Zenshu Ep 12 Review
And that’s a wrap, people! After three months, twelve episodes, and a ton of shout-outs to great anime and the people who made them, Zenshu is over! And what an ending it was! At the end of the last episode, it looked as though Kametaro’s horrendously depressing ending was going to come true. In his grief over the loss of Natsuko, Luke had destroyed the final Soul Future, heralding the arrival of the Ultimate Void. Yet, there’s something that that old bag of a director never understood about humanity: that no matter how bad things may get for us, we keep looking for a light in the dark. In this case, that light’s name is Natsuko Hirose.
Don’t put too much stock into Destiny
Picking up where the previous episode left off, the transformation of Luke into the Ultimate Void helps us to understand why the mindless monsters are called Voids. In a nutshell, they’re the personification of the despair that people can hit when they begin to think that nothing they do matters. It’s something that everyone will experience at some point in their lives, and they’re left with two options. They can either give into despair like Luke, or they can do what Natsuko does: roll up their sleeves and tell despair to shove it. And does Natsuko tell despair and hopelessness to shove it.
#ZENSHU Ep 12, “Goodbye, Luke…I’ll love you forever.”PURE CINEMA!!Natsuko finally abled to change Luke’s fate. She made her movie based on her first love with Luke. HOLY SHIT!! They are in the Real World!! It is a story about finding your true self and Love. #全修 pic.twitter.com/kMfsK6rmQ2
— Ghosh (@Ghosh52329) March 23, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Even as the entire world begins to fall to pieces and everyone gets the Thanos dusting treatment, Natsuko refuses to give up. She draws harder than she’s ever drawn anything before. She draws an army of Lukes and throws them at the personification of hopelessness and despair. There’s probably some sort of deeper meaning behind it, but it’s hard to find over the sheer amount of awesome animation.
Despite being the last one standing, Natsuko gets some unexpected aid from someone she thought was gone for good: QJ! Memeln and her friends gathered the fragments of his body and rebuilt him just in time for him to come to Natsuko’s aid. And together, the two of them manage to do the impossible. They change the ending of the story.
Not the first time I’ve seen a world remade
Some people might complain about how Natsuko effectively rebuilt the entire world into one where the Voids no longer exist. They may take Kametaro’s side and say that it’s a lame cop-out that makes no sense. I, on the other hand, think that it’s the right kind of deus ex machina. Then again, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a protagonist recreate the world from nothing, nor will it be the last.
Sadly, the happy ending is mired by the fact that Natsuko returns to her world, with Luke vowing to come find her, somehow. No explanation as to how the film was capable of creating an alternate world given, nor any explanation as to why Natsuko got summoned to it or got her powers. Nor do we get a chance to see Luke and Natsuko kiss. In fact, the only proof that this wasn’t a dream brought on by a near-death experience is that Natsuko kept Unio’s horn as a hairpin.
That being said, this is still a monumentally better ending than what A Tale of Perishing was in the film version.
Top-Tier Ending for a Top-Tier Anime
HE PROMISED HER AND FULFILLED HIS PROMISE AHHHHHH #zenshu pic.twitter.com/BS2QyTQoFF
— PICTURE PERFECT ERA (@akudamadriver) March 23, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Debunked dream theories aside, I was right about this whole experience changing Natsuko for the better. The ending has her adopt a more open nature towards her coworkers, symbolized by the fact that she no longer hides her face behind her hair. And because she’s learned how to work in a team, her rom-com film becomes a massive success. However, the ending leaves things ambiguous regarding whether or not Luke finds his way to her world, which is a little frustrating. But not enough to take away from the fact that this was a good ending. A bit cliche, maybe, but still a good ending!
And with that, Zenshu has come to an end. It may have had its ups and downs at times, but as whole, it was one of the great shows of 2025. You can tell that Studio Mappa put a lot of love into this original creation of theirs. It pays tribute to the Isekai genre in a unique way. It pays tribute to the people who make anime possible. Most importantly, though, it shows a great deal of respect for the fans that drive entertainment forward and how they can find ways to improve on what has come before. In this case, that means taking a terrible ending by a woman who didn’t know what she was doing and make it into an uplifting story about first love and daring to hope in the face of impossible odds.
Also, it proves that sometimes the fans can do a better job than the creators!
now that #zenshu ended yall know what time it is pic.twitter.com/VR3DaFbWq4
— PICTURE PERFECT ERA (@akudamadriver) March 23, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
That’s a wrap on #Zenshu!
It was a joy to direct the dub of this beautiful story—about finding love in the form of the art that inspires us—and a dream to tell that story with a cast & crew who inspired me every day.
Thank you to everyone involved, and to you for watching. pic.twitter.com/GTxOOlkQlN
— Emily Fajardo (@EmilyJFajardo) March 23, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
