Zenshuu
Short Synopsis: An anime director dies eating bad clam and is teleported to the world of their favorite movie, finally having the chance to change the outcome.
Lenlo: As much as it tries to appear as something more, playing up the 90’s fantasy anime style and tropes as well as a “darker” story, Zenshuu really is just another Isekai show, complete with an OP MC. Initially I thought her OP power would just be perfect knowledge, this being a movie she’s seen a ridiculous amount of times before. Instead, she’s basically able to re-write reality however she wants, creating monsters and weapons for whatever is needed. Now yes, it looks fantastic. Zenshuu had some absolutely stunning setpieces, the lead’s “transformation” being so over the top I almost thought she was about to become a magical girl. It almost feels like a fluff piece if I’m being honest, like they wanted to create some kind of mix between Shirobako and an isekai, to celebrate what it means to animate. Sadly though it leans way more into the Isekai part, complete with all the narrative trappings that involves. Maybe it will improve as the show goes on, I’m willing to stick around a bit to find out, but I don’t have high hopes.
Potential: 35%
Amun: Oops, I definitely did not understand what this show was about before watching the premiere. I thought this was going to be about a mangaka who learned about romance and had some imaginative anime experiences. I did not expect said mangaka to be thrown into an isekai with a super powered pen! Zenshuu is very disjointed visually – some parts look AMAZING (magical girl transformation, parts of the big fight scene), then others look extremely dated – basically all the “other-world-of-the-anime” characters. It’s a bit unpleasant, because you know the show can look better than it does. I’m kind of interested (the drawing superpower reminds me of Undead Unluck, which was pretty decent). For one of the higher touted non-sequels though, my expectations have been severely tempered.
Potential: 45%
Dr. Stone: Science Future
Short Synopsis: Season 4 of Dr. STONE.
Lenlo: I’ll admit, I’m basing a lot of this score on what I know to be coming rather than the episode itself. With multiple cours coming it’s all but guaranteed this is taking us to the end of the series, and there’s loads of great stuff in there. Dr. Xeno is, without question, the best villain in the series, and everything that happens in America between him and Senku is great. The issue is that the arc takes a bit to really get started, as seen with this sort of transitory episode as Dr. STONE reminds us of where we are, what we’re doing, and reintroduces the whole cast. An issue with long-running series I suppose, because there’s really no way around it. Still, production looks about the same as previous seasons, all of the character dynamics are still there, and I have a lot of faith in this team to see this final fantastic arc through.
Potential: 60%
Promise of Wizard
Short Synopsis: A young woman is summoned to another world as their Great Sage, destined to lead all of the hot young ikemen into battle.
Lenlo: Look, this is just a reverse harem show, there’s nothing else here. Girl gets dragged into another world on some bogus mishap, a bunch of hot guys come to save her while pledging themselves as her knights, there are some homoerotic undertones to all of the guys’ interactions with each other, that’s basically it. The show doesn’t look good, the designs are mediocre and differentiated almost entirely on hair color, and most of the episode takes place in like… one location. It’s just not very good.
Potential: 0%
