8.524 minSeason 1 • Episode 12
LatestNatsuko has to draw one final thing to save the Last Town from its greatest threat.
After graduating from high school, Natsuko Hirose starts her career as an animator. Her talent quickly flourishes, and she makes her debut as a director in no time. Her first anime becomes a massive hit, sparking a social phenomenon and earning her recognition as an up-and-coming genius director. Her next project is set to be a romantic comedy movie themed around first love! However, having never been in love herself, Natsuko struggles to understand the concept of first love, and as a result, she’s unable to create the storyboard, causing the movie production to come to a standstill. One day, she passes out while working on her storyboard and wakes up in the world of her favorite childhood anime movie "A Tale of Perishing."
Direction
Storyboards within storyboards—animation commenting on itself.
Writing
Brutally honest about anime industry's exploitation of young talent.
Score
Nostalgic orchestral pastiche that slowly warps into something sinister.
Anna Nagase
Natsuko Hirose (voice)
Kazuki Ura
Luke Braveheart (voice)
Rie Kugimiya
Unio (voice)
Minori Suzuki
Memmeln (voice)
Akio Suyama
QJ (voice)
Romi Park
Justice (voice)
Manaka Iwami
Destiny Heartwarming (voice)
Kentaro Tone
Chingosman (voice)
Masashi Yamane
Ganger (voice)
Katsuhisa Houki
Capitan (voice)
Sayaka Ohara
Admiral (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'A Tale of Perishing' film-within-the-show deliberately echoes 1980s Toei fantasy anime like 'Unico,' evoking specific generational nostalgia for Japanese millennial creators.
Natsuko's director debut at 19 mirrors real prodigies like Tatsuya Oishi and Rie Matsumoto, but the show interrogates whether early success is exploitation masked as celebration.
JP
