I felt Zetman's strongest aspects were its artwork and story. The artwork for this anime was just gorgeous. This didn't have your typical shonen cartoony animaton feel. It had a dark, gritty story and had the animation to go with it. The story itself I felt was very solid as well. I was hooked as soon as I saw this was about a boy with supernatural powers born from the very monsters he was hunting. What made this story's dynamics even more interesting is when Jin befriends Kouga and Konoha Amagi, two aristocratic children who also share the same goals as Jin, even though Jin knows about the darker, deeper evils that lurk within the shadows. While Jin is mostly sent on saving anyone and everyone, Kouga mostly wants to become an admirable superhero while Konoha just wants to help the less fortunate. It makes for a very interesting dynamic between the three characters later on in the series. I did also think this anime added some elements that are a bit edgy for your typical anime. I won't tell you what they are for spoilers sake, but let's just say this anime felt as though it wasn't afraid to add more adult elements to this story.
While Zetman's story and art were great, it had a few things that I felt were major weaknesses in the story. First would be the Jin/Hanako relationship. This felt EXTREMELY forced. Yes, I understand the implications it had later on in the series (and for those of you that haven't seen the series, something happens that ultimately leads Jin to make a vital choice). However, this relationship seemed to take off before it could get a proper introduction. It felt as though Jin and Hanako run into each other, Jin saves Hanako, Hanako and Jin are bam, IMMEDIATELY in love. It just didn't feel right to me. Granted, I am a little biased because I didn't like Hanako's character from the start...but still, there didn't seem to be any buildup to their relationship.
I can't feel like I can give this a proper review because this anime did set itself up for a sequel. For a first season (assuming there will be a second season), it built up an interesting story that I can't wait to see continue. This anime certainly had its ups-and-downs but I'll admit, I enjoyed it even though I did find it kinda flawed in some aspects.
