REVIEW: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 11 — “DESPAIR”

ZENSHU Episode 11 maintains the dread from the previous episode and shows how bad things have become for the villagers of The Last Town. However, it also provides some final background on its main characters in a surprisingly well-paced manner and offers a glimmer of hope for the narrative’s endgame.

ZENSHU Episode 11 continues to paint a grim picture of The Last Town. Voids are killing citizens en masse, structures and houses are being destroyed, and worst of all, the Void creatures seem to be evolving at a rapid rate. Each fallen Void seemingly strengthens the next, making it harder for them to kill.

Thankfully, the last of the Nine heroes, Justice and Memerun (Minori Suzuki), are still fighting back despite the last episode making it seem like Memerun is back on the Void’s side. On the other hand,  Luke (Kazuki Ura) is still downtrodden following the death of Unio (Rie Kugimiya) and Natsuko (Anna Nagase). These scenes make it clear that A Tale of Perishing is now on the trajectory towards its original depressing conclusion.

Dread continues to reign, but little sprinkles of hope lift spirits.

The opening scenes do a great job of evoking pity and sadness for these characters in dire straits. However, there is also a bit of hope through Destiny and Memerun, whom we’ve seen develop in small and large ways throughout the series.

These two emotions also extend to Unio and Natsuko, who, unsurprisingly, are not dead. The episode emphasizes their pasts and reveals more details about them. Recent negative events have forced Natsuko to form an inferiority complex.

Several people from her past featured in previous episodes return, but in a warped way as visions to reflect her mental state. They ridicule her and claim her work isn’t good enough. These scenes are notably the first time she’s ever lost self-confidence, and it proves she’s had a lot of growth through self-reflection. This inferiority complex also makes sense, given that she faced creative difficulties right before her death. All the negative emotions and feedback cascade into her mental turmoil.

However, Unio quickly pulls her out of this, reminding her of what’s at stake and how Luke needs her help. His actions prompt a series of memories in Natsuko, revealing how dedicated she has always been to the movie and how the only person she’s ever loved, fictional or otherwise, is Luke.

Well-executed flashbacks add an extra punch of emotion in ZENSHU Episode 11.

This series of flashbacks is another excellent, well-paced, emotional part of ZENSHU Episode 11 that does a fantastic job revealing even more about the protagonist. The song “First Love” by Yukari Hashimoto makes a return in these scenes and elevates them phenomenally. Another flashback scene shows Unio and Luke as kids and how Luke has always felt the pressure of being a hero. It is then juxtaposed to the final scene that sees Luke finally destroy the last Soul Future, effectively forcing the natural conclusion of him transforming to the Ultimate Void.

This scene showcases fluid visuals from MAPPA via the special effects seen on Luke’s glowing sword right before destroying the crystal. His facial animations also excellently display his mental decline throughout the episode. Lastly, the many shots of the city’s downfall result in ZENSHU Episode 11 being one of the most visually appealing episodes of the series.

While Natsuko and Unio were too late to stop Luke, it’ll be interesting to see how the pair, who are determined to help Luke, will do this. All in all, ZENSHU Episode 11 is another fantastic episode with great visuals and even greater character writing. It does an amazing job setting up what will likely be an epic finale.

ZENSHU Episode 11 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Previous Episode | Next Episode