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Manga / Zombiepowder.

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Zombiepowder. is the debut work of Tite Kubo (creator of Bleach) set in a somewhat familiar but distinctive, Wild West-tinted world. Guns, gangs, swords, weird arts on border of magic - everything is used by various hunters to collect twelve Rings of Dead. Zombie Powder, a powerful substance produced by the rings, has a power to bring the dead back to life and make the living immortal. No wonder that so many want to get it and among them the hero of the story Akutabi Gamma, his mysterious partner C.T. Smith, paparazzi of justice Wolfgangina and sidekick John Elwood Shepherd, each for their own purpose.

The manga was serialized from 1999 to 2000 in Weekly Shonen Jump; sadly, it was canceled after only 26 chapters, leaving many mysteries unsolved. Since Kubo has gone on record saying that he wrote Zombiepowder. during a bad chapter of his life, it will probably never be revisited.


Zombiepowder. includes examples of the following tropes:

  • Acrofatic: Both Kinqro and Shackaboon seem to have little trouble moving around despite both being as fat as sumo wrestlers.
  • Alliterative Name: Baragne Binoix Bartoreuil Balmunk, a.k.a. Balmunk the Mystic.
  • And the Adventure Continues: The story pretty much ends with Gamma and C.T deciding to continue the quest on their own. Abandoning John while Wolfina agrees to an operation in order to get the ring off her brother. And... yeah that's pretty much it.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Amantine. (And yes, as the name would suggest this thing is female.)
  • Attempted Rape: The Snods, a desert gang led by a man named Scamandero attempt to gang rape a woman near the beginning of the second volume of the manga. Luckily, Wolfina shows up just in time and allows the girl to escape by distracting them and later humiliating them with the photos she takes.
  • Anyone Can Die: Elwood's sister in the first chapter, along with several other major characters and many, many minor characters.
  • Even better (or worse), the original design was going to be some phallic, vibrating thing.
  • Body Horror: Gamma letting a ring of the dead "Get a taste of him..." Also some of the stuff Balmunk does.
  • Cut Short: The manga ends ends pretty abruptly after only 26 chapters without any resolution. This was due to both poor volume sales and because Kubo was going through personal problems that made it difficult for him to work on it.
  • Delicate and Sickly: Elwood's older sister has a heart condition. Because of this he is forced to join a gang to afford her medicine. This leads to her being killed by the gang's leader and motivating Elwood to join Gamma in his quest so he can revive her.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ranewater Calder, one of the minor villains. The fact that he was a leader of the gang called "Ash Daughter Gang'' wasn't helpful either.
  • Dissonant Serenity: Most of anytime C.T. Smith fights. Maybe Gamma, but he's a touch too Hot-Blooded.
  • Eye Scream: Gamma's little stunt with a ring of the dead in volume 2 was about half a second away from costing him an eye when he decided to stop it.
  • Fanservice:
    • Kubo Tite indulges Calder's fangirls by drawing him with his hair down in one of the omake pages, just as requested.
    • Wolfina crushing people with her H-cups.
  • Fantastic Drug: The potent anti-aging drug Phenixamin is mentioned as a minor plot point. The titular Zombie Powder itself could also count. (It even has the nickname "The Devil's Medicine" in-universe.)
  • Fingore: Gamma cutting off most of the hand of a bandit who was about to shoot Elwood, along with some of the torture Calder performs on one of his victims.
  • Four Is Death: The series only lasted four volumes before being canceled.
  • Giant Mook: One briefly menaces Elwood while he doesn't have any of his throwing knives with him.
  • Going for the Big Scoop: Prior to learning about Rings of Dead Wolfgangina was doing this for peace and justice.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: After using one of his own mooks as a human shield Kinqro swings the dead body as a flail to smack Elwood to the ground.
  • I Take Offense to That Last One: Elwood when Gamma refers to him as a shrimp and his disciple.
    Gamma: The one with the glasses is my partner, the shrimp is my disciple.
    Elwood: What, who ya calling a disciple!?
  • Kick the Dog: A lot of the bad guys do this before they fight just to made sure the reader doesn't care when they die a horrible death at the hands of Gamma or Smith.
  • Lady Not-Appearing-in-This-Game: A non-sexualized example. One of the chapters starts with a two-spread with floating heads of all the major characters, including some that never appeared anywhere else before the series' cancellation.
  • Monster Clown: A few of Balmunk's goons are this. They do down pretty easily to Gamma and Smith, though.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Gamma's nicknamed the "Black-armed shinigami." The black-armed god of death. Also C.T. Smith judging by Falzon's reaction to hearing it.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: Falzon's sisters (all fifteen of them) and Nazna Gemini in her profile illustration with her labcoat open.
  • Nightmare Face: Oh, Gamma...
  • Offhand Backhand: C.T. Smith, while in the middle of a gunfight, using Guns Akimbo. Flips one of his guns over his shoulder and headshots a mook threatening another main character, then switches back without missing a beat.
  • Off with His Head!: Happens to a couple of Mooks right in front of Elwood, which freaks him out... then the Giant Mook appears...
  • Oh, Crap!: Happens to the bad guys a lot.
  • Older Than They Look: Ranewater Calder, leader of the Ash Daughter Gang. Although he looks like a young boy, is actually an old man who manages to retain his youthful looks with Phoenix-Samin. His nickname is actually "Old Man Calder".
  • Only Six Faces: Particularly the girls.
  • Playing with Fire: "Pyromaniac" Pownder. It comes back to bite him in the ass.
  • Pretty Little Headshots: These seem to be the most common cause of death in the Zombie Powder world, though Gamma still manages to cut a lot of people up with his sword as well.
  • Red Right Hand: Akutabi Gamma's right hand. Not truly knows if it is really red but it fits the general description.
  • Rule of Cool: The main character has a chainsaw sword, can catch bullets with his bare hands, and shoots black flames to attack his foes.
  • Schizo Tech: Despite being a Wild West setting, there have been payphones, flash photography, cars, motorcycles, alarm systems and automatic guns.
    • A bonus page in the third volume also shows Elwood and Wolfina visiting a movie theater and singing on a karaoke machine.
    • In just the second chapter, Gamma and Elwood pay a visit to a CD store so Gamma can gather some intel from Smith. Speakers and headphones can even be seen in the background.
  • Science Fantasy: There have also been arts bordering on magic, a girl who can teleport, and of course the Rings of the Dead.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Kinqro's entire gang when they realize that fighting Gamma is a death sentence. Calder tries to do this when he realizes he can't win, but Gamma manages to finish him off before he can get away.
  • Sexy Santa Dress: Wolfina, oddly enough, is wearing one of these for the cover of chapter 19.
  • Spiritual Successor: Bleach has been called a successor to Zombiepowder.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Homicidal The Black Armed Death which showed up a little in a fight with Mystic. Possibly subverted because Gamma claimed that "I don't need "that guy" anymore!" and beat up the incoming monster all by himself.
  • Technicolor Fire: Gamma's Black Flames of Bloodlust.
  • The Unreveal: Just what the "C.T" stand for? We know the first letters are C and O, but we're not likely to get an answer.

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