Rockman Zero (manga)

Rockman Zero (ロックマンゼロ) is a manga that initially follows the plot of the Mega Man Zero game series, but soon cuts away and starts its own story that only loosely connects to the games, being more focused on humor than action. It was illustrated by Hideto Kajima and published in Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic from June 2003 to February 2006, and later in three tankōbon volumes.

Volume 1

 * Story 1: The Hero Awakens!! (目覚めたヒーロー！！) - The opening mirrors that of the first game, with some key differences. Zero is still found in a hibernation state, but is discovered by Lito and his friends. However, before he is reawakened, Fefnir arrives and attempts to destroy Zero, but not before he finally awakens and easily pushes him and his attacking force away. Shortly after, Zero collapses and when Lito goes to recover him, his helmet has mysteriously disappeared. Unlike the game, Zero suffers from a bi-polar disorder. As Zero, he appears virtually the same, but without his helmet, and appears to be comically frail, easily frightened by the slightest problems. However, when under extreme stress or when someone is in grave danger, he turns into his familiar self with his helmet returning, referred to as Rockman Zero.
 * Story 2: Fight! A Warrior That Evolves (戦え！　進化する戦士) - Zero and Lito hear about the Resistance and fight against Phantom.
 * Story 3: Coward Zero, Do Your Best!! (弱虫ゼロ、がんばる！！) - Zero fights against Blizzack Staggroff.
 * Story 4: The Female Leader - Enter Ciel!! (女リーダー・シエル登場！！) - Zero and Lito meet with the Resistance leader, Ciel. They fight against Leviathan.
 * Story 5: One For the Sake of All...! (ひとりはみんなのために…！！) - Ciel takes Zero and Lito to the Resistance Base, and they are attacked by Fefnir's forces. Zero is injured during the battle to protect Ciel, and Fefnir leaves, assuming Zero destroyed. Zero is shortly after revived by Passy, who sacrifices herself to resurrect the fatally injured hero.

Volume 2

 * Story 1: To Heaven Base!! (本拠地 ヘブンへ！！) - Zero separates from the Resistance. Harpuia sends Aztec Falcon to fight against Zero and analyses the battle to prepare himself against Zero.
 * Story 2: The Worst Enemy, Appears!! (最凶の敵、現る！！) - Harpuia fights against Zero and uses Cyber-elves to help him, but one of them betray Harpuia and helps Zero. After his defeat, Harpuia convinces Zero join Neo Arcadia.
 * Story 3: The Truth of the Hero and the Legend (英雄の真実　そして伝説へ) - The final chapter of the first part. It is discovered that the mastermind behind the tyrannical rule is Cial, Ciel's younger twin, whose ideals of a better world mirrored Copy X's as she tried to eliminate all Reploids. Copy X appears in his Ultimate Armor only as the fusion between all four of the Guardians, but is not named in the manga. He outmatches Zero who spent a great deal of time in his Rockman Zero form before reverting to his meek self, but manages to narrowly defeat him with the Z-Saber. Ciel talks with Cial and she comes back to her senses, making a truce with Ciel. Humans and Reploids can now reside together.


 * Story 4: Hero of Justice! The New Zero!! (正義のヒーロー！　新生ゼロ！！) - 50 years after the previous chapter, a new Zero is created by Lito in a more childlike form with a ponytail, similar to his Mega Man X series counterpart, with a new 'Hero Chip' installed, giving him a brave attitude to contrast with the original Zero's frail nature. Unlike before, Zero doesn't actually transform, but runs into hiding and dons his helmet before rushing into battle. In addition, he appears to have poor accuracy with the Buster Shot (the reason for this is because the barrel was not properly aimed). The plot appears is somewhat similar to Mega Man Zero 3. Here, Omega appears as the 'antagonist'. However, he appears somewhat less frightening and Omega is radically different from his video game counterpart as he is no longer a gigantic armor inhabiting Zero's original body, but is an actual Reploid. He appears commanding a legion of Pantheons, still searching for the Dark Elf, but his obsession borders on humor as he eventually breaks down laughing just thinking about her.
 * Story 5: Important Mission!? Protect Kwappa!! (大事な子分！？　クワッパを守れ！！) - Omega is after an animal Cyber-elf, Kwappa, believing he is the Dark Elf, and Zero protects him. Lito is training Zero for him to learn how to use the chip for an ability, and he manages to use it to defeat Omega and save Kwappa.
 * Story 6: Cooperating with Omega!? Zombie Battle!! (オメガと協力！？ ゾンビバトル！！) - Zero investigate an abandoned junkyard where Omega reveals his fear of zombies. The two eventually encounters the junkyard zombies and combats them together.

Volume 3

 * Story 1: Omega, Serious Mode Explosion!? (オメガ、本気モードさくれつ！？) - Dr. Weil gave one more chance to Omega for destroying Zero, and warns him that if he fails again, he will be unemployed. Dr. Weil gave Omega a new weapon - known as "Giant Omega-DX", which must be assembled first. Omega convinces Zero to help him build the giant robot, and as soon as it is complete Omega uses it to attack him, but as Zero ignored many parts that he thought to be unimportant, it malfunctions and explodes. Dr. Weil then fires Omega.
 * Story 2: Showdown!! Zero versus Roze! (対決！！ゼロ対ロゼ！) - After Omega's failure, Dr. Weil decided to kill Zero, starting with building a duplicate known as Roze. However this doesn't work.
 * Story 3: The Wandering Warrior Craft Appears!! (さすらいの戦士クラフト現る！！) - Dr. Weil called Craft to kill Zero, and later Mino Magnus. However, Craft developed a crush on Neige and destroyed Mino Magnus to save her.
 * Story 4: The Treasure Hunt Full of Traps!! (宝さがしはワナだらけ！！) - Zero and Neige are looking for the Dark Elf, and they find a strange structure inside a jungle. The two, alongside Craft and two Pantheons working for Omega, are attacked by Mechaniloids and Neige is captured by Noble Mandrago, which can absorb the energy of other Reploids. They work together and manage to defeat Mandrago. After freeing Neige and recovering their energy, they find a treasure chest with a "dead" Omega inside, but he is still alive and returns to normal.
 * Story 5: Zero, Evil Stain!? (ゼロ、悪に染まる！？) - Zero goes out of control, and everyone in the area believes he was possessed by the Dark Elf. Zero later returns to normal and Lito discovers the cause of his strange behavior.
 * Story 6: Christmas' Great Battle!! (クリスマスの大激闘！！) - The last story takes place in Christmas, where Dr. Weil battles Zero himself using a giant mecha called Mega Vile (Mega Weil). Using his mecha, Weil destroys Lito's house, whilst Lito apparently being in it. Despite his great power, Zero manages to defeat Weil with the help of Craft, Neige, and Lito's friends.

Part 1

 * Zero/Rockman Zero
 * Lito
 * Ciel
 * Cerveau
 * Passy
 * Cial
 * Fighting Fefnir
 * Hidden Phantom
 * Fairy Leviathan
 * Sage Harpuia
 * Blizzack Staggroff
 * Aztec Falcon (Aztefalcon)
 * Pantheons (Pantheon Hunter and Pantheon Flyer)
 * Golem

Minor characters:
 * Manga only characters: Lito's two friends, Lito's grandfather, villagers that helps Zero against Blizzack Staggroff.
 * Resistance members
 * Four Cyber-elves
 * Carryarm and Spiking
 * Garm
 * Gli-Eye
 * Unnamed snake Mechaniloid

Part 2
This happens 50 years after the first part of the manga. Omega appears in Lito's village looking for the Dark Elf.
 * Zero (Not the same Zero from part 1. This is a new Zero built by Lito.)
 * Lito
 * Villagers
 * Omega
 * Kwappa (a frog Cyber-elf)
 * Pantheons
 * Dr. Weil (Dr. Vile)
 * Craft
 * Neige
 * Mino Magnus (Mino Magnaxe)
 * Noble Mandrago
 * Roze
 * Molegules

Reception
Readers have mixed feeling toward the manga, as the plot is very different from the games. Some of the most notable changes include: Characters that were never heard in the game, like Lito, gain a great deal of importance in the manga. Zero has two personalities, one being cowardly and other resembling his game counterpart, and Lito created a new Zero with a different personality.

Trivia

 * Sigma, Rockman X, Crescent Grizzly, and Spiral Pegacion make cameo appearances in the manga.
 * When Zero and Omega have to fight the zombies, Omega says he is scared because he isn't good at Resident Evil, a reference to another game done by Capcom.
 * Like the Rockman X manga, Zero is seen without his helment.