Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” features a double dose of the title. One is a princess who shares that name, and the other is part of the lore of this world. Both are things Natsuko interacts with to some mixed degree of success, but at least she and her new friends can enjoy some surprise lucha libre in the bargain.

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY”: Details

Zenshu NA key art
And once more, Natsuko demonstrates her animation prowess in this episode.

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” is the third episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1 and Ep. 2 here) of this isekai fantasy anime series. Said anime series is not the anime adaptation of any manga, but rather, it is its own original anime. MAPPA (Zombie Land Saga, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man) is the animation studio behind this anime series. Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime for its global release.

Production Cast

Yasufumi Soejima is the director behind Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” as well as the storyboarder, with Kimiko Ueno as the writer. As for Zenshu as a whole, we do still know that Mitsue Yamazaki is the director, with Kimiko Ueno as the script writer. Yoshiteru Tsujino is responsible for character design and world setting, with Kayoko Ishikawa also doing character design while also being the chief animation director alongside Etsuko Sumimoto, Kazuko Hayakawa, and Shuji Takahara. Sumie Noro is the assistant director, with Akio Shimada as the art director, Ayako Suenaga as the color designer, Kenta Fujita as the director of photography, Mutsumi Takemiya as the editor, Yukari Hashimoto as the composer, dugout as the sound producer, Makoto Tanimura (Sound Wing) as the casting manager, and Takahiro Ogawa as the animation producer.

Now as for that music: the opening theme song for Zenshu is “Zen” by Band-Maid. Meanwhile, “Tada, Kimo no Mama de” by Sou is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” features the voices of Anna Nagase (Madeleine Morris in English dub) as Natsuko Hirose, Kazuki Ura (Ryan Negrón in English dub) as Luke Braveheart, Rie Kugimiya (Luci Christian in English dub) as Unio, Minori Suzuki (Alexis Tipton in English dub) as Memmeln, Akio Suyama (Derick Snow in English dub) as QJ, and Manaka Iwami (Dani Chambers in English dub) as Destiny Heartwarming.

When and Where to Watch

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” made its its streaming and airing (aka. simulcast) debut on January 19, 2025. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch this entire anime only on Crunchyroll due to it being an exclusive there.

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY”: Synopsis

Even Memmeln has a bit of her story teased in this episode.

Alas, Zenshu only recently premiered. In fact, Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” only just made its debut two days ago as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis of this anime from Crunchyroll rather than a spoiler-filled plot summary. Here’s that synopsis below:

The Last Town has their Harvest Festival and the Nine Soldiers get some time off. That’s where Luke meets Destiny. In “A Tale of Perishing,” the two fall in love, but Natsuko coming into the this world seems to be throwing off that destiny…

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY”: The Good

Zenshu Ep. 3 "DESTINY" screenshot 1
It’s the half-finished sketch look that makes this luchadore stand out.

Honestly, even by Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY”, the story of this anime is shaping up to be one of the best stories in anime in recent history. All because of how much it plays around with the isekai genre. Even in this episode, where it plays around with how princesses are generally depicted in such anime. As is usual, the anime sets up a situation in which it looks like the princess is in trouble and is in need of rescue from her dire situation. However, while she does get a rescue, part of the rescue is also being inspired to rescue herself from her situation. This is what distinguishes this princess from other isekai princesses, and why it makes this anime one of the best isekai anime out there.

However, there’s more. We even start to see the logical consequences to Natsuko altering the plot of her favorite anime. Already, it’s starting to go off the rails in this episode, and I suspect it will go even more off the rails as this anime progresses. It’s watching the plot of this anime slowly slide off-script that’s part of why the story is so great.

Of course, it’s not just the story. MAPPA and their animators also once more ensure that this anime has some amazing animation to go with the story. In particular is a certain luchadore who appears in this episode. You’ll know what I mean, but he pulls off some of the best wrestling animations I’ve seen in a while, completely altering the genre of this episode for a few minutes in the process. It makes watching each episode of the anime a fun surprise, and I’m already eager to find out what we’ll get in the next episode.

Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY”: The Bad

Zenshu Ep. 3 "DESTINY" screenshot 2
Neither of them are bad, save for their luck.

Alas, if you’re not really into isekai anime all that much, then Zenshu Ep. 3 “DESTINY” is probably not for you. In fact, the entire anime is probably not for you, since it is basically a very well-done love letter to isekai. If you want a non-isekai anime, then might I suggest watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, and/or Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II? Those anime should contain enough action to satisfy any action cravings you might have.

Tune back in to THS to find out more about Zenshu and other anime when we do.

Keep Reading:

Zenshu Ep. 2 “DEFEND”: Isekai Rabbit Hole [Review]