I remember reading parts of this as a kid and having mixed feelings. Looking back on it now, the art is decent, and it's still leagues ahead of isekai schlock, but the writing veers into stupidity. No that's not harsh enough. At chapter 40 or so it plunges irrevocably into a pit of stupidity it could never recover from. It's reliant on cheap shock value, the characters behave nonsensically, and it's far too willing throw logic out the window to hit the story beats it wants.

... Last updated on October 1st, 2024, 1:26pm

Zetman is a very old projected that was previously made into a oneshot, then only eight years later it got its own series which managed to last for twelve years!

The author is undoubtedly great, his drawings are detailed and have a very heavy tone that perfectly fits for a seinen. Samewise, he manages the manga's atmosphere perfectly, although it quickly becomes way too violent with a lot of uneeded murders or, worse, 'rape' scenes thrown around all the time during one part of the manga (which thankfully stops completely later on).

This manga thus has a very good foundation: an interesting story that's well managed, good characters (and most noticeably, some of them like Kouga are personas that we rarely see, although a lot of people seem to hate it) and a decently built universe, but the unfortunate part is that it simply keeps dragging for too long. While it may captivate you at first, it's no longer the case after fifteen volumes of nothing interesting happening and no progression to the plot, which many arcs focusing on different characters without really explaining why or even giving any reason for why some events happen.

The plot is simply too much of a mess for the reader to care, at some point. It just makes no sense, summing up the bad guys are 'incarnation of chaos' is the best explanation I can possibly come with. There's too much twists to even understand what's going, the characters have changes of heart every two chapters and people keep getting killed and resuscitated every volume. You just can't follow anything.

To take an early example, why is one character thrown into a massacre disguised as a training for him to learn justice? This kind of thing keeps happening throughout the story, with some parts explained and some others which are not. The protagonist and deuteragonist do one thing then another, the bad guys do one thing then another, then there's more bad guys and you never know what they're fighting for.

It's very unfortunate, knowing that halfway through, things still made sense and could be concluded in a much better (and perhaps shorter) manner. Unfortunately, the story doesn't even have a conclusion but seems to be a build up for an 'act 2' which I fear will also be quite long.

I write this with regret, as I really used to love Zetman and am very attached to the characters and its universe. Nonetheless, although Zetman kept getting worse and worse, it was still good and I still liked it: if I could read something up to the end without dropping it, then it's not that bad. It is surely worth reading and has its own good points.

You are in for a treat if you like 20 volumes of setups ending with "to be continued in Arc 2".

Also, like other KATSURA Masakazu's works, none of the characters is likable.

About 30 chapters in . This turned me off completely. Especially since the person who kills them does not explain why he did it (even though he claims to be one of the good guys). Honestly, it feels like it was purely for shock value, and it spoiled this series for me. I had to drop it. So stupid.

... Last updated on January 27th, 2019, 12:17pm

Brilliant series, couldn't put it down and ended up losing a little sleep because of that.....anyway dark ambiance, decent action scenes, slightly confusing in some parts with just that bit of romance make this an awesome read. I do have 2 annoyances though mostly personal (a) It makes a good read but the feels they hurt. (B) ACT 2 WERE AND WHEN

Zetman is great, art and battle sequence wise. But my main problem is the development of character and plot. Sure the character and evol designs are amazing, but the fact that Jin fell in love with Hanako in the span of two or three days and then the major time skips (5 years, then 2) that were done within the first fifty chapters or so, and then the old guy losing motivation to create Zet - they all happened too quickly and seemingly without reason. Also I don't know what purpose Konoha really serves other than to be a link between Jin and Kouga and to be the 'light' even though now Hanako is technically the heart of Jin (?). I mean the battles are great but I really feel like the story lacks character and plot depth to make it a true masterpiece.

I had heard about this manga for years but assumed it was some kamen-rider-esque hero manga, but boy was I wrong. I've been reading it for a year now and my only disappointment is that no other group but Evil Genius wants to translate it. I love them but christ are they slow...

I had heard of Zetman before but it had never really caught my interest. It started off a bit blandly and I was going to give it up but then it took a sudden dark turn and the plot got a lot more twisted and grim and I was hooked! Great read so far.

Zetman, I will get straight to the point
Pros
- awesome art, expected from a veteran but seriously holy smoke those backgrounds, they look like photographs! Actually his manga reads like a black and white movie!
- nice story, it's refreshing to see a manga doing a different take of the superhero genre
- not cliche, frankly I cannot guess what's gonna happen next, it could go so many ways
- wide range of characters

Cons
- too much dialogue, the text bubbles are just seriously overwhelming, I got bored of reading the text and stopped altogether at a certain point cause its seriously making the story read more like a novel than manga. But then if you don't read it, you won't fully understand the entire story. Not a good trade off cause you wanna understand it or you will seriously be lost.
- jumps around, I don't like how it jumps around between Jin and amagi's perspective; I find that disruptive like some reviewers stated below. But that only lasts to like maybe volume 8ish so I guess it's kind of like a half con maybe?


To conclude, this manga is the beast if and only if it condenses the dialogues up but otherwise READ IT! This is a helluva good manga that explores a lot of different themes and ideas regarding good and evil and it really just provokes you thoughts! Combine with his amazing art and you got a winner here! ( maybe a winner if berserk disappeared from this world)

... Last updated on April 2nd, 2013, 7:46pm

Read through 135 chapters so to sum it up this is a work of art. The monsters are truly horrifying! Very dark manga with good plot, and great art. As you read they reveal more and more of the back story. It is confusing at first but it will click. I really like the character designs. There are many twist in the series as well that may blow your mind. If you do not mind intense gore and can get through sexual explicitness, and love complex plots as well as dark stories try it out!

P.S There is excellent horror (fear and suspense) and a touch of classy romance which is an interesting mix

... Last updated on May 22nd, 2014, 10:21am