First Impressions / ZETMAN

Sorry for the wait, everyone!

「未熟な感情」 (Mijuku na Kanjou)
“Unknown Emotion”

Feverish pacing, thy name is ZETMAN. Buckle up everyone, because this adaptation moves fast.

Main characters are introduced left and right, starting with young Kanzaki Jin (voiced by Paku Romi for now) and his grandfather Kanzaki Gorou (Senda Mitsuo).

Not only does the premiere of ZETMAN speed through the introduction of its characters, it blazes through several key developments in order to lay down the foundation for the premise: Players – genetic experiments gone wrong – roam the streets, committing gruesome murders. One of these Players, at the behest of Haitani Seiji (Yusa Kouji), kills everyone in Jin’s little ‘town’, including his beloved grandfather.

The above happens in the first twelve minutes of the show.

There are other developments, namely Jin’s rescue of his future guardian Kawakami Akemi (Hayamizu Risa), but the death of his grandfather is the catalyst for the rest of the episode, as well as the driving force behind Jin and Akemi’s interactions. Now… fast pacing is not necessarily a bad thing, but I have to question the decision to blast through such an emotional moment. Time constraints of a 1-cour adaptation (if ZETMAN does indeed turn out to be 1-cour) is always an issue, but the death of his grandfather is a pretty crucial development; Jin has no one left, and while the scene of him trying to heal his Grandpa’s wounds was touching, the rest of it left much to be desired.

Thankfully though, Jin’s reaction to his death and Akemi’s interactions with the young orphan are considerably better to watch. It still feels too fast and too forced at times, but it’s still possible to appreciate the emotional gravity behind a child coming to terms with ‘death’ and the kindness of a woman trying to help said child even when she knows next to nothing about him. It looks like Akemi has – or had – a son, so Jin is probably reminding her of her own child in many ways. The scenes where she tries to protect him from the Player are rather touching since Jin technically is a stranger, and no one in that situation is going to tackle a hideous reptilian monster to save someone else’s skin. I literally sighed in relief when they showed her alive at the end, because it’s just too sad to take her away from Jin as well when he’s lost his grandfather and is inadvertently rejected by his friend.

The Amagi siblings Kouga (Kaida Yuki) and Konoha’s (Hanazawa Kana)relationship to Jin goes through a significant change here, with all three of them being ‘allies of Justice’. It’s an interesting choice to have them be childhood friends and considering Kouga and Jin are being set up as opposites (two faces of the same coin, so to speak), this could prove to be a very interesting take on their ideas of ‘justice’. Kouga adheres to a very strict code, while Jin does not have quite the same fervor as his friend does; not only is it a difference in upbringing, it’s a contrast that I hope will get explored more when the two grow up.

In the antagonists’ side of things, we have Amagi Mitsugai, who is looking for a ‘devil who can’t be killed’ and the mysterious Seiji. As of now, I have to say I see Seiji as the bigger threat, mostly due to his drawl and the dangerous aura he has about him. He has more direct interactions with the Players as well, and whenever he does come in contact with them, it usually does not end well. Amagi seems to be the standard ‘greedy corporate villain’ type, although it’s far too early to make any concrete judgments. He’s clearly involved in the creation of Players, and highly invested in finding ‘ZET’, so it’ll be interesting to see what his relationship with Seiji is, if there is even a relationship at all. The Sweeper (Koyama Rikiya) is an intriguing addition as well, and I look forward to seeing what these antagonists have in store for the protagonists

Since ZETMAN is an adaptation, there will inevitably be comparisons. There was quite a bit of shuffling done with this episode; the main ones I can spot are the scenes where Jin saves Akemi, the scenes of Gorou’s death and the relationship between Jin, Kouga and Konoha. The changes are what contributes to the harried feeling I got as I was watching – Kouga was not even introduced at this point in the manga, and I assume the producers wanted to lay down the foundation as quickly as possible in order to move on to bigger and better things. With most of the introductory stuff out of the way, hopefully the adaptation can start to focus more on the plot. I’m hoping to see some nice conflicts between Kouga and Jin, as well as good character developments for both of them as separate characters. And of course, I’m expecting some blood and guts spilled in the future – although if this episode is any indication, it looks like I won’t be left wanting on that front. The censoring isn’t too, too bad, and it was more of a problem during the bath scene rather than any of the action scenes. At the very least it will not get the way of enjoying the show. The adaptation also has a pretty interesting style of animation they use during fight sequences, so all in all, ZETMAN isn’t off to a bad start.

Here’s to hoping the pacing settles down and ZETMAN starts showing us what it’s made of next week!

BakaMochi, out!

Now, I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but a quick reminder: please refrain from posting spoilers. If you must, remember those spoiler tags – they need your love and care!

Also note, the OP was used as the ED this week

 

OP Sequence

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

Preview

67 Comments

  2. Manga reader huh.
    Anime only viewer here and I say I still liked this first episode.
    The art reminded me of several shows from Madhouse, most notably Rainbow and the Marvel Anime X-Men.
    I get the complains of the manga readers but that’s probably because they know what will happen next.
    Still, it kept me interested on the things to come. Jin’s powers(Charisma was it?), his relationship to the siblings, and Kiritsugu in whitethose two who cleaned up after the lizard man.
    Looking forward to the next episode.

    belatkuro
    Reply

    1. It’s not just because i know what’s going to happen next, it’s because they went over some things like the grandfathers death way too fast. If you have the time just read the first 13 chapters and you’ll see why all manga readers didn’t like it.

      Voltekka
      Reply

      2. I really don’t understand why manga readers expect a 1:1 adaptation. It’s simply not possible. Even LotR and Harry Potter readers were a bit upset with their adaptations. As long as the adaptations replicate the OVERALL feeling of the source within their budget/time constraints, I don’t see a problem.

        Zetman is off to a solid start.

        ViciousOne
        Reply

  3. Hmm, I might be the odd one out here, but having not read the manga I felt like the pacing was fine for this episode since it serves as a back story of sorts.

    That being said, it seems like the common consensus is that those who have read the manga will feel that the story is being crammed (as you pointed out) and those who have not find it generally acceptable (going by this episode alone).

    Only gripe I have was that while the protagonists are well-established, the villains not so much so (due to short screen time), though reading your post cleared some of that ambiguity up.

    Good read, how much of the manga did you read though Mochi-chi? :X

    LightnDark
    Reply

    2. I haven’t read the manga either but I felt like the episode was jammed with fast pace information that felt like it as an hour long show. The fact I could fallow all of it was amazing as well.

      Ani_BEE
      Reply

  5. i was expecting some changes from the manga but this much? and from the start?! *sigh* didn’t got the same emotions i got from the manga.

    but a guess i still gonna watch it because the next episode seems to follow a little.

    lkm
    Reply

  6. I seriously hope they will slow down after this episode because apart from pacing issues this episode was great. The animation and the ED sequence were especially good.

    Voltekka
    Reply

  8. The manga is still ongoing, right? And I’m pretty sure this was confirmed for 13 episodes, but I bet they’re just going to gauge the response first before lining up more seasons, as opposed to an anime-original ending.

    Bass.EXE
    Reply

  10. Wow glad Akemi made it, so far. Soooo, Show Spoiler ▼

    From the perpective of a non manga reader, the pace is still ok cuz being a back story. But hopefully they slow down a little after this.

    *Sigh* Societies status is such a burden…. The child is being denied of his friend just to keep their faces…. Sometimes I wonder does society works better this way or not.

    D-LaN
    Reply

  12. At first, I thought this anime is boring & I decide to take a watch for while, then I changed my mind from boring to an awesome. Seriously in 1st episode a story about the past then next episode is about Jin 16 or 17 years old. This so freaking awesome & nice story.

    *Sorry for the wrong grammar & bad english >.<*

    Death2411
    Reply

  13. Thanks for the post, BakaMochi 🙂

    I was rather touched by Akemi… she is such a noble woman… given her occupation, I guess her family was no longer together (probably tragic anyway), so it is really touching to see her exerting her motherly love for a stranger boy 🙂 So is the woman with the scar in the OP the future Akemi?

    next week should be awesome… time leap in the second episode?

    jrj
    Reply

  15. I really liked this 1st episode. Jin’s interactions with his grandpa and Akemi were really touching.
    I’m not sure whether to read manga or not before watching this series. I’m really interested in the story, but I don’t want the possibility of the manga ruining my enjoyment of the anime.

    I’m surprised Zetman is only scheduled for 1-cour. Given the amount of material (based on chapter numbers), they could at the very least make this 2-cour.
    Here’s hoping for better pacing from now on.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

  16. Woooot BakaMochi post finally in! Nice read, I too saw the gap in scripts between the manga and anime– it was sped up but bearable. Though when evaluating animes, it’s best to look at them from two different perspective so as to not create bias. For example, look at the Vandread series: The anime was marvelous while the manga was atrocious.

    Anyways, good read and I’m looking forward to your next entry as I’ll be following this series closely this season!!!

    Kyosuke
    Reply

  18. 14 chapter in 1 episode?

    Wow…I wasn’t sure if I want to watch this before,since if my memory served me right, the first 14 chapters created a very strong foundation for the future development. But I guess I may give it a shot due to many positive comments from non-manga reader…

    zeroyuki92
    Reply

  19. This anime feels like a mashup of Gantz, Deadman Wonderland and Blassreiter, with a litte bit of REVERSI from Bakuman thrown in for good measure. Though then again, there haven’t been many recent hard-boiled shows for the past year, so that’s the extent of what I can compare it to.

    I’m definitely going to read the manga, either after this show ends or in the course of it. From what I can gather from the ED sequence, Kouga and Jin are set up in the Blassreiter/Death Note style of duality, and in the case of the former even the color schemes are similar.

    DCLXVI
    Reply

  21. Pretty decent first ep. The first fight scene (thugs in alley) had a Kemonozume look about it especially the facial expressions (a good thing, imho… Kemonozume was pure art). Pacing was pretty damn hyper compared to the manga, but I suppose they’re trying to cover as much as possible given the short 13 ep run.

    I liked it, I must say.

    But,
    WTF’s up with that ED? Putting aside the cheesy-as-heck rap-pop, why the spoilers?

    Litho
    Reply

  24. If you ever wanted a first episode of a series to get you hooked, this was it! In 24 minutes I was introduced to a host of characters, made to care about some of them, and itching to see what happens next. Bravo Zetman. Bravo.

    Audric
    Reply

    1. Very much this. Comparisons to the manga are moot for anime-only viewers, especially this early on, if our impressions of the series are exactly what studio planned. Itching to see what happens next!

      hoiut
      Reply

  25. Reasonable start to the series. This series was something which I thought was ‘meh’ reading through a summary of the plot, and in terms of story I felt this was a cross between Heroman and Deadman Wonderland. I am not saying that this is a ripoff since the manga series for Zetman was much older, but it’s just that the plot doesn’t excite me as much.

    However, the animation of Jin’s fight scenes was very impressive, and probably one of the best I have seen in an anime in a very long time, especially the scene against the thugs.

    The one biggest disappointment for me had to be the OP (this week’s ED). Considering the likes of Deadman Wonderland and Mirai Nikki had awesome crazy OPs, I was hoping that this one would too, but the end result was some mild hip-hop/rap stuff that didn’t excite me at all…

    taiakun
    Reply

  26. Masakazu Katsura is doing an excellent job with the Manga so far. I’m not saying I want a 1:1 adaption, but did they really have to change so much of the original manga for this adaption. Their first mistake was trying to take an ongoing manga series with more than 177 chapters so far and try and condense it into a 13? ep anime.

    I get so frustrated when I see other crappy anime get 20+ eps and season sequels, when a great manga such as this gets butchered. 🙁
    So ok, yes, the first ep was cool and all and I got to see one of my favourite manga series animated, but damn, atm I’m fearing the worst.

    Kagutsuchi
    Reply

    1. agreed. it really boggles the mind. but I’m guessing it comes down to $$$ and the general populaces cultivated cookie cutter tastes…..STILL, its better than nothing. now gimme MY “BERSERK” FILM!!!

      BROOKLYN otaku
      Reply

  27. Man I honestly thought Akemi got killed during the confrontation with the Player, which made me rage as I watched this. Thank goodness she was shown alive at the end. Though I really hope her face wont be scarred and hideous from now on.

    I think this episode did a pretty good job in setting up the premise, from someone who hasnt read the manga or anything else about this show, I can see that Jin’s 2 friends will be shown again in the future arc when he grows up, as the antagonist. Though I still dont know what the motivational factor for Kouga to fight against Jin later, Im sure it’ll be revealed if this show does a good job in its writing. Looking forward to more.

    YanDaMan
    Reply

  28. At first I’m a bit worried that the main character was a kid I suddenly get that “oh no! This might be a shonen” but thankfully the character is likeable, also it appears that the series will have a huge time skip with the main character an adult next episode.

    So far I say the first episode made me interested in the series.

    Ghostalker
    Reply

  35. I posted this in several sites: The anime looks amazing, I was impressed by the visuals. But maybe I was a bit delusional to expect a 1:1 adaptation of the work of god-mangaka Masakazu Katsura.

    What I can say for now is that this anime is putting the focus on action, plenty of character development was left out (Konoha and her mother’s doing charity works, Konoha’s admiration for Jin) or just completely changed (Jin and Kouga don’t know each other in the manga and we see how Jin and Akemi adapt to each other over the span of a couple of years).

    This will disappoint many of the manga die hard fans because the anime does a pretty damn good job with the emotional parts (bath scene) and it’s a big let down that we won’t get to see Katsura’s masterful work on the drama aspect of Zetman. The author is known on a world-wide scale, he’s the motherfucking father of modern high school romance/comedy manga! SO WHY U DON’T FOCUS ON DRAMA!!!. (I’m not even mad)

    Still, the source material is so good that I’m sure many of you enjoyed this first episode and are being surprised by it right now. I liked it too and with the changes being so big I’m sure this is going for an original ending. Pacing should slow down a bit in the followin episode.

    Rest assure, and ignore the hate. This anime will be great.

    xRichard
    Reply

    1. The responses on MAL were mostly of hate and claiming the butchering of the manga. I expected it to be the case since how else are you going to give a satisfying progression and ending to the anime? Compressing 180 chapters into a 2 season anime whilst remaining 100% faithful to the plot is absurd.

      I thought it was good. Might have missed out bits of important character development like you mentioned but I still think it can end up being a good anime adaptation.

      azeriraz
      Reply

  36. Zetman always struck me as a damn good action/sci-fi/drama manga. As a critic, I have a very good opinion of this series; execution is superb, which comes as no surprise considering its pedigree.

    Personally, however, I’ve always found Zetman to be rather unappealing, mainly because it only plays with generic themes and ideasets; Zetman’s entire world is built of things that have been done before and it doesn’t try to bring anything new to the table. Don’t get me wrong, the world is well built, it’s just that I found every building block to be overly generic.

    The author is known on a world-wide scale, he’s the motherfucking father of modern high school romance/comedy manga!

    Katsura may be a master and progenitor of many things but unfortunately, so many people have been aping his stuff to the point that the real deal has lost a lot of its original luster for me, personally.

    The anime’ll do fine if it just sticks to the manga’s formula, and probably earn a high spot on my list of good 2012 shows, personally, well, I’ll still enjoy it, but meh…

    Zen
    Reply

  37. i really like this episode for someone who has never read the manga (and won’t bother to do so). I kind of see this episode mainly focusing on Jin so I’m still looking forward to some in depth introduction of the Amagi siblings.

    also the next preview looks really interesting 🙂

    -blacksheep
    Reply

  39. i am a manga reader and i liked this episode a lot. actually, i’m glad they didn’t waste too much time with jin’s childhood. it’s getting annoying that manga reader always complain about the adaption; it is just impossible to do a 1:1 adaption and given this anime is only a 1-cour, this episode was pretty decent.

    Mirakurun
    Reply

  41. They could’ve, and should’ve done this in 2 or 3 episodes. Don’t understand why they would rush through it like this. We all need a little time to get attached to characters in order for their deaths to mean something, I mean.. Grandpa’s death was almost as memorable as the guy who got split in half on the street. It looks promising though :D!

    The Shizard
    Reply

  42. How does the scientist age to become a Grandpa while the CEO barely looks like he’s aged at all? Man the stress must’ve really done a lot to the poor guy. On the other hand, anyone notice how rich people in anime somehow have “special anti-aging cream or something” cause they usually don’t seem to get old or just happen to stay youthful and/or strong despite their age?

    Azure Divinity
    Reply

  43. Finally this series gets animated!

    Not terribly disappointed at the change in pace/story in comparison to the manga, just wondering how they will portray the next chapter where Kouga takes centre stage…

    cyo
    Reply

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