I am a Hero Omnibus Volume 1 (I Am a Hero, 1)

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Cursed with Awesome: If the infection doesn't turn a person into a zombie, he/she is given Super-Strength, Healing Factor, while retaining most of their personality. The art is pretty good, but not my choice style. Yet the more realistic touches work for the setting. Kokonaisuutena kyseessä on huikea teos, jonka tulen varmasti lukemaan useampaan kertaan. Ainoa valittamisen aihe liittyy taudin puhkeamiseen/leviämiseen. Alkuun ihmiset joita on purtu, oireilevat parikin päivää ennen kuin zombius ottaa vallan. Kun epidemia lähtee leviämään, saattavat ihmiset muuttua jo muutamassa tunnissa tai jopa minuuteissa altistumisesta. Toisaalta tämän voi selittää esim. taudin yksilöllisellä kehittymisellä, mutta olisin silti toivonut yhteneväisempää kaavaa tartunnoille. Äärimmäisen koukuttava juoni ja realistiset henkilöhahmot riittäisivät jo yksinään nostamaan tämän sarjan huipputasolle, mutta sitten on vielä taide; manga on piirretty niin yksityiskohtaisesti ja taitavasti, että tuntuu kuin katsoisi tv-sarjaa, joka on vain piirretty ruuduille. Jokainen henkilöhahmo erottuu selvästi omana persoonanaan, ja esimerkiksi ilmeiden kuvauksessa mennään välillä suorastaan inhorealismin puolelle. Ei todellakaan mitään söpöjä ja suurisilmäisiä animehahmoja, vaan niin realistisia ihmiskuvia kuin mahdollista. Jotkin ruudut on piirretty niin upeasti, että niitä jää huomaamatta tuijottamaan pitkäksi aikaa. Eating the Eye Candy: Mitani never misses the news. Not because he cares what's going on, he just likes to slobber over the anchor ladies. They are the first clues that something is extremely wrong.

NEET: Many of the characters of the parallel plot are this, who survived the initial outbreak due to being holed out in their rooms. The characters reflect the sharp juxtaposition of this story, the horror elements neatly situated against the (unintentional?)hilarious, over-the-top insanity of the initial outbreak.I Taste Delicious: Hideo and another survivor glimpse one zombie chowing down on its own feet. This prompts them to wonder if the zombies' goal is to destroy everything by eating humans, each other, and then themselves. A Form You Are Comfortable With: The Hive Mind chooses to represent itself this way to those who end up enveloped within it, but still aware of their existence as individuals. For Hiromi, it looks like a Message Board. Transhuman Treachery: Hiromi. When asked what she wants the others to do if she turns completely, she says that she wants to be left that way because she feels painfully alone as a human after experiencing the Hive Mind. She does eventually turn again, although what she becomes is too dangerous for her earlier wishes to be relevant. On a commuter train, rather than running as fast as humanly possible, an angry youth continues to yell at a staff member staring through the window on the other side of the car even while it's clear blood is seeping from the staff man's eyes, nose and mouth, is constantly spouting Madness Mantras ("Thank You For Your Patronage"), and has tainted veins sprouting all over his face. Once it gets through, it takes a nice bite out of the youth's head, who stares disbelievingly at the mush of brain falling out before passing away.

Potty Emergency: Oda experienced one while driving with Hideo and Hiromi, complicated by the fact she was handcuffed to Hiromi. Resulted in Bring My Brown Pants when Hideo uses a sledgehammer and a chisel from a hardware store to free them. Hideo is a freaked out 35 year old that is afraid of just about anything. He often is found with some boy near him that is either a ghost or a character of his, etc. I never could quite figure out. He has a bit of an odd relationship with this girl yet feels threatened by another mangaka she reads.

Final note; some people have complained about the ending, I disagree. The ending is masterful. It's bitter, but also very sweet. Heido truly changed, and all shown in just the latter half of the last chapter. It is satisfying. Safe Zone Hope Spot: Played with relentlessly. There are several occasions where Hideo thinks he's finally found a safe place to stay for a while, only for it to turn out as anything but. Apocalypse How: Starts out looking like a regional societal disruption. It rapidly becomes clear, however, that global societal collapse is inevitable. Once we find out what eventually happens to Hiromi and those like her, it starts to look like total annihilation of humanity, or at least normal humanity, is the most likely outcome. Off with His Head!: Mitani gets decapitated by the landing gear of an airplane that's crashing down the street, seconds after experiencing Fingore. Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted with Mi-chan and Tetsuko, but played relatively straight with Hiromi.

Asshole Victim: Inevitably, in a zombie media. For starters, the pair in a Ferrari, who threatens Hideo and Hiromi with a (airsoft) pistol. After Hideo spots a bite wound on one's arm, he pulls out his shotgun and drives them off. They gets chomped down by the infected, which were drawn to the sound their car makes, before they get a chance to turn. I actually waited a day before I reviewed this because I wanted to think about it. Did I love it"? No. Did I hate it? No. Did I love THINGS about it? Yes. Did I HATE things about it? Yes. So I'm going to try to break it down.Covers Always Lie: Several of the covers feature scenes that don't happen in that volume. Particularly extreme with Volume 5, with a perfectly healthy Hiromi sitting in her underwear for no apparent reason on the cover. Throughout the entirety of the volume, she's not only fully dressed but also visibly infected and completely delirious. Shotguns Are Just Better: Hideo's weapon of choice is a over-under double-barreled shotgun. Not that he has many options, considering how difficult it is to acquire a gun permit in Japan. Shoot the Shaggy Dog: A common impression of the ending for Hideo's plot line. Hideo ends up relatively content being alone in the post-apocalypse, but that doesn't change the fact that his attempt to get Hiromi to Tokyo and create a vaccine was a conga line of failure doomed from the start by the fact that she was actually an unknowing Horde Master rather than The Immune. No other main character in Hideo's group survives the severely botched attempt. The story as a whole averts this only because of the parallel plot, and Hideo's only contribution to the Bittersweet Ending is his undoing what he did as an inadvertent escort for the Big Bad.

The Ace: Nakata, who has obscenely rich parents, but loves to draw manga for a living. He is unattractive, socially awkward and speaks with a lisp. However, his manga are successful and everyone speaks highly of his talent as well as his personality. Even Hideo has to grudgingly admit that Nakata is a good person and is good at what he does. Not Using the "Z" Word: The online term for the infected becomes ZQN, a portmanteau with the Japanese slang DQN (Dokyun, meaning "delinquent" or "idiot"). At least one scanlation uses "zombfags", in stride with English-speaking chan parlance. News: 10 Titles Nominated for 3rd Manga Taisho Awards". Anime News Network. 2010-01-18 . http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-01-18/10-titles-nominated-for-3rd-manga-taisho-awards . Retrieved 2011-01-17. We get a glimpse into Hideo’s psychological issues: hallucinations, paranoia, crushing self-doubt, but also some hints at his potential strengths, too. Budding confidence, moments of courageousness.

News: 13 Titles Nominated for 4th Manga Taisho Awards". Anime News Network. 2011-01-16 . http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-01-16/13-titles-nominated-for-4th-manga-taisho-awards . Retrieved 2011-01-17. Fanservice: Invoked by two men in a stolen Ferrari who offer Hiromi a ride if she takes off the pants under her dress because she needs to "show some ass". Through the Eyes of Madness: We get to see what the world looks like to a few of the Infected, most dramatically Hiromi and Takashi. This provides significant insight into the behavior of the other ZQN. Itse juoni etenee suht loogisesti. Alkuun Hideon harhanäyt hämmentävät hieman, mutta kun jatkaa lukemista, pääsee kyllä nopeasti kärryille, mitä ”todellisessa” maailmassa tapahtuu. Välillä myös hypätään muiden kuin Hideon saappaisiin, mikä tuo mukavasti uusia näkökulmia zombie-epidemian leviämiseen. Kyseessä on kuitenkin kaikkialla maailmassa leviävä pandemia, joten on hyvä, että myös muiden maiden kokemuksia väläytellään. Matkan aikana kuvataan muutaman ihmisen yritystä pysytellä hengissä mahdottomassa tilanteessa. Ruokaa ja tarvikkeita on saatava, ja sitä varten on otettava riskejä. Tästä seuraa luonnollisesti se, että myös ihmisten kieroutuneimmat puolet nousevat esiin. Puhumattakaan loppupuolen visioista, jossa zombius kehittyy aivan uudenlaiseksi elämänmuodoksi. Välillä mietin, mitä tabuja Hanazawa oikein on nappaillut, niin häiriintynyttä kamaa sarjassa on mukana. Esimerkiksi pedofilia ja raiskaukset eivät tunnu enää missään sen jälkeen, kun hän on päässyt kunnolla vauhtiin.