Review by Ian Keogh
The costumed Sentai were once national heroes, having defeated the last remaining kaiju. Their success was also their downfall, though, as with no city-shattering threats they’re downgraded to being on call to deal with shoplifters and disturbances outside pubs, while the pay scale has deteriorated accordingly. The former status means there’s still a residual attraction, and we see high school graduates Eloise and Warren applying for jobs.
Warren’s first assignment is accompanying Satoshi, allocated to lesser tasks for his forcefully stated belief kaiju may remain undersea and the Sentai programme ought to be monitoring for activity. It’s a useful contact, though, and both Eloise and Warren end up moving into an apartment with three other Sentai.
Mathieu Bablet has little interest in what the Sentai do in costume, so prioritises their day to day lives, but once introduced there’s a flashback to the type of unit they once were. It’s a clever interlude, not only changing the tone, but showing the cost of being a Sentai to a previous generation, awakening ethical arguments. As becomes apparent, though, the cast have different backgrounds and outlooks, and Bablet highlights these well via conversation.
Artist Guillaume Singelin’s detail heavy pages cope well with the shift of tone from ordinary lives to corporate HQ to kaiju combat. Visually, the Sentai resemble the colour coding of the Power Rangers, and the colours are also later applied to narrative captions identifying the speakers, but while that’s visually innovative it’s also a gimmick distracting from Singelin’s talent. Despite sometimes dealing with the fantastic, there’s a naturalistic flair to his art. He doesn’t just pose people standing around, but has them engaged in activity in rooms that look lived in, especially evident when Eloise and Warren first arrive at their new home. In fact, cluttered homes are a speciality, when the plot calls for a busy bar we see it packed with people, and Singelin invests equally in other locations.
Given Satoshi’s fears, the expectation might be that we’re heading toward the re-emergence of kaiju, and indeed that remains an option, but it’s not until the final chapters before Bablet begins uniting assorted themes. Until then the priority has been getting to know the cast who’ll sustain a further two volumes, day to day life and existential questions to the forefront, with Warren given a little more space than the remaining cast. It’s an approach that pays off when a big secret drops and a big threat manifests right at the end, with Bablet having been subtle in laying the groundwork for Warren’s actions.
In looking at superheroes during downtime and exploring personalities, Shin Zero is excellent, and the art elevates it further. By the end you’ll be involved with the cast and wanting more.
