NOTE: This review only covers Part I of the Zero saga.

Tobaku Haouden Zero is Fukumoto's attempt at bringing a more shonenized, fast-paced gauntlet of deadly gambling games to life in his distinctive style, and it results in a quite enjoyable; though somewhat bumpy ride throughout.

In terms of characters, the poster-boy and titular protagonist Zero warrants a full paragraph written about him. While he is definitely not the most "memorable" of characters crafted by Fukumoto, he is still an interesting character to observe and root for. Zero is a genius, but he is not a cold, unfeeling machine like we are used to. Zero, fitting the shonen demographic of this manga, is a far more moralistic character than Fukumoto readers may be used to. His altruistic nature often results in a handicap for him, with many other characters leeching off him or trying to take advantage of his smarts. We often get the sense that these games would be a breeze for him to handle if he let his morals slide, but this is an interesting addition to his character and works quite well. Due to his tendency to help out stragglers in need of saving, we occasionally get to see Zero having to flex his leadership muscles in times of danger, which is very fun to see. Whether or not they listen to him is something I will not divulge here. He is a character reminiscent of Robin Hood, and he shows enough emotion throughout the series to humanize him plenty. Despite the fact that Zero fits comfortably into many tired old shonen character tropes, it still interesting to see what Fukumoto does with this character and results in some quite unique drama throughout the series.

The set-up for the games is nothing special but provides enough context for the crazy games to begin. Without spoiling anything, it involves collecting stars, one trillion dollars, a ticking time-limit and a sadistic old geezer. Fukumoto has rehashed elements that he has used before, and none of it feels like an improvement on his previous manga. These elements are just "good enough" to give the games context, and it is really the games that are the selling point of this series. The games are short and have great variety, but unfortunately some of them do not feel like they had as much effort put into them as others.

The very best games of Tobaku Hauoden Zero are simple and incredibly devious (wait until the Quarter Jump, my favourite game). There is a LOT of cheating and underhanded methods used by the villains in this series, and while some of it may feel a little over the top, I think it is excusable because of the way that it pushes Zero to his limit and allows us to see him trying to think in a state of panic. Some of the games have multiple possible solutions, and it is especially interesting to see what they are.

Other games are quite different from what Fukumoto has delivered before and may not be to everyone's liking. Some games are based off simple high-school maths, but still deliver enough twists to be worthwhile. Other games are based off Japanese riddles, which may prove to be a slog for non-Japanese readers. Unfortunately, Fukumoto occasionally tries to ramp up the tension in some rather cliche ways. Whereas in his other manga body parts and lives are often at stake, these additional dangers usually feel appropriate to the situation or occasionally work to the benefit of the main character. In this manga, a lot of danger is simply peppered in for the sake of it, and it can often come across as goofy. We see some eye-roll inducing traps such as spiked walls closing in on the characters, or a character walking into a game partnered up with Zero only to become a hostage later on just to give Zero more of an incentive to complete the game on time. The "danger" presented in this series rarely feels natural, and as a result makes the games as a whole feel "dumbed down" in comparison to Fukumoto's other work.

Unfortunately, the later games in this series feel like a real buzzkill, taking a noticeable nosedive in quality and ingenuity. The last few games are overly simplistic in premise and could be cobbled together by anyone without much effort. One basically amounts to quiz show and the other is an extremely unfair scavenger hunt. These two are resolved in hasty and unbelievable ways where instead of solid logic, Zero employs bullshit levels of intuition to worm his way out of the situation. These two games left a bad taste in my mouth and affected my overall enjoyment of the series.

Overall, Tobaku Haouden Zero is a solid entry in Fukumoto's line of high-stakes gambling manga that explores new territory despite being comprised of familiar elements. The roster of games has its ups and downs, to the point where I could say that there is one mediocre game for every good one. It is no masterpiece but it whets the appetite and makes you eager to delve into future installments in this series.