ZETMAN - Episode 13

"Finish him!"

Remember back when I guessed incorrectly (twice, in fact) about when the conflict between Jin and Kōga would arise? Well, it seems like I was wrong once again (this time, only partially) with my guess that Kōga would side with Jin. While it seemed for a moment that Jin would lose control of himself after seeing Kōga kill Hanako, I was surprised when he still chose to target Seiji instead of ALPHAS. The fight between the two was not as intense as I had expected, with Seiji barely putting up a fight. In fact, I found it disturbing that he'd be willing to "give up his life" just to see Jin become the "Charisma". Even though it seemed like Jin delivered a deadly finishing blow to Seiji, I doubt this is the last we'll see of him (if the story continues).

Technically, the series ended halfway through the episode, giving way to a three-year timeskip followed by an epilogue for the second half. Even though three years have passed since the whole incident, barely anything has changed; Kōga is still getting all the credit for keeping the city safe while it's obvious that Jin is doing a lot of the dirty work behind the scenes. Because of this, the epilogue felt like a slight waste of time for me. I had wanted to see something different than what was already known from early on in the series. Regarding the ending soliloquy, many claim that it was a direct rip-off of the one in "The Dark Knight" which, although fits the moral of the story (that true heroes don't always get the praise and benefits they deserve), makes it have less of an impact.

Judging by the poor overall ratings from viewers on the Internet, the chances of a second season of ZETMAN don't look too good. Luckily, the ending can be interpreted as both a closed and open ending. Regarding the former, the credits rolling at the end made the anime feel like one long movie that just came to an end. For the latter, on the other hand, one might wonder what's going to happen next with Jin and Kōga, and how their lives will continue. So, whether there will be a second season or not, I think the ending will be well-received at least.