# I am a Hero



## AfterGlow (Mar 16, 2011)

From Daily Yomiuri (a japanese daily newspaper, published in english by the Yomiuri Shimbun)

THROUGH OTAKU EYES / An angering hero's journey through a zombified world

Kanta Ishida / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

It's been a while since I've become so enraged by an author and his manga. Why? Because it is so good it's made me angry.

I'm talking about I am a Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. The manga series, which is being carried in Big Comic Spirits, is the story of Hideo Suzuki, a mangaka whose debut doesn't go as well as expected and whose relationship with his girlfriend has become a bit rocky, too. Then, the life of this thirty-something man, who is eking out a living as an assistant to a popular mangaka, suddenly becomes a world of extraordinary horror: A mysterious disease begins to spread, causing people to turn into zombies. Even Hideo's girlfriend becomes undead and tries to attack him. 

The plot is a familiar one, found in everything from manga and anime to video games and films since it appeared in George Romero's 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead. Hideo fights off the encroaching zombies with a shotgun--his only hobby is hunting, and blowing apart zombies is a mainstay of this genre.

Yet despite its well-worn premise, this particular story is transcendental and highly innovative, sad and fearful. Far from being a hero, the protagonist is a hopeless case who was on the verge on dropping out of society. The manga is like a tale of Hideo's delusions. The mangaka is imagining a society in which the concepts of love and trust--or communication, for that matter--have fallen flat in the face of the zombie menace.

The series has so far left me flabbergasted by the unforgivable cruelty the author inflicts on his characters.

But despite my anger, I had a sense this series could turn out to be a masterpiece. The series has been compiled into five volumes so far, but I'm far too eager to see where the story is leading, so I end up buying Spirits every week as soon as it comes out. 

Back here in the real world, on Christmas Day, somebody made a donation to an orphanage under the name Naoto Date, the protagonist of the old Tiger Mask anime and manga series. The act has gotten people talking about that decades-old series and also has spawned a number of copycat donors. 

This phenomenon was quickly dubbed "the resurrection of goodwill." Though it's not obvious upon first glance, it seems to me there is a connection between this and the noncommunicative world of I am a Hero. But in this zombie story, people's goodwill is invisible and not immediately identifiable, and there is no telling when they will be zombified. It has made me realize just how cruel yet beautiful our world can be.

Thinking about it, though, much like this series' protagonist, Tiger Mask's Naoto Date is a lonesome hero who has issued a call to love him as he is, while rallying people against the cold, hard world. As 40 years have passed since Tiger Mask stopped its run, I cannot help but hope somebody will hear our hero's cry for help this time round.

Ishida, a former writer in the Cultural News Department of the Yomiuri Shimbun specializing in anime and manga, is now deputy editorial director of Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc.
(Feb. 4, 2011)


The superior zombie manga in every sense (looking in the direction of a certain other boring, poorly executed atrocity)


----------



## mary no jutsu (Mar 17, 2011)

I've been reading this, and let me just say it's amazing.  So many genres come together all at once without seeming contrived.  I'm really looking forward to where this series is going.   

I almost stopped reading at the beginning because Suzuki's apartment looks waaaaaaaaaaaaay to similar to my own room, and I was getting creeped out.


----------



## AfterGlow (Mar 17, 2011)

mary no jutsu said:


> I've been reading this, and let me just say it's amazing.  So many genres come together all at once without seeming contrived.  I'm really looking forward to where this series is going.
> 
> I almost stopped reading at the beginning because Suzuki's apartment looks waaaaaaaaaaaaay to similar to my own room, and I was getting creeped out.



l?l, watch out for them subconscious spooks 

I find it amusing how the character(s) in Suzuki's stories doesn't stand out in any way allegedly, kind of how Suzuki himself doesn't stand out in IaaH.
Although I somehow doubt that anybody who's not a timid Japanese can identify with his character when shit hits the fan, but then again, it's a Japanese story for Japanese otaku, so it makes sense.


----------



## mary no jutsu (Mar 17, 2011)

I feel like the mangaka is trying to get the point across that even the unassuming and "boring" people in the world can become survivors thus heroes.  I really love the direction it's taking because it really breaks the mold for all of the other series i've seen where the sort of  plebeians become the main focus (this and 7 seeds is the only series where I see this happening).  

I know the target audience is meant for the otaku, but I feel this series is transcending that.


----------



## AfterGlow (Mar 17, 2011)

7 Seeds is awesome.

Manga overall is often lacking relatable, humane characters, and this is something of a theme in IaaH; where the main character supposedly creates these bland characters so that the reader can project themselves on the protagonist, before Suzuki himself becoming the same type of "hero" that he writes stories about. It's somewhat meta.

I also like how his blandness actually saves him at one point (kneeling in the train), while the "hero" type characters going out with guns blazing ends up dead, as opposed to the mainstream titles where the hero's boldness is what saves him in the end.


----------



## MrCinos (Apr 12, 2011)

Best zombie-related manga ever.


*Spoiler*: _some pages_ 











Awesome realistic art which really adds to the bizarreness of situation.


----------



## Lord Omnicent (Feb 26, 2012)

Damn man

*Spoiler*: __ 




I was hoping the girl would make it 
I mean she's not dead per-say.
Volumes 6 & 7 are strange as hell.


----------



## mumyoryu (Jun 13, 2012)

I just now found out vol's 6-8 were translated a few months ago; just thought id post in case anyone wasn't aware


----------



## omg laser pew pew! (Jun 13, 2012)

This manga is amazing, absoulutly love it


----------



## mumyoryu (Jun 21, 2012)

Vol.9 is out


----------



## Haohmaru (Jun 21, 2012)

Just read vol1. The end really was really freaky. Art is great and I like how it reads.


----------



## omg laser pew pew! (Jun 21, 2012)

That pregnant infected was damn freaky, especially the baby


----------



## Fuzzly (Aug 28, 2012)

omg laser pew pew! said:


> That pregnant infected was damn freaky, especially the baby



Agreed. So was the one in Dawn of the Dead (I think it was).

It's like, babies are usually something we have to care for and protect because it's so helpless. But when they become monsters with the ability to harm people it's a big mindfuck.

Same thing with hospitals. Hospitals are places where we go to get healthy. Silent Hill 2 plays with this as well, there was a whole hospital area that was one of the scariest. 

This manga started kinda weak for me, but I recently realized that this work was really thought out when I got caught up. 

I'm really interested in what the fuck is going on with that girl, because she's not acting like she's supposed to as far as we've seen. What is her secret? If she's been kept around this long there is something even more special in store for her.


----------



## mumyoryu (Nov 30, 2012)

Vol. 10 has been TL'ed in case anyone's missed it.


----------



## rajin (Apr 14, 2013)

*I am a Hero 139 to 143 Raw *
*here
**here*


----------



## slumpy (May 14, 2013)

Man, this manga is amazing! Really great art, deep and thrilling storyline. Good main character. This is mind blowing good! 

How come this thread is not one of the most populair threads in NF?


----------



## rajin (May 25, 2013)

*144 raw She self-admitted inferiority*


----------



## Canuckgirl (Sep 2, 2013)

Can someone please explain to me what the hell happened with Takashi and Kurusu?


----------



## omg laser pew pew! (Sep 3, 2013)

Canuckgirl said:


> Can someone please explain to me what the hell happened with Takashi and Kurusu?



Takashi and Kurusu are both like that school girl with Hero, except in a better state. They're all infected but retain most of the humanity, while having the physical benefits of being a zombfag. 

So pretty much if you don't piss them off and talk to them in a friendly manner then they're safe to be around


----------



## rajin (Oct 6, 2013)

*I Am a Hero 158 Raw*

*Looking at Askin's words i wonder if he meant literally they all were hiding for 1000 years, like they all were apart of the war 1000 years ago and survived*


----------



## rajin (Oct 26, 2013)

*I am a Hero 160 Raw *
*Ch.79-80 *


----------



## Canuckgirl (Oct 26, 2013)

omg laser pew pew! said:


> Takashi and Kurusu are both like that school girl with Hero, except in a better state. They're all infected but retain most of the humanity, while having the physical benefits of being a zombfag.
> 
> So pretty much if you don't piss them off and talk to them in a friendly manner then they're safe to be around



Whoa, that is just awesome.  Can't wait to see how it will unfold


----------



## rajin (Feb 9, 2014)

*smashed
smashed
*


----------



## Armaroller (Feb 13, 2014)

I've always have been a huge fan of anything zombie related. I discovered this series through Anime News Network and I have found myself hooked ever since. Personally, I consider this far superior to HOTD in that is is all about the zombies and not over the top fanservice. I would love to see this picked up for publication here in the states.


----------



## PPsycho (Apr 21, 2014)

Finally a few of the chapters were translated!


----------



## rajin (Apr 21, 2014)

*Only 16
Only 16
Only 16
Only 16
Only 16
Only 16

bundle of chapters. 144 to 155 done
*


----------



## rajin (Jan 4, 2015)

*Original Japanese 

this

this
*


----------



## Byrd (Jul 25, 2015)

Volume 16 Translated

and Holy Fuck


----------



## Quuon (Jul 25, 2015)

*Spoiler*: __ 



Another Kurusu?

And goddamn the nightmare fuel is real.


----------



## rajin (Dec 18, 2015)

*29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter
29th chapter*


----------



## omg laser pew pew! (Dec 22, 2015)

Reread the series and finally up-to-date. Holy crap does it get insane up to 191.

Curious how the little girl, Hiromi and Kurusus play into the zombie infection.


----------

