OP1.5 Sequence

OP: 「dots and lines」 by 一青窈 (Hitoto Yoh) loves Mummy-D
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼

「紅蓮の中で」 (Guren no Naka de)
“Inside the Crimson Lotus Hell”

It’s a good day for everyone in ZETMAN. The premiere plowed through information like a race horse at a derby, but now that the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, what do we have left? A damn solid second episode.

Of course, there are flaws, but they’re not issues that hinder the flow or enjoyment of the story. The plot progresses admirably and this show has some pretty meaty characters, so minor pacing issues and jarring transitions can be overlooked.

It was Kouga’s (Miyano Mamoru) time to shine, and this episode revealed a lot about his characters and his sense of morality – which admittedly, is a little skewed. He’s young, idealistic, and enthusiastic about becoming the “hero of justice”. This however, reveals one glaring flaw in Kouga’s character: he’s naive to a fault. I thought this before watching the premiere, when he stopped Jin from requesting money from Akemi. Sure, it’s a little unorthodox to ask money from people you save, but Kouga’s words to Jin sounded eerily like rich people complaining they’re poor. He doesn’t realize Jin lives in a different world than he does – that while he can afford to save people for free, Jin can’t. This episode showcases another facet of his naiveté – the concept of his own death never occurs to him and he does not yet know the value of other people’s lives. When characters like that declare their desire to be a “hero of justice”, it’s a little difficult to accept because well… what do they know about justice, exactly? It’s not entirely the fault of Kouga’s character though, as his young age does factor into it. After all, who knows anything about the world when they’re in middle school?

Thankfully, he seems to have realized the limits of what he can do, as he was unwilling to take credit for Jin’s actions. This at least tells me while he’s naive, Kouga isn’t stupid. He wants to “work for justice”, but whatever credit he gets better be out of his own merit. So thumbs-up there.

Now to Jin (Namikawa Daisuke). He sure grew up to be the tall, silent type! I like his relationship with Akemi, and after all the hell he went through last episode, it’s a relief to see him have some semblance of a normal life. Of course, it doesn’t look like “normal” is here to stay, with Akemi seemingly killed and Mitsugai (Iizuka Shozo) figuring out he is the “true” ZET. Amagi Seizou’s (Hirose Masashi) plans of redeveloping the “filth” that is Undertown will most likely affect Jin as well, since that is where he lives.

I have to say though, I love how there’s no secret about who the villain is looking for; it lays out a clear trajectory and presents better conflicts than going around in circles trying to find that one kid with the “special powers”. Of course I don’t love how they got to that point, with Mitsugai conveniently overhearing a distraught Konoha, but if it speeds things along, I’m all for it.

The fight between Jin and the flaming Player also brings up an interesting point: their scent. There were a lot of comments thrown around about it, and I wonder if it’ll play a bigger role later on. Jin’s transformation to ZET was also well-done, and I enjoyed the fact I didn’t immediately get a “heroic” vibe from him. There’s a dispassionate, almost sadistic feel to ZET – there’s hardly any intonation to his voice when he speaks and he exacts violence without batting an eye. Now that’s charisma.

Next week seems to be focused on Kouga and Konoha, and the Amagi family is one filled with some pretty self-centered and egotistic adults (save for Kouga and Konoha’s mother Youko (Hisakawa Aya)). The dynamics within the household are actually pretty intriguing. They’re clearly fractured; Konoha seems to be deathly afraid of her grandfather, and Kouga’s parents had to be told to attend his ceremony by the two subordinates Hayami (Suzumura Kenichi) and Kabe (Kusumi Naomi). Now that Mitsugai has goaded Kouga to “obtain more power” if he wants to work for justice, I’m excited to see what’s in store.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「とめる」 (Tomeru) by 一青窈 (Hitoto Yoh)
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

Preview

28 Comments

  1. I’m liking where this is going so far. Though at this rate it seems like any real world ignorance that Kouga might have will get erased rather quickly. I was thinking that would be a conflict that would last throughout most of the show.

    Tre
  2. 2 things that I love about this show: a hero that definitely doesn’t look like one and the stupid (okay… naive) 2nd hero that think he is an ally of justice (you must have guts to blatter something as crazy as that in the middle of a ceremony).

    Jin is getting a good start as a anti-hero hero 😀

    RoOtZ
  3. First episode, they kill the Grandpa researcher. Ok, acceptable, setting the tragic background. Second episode, they shoot the nice Auntie…WTF! I did read it in the manga too, and I literally exclaimed WTF when it happened then too. Ugh, sad…

    I just hope Konoha/HanaKana doesn’t die by the end of this.

  4. I really wish Akemi has more role in the story… I feel really really sad for her… 🙁
    Jin as ZET looks quite badass, hope he has more things in store for us 🙂

    some fight between Jin and Kouga in the future would be nice too 🙂

    jrj
  5. I actually liked Akemi, so I was worried that she would die last episode. I was so glad that they showed her alive at the end of ep1. But now she gets killed off in ep2?? Why??? T.T

    I’m really liking the contrast between Kouga and Jin, and it seems that will play an important role later on after another time-skip, judging by the ED.

    Kentaiyoshimi
  6. The manga is so good, I hope the anime does it some justice. Really one of the most original manga I’ve read, few cliches and you never can guess what will happen next.

    jawdrop
  7. I like how the anime is doing… It’s going faster than the slow phased manga (covered around 20 chaps these 2 eps alone) but at a rate that it’s still understandable. A little modified but nothing major. I just hope they somehow follow the manga’s direction till the end. It’s usually a fail when the anime just does it’s own thing.

    MrRei
      1. Why not.. that’s what happened. However, they can do the event in a different way but with the same results (like what they’re doing now). And I would hate it if the censoring gets overly high. So if they can modify that in such a way it could fit in an anime, I’d be amazed.

        MrRei
      2. They’ve already taken out far tamer things. I’m really in suspense as to what they plan to for that. Currently I really don’t like all this toning down of the content. The manga is quite gruesome.

        Anon
  8. Not as good as the first ep.
    I have a feeling that “Seigi no Mikata!!” brat will become the most annoying character of this anime season.

    Also, that Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Zero, Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Zet rap song is the most irritating thing I’ve ever heard!!

    Gonna start reading the manga now.

    Litho

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