Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR” truly deserves its title. This is an episode that drives all of its characters to the edge of despair, and even beyond it. And yet, it’s because of how dark the story has become that any hint of hope becomes something you latch onto. Fortunately, in the midst of the darkness, there is a small but bright light that lights the way.

Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR”: Details

Zenshu JP key art 2
There’s a reason why the new key art is so beautifully dark.

Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR” is the 11th episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, and Ep. 10 here) of this dark 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

Jun Shishido is the director and storyboarder behind Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR”, with Kimiko Ueno as the writer, and Kayoko Ishikawa, Kazuko Hayakawa, Shuji Takahara, Etsuko Sumimoto, and Zhang Yun all as the chief animation directors. 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. 11 “DESPAIR” 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 Romi Park (Corey Wilder in English dub) as Justice.

The other notable character in this episode is Manaka Iwami (Dani Chambers in English dub) as Destiny Heartwarming.

When and Where to Watch

Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR” made its streaming and airing (aka. simulcast) debut on March 16, 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. 11 “DESPAIR”: Synopsis

At the risk of spoilers, this scene had me in tears too.

Alas, Zenshu is still an ongoing anime series, although it is nearly over. In fact, Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR” only just made its debut yesterday 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:

“Luke suffers more loss and falls into despair while Memmeln comes up with a certain plan with Meg and Sally.”

Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR”: The Good

Zenshu Ep. 11 "DESPAIR" screenshot 1
It’s the feels. The feels are why I love this episode.

Okay, there’s really no doubt at all about what’s the best part of Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR”. It’s the story. It has always been the story, but that story is really hitting a peak in this penultimate episode. A lot of it is because of just how utterly, despairingly dark this episode’s story is. It and the episode before it stands in complete contrast to the light-hearted fun that was Ep. 1-9. It’s that massive tonal shift that’s what makes this episode such a thrill to watch, especially as you watch formerly happy characters fall into a very deep despair.

And yet, there is still a core of hope throughout the episode even as the despair rises up. Ironically and fittingly, it comes from Memmeln and Unio’s actions throughout the episode. No spoilers, but they’re the characters keeping the story (and us by extension) from falling into total despair, and making this episode more of a dark chocolate rather than unsweetened baking chocolate.

Of course, all this is greatly enhanced by studio MAPPA and their animation team’s efforts. Seriously, this episode is a step above even the usual high quality this anime has enjoyed as a whole. Amazingly, it’s used to enhance not only the despair of the episode, but the hope as well. It just goes to show what an animation team will go to for an amazing anime. For real, this episode made me tear up, and this is why I’m giving it a perfect score this time.

Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR”: The Bad

Zenshu Ep. 11 "DESPAIR" screenshot 2
At last, we come to this still, and it’s as dark as it seems.

Alas, if you’re only into action and nothing else, then Zenshu Ep. 11 “DESPAIR” may be a bit disappointed. There is action in this episode. However, there’s not a whole lot of it, and it’s not the focus of the episode. The main focus is definitely the emotional conflict here, and in my opinion, it’s all the better for it. All due to how dark and intense it is.

Honestly, I would suggest watching Spice and Wolf, Senpai is an Otokonoko, and/or Blue Box to cool yourself down afterwards. They’re all a nice way to chill out and relax while preparing yourself for the next episode of Zenshu, which will almost certainly be the finale.

What do you all think? Do you rate this episode of Zenshu as highly as I do. Do you wish for more action instead? Share your opinions below in the comments section.

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Zenshu Ep. 10 “CHAOS”: Sudden Hard Turn Into Darkness [Review]