"Mappa doing an anime about an animator's life??" - Zenshu anime trailer has fans screaming over the irony

Modified Mar 23, 2024 12:00 GMT

"Mappa doing an anime about an animator — Zenshu anime trailer has fans screaming over the irony (Image via Mappa)

Friday, March 22, 2024, saw MAPPA Studios release the Zenshu anime trailer via their social media accounts, confirming the studio’s production of a brand new original television anime series. While the initial news on the series didn’t cover when the anime is set to be released, it did reveal the main cast and staff for the production, as well as a teaser trailer and a key visual.

MAPPA Studios also shared a summary of the series to provide further context for the Zenshu anime trailer. According to the studio’s description of the series, it follows Natsuko Hirose, who starts her career as an animator after graduating from high school. Her talent quickly flourishes, and after debuting as a director, she finds herself in charge of a romantic comedy movie themed around first love.

The conflict comes from Natsuko never having been in love, struggling to understand the concept and causing the project to halt. The Zenshu anime trailer highlights the professional troubles that Natsuko encounters as a result. However, some fans have pointed out the irony of MAPPA doing an anime series on such a subject, considering the reputation they have acquired in recent months.

MAPPA’s release of the Zenshu anime trailer seems to be immediately backfiring

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Following the release of the Zenshu anime trailer, fans immediately began to point out the level of hypocrisy MAPPA is engaging in by creating such a series. Most of this blowback stems from the trailer highlighting how demanding work in an animation studio can be, with animators often being given unrealistic expectations in terms of deadlines and quality of work.

As X user @isocantshush points out, it’s somewhat hypocritical for the studio to be producing such a series given the reputation they’ve accrued over recent months. More specifically, the release of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 led to many animators who worked on the series criticizing the studio for harsh working conditions, unrealistic deadlines, and laughable expectations given those deadlines.

Unsurprisingly, fans have been ruthlessly slandering MAPPA and pointing out the hypocrisy in their production of such a series since the Zenshu anime trailer began streaming earlier today. While some anime fans defended the studio during the aforementioned Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 airing debacle, no one is seemingly coming to their rescue this time.

How fans reacted

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One particularly scathing comparison came from X user @DailyMangas, who pulled a clip from the trailer and compared it to scenes from the Attack on Titan 100 CAMERAS behind-the-scenes documentary. Here, an animator for MAPPA is seen commenting on the notes they received for their contribution to the series’ production, pointing out how there are more retakes being ordered and that the notes are harsh. In response, one fan wrote:

“Yamazaki is getting all that trauma from working with Hayashi out of her system.”

The crux of this response stems from the use of the word “trauma” with respect to working on the production of an anime studio at a group as large and demanding as MAPPA.

Another user @ShaKing807 said the following of the series’ production:

“...possibly the most insidious, shameless thing to come from [MAPPA], and that’s a high bar given their track record.”

Again, this fan points to the previously mentioned reputation the studio has established, which is being heavily discussed in light of the Zenshu anime trailer.

Series protagonist Natsuko Hirose as seen in the Zenshu anime trailer (Image via MAPPA)

X user @ChibiReviews summed up the situation quite well, saying this of the studio choosing to make an anime about animators:

“Reality is often crazier than fiction lmao.”

Once more, this highlights just how unbelievable the level of tone deafness and hypocrisy MAPPA is bringing to this project. While news of a change in the studio’s philosophy may help sway prospective viewers, it’s clear that there’s plenty of PR work to be done in wake of the Zenshu anime trailer’s release.