Block Mangafesto: I Am A Hero

New manga review (yay)! I hope you enjoy this one.

“I Am a Hero” is a horror manga written and drawn by Kengo Hanazawa. I think a few people know of this manga due to the impressive detail given to each page and panel. The facial expressions alone really give depth to the many characters introduced story wise.
The story follows the character Hideo Suzuki, a manga artist who is struggling to publish his own work while working as another manga artist’s assistant and maintaining a strained relationship with his girlfriend. As I began reading this, I noticed that Hideo is obviously mentally disturbed. He talks with an imaginary man named Yajima, believes he sees faces underneath his bed (and at his apartment window) at night, and often fantasizes how conversations with his co-workers and girlfriend should play out. He also sees himself as the hero of a manga–even though in reality, he’s very strange and awkward.

After returning home from work late one night, Hideo sees a car run into a pedestrian; the accident kills the victim instantly. Surprisingly, after sustaining multiple (and severe) injuries, the victim’s body stands up and walks away. Hideo questions whether or not if the accident is one of his hallucinations but he doesn’t acknowledge it. Soon after the accident, strange and horrifying events begin to happen around Hideo–different parts of Tokyo is either burning or having explosions go off, the Self Defense Force fighting the sudden threat, and people are turning on one another and biting others in an insane rage.

Needless to say, shit goes down in later chapters; there’s 160 chapters that have been translated while the raw goes up to chapter 161-176. I read further ahead and realize that things get extremely weird and twisted as the story goes on. I won’t spoil it any further for you guys. It has a slice of life feel to it as well as psychological drama to roll beside the horror aspect of it. To me, it feels like a “28 Days/Weeks Later” type of story but I could be wrong.
Anyway, here’s the link:

>>>> I Am A Hero<<<<
Thanks for reading and tune in again! 🙂