MAPPA has a new anime on its list of upcoming releases, and it has all the flair of Bakuman. As a hardcore otaku, I’ve always been interested in the glamorous lives of the mangakas featured in the anime and how the sketches turn into animated masterpieces. It is very much in the style of Shungiku Nakamura’s stories like Junjō Romantica and Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi, without all the Yaoi. So that’s how ZENSHU seems to have a story that focuses more on the workings of publishing houses or anime studios like MAPPA.
Crunchyroll shared that they will be licensing this new series and also shared a trailer. In this video, they present the protagonist, Natsuko Hirose, who had the dream of many college graduates because she gets a good job as soon as she graduates. In her case, she is in a renowned animation studio. Not only that, but Natsuko is so talented that she goes from an assistant to the director of her own adaptation in no time. I’m so envious.
However, not everything is so good. With so much success, Natsuko has never been able to do anything with her social or romantic life, which makes it difficult for her to understand how to direct her next project: a romantic comedy movie about first love. The protagonist must defeat this artistic block due to her ineptitude in finding the right match.
There is no doubt that Natsuko is very capable and excellent at her job. She can correct manuscripts and storyboards in minutes. However, it will be something new to see how MAPPA handles in ZENSHU that an adult otaku must come out of her shell in order to complete her anime movie. All this while her company’s time and investment put her under so much pressure. Let’s also hope that the animators of this series don’t suffer as much stress as Natsuko and that they will soon have a release date.
