REVIEW: ‘ZENSHU’ Episode 12 — “ZENSHU””

ZENSHU Episode 12 is a simple but eventful season finale that sees the heroes try to save the day against overwhelmingly negative odds. The ending wraps up the anime in a highly satisfying way, making the overall story meaningful.

The episode resumes where the last ended. Luke has destroyed the last Soul Future crystal, turning himself into the Ultimate Void and ultimately dooming The Last Town. However, not all hope is lost. Unio (Rie Kugimiya) and Natsuko (Anna Nagase) rejoin the fight and help the rest of the Nine Heroes fend off The Ultimate Void, while it is revealed that the elves have resurrected QJ.

ZENSHU Episode 12 is almost objectively the most well-animated episode of the entire season. It starts with bombastic, highly engaging, picturesque, and mesmerizing visuals. The Ultimate Void has an amazingly detailed design, and his attacks and the special effects that come from them are fluid and beautiful. Additionally, the several detailed and captivating shots of the city being destroyed make the first half of the episode incredibly atmospheric. It also evokes a very nihilistic feeling, especially with the amount of death and destruction being displayed.

However, it’s also a bit disappointing that QJ’s death, which is one of the anime’s most impactful deaths, was quickly undone. He’s revived just two episodes later. And with the way the episode ends, even this revival becomes somewhat meaningless.

Natsuko and the Nine Heroes try to fend off the Ultimate Void, but to no avail in ZENSHU Episode 12.

The rest of the episode sees Natsuko and the Nine Heroes try to fend off the Ultimate Void and knock some sense back into Luke (Kazuki Ura), but to no avail. Everything they try and all their efforts amount to nothing as the seemingly undefeatable Void wreaks havoc on what remains of the town. One by one, the heroes fall until all that’s left is Natsuko and her table drawing in darkness, trying to save the world.

The second half of the episode is the most dramatic and emotional set of scenes in the anime. It cements the point of how depressing the original movie was through the more detailed perspective of Natsuko. She tries her hardest to undo the grim story of her favorite movie and save her favorite characters. This is all portrayed excellently. The anime does a fantastic job of making viewers care about the fates of these characters. Ultimately, with the help of QJ, who appears just in time to give her the last shred of hope she needs, Natsuko succeeds and undoes everything.

This last burst of energy sees her final drawing in the anime, a copy of Luke, finally defeating the Ultimate Void. It’s also MAPPA’s last flex of animation prowess, as Luke’s final attack provides an eye-catching explosion of colors. The episode’s art direction looks marvelous and picturesque, specifically during the scenes that show the world being remade and every character revived. The epic last song also made the final moment of the fight that much more engaging.

The fact that the anime ends with the revival of all the dead characters and The Last Town would be incredibly disappointing from a narrative standpoint if it wasn’t Natsuko’s ultimate goal throughout the series. As such, ZENSHU executes this goal excellently. All the hardships she and the other characters go through are worth it. It’s especially noteworthy that Natsuko’s impact on the story remains untouched while the world has been revived and some events were undone. As such, all the development we see these characters go through still means something.

ZENSHU Episode 12 is an impeccable conclusion to the excellent anime.

The anime ends with Natsuko returning to reality. It shows that she’s grown both physically and as a person. She’s now willing to work with her coworkers and rely on them. The episode also shows how the anime’s events were not a result of a coma-induced dream but were real. Luke and the others have also somehow made their way to the human world.

While somewhat predictable given previous events, the final scenes drive home the point that everything Natsuko experienced was worth it. She and the citizens of the Last Town gained a lot from them. ZENSHU’s ending is excellent. Its themes and messages are upheld and its characters’ developments are maintained. It also leaves a potential for a second season that could explain how Natsuko was able to interact with a fictional world in the first place or why the characters could come to the real world.

ZENSHU Episode 12 is an impeccable conclusion to a highly engaging and memorable series. The anime maintained incredible production quality throughout, and the season finale wraps everything up satisfactorily. Overall, ZENSHU sets a new standard for original anime series.

ZENSHU Episode 12 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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