult-like group that wants to be wiped out by the Voids. The villagers believe it’s Natsuko’s fault the Voids are evolving rapidly and are now copying her designs. Their resentment reaches a breaking point, and a witch hunt ensues. It’s clear the story of A Tale of Perishing has been severely affected by Natsuko’s presence, and even she is now made aware of this. Not only that, but the movie’s narrative has now shifted back to its original state but in a somewhat warped and saddening way.

Destiny was given her character arc in a previous episode to be an independent, muscle-bound woman, fully capable of taking care of kids on her own. However, after recent events, she’s forced to marry the chairman to fund her orphanage, seemingly throwing away all that character development. The same can be said for Memerun (Minori Suzuki), who gained a will to live after Natsuko’s intervention, now seemingly turning back to the Voidists, and Luke, who had become a happier person thanks to Natsuko, returning to being the overburdened hero the series started with.

All these reversions make it clear how dire the situation is in The Last City. They’re also a great narrative decision to display the tragedy, as these changes succeed in evoking an emotional reaction from viewers. However, it is still disappointing to see how the effort put into these characters was seemingly for naught. Thankfully, the season isn’t over yet, so there is still hope that things may revert to their positive outcomes.

Tragedy strikes in Zenshu Episode 10. 

The tragic development of the anime’s narrative was expected following the conclusion of Episode 9. However, the severity at which things devolve into madness is entirely unexpected. The speed and intensity at which the villagers turned on Natsuko, someone who’s been helping them for such a long time, was shocking. However, the final scene, showing the villagers almost lynching her, is the worst of all. It brutally and accurately displays how people could react when put in a confusing and desperate situation and how easy it is to manipulate them.

The shots showing the backdrop of the half-destroyed city descending into chaos do a fantastic job of displaying it on its last legs and the fall of a once beautiful city. MAPPA’s illustrations and rough sketch designs of the new Void creatures formed from Natsuko’s discarded sketches from the previous episode are amazingly detailed and intricate.

“Chaos” ends with Unio and Natsuko swallowed up by a Void, which is then killed as a dismayed Luke watches in pain. This scene provides a nice nail-biting cliffhanger and cements the fact that A Tale of Pershing’s narrative may lead to its inevitable tragic end after all.

ZENSHU Episode 10 is highly engaging and thought-provoking. It raises many questions about Natsuko’s role and whether she is doomed to live through the tragic end of her favorite movie.

ZENSHU Episode 10 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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