My Home Hero

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This is my first review. I just feel like voicing my feelings about this series, as it is the longest manga I've read through and kept my interest throughout the whole runtime. Every week I was checking for a new chapter, as the suspense for where the strory would go kept me on edge. Today as I saw that the final chapter was out, I was filled with a mix of excitement and sadness, looking forward to it's conclusion, yet finishing something I had spend so much time and thought on. And now that it's done, I must say it has been worth it.

I'm not ... going to get into the story, as I think it is best read going into it completely blind. But I'll say it's an emotional rollercoaster that is also very thought provoking, suspenseful and has a good bit of action, so it'll keep you on the edge of your seat. It's very dialogue heavy at points, but if you pay attention and don't mind actually reading, it'll be worth it. In general this series is not lighthearted or something to read just to pass time. It is a story to get invested in and focus on without being distracted.

So if you're looking for a somewhat long series to lose yourself in which provokes thoughts and feelings with a focus on family, morality forgiveness, then this one is definitely worth a shot.

Do you like character-driven dramas where run-of-the-mill underdogs initiate some psychological manipulation and even engage themselves in puppet mastery? Do you not mind if the story takes its time weaving everything into its own place? If you answered yes, then My Home Hero might be one for you.

*A spoiler free preview at 150 chapters*

My Home Hero is not a flashy series in any sense. The characters and events are rooted in mundane life and even the more outlandish elements introduced have never left me feeling they couldn’t exist or happen in the world I know. This is a story about people who have ... different takes on what law and happiness mean to them and that presents blacks, whites and different shades of grey which generate most of the conflict and tension in the story. Our main character Tetsuo is a gentle and boring everyman who ends up fighting giants with his own weapons and making unexpected allies and enemies along the way. All in all, I could say in its core My Home Hero is a family drama with heavy thriller undertones.

Currently My Home Hero has reached a point where Part One and Part Two have been wrapped up. The first part of the story is quite a traditional cat-and-mouse game with rapid plot developments and turns of events. The reader gets to see all the essential points of view of the story, but the focus is always on our main character Tetsuo. The second part of the story burns a lot slower, introduces a myriad of new characters and shifts both the milieu and the focus of the story. Initially I didn’t like the shift because I really enjoyed following Tetsuo’s attempts in Part One to outsmart both the criminals and the cops and steer them away from his trail, but as the second part neared its conclusion I realized what has been happening: while Part One concentrated on showing us how Tetsuo perceived the world around him and reacted to it, Part Two showed us how Tetsuo and his actions looked like through the eyes of other people. It connected past and present and made me feel actions in this story really have consequences, and the impact of those actions could be viewed either horrendous or justifiable, depending on who to ask.

My Home Hero is a story that requires some commitment. You might enjoy the first part and dislike the second or vice versa. The first part of the story is more fast-paced and exiting, while the second part builds more gradually and almost fools you to think it is not as crazy, uncomfortable and brutal as it turns out to be. There are some bumps along the way, but I think the readers patience is always rewarded in the end. The question still remains: is My Home Hero more about going ever higher and higher or falling even deeper and deeper? That, my friends, remains to be seen.

Starts out as a great thriller/mystery, with realistic characters and great pacing. Comparable to a 'Death Note'/'Cat and Mouse' type of vibe between multiple characters.

But somewhere along the road (literally speaking as well), it falls off significantly as the author keeps introducing more characters and subplots. The story continues to 'escalate' (higher stakes technically - but less interesting and more generic), but pacing slows significantly and the rapid fire 'panic moments' at the beginning are replaced with longer, drawn out interactions and events.

As it progresses, the actions of the characters/subplots start to make less sense and the things that happen seem more 'random'. The sense ... of urgency and danger at the beginning fades as the story progreses. It becomes a different story entirely, and slightly loses the thrilling charm it had at the beginning which captivated me. When it was just a friendly, unconfident salaryman into mystery novels willing to do anything to save his daughter and there weren't a million things going on at the same time.