”Shinji I’ll… look out for you”
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Kengo Hanazawa
Translation: Kumar Sivasubramanian
English Adaptation: Philip R. Simon
Lettering: Steve Dutro
What They Say:
One quick bite could change everything for Hideo and his new ward, young Hiromi, as they head out of the forest they’ve been hiding in and return to civilization. They soon realize that populated area—even shrines—are just as dangerous as the zombie-infested woods they’ve left! Collecting two of the original Japanese volumes into one huge Dark Horse Manga edition, this is your ticket into the world’s strangest zombie apocalypse! Also the basis for the recent international hit film!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
What I hate about your typical zombie apocalypse stories is that a majority of them don’t have much in the way of a story direction outside of surviving. There’s never any solid objective that plays out over the course of the story, characters merely reacting to their surroundings rather than taking charge and pushing the story forward in any interesting direction. Such has been the case with the last two omnibuses of I Am A Hero (only further underlined by the fact that I technically read four volumes instead of two), so I was a bit wary on starting this third omnibus.
While the gripes I’ve had with the series still remain (Hideo still paranoid the outbreak is a figment of his imagination, his hesitance to shoot his gun, insisting on paying for goods he “steals”), at the least we are beginning to get more in terms of a story outside of Hideo wandering around aimlessly through zombie-infested areas unscathed Mr. Magoo-style. Now with high schooler Hiromi by his side, Hideo is not only given a sense of purpose in protecting her, but it also gives him someone to talk to rather than getting lost in his own head like volumes past. They’re an odd couple of sorts, but like all other aspects in the story, author Hanezawa only grazes the premise, his sluggish pacing allowing for a handful of interactions, but nothing too substantial. I’d say this is an additional complaint, but it works perfectly for when Hiromi ends up succumbing to the zombie virus herself.
The problem with plot twists in modern stories is the need to build them up, placing little story bread crumbs the audience can backtrack on once the twist happens so they don’t feel cheated. And while I do appreciate this, it’s become pretty trite as of late, with the twist feeling less like a twist and more of a logical plot point. That said, I love how little buildup there is when Hiromi gets infected. We don’t really get much in the way of memorable moments with her, with the real heartbreak simply being that we’ve seen so much of her up to this point, that we’re sad to see her go. Of course, the additional twist is that she continues to stay with Hideo (and newly joined party member Araki) as their last line of defense—a zombie that can be controlled into fighting off other zombies.
Hiromi being zombie-fied works for multiple reasons. For one, keeping her around makes for a very different dynamic between her and Hideo. The relationship between the two feels more like a parent taking care of a dangerous, disease-ridden baby, with Hideo jumping through so many hoops just to make sure the only people she hurts are other zombies. Such moments are immediately punctuated by scenes where Hideo awkwardly changes her panties after realizing she’s had her period. Add to this the fact that Hiromi begins calling Hideo “Shinji”—her boyfriend’s name—and the creepy undertones only become more prominent. It makes for this grossly unsettling dynamic where there wasn’t one before, yet I’m still curious as to where Hanezawa is going with this, if anywhere at all.
On top of this, a zombie-Hiromi allows for a more direct means to piece together just how the zombie virus works. Shortly following the revelation that Hiromi’s turned, the following chapters cut to an internet forum where posts begin to hypothesize about the outbreak. Questions like what the American army is doing while this happens and the exact “rules” to these zombies are brought up unabashedly, the bluntness of the internet posters serving as a means for the audience to get their own comments directly woven into the story. But as entertaining as those posts are, seeing firsthand what Hiromi sees in her mind while fighting off other zombies is far more entertaining. We get an insight into the mind of a zombie, which is surprisingly ordinary with a few exceptions. Furthermore, we’re reminded that Hiromi is a special case in that while she is technically infected, she’s noticeably calm in comparison to all others who’ve turned so far. It’s with this surprisingly normal observation that the omnibus ends, the story now officially having something of a direction to go in.
In Summary:
Finally, after three omnibuses, I Am A Hero begins to not only show signs of a developing plot, but a unique one at that. While the story still suffers from the same hiccups of its previous omnibuses, at the least we’re treated with an interesting albeit borderline creepy plot twist. While last volumes had me holding out for something better, at last I’m able to comfortably say I am officially on board with this story.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Manga
Release Date: April 25, 2017
MSRP: $19.99