I am a Hero

I am a Hero

A manga about a failing manga artist who must survive a zombie apocalypse with his hunting rifle.

I really have lots of mixed feelings about this manga. We covered the whole series for a Retrospective but looking back this had such an amazingly strong beginning that just fizzled out towards the end. The slow burn reveal of the ZQN is some of the best storytelling I’ve seen in the manga medium. Even as the story starts ramping up, Kengo Hanazawa does a stellar job with creative monster designs and weaving the narrative around an unreliable hero. Unfortunately things start to fall apart towards the last quarter of the story. I think the reused character artwork is really shameless and it’s sad to see.

I would still recommend this series but with the caveat that the ending is nowhere as strong as the beginning is. Available from Dark Horse Comics.

~dakazu

267 – Random Readings 1 – The Pits of Hell

267 – Random Readings 1 – The Pits of Hell

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to record the planned Guest Gaiden with Anne Lee this week. So instead Morgana, Darfox, and dakazu do a prolonged Whatcha Been Reading section to talk lots about Chainsaw ManThe Pits of HellYasuko to KenjiShiyakusho, and other manga!!!

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152 – I am a Hero part 7

152 – I am a Hero part 7

On this episode Seamus talks about going to Worldcon 75 and meeting Yumiko Shirai, creator of WOMBS! Then we finally finish off our retrospective of I am a Hero. We discuss the events of the final chapters, share our favorite story arcs, and give our thoughts about the whole series!(covers chapters 229-264)

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149 – I am a Hero part 6

149 – I am a Hero part 6

On this episode Seamus is eager to read more of Girl’s Last Tour which is similar to BLAME!, we do a quick update on new Chi no Wadachi and BEASTARS chapters, dakazu finishes Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw(Bloody Delinquent Chainsaw) and Inio Asano’s Reiraku, and he checks out a manga adaptation of the hit 2016 Japanese novel I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. Then we return to the world of ZQN with our I am a Hero retrospective! We go over the events that are leading to a big finale in Tokyo and discuss Hideo and Hiromi’s official relationship!(covers chapters 192-228)

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148 – I am a Hero part 5

148 – I am a Hero part 5

This week Seamus is keeping up with BEASTARS, darfox talks about the end of Fairy Tale, we discuss the Hollywood TV adaptations of One Piece and Cowboy Bebop, we praise the casting of Willem Defoe as Ryuk in Netflix’s Death Note, dakazu loves Ono Natsume’s new manga Lady and Oldman but doesn’t like the reboot of Osamu Tezuka’s The Three Eyed One called Mitsume Mokushiroku: Akuma Ouji Sharaku(Three Eyed Apocalypse), and dakazu rants about accepting commissions for scanlations. Then we continue our long retrospective review of I am a Hero and discuss major events that take place during the Hakone Hot Springs arc!!!(covers chapters 156-191)

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147 – I am a Hero part 4

147 – I am a Hero part 4

On this episode we give our opinions on light novels, we discuss the newest chapters of Chi no Wadachi and BEASTARS, dakazu finds Paru Itagaki’s Prototype of BEASTARS called Beast Complex and checks out Restaurant to Another World(Isekai Shokudo), and Seamus and Darfox review the second season of The Eccentric Family. Then we return to our retrospective of I am a Hero! We wrap up the Kurusu-arc and get into the Hakone hot springs-arc!!!(covers chapters 118-155)

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146 – Manga in Motion 19 – I am a Hero Movie

146 – Manga in Motion 19 – I am a Hero Movie

This week we answer an email, we discuss the newest arc in BEASTARS, dakazu finishes Coppelion and watches the Welcome to the Ballroom anime, darfox is looking forward to FLCL2+3, we rejoice in the news of A Silent Voice getting a US theatrical release, and the teaser trailer of the live-action adaptation of BLEACH scrounges up mixed feelings. Then we take a break from our I am a Hero retrospective to check out the live-action adaptation that came out last year. We break down pros and cons of the film and compare it to the manga!

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145 – I am a Hero part 3

145 – I am a Hero part 3

On this episode we answer an email about In Clothes Called Fat, Seamus finds more shiritori in Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, darfox is rewatching Eureka Seven, dakazu finds two bad manga in Rock Me Amadeus and Otogibanashi Battle Royal(Fairy Tale Battle Royale) but loves the world of RAFNAS by WOMBS creator Yumiko Shirai! Then we discuss the new trailer for the Netflix Death Note movie, rejoice in the announcement of the Junji Ito Collection anime, and explain why Welcome to the Ballroom is streaming on Twitch. Finally, we continue our retrospective review of I am a Hero by wrapping up the Gotemba Outlet Mall arc and diving into the Kurusu arc next!!!(covers chapters 82-117)

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143 – I am a Hero part 2

143 – I am a Hero part 2

On this episode we answer an email about Platinum End, darfox gets into tanuki lore for The Eccentric Family, Seamus watches the anime film Red Turtle, dakazu find a violent manga version of the Lion King with Jasmin, and we report on news about the Pluto and Yuri!!! on Ice! Then we get back to our retrospective of I am a Hero!!! We’ll be discussing the translations for the message boards, the plot twist with Hiromi, and the tense Gotemba Outlet Mall arc!(covers chapters 47-81)

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142 – I am a Hero part 1

142 – I am a Hero part 1

This week darfox weighs in on season two of The Eccentric Family, dakazu finishes WOMBS and is still reading Reincarnation no Kaben, we get hyped for our special guest, dakazu discovers the collection of stories from various mangaka based on Parasyte in Neo Kiseijuu and he finds another spin-off of Kaiji in Ichinichi Gaishutsuroku Hanchou! Then we dive into our newest retrospective review for I am a Hero!!! We revisit the beginning of the story, examine the main character Hideo, and discuss what makes this manga stand out from other zombie stories!!!(covers chapters 1-46)

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