"Zippy Ziggy" is an action comedy following the exploits of Kang Shingi, a seemingly perfect high school student who outwardly has it all; intelligence, good looks, and a kind, wise, and generous nature. Inwardly, Shingi is a vain, selfish status-seeker who will commit any dastardly deed it takes to gain status and hijack his rivals. His idyllic high school career is in trouble, however, when Eum Seung-hee, as great a fighter as she is beautiful transfers to his school, and quickly discovers his true nature. The manga maintains a madcap, gag style throughout, with characters cartoonishly beating one another to death onlyto recover a few panels later, constant humorous asides, and several instances of breaking the fourth wall. The latter is done just enough without growing stale, including one particularly clever use, where a characters refers to an earlier chapter of "Zippy Ziggy" and actually shows a tankoubon with the page in question.
The manga also switches art styles based on the situation. For more realistic or romantic moments, Kang Shingi is drawn in a detailed and handsome manner. When the situation is comical, he is drawn either in an exaggerated, ugly style when plotting something evil, or in a simplified, bare bones form with pointy teeth and frowny face.
The other characters work well for their role as broad comedic stereotypes. Kim Dukchill, a giant, immensely powerful delinquent who beats anyone that mispronounces his name into a coma is a particular favorite. He has a heart of gold and strong sense of justice, is absurdly stupid, and painfully shy and subservient around women. Shingi's father, a handsome, middle-aged executive, is even more of a diabolical, amoral pervert than his son, and has several memorable scenes.
One impressive aspect of the work, especially in the earlier volumes, is how one misunderstanding piles on top of another in an increasingly humorous manner, and rather than resolve it, the authors continue to ratchet it up.
Unfortunately, certain weaknesses of the work begin cropping up as one reads further on. Starting around chapter 55, the author runs out of ideas and begins spinning his wheels. Story arcs are resolved in a basic, straightforward manner, contrary to earlier chapters. Character arcs are dropped with no rhyme or reason, most notably that of Ranmee and Jang Hyun. Other overarching plot threads go nowhere. A number of gags, such as Kang Shingi being beaten up by either Eum Seung-Hee or her insane martial arts master mother, get repeated ad naseum, well past the point of amusement.
That last one is especially bad, as there seems to be no progression in Shingi's and Seung-Hee's relationship. And while her reaction to Shingi makes perfect sense at the beginning, by the end, given how many times he has saved her, she comes across as cruel, ungrateful, and stupid. Not a good reaction to what should be a likable, sexy, female love interest.
The final ending was a rush job of the kind that seems common in Korean manwha. Yet, even by those standards, it's disappointing and as lazy as can be. Namely, it's a dream sequence 10 years into the future which the reader will recognize as such a few pages in. Nothing is worse than a conclusion that turns out to simply be a dream.
Don't get me wrong; finale aside, the last 30-odd chapters aren't bad by any means, and still feature some funny moments. But if the first 50-55 chapters were an 8 in terms of quality, the rest is a 6.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend Zippy Ziggy to any manga reader who enjoys action comedies. It's genuinely funny, with oodles of fights and hijinks, and it's hard not to like its manic, silly, energetic vibe.
