I was originally going to do one big post to recap my thoughts on the shows in the past week. I took a mental break to grieve my cat, but I still watched everything that came out. But as I was writing up my thoughts on Zenshu’s two recent episodes, it just got longer and longer and longer. So I decided it might as well be its own post. I can complain about the stupid isekai shows and romantic comedies at a later date.

That’s not how the saying usually goes, but if it fits, it fits. Natsuko was a little too arrogant in last week’s episode, so she got a taste of humble pie and a good dose of tough love from her teammates. QJ and Memmeln even get to play key roles in taming the gremlin, which is nice since they tend to fade into the background in most episodes. Luke and Justice finally get a chance to talk and at least get bottled up feelings out into the open. The former also learns that he doesn’t have to be jealous of the latter, because Natsuko simply likes to draw new things. As a child, she drew every conceivable angle of Luke, but Justice is new to her. Last but not least, the blob-turned-giant-centipede is eventually defeated by the entire group. After seeing the light, our heroine draws stairs to help her teammates rather than yet another badass creation to win the battle all by her lonesome like in previous bouts. The rest of the Nine Soldiers — Luke, Unio, Memmeln, QJ — have all been sidelined since Natsuko discovered her powers, but they each finally get to play a role in saving the day this time. Even Justice is crucial in attaining victory this week. This will likely be the team dynamic going forward even if Natsuko remains the primary catalyst for victory. So just like that, everything is wrapped up in a neat and tidy bow. Eat your heart out, one-episode conflicts! We can do two episodes now!

Natsuko is pretty unlikable in the latest episode. With her help, the city is surviving through every recent Void encounter without a single casualty. Pretty big wins, right? The problem is that they’re Natsuko’s wins. It doesn’t look like the rest of the Nine Soldiers get to do much of anything. Hell, the only other contributor at this point is QJ’s radar and only his radar. Sadly, our heroine isn’t the least bit gracious about her spate of good fortune, posing like a huge dork before the adoring crowd. Oh, how quickly she’s adapted to her new post-apocalypse home. Sure, the henshin stuff is amusing since Zenshu airs on the same day as that sentai isekai. But in general, her behavior is not a good look. I personally don’t find it endearing. Naturally, pride comes before the fall, so Natsuko quickly finds out that her latest creation is no good when the Voids attack again at the very end of this week’s episode. Past conflicts have been introduced and resolved in one tidy episode, so it’s about time we end on a cliffhanger. But that’s not really the point. The main problem here is that our heroine’s hubris is finally biting her in the ass, and this has been predictable from the first moment we met her. We already know that Natsuko has no leadership skills; she simply refused to delegate work, and as a result, her grand film project is in trouble. This week’s episode follows up by piling it on rather thick with yet another glimpse of what it’s like to work with our rising new star. Where’s the HR department when you need one?