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I am a hero is an amazing manga. It follows thirty-five year Hideo Suzuki who constantly feels as if he is being sidelined within his own life, and all he craves is to be the main character, a hero, of just himself.

The story is extremely character driven and personally I think a slow-burn. It doesn't have awesome fights with interesting tactics, it's just a guy who was lucky enough to carry a gun the day the world ended and him figuring out what to do from there. The art isn't sub-par but it certainly isn't amazing either. It never takes away from the story, moreover ... the panelling is one of the best experiences I had while reading and elevates the way you read and take in the world so much. Plot developments are interesting and keep you on your toes throughout the whole read and are paced relatively well barely feeling boring or like you've been stuck dragging on the same story beats over and over. (beside what some people may say about the beginning, that I personally disagree with.)

The characters feel real, human and like they actually exist. I mean the main character is just some loser, it can't get any more real than that. It can switch to other characters views with relative ease and show what's happening within the world and how it's changed the daily life for the remaining survivors. Though sometimes these change of perspectives can be meaningless, they are still very interesting. The horror is also done very well and simply. The horror is basically just the fact you're in a zombie apocalypse and everything is going to shit, thus it feels real. The actual horror elements are there, especially with the typical seinen overuse of weird and bizarre gore but overall it's practically just the realness of it all.

The manga is not without it's faults obviously. I've heard people say things about not liking the art style, though I think that doesn't matter too much, especially when the panelling is so great. I feel like there are many missed opportunities within plot points however. For example Hideo has some form of schizophrenia and it vastly improves the horror aspect in the beginning but it disappears soon after for a large quantity of the manga and I feel as if it could've added some type of physiological horror aspect and given a different interesting, atmosphere. Hideo effectively becomes a kingdom with an entire army by being one of the very few with a gun within this apocalypse, but him going from what he considers a 'side character' to a 'main character' are rarely explored despite him saying so much about what he wishes in the beginning. He could've been someone who goes from a loser to stuck up, entitled but ultimately realizing that's not going to help him survive, or maybe he'd never realize. Nonetheless, I just wish more was done with those plot points a bit.