---
title: 'MAPPA Made An Isekai About Animators. I Hate It.'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=vXgfY1R4s-o'
video_id: 'vXgfY1R4s-o'
date: 2026-06-19
duration_sec: 0
---

# MAPPA Made An Isekai About Animators. I Hate It.

> Source: [MAPPA Made An Isekai About Animators. I Hate It.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vXgfY1R4s-o)

## Summary

The video reviews MAPPA's original anime *Zenshu*, which was expected to be a meta commentary on the animation industry but turned out to be a generic isekai. The reviewer criticizes the show's boring plot, repetitive formula, and wasted potential, while praising its stunning animation and a few comedic moments. Ultimately, the video concludes that the anime is a love letter to hardcore anime fans but fails to resonate with casual viewers.

### Key Points

- **MAPPA's Reputation** [0:00] — MAPPA is known for gorgeous animation but also for inhumane working conditions, including an episode director working 3 days straight for minimal pay.
- **Isekai Disappointment** [1:23] — The anime was expected to be a meta commentary on animator struggles but turned out to be an isekai.
- **Main Character Introduction** [1:25] — The main character Nao is an anime director who gets isekai'd into her favorite anime after eating a bad clam.
- **Generic Isekai World** [2:44] — The isekai world is generic, with characters like a hero who hates women and a horny mascot.
- **Episode Formula** [5:52] — Each episode follows a formula: a world-ending gimmick resolved in the last 5 minutes with stunning animation.
- **Real-World Story Potential** [6:55] — The real-world story about Nao's life as a prodigy animator is more interesting than the isekai plot.
- **Final Message** [7:24] — The show's message is that you don't need a reason to like something, and no one should invalidate your personal experience.

## Transcript

chainsaw man Jutsu Kaizen and Attack on
Titan if you know any of these shows
then you know Studio mappa it's an
internet buzzword at this point when you
want to describe anything that has
gorgeous fluid 2D animations creative
storyboards a one-of-a-kind style and
who could forget tons and tons of work
rated scandals I'm not going to go too
deep into the situation but in general
animators that have worked for the
studio reported to have been given
egregious inhumane work hours there was
one instance where an episode director
for Attack on Titan apparently worked
for 3 days straight without even going
home only to be given enough money to
buy half a copy of Elden ring per scene
hence when said animators took to
Twitter to voice their struggles the
studio graciously told them hey shut the
[ __ ] up or we will sue you so when mappa
themselves released an original show
about an overworked animator this raised
a few eyebrows a mappa anime about
making anime yo let's go oh [ __ ]
are they self reporing this is getting a
bit too real hey yo what was this some
kind of meta ironic statement to show
the struggles of animators or perhaps we
would get to know the Intensive process
of making an anime that's what I thought
that's what everyone online thought but
instead we got an isekai how the hell do
you [ __ ] that up zenu introduces us to
Nao an anime director who burst onto the
scene after her debut show went Mega
viral everyone looks up to her skills
even her Studio's president the great
director natso is over there trying to
push a 10 billion yen Blockbuster into
this world wait I thought her line was
hey shut the [ __ ] up or we will sue you
but nao's next anime will prove to be
her toughest after being told to make an
anime about love our main character is
left stunlocked having never experienced
love before the show is already late for
production this paired with her stubborn
unwillingness to let anyone else touch
her work all she has to show for is a
blank piece of paper staring right at
her face just then I felt an
overwhelming sense of familiarity wash
over me I've been there before not about
the love thing I'm happily in a
relationship
cap but I know how it feels to
desperately want to have inspiration
strike anxiously looking through the
comments of excited fans waiting to see
my next work why won't you come I would
beg no Diddy I just can't let them
down well time for lunch s Jin W would
most definitely struggle in a 1 V one
match against the funer sh Jin wo gaps
Hitler so
hard after eating a bad clam Nao
suddenly wakes up in her favorite anime
called A Tale of perishing a story
brimming with interesting characters
like girl with no emotions horny mascot
Jarvis tits and of course our lead hero
sexist Sam apparently this guy's Quirk
is that he hates being around women and
unfortunately that's one of the only
entertaining parts of the show I'd say
I'm pretty spoiled by anime ever since I
started watching again in 2018 run with
the wind attack on Titan jiu Jutsu
Kaizen Vinland Saga mob psycho doctor
Stone mushoku tensei ranking of Kings
Oxi Heavenly delusion dungeon meshy and
most recently orb not only are these
animes super high quality in terms of
Animation but they're also stories that
manage to Captivate me to the point
where I can tell you every major plot
point that happens in each of them
without GL ing a single time at
Wikipedia now with zenu it felt as if
something had to be sacrificed for the
other in order to achieve great
animation zenu has a story that's about
as mid as McDonald's when you're not
craving McDonald's you ever had fast
food for the sole purpose of it being
fast food like it's 2:00 you haven't had
lunch and you have a meeting in 15
minutes that [ __ ] ain't hidden brother I
don't have time to sit down and have a
succulent Chinese meal just let me suck
down a burger fries and coke and dip
that's what the story of zenu felt like
to me average generic middle of the road
5 out of 10 and look even the characters
agree with me my big brother was telling
me that it was the biggest box office
Club in the hay era I'm not kidding the
movie that she gets isekaied in is
canonically terrible if the little [ __ ]
at the back can't even stay awake what
makes you think I can I'm not saying
this anime is objectively bad there's
nothing wrong with a basic hero story
but it's nothing to applaud at either
let me give you a general rundown of
what an episode looks like spoilers for
episode 4 if you're genuinely watching
this anime for its story this this is
freerun from teu she's one of the main
Squad members and is the designated
support mage of the team but lately ever
since the invasion of demons she's been
acting a little sus so Nao decides to
follow her want to explain why you're
sneaking
[Music]
around shh I think she's evil what no
way she's just practicing choir with her
elf buddies come on I'll show you see
it's the same old creepy satanic
Cemetery where they always practice
[Music]
are you [ __ ] kidding
me this is what I imagine Kanye does in
his spare time so turns out Elfie is
trying to summon Satan in hopes that it
will bring upon the destruction of all
Humanity but why you might ask why would
she do such a horrible thing I can't
take it anymore dude since when are you
a stand for the ultimate void yeah why
are you trying to Nuke all of us
apparently Elie's only way to end her
personal suffering is is to end everyone
else's lives too and there's no other
solution she can think of hey here's an
idea how about therapy turns out we
don't need it cuz in the end NAA draws a
K-pop Idol for Elfie so she can fan girl
instead of killing herself it was pretty
funny gist is that each episode has an
end of world gimmick that the characters
have to deal with and by the last 5
minutes nao's ruler will start talking
which signals to us plus that her Al is
up finally this is the reward you get
for enduring all that
buildup I'm not going to lie this does
go hard the animation in these few
minutes puts most anime airing right now
to shame I can see Sakamoto day's fans
licking my window pane desperate for a
fraction of this animation mappa have
definitely not lost their touch in this
department but needing to slug through
15 minutes of boring plot just to get
here was a bit much for me I don't care
about the story I'm just here for the
sakuga that's really all that zenu
offers for me too I think what's funny
is that they just decide to rehash that
same animation every single episode they
go through the whole ass sequence over
and over again bro I've seen this before
please just stop I reckon I'd save more
time just by reading the summary of each
episode and skipping to the end for the
animation ironically the only part that
got me invested was when they decided to
step away from the story and tell us
about natco's life how she became the
genius Prodigy that she is and why so
many people look up to her I just wish
they put more emphasis on the real world
and on NATO as an animator because while
they do try to make connections between
how NATO acts in the anime and her
stubbornness in the real world it just
all falls flat from how quickly they
Rush the story but in the end who am I
to yucky y I think a very sweet message
that this anime imparts is who gives a
[ __ ] NATO knows that her favorite anime
was a massive flop but to her that
doesn't matter for most things you don't
need a reason to like it it's a feeling
so just go with it as long as it's not
illegal if I say I like your name and
it's one of the best anime movies I've
ever seen no one can deny me that just
as much as me saying I didn't like a
silent voice gives me the power to drown
out all the death threats no one should
be invalidating your own experiences on
an anime not even me I watched gig's
latest video where he briefly talked
about zenu and he referred to this anime
as a love letter to animation as a whole
loaded with referential scenes and
drawings from decades old anime like
NASA you see I'm baby while I have
watched NASA before I never would have
made that connection on my own zenu
attracts a demographic that really have
a burning passion for anime the people
who know the ins and outs of the
industry the culture and the history as
much as I've spent these past years
talking about anime I'm not at that
level gig mentioned that the plot
reminded him of old school isekai which
was probably centuries before I was born
so I'm unable to fully appreciate the
little nuances this anime has to offer
and I think that's why it didn't
resonate with me for me it's an okay
show that I'll watch just cuz it's
pretty to look at I like when the comedy
catches you off guard sometimes when
natuko uses modern slang but aside from
those two things I really can't bear to
watch this show without scrolling
through my phone looking for the next
Pokémon card I'm going to buy seriously
I'm addicted someone stopped me not
really though I won't try it for
yourself see what you think and let me
know in the comments thanks for watching
as as always see you soon