Release Date December 1, 2019 Story & Art Yusaku Shibata Publisher Viz Media Letterer Evan Waldinger Translator Junko Goda Weekly Shōnen Jump

It seems these days we see a new Shōnen series debuting on a nearly weekly basis. It’s gotten a little tricky even to try out the new stuff. After all, you only have so much time in one day to read manga. You want to make sure it’s something you’re going to enjoy. Lucky for you, dear reader, my head is filled with 90% Shōnen content and 10% terrible puns. I’m here to help you figure out which Shōnen title is the next you should Jump on (see what I mean about the puns?). Up for your consideration, this time round is Zipman!!, a brand new series featuring epic mecha action, awesome brotherly passion and… zippers!?! How does that work? Read on to find out, and see if Zipman!! is worth reading!

Zip-up!

Zippers. A pretty handy piece of technology, right? Used to bring things together. A fusion, if you will. It’s fitting then, that a manga that features so many zips is itself a fusion of a lot of different concepts and ideas into one neat, zipped up package. For example, the fusion of robots/mecha and Tokusatsu-style superhero costumes which make up the suits we see in Zipman!! Each of the suits we’ve seen so far has unique, eye-catching designs. If you’re anything like me, they’re what grabbed your attention for this series at first glance. Yusaku Shibata sure knows how to draw some cool designs, for characters both in and out of their suits. His chunky yet smooth aesthetic makes his suit design pop, and they evoke the feel of classic Saturday morning cartoons. Making each chapter a fun and breezy read every week.

He also isn’t afraid to show his influences either. As I mentioned, these suits, and the ideology behind those wearing them share a lot of similarities with the famous suited heroes of Tokusatsu shows such as Kamen Rider and Ultraman. We see this directly with Jackman, the Watchdog of Justice and star of the Jackman TV show. Conveying that Saturday morning cartoon vibe. It also happens to be the thing that zips all our main cast of characters together, conveniently enough.

Hurry up, Devil-Gorilla

Our Protagonist, Kaname Tatara, has a bit of a… strong personality. He is an extremely passionate fan of Jackman. So much that we first meet him in chapter one, auditioning for the role of Jackman for a new series. Unfortunately, his scary face makes him more suitable for a villainous role. That doesn’t stop him from embodying Jackman’s heroic ideals in nearly every aspect of his life. He isn’t afraid to put others before himself (as we see when he helps out pretty much every school club with his insane athleticism.) He’s’ a bit of a try-hard, but it becomes endearing as the story progresses. When he’s not thinking about the Watchdog of Justice he’s got two other people on his mind. The first of which being…

Koshiro Tatara is Kaname’s dearly departed brother. It seems where Kaname got the brawn Koshiro got the brains in this dynamic duo. A genius mechanical prodigy and owner of Robotics company Steel-X. We learn most of the current facts about Koshiro from outside sources. Strangely enough, his brother Kaname doesn’t seem all too shook up about losing his brother. He just seems disappointed that his rival is gone before he was able to defeat him. (Bit of an odd one, that Kaname.)

See, it turns out that Kaname wasn’t the only big fan of Jackman. As back in the day Koshiro used to watch it right alongside him. While that brought them closer together, their real rivalry started when they both happened to fall for the same girl. This event starting their grand battle against each other to win her heart. So, just a couple of Shōnen knuckleheads then. But what about that girl?

Cheena has probably received the least page-time of this core cast, but she’s definitely my favourite. A gutsy girl with a lot of heart, she meets the brothers at an early age. Herself a fan of Jackman, the three quickly bonded, and while the brothers battled it out in their elaborate contests to make her smile, she just seemed happy to be with her friends.

It appears that Koshiro’s untimely passing has hit her the hardest. She wants to keep those good memories of him alive. To the extent that when troubling evidence turns up connecting Koshiro’s company to bad news. Cheena becomes determined to start her own investigation to ensure Steel X’s reputation is untarnished. It seems she’s more concerned about it than that blockhead Kaname, anyway. You’d think after losing a brother that he was close to Kaname would have more on his mind than jealousy that he wasn’t able to beat his rival over Cheena’s smile, right? Well, as it turns out there’s a little bit more to unpack (unzip?) from that.