I Am a Hero Koushiki Comic Anthology: 8 Tales of the ZQN

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This anthology offers us 7 stories by 7 different mangaka in the universe of "I am a Hero" (IAAH), plus a making-of documentary that peeks into the life of mangaka Kengo Hanazawa before and during the serialization of IAAH. What this means is that you should expect varying levels of quality and shifts in mood between chapters, which might come across as unpleasant if you jump into this right after finishing IAAH.

1. Even If I Become a ZQN (Mizusawa Etsuko) - a short chapter that takes place around the climax of IAAH, following a couple who fret over their sex life as Hideo is doing ... his own thing. The art style is on the moe side and the mood is light and fluffy; if zombies weren't brought up, you'd think this wasn't about them at all.

2. Ghost of a Smile (Yokoyari Mengo) - a look into the relationship between Hiromi of IAAH and her supposed best friend Sae. Doesn't offer much that we haven't already seen; taken as a standalone work, it has nothing to do with zombies. Neat art. This and chapter 1 (very briefly) are the only chapters that directly relate to IAAH.

3. The Place Where the Zombies are (Ishiguro Masakazu) - a mostly satirical chapter on how the society of the living is addressing their zombie problem — some more..."affectionately" than others. The shift between the two stories is abrupt and I wouldn't have figured out that the girl is the common element if someone hadn't pointed it out. Art is OK.

4. Adolescence of the Dead (Ojiro Makoto) - probably the closest in tone and writing to IAAH, this oneshot follows two acquaintances stuck together taking shelter in a van during the outbreak. The art is among the best in this volume and I liked the dynamic of the two characters.

5. She is a Slow Walker (Ito Junji) - a classic Junji Ito story that, true to his style, combines horror with silliness and absurdity. The outcome is somewhat expected if you've read his works before, but it's still a fun chapter rife with references to other zombie media (especially old Italian zombie flicks) that Ito is such a big fan of. The art is his usual fare, including characters that look like pretty much every Ito man and woman does.

6. Mister Ogre, Over Here (Torikai Akane) - quite possibly the most intriguing story of the bunch. Can be interpreted as: a zombie story within the universe of IAAH; a metaphor for jealousy and regret leading to losing one's self; or (if taken as a standalone story) a story about a woman resorting to the services of a witch to gain what she wants. Excellent art.

7. I Am Not a Hero (Nogizaka Taro) - considering how it starts, I wasn't expecting much from this story, but it turns out surprisingly good in the end. Nogizaka's art syle is very distinct and I instantly recognized it from "Yuureitou". The last page features a neat callback to the title/main theme of IAAH.

8. I Am a Hero Untold Creation Story (Yoshimoto Kouji) - a look into how IAAH came to be, from Kengo Hanazawa's years in school to his career as a mangaka. Doesn't shy away from stating more "unsavory" details about IAAH's mangaka, such as him telling dirty jokes a lot, liking porn, and being awkward around women (an addition which is appreciated, considering that most notes about authors only feature nice or neutral stuff). The art style is reminiscent of early Disney in terms of proportions and facial expressions. Worth a read if you're interested in the backstory of IAAH and want to find out more about its mangaka. Incidentally, this is also the longest chapter in the manga.

All in all, if I were to categorize the chapters, it'd be so:
Excellent: 5 (She is a Slow Walker), 6 (Mister Ogre, Over Here)
Good: 4 (Adolescence of the Dead), 7 (I Am Not a Hero), 8 (I Am a Hero Untold Creation Story)
Decent: 1 (Even If I Become a ZQN)
Meh: 2 (Ghost of a Smile), 3 (The Place Where the Zombies are)

This is connected to "I am a Hero" in-name only. The stories are not set in the same fictional universe, and the work is more centred around the idea of zombies thematically, and uses the "I am a Hero" brand to draw in people who would otherwise pass over it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think fans of IAAH should go in with their expectations appropriately tempered

It is in general a pretty mediocre group of stories. Several of them dont even include zombies. Chapter 1 for instance is basically just softcore porn, with only the barest hint of connection to a ... zombie storyline. Another story is basically a slice of life romance, with some zombies in the background to keep things interesting. So considering IAAH is regarded as probably the best Zombie manga ever written, and these stories arnt especially good or even particulary related to zombies, you can see why this work is a bit of a let-down. Of the 8 chapters, "I am not a Hero" and "she is a slow walker" are pretty good, the other 6 are pretty much totally forgettable.

To expand on that caveat: the Junji Ito story is well done. It has good art, an entertaining premise, and is the closest to an actual story about zombies from the whole anthology. If you are a fan of Ito, this is another solid work from him, and almost makes up for the generally low quality of the rest of the stories. "I am not a hero" isnt amazing or anything, but its got the same weirdly comedic horror vibe of the original series, and stands well on its own.

TLDR: The Junji Ito story is good, "I am not a hero" is ok, everything else is entirely mediocre, 5/10.