History Manga / Zetman

* HumansAreBastards: Humans are largely responsible for the murderous Players, and currently hunt them down in an attempt to correct their mistake. The fact that most Players are attempting to lead a peaceful life is complicated by the fact that their "awakened" forms are often uncontrollably murderous in nature. [[spoiler:The Players were themselves a side project, designed to raise funds by forcing the monsters into gladiatorial combat, with bets being cast by the rich and powerful. When the Players gained self-awareness, they slaughtered their captors and escaped.]]

* CursedWithAwesome: Jin has had preternatural physical abilities since his childhood, and they only get stronger with age. The catch? [[spoiler:The powers stem from the fact that he's an artificial human weapon with an extremely limited lifespan, and awakening his full power would kill him in the space of a few minutes. Worse, the way he forces the transformation later in the series causes intense, prolonged pain as a side effect a few hours later.]]

* JekyllAndHyde: Most of the Players qualify for this; their human forms are capable of rationality, but their monstrous "Reverse" forms desire little more than bloodshed and death.

* AdaptationDecay[=/=]AdaptationDistillation: Fans of the manga watching the anime adaptation are divided at how to view it, to say the least. Those who think it's the former point to the fact that the adaptation blasted through 60+ chapters in about 5 episodes, leaving out entire ''arcs'', which impacts characterization and generally gives an impression of being paced really quickly. Those who see it as the latter think that the changes done actually help narrow the focus down to the motivations of two main characters.

** [[spoiler:...and poses as a friendly bartender at the EVOL club.]]

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: So far, the leader of EVOL is only known as "the Boss".

* AdaptationDecay[=/=]AdaptationDistillation: Fans of the manga watching the anime adaptation are divided at how to view it, to say the least. Those who think it's the former point to the fact that the adaptation blasted through 60+ chapters in about 5 episodes, leaving out entire ''arcs'', which impacts characterization and generally gives an impression of being paced really quickly. Those who see it as the latter think that the changes done actually help narrow the focus down to the two main characters.

* AdaptationDecay[=/=]AdaptationDistillation: Fans of the manga watching the anime adaptation are divided at how to view it, to say the least. On the one hand, the adaptation blasted through 60+ chapters in about 5 episodes.

* HeroicBSOD: Jin, [[spoiler:after seeing his aunt being tortured by the fake ZET.]] In his case, it makes him fully transform into his ZET form. Kouga also gets one, [[spoiler:when Jirou slaughters about 30 high school girls right in front of his eyes, severing his hand in the process.]]

''Zetman'' is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura, currently serialized in Young Jump, where it also premiered in 2002. Though the series was created by the same guy responsible for ''VideoGirlAI'' and ''Manga/{{Is}}'', Zetman is closer to fellow-Seinen series ''{{Berserk}}'' in its story and art.

An [[AnimatedAdaptation anime adaption]] has been [[http://peorth.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-10-18/zetman-manga-to-get-tv-anime-next-april confirmed]] for the {{Spring 2012 Anime}} season.

* OldMaster: Played straight with Gorou, Jin's grandpa, and later subverted with Jirou [[spoiler:who tries to make Kouga a better hero by forcing him to participate in increasingly difficult "hero trials".]]

* BadassAbnormal: Even when he's not Zet, Jin is abnormally strong, and was a skilled fighter even as a kid.

* JetPack: The Air-Booster addition to the Alphasz suit, which allows Kouga to challenge Flying Players.

* CastOfSnowflakes: hell yeah.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: So far, the leader of Evol is only known as "the Boss".

** Haitani [[HiddenAgendaVillain may be]] this to the Boss of Evol.

** Chapter 148 anyone? [[spoiler: That´s the chapter with the huge...uhm, bathtub.]]

* MacGuffin: [[spoiler: Jin´s necklace.]]

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: All over the damn place.

* MoralEventHorizon: Jirou, [[spoiler: when he has a large group of high school girls murdered in order to cure Kouga's idealism. He also has a number of them raped by duplicates of the young man in order to blackmail the Amagi Corporation.]]

''Zetman'' is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura, currently serialized in Young Jump, where it also premiered in 2002. Though the series was created by the same guy responsible for ''VideoGirlAI'' and ''Manga/{{Is}}'', Zetman is closer to fellow-Seinen series ''Berserk'' in its story and art.

* PunchClockHero: Jin will help basically anyone, for the low low price of 10,000 yen. Later on, he switches into more of a-
** Reluctant Hero: As long as no one he cares about is being directly threatened, Jin basically doesn't give a damn.

* Shapeshifting: Both the voluntary and involuntary varieties.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Most low-level Players get stuck in their Reverse form due to their lack of rationality. The higher level EVOLs can control this.

''"That boy's a demon. He wouldn't die, even if you killed him."''

''Zetman'' is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura, currently serialized in Young Jump, where it also premiered in 2002. Though the series was created by the same guy responsible for ''VideoGirlAI'' and ''I"s'', Zetman is closer to fellow-Seinen series ''Berserk'' in its story and art.

''Zetman'' is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura, currently serialized in Young Jump, where it also premiered in 2002. Though the series was created by the same guy responsible for ''VideoGirlAI'' and [=~I"s~=], Zetman is closer to fellow-Seinen series ''Berserk'' in its story and art.