Ranked #623

I Am a Hero (Manga)

First of all this is my first review so don t judge me too hard.I was avoiding this manga because the summary looked stupid and really boring but I was wrong !!
Its a great horror manga , and a great zombie manga.Some people tell me its like HOTD but its wrong the manga is kind of slow but with that its more realistic.Don t give up the manga just because the zombies ( well i think they are zombies ) aren t appearing in the first chapters.

Story 8
I give the manga a 8 for the story its slow but pretty interesting and the author first explains the life of the main character before the monsters get in.There are only a few chapters ( 34 now ) so i can t tell anymore without telling spoilers.

Art 7
Its a realistic manga with a realistic art its not everyone pair of shoes.Even if I m not such a great fan of realistic art i liked it.Note , don t read it late at night the monsters freaked me out they are really well made.

Character 7
The main character is kind of freaky and strange in my opinion. Personally I don t think the main character is sane , he talks to himself.There aren t any side characters that make a impression on me.

Enjoyment 8
I really enjoyed the manga and i recommend it to all horror and zombie lovers out there. read more

I love a good post-apocalyptic manga... I've read the 8 volumes released so far and the mangaka is doing great capitalizing on all the potential of the story. It's a thrilling read so far.

Hideo, a manga illustrator struggling with his job and maintaining a relationship with his girlfriend, finds himself trying to stay alive in world where a virus is spreading like rapidfire and people are rabid and biting each other. A lot of the scenes were actually incredibly disturbing like the scene where all the manga illustrators go crazy. Not to mention, Hideo isn't all right in the head and has never been.

The art is really interesting too. It's like it purposefully makes everyone look ugly, maybe to show the ugly side of human nature? ...The story takes a really fascinating look at human nature. There are people that take their defensive stance, some people who go looney tunes in their survival mode, and yet others who become actual monsters in their actions. Fascinating!

I cannot wait to read more. read more

Note: I included one spoiler, because it actually relates to one of my points in the review. I gave a fair warning, so don't complain if you spoil things for yourself! You've been warned! ;)

Currently at the time of this review, I've read 34 chapters of I am a Hero (only 35 -I believe- are currently released), so this is more of a review of the first "segment", if you will, rather than the entire series.

Story - 7 (good)
In a nutshell: We have our quirky, 35-year old, perhaps mentally unstable?, main character, Hideo trying to survive a zombie outbreak. It's as simple as that! I don't want to get too into it, since I want to prevent spoilers of any kind. But I am going to warn you now; this manga is VERY slow. Nothing happens until probably ~15-20 chapters in, and these are fairly long chapters. There were several times I felt like dropping this manga, but I had heard lots of great things about it, many good reviews and praises, so I stuck with it. As slow as it is, give it time and wait til the outbreak occurs before you drop it, you may find it's worth your time.

Art - 7 (good)
It's either you love it, or you hate it. I enjoy realistic-anime styles occasionally, and I couldn't imagine this manga any other way. The images of monsters, hallucinations, and zombies can tend to be pretty darn graphic; They do their jobs extremely well! Let's just say, for those who are sensitive to graphic images or have weak stomachs, you might just sleep with your nightlight on again!
Needless to say, the artwork was the biggest payoff for me. It's what kept me from dropping this manga, because I always wanted to see what terrifying creature would turn up next.

Characters - 3 (poor)
Uuuuuuugggghh... Okay, I'm very bias on this and I know for a fact not everyone will agree with me here, but... I can't stand a single character in this manga. The only truly 'main character' is Hideo, and he's -okay-, but he tends to get on my nerves with just HOW awkward he is. To me, he just seems like a very unpleasant person to be around. (Warning: Spoilers up ahead!! Just skip down past the "END SPOILERS" line if you don't want, well, spoilers.)
---SPOILERS!!---
It really bothered me when, after his girlfriend had turned into a zombie and died, he hardly reacted at all. He apparently loved her so much, albeit getting into a fight with her right before she turned, but he didn't seem shocked, scared, devastated... nothing. It just seemed like a very underwhelming reaction for characters who are supposed to be portrayed as realistic. Yes, I know every human being reacts differently to trauma, stress, etc., but it really bothered me since he seemed very attached to her and in love. At least he cried for her once he was on the train, SEVERAL chapters later, but the initial reaction (or lack-there-of) very much bugged me.
---END SPOILERS!!!---
Otherwise, I never enjoyed or got attached to -any- character in the entire 34 chapters. They came off as completely bland to me. I might like the newest character to join Hideo in the latest chapters, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Enjoyment - 6 (fair/okay)
This is tough for me, because I genuinely like this manga aside from me not strongly liking a single character, lol. It trudged on forever it seemed, but once the conflict arose and the zombies appeared, it sucked me in and nothing could draw away my attention. As I said, the artwork for the zombies/monsters is captivating and disturbing; just the way I like it! Another aspect I loved what that there were genuinely times where I felt the uneasiness and suspense of the situation (taxi scene, anyone?). It's definitely a manga that holds my interest enough to keep me asking for more! I just gave it a fairly low score because of the first 10-20 chapters and lack of character interest.

Overall - 7 (good)
This manga is unique, to say the least, but not too bizarre either. I would recommend checking it out, you know, if you're into that sort of thang. read more

I am a hero is, at first glance, pretty mediocre. In the first few chapters, we get to know mediocre characters, who lead mediocre lives, have mediocre problems. Our "hero" is an (almost) average guy with some mental problems, and anyone can easily see that he is not a hero. He isn't even supposed to be a main character. Main characters are dependable, good-willed and most of all, they have determination. This may not be the case for every genre, but in the end, we all want our main characters to be role models, right?

Back to our hero. After he and his mediocre girlfriend get into a fight, he decides to make it up to her. She doesn't answer his calls, so he decides to stop by, and finds her lying on her bed.


You are now entering the world of awkward survival horror.

The true power of this manga lies in its ability to put a mediocre character in a crapsack world, and instead of the regular 'rise to greatness', the world remains a shithole, and our hero remains unlikeable. Well, not entirely, but there are better people to end up with in an apocalypse. Up until now, he has made me cringe more often than Bleach characters get their powers back, although in current chapters he becomes quite a bit more reliable. Remaining silent about the apocalypse because you are afraid to speak up in public isn't exactly the heroic thing to do. Neither is ducking so the girl behind you becomes the victim (while yelling/thinking "I am a hero" at that). Still, these moments are what make the manga and the main character so thoroughly interesting.

Precisely for this reason, the story and our hero's personality are allowed to progress or regress as much as the author wants. Since the hero does not 'need' moments of glory, there really is no need to give him any, and this manga remains strangely realistic (although I don't think anyone would recite the laws concerning weapon possession in these situations). That really is a good thing. Many aspects of it have already been covered in other similar stories: People are used, deceived, thrown aside, as would probably be the case if this were to happen in real life. If you're a woman in a group of male survivors, how far should you go to survive? What if you have superior firepower but are on your own? Would you be willing to kill? To sacrifice yourself? These and similar questions arise quickly, as humanity's downfall will invite many to take justice into own hands. The author provides us with quite realistic answers.

The art is at first (you guessed it) quite mediocre. This may have even been done purposefully. However, if you're willing to sit out a few chapters of average character design, the body horror will make up for it. The author really went all out with this, with surrealism rivaling that of Uzumaki.

All in all, if you're up for some awkward moments with an surrealism on the side, portrayed by a realistic yet delusional hero, I can really recommend this manga. After all, the true heroes are the ones that can survive, aren't they? read more

I Am a Hero is not your average zombie manga - it's best compared to other horror zombie books/movies that have become so popular recently.
I am a Hero focuses on your everyday character, no one special, as is common with most zombie stories. A zombie outbreak occurs in Japan, and he tries his best to survive.
What sets this apart from regular zombie manga is that:
1. This manga manages to terrify you even though it's still (it scared me more than some zombie movies) and
2. The emotions that the artist conveys are great.
The artist draws the zombies in a very gory fashion - if you don't like that, then this is not for you. However, if you do like gore, it's everywhere in this. The zombie deaths are great, and while some may say that the story moves too slowly, (it isn't overly action-packed) every chapter is needed, either in developing the characters or developing the knowledge of the outbreak.
In summary, this is a great manga if you want to scare yourself and gain a full understanding of the outbreak. If you want more action/fan service, go read Highschool of the Dead.
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although the pace is often criticised in I Am A Hero, especially in the first and second volume, i feel like was a valuable section to build the characters personality. the build up was very necessary. the main character is likeable yet very uncool.

The zombies i feel are the best zombies i have 'encountered'. being able to move at a range of paces and have slight personalities carried on from the moment of their death. This makes them that much scarier than ordinary zombies.

the best thing about this manga is the art style- the drawing is immense, the faces are not drawn exactly like a real human but this gives them extra emotion and facial expression. the double page drawings are in real detail and occur often throughout the book. sometimes there is a page donated to the animation of a single moment/movement

overall and excellent manga, if ones looking for a less shonen/weekly published manga, this is perfect. and a work of art read more