I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 4 (I am a Hero Omnibus, #4) by Kengo Hanazawa

I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 4 (I am a Hero Omnibus, #4) Reviews

• 
  Chad

  The first half of this suffers from the trope of "The real monsters in a zombie apocalypse are humans". In the second half Hiromi finally uses that friggin shotgun he's carried around all this time which was pretty great. The real problem with this book is that none of the characters are very likeable. I do really like how the zombies are designed though.
• 
  Ronald

  Except for some really bad exposition and attempts at character building for people that are unlikely to live to the end of a chapter, this was good. The two volumes in this Omnibus are almost totally action and a lot is drawn like you were a player in a first person shooter video game. The art was great but overly dark in places like there was a sale on ink at the art store.
  
  But seriously, the zombies are smarter and less crazy than the humans in this encampment.
• 
  Rod Brown

  The series picks up as the protagonist actually starts firing his gun in earnest and the story gains a little more focus. Bonus points for having some of the most bizarre zombies I've seen.
• 
  Alex

  I think this will be the final omnibus I read of this series. It's just not terribly interesting, and the main character is gross and infantile in his thoughts. Which might be the point, but I'm honestly tired of the "gross, nerdy, woe-is-me a woman will never love me" dude in his mid-thirties trope. I think there are a lot of little nuggets in here, especially considering a zombie apocalypse in ultra-polite societal Japan, but the manga just isn't getting there for me. And considering these aren't individual volumes, but rather omnibus collections, the manga should have already gotten there at this point. The art, especially the zombies, is really goo too, which makes this kind of like a double disappointment.
• 
  Katrina Millado

  Looooved this!!! I love zombie stuff! Need the 5th book ASAP
• 
  Grg

  Some absolute masterful storytelling here, especially with the building of tension and the action scenes, (also it was great seeing Hideo rise to the occasion for once) , but other parts were so epically disturbing, it will take me a lifetime to scrub them from my memory.
• 
  Lisa Lynch

  So, I read the first three I Am a Hero Omnibuses and decided to take a break. I found that I wasn't loving these books. But, I was enjoying them because the main character is fascinating. However, I felt the narrative progression in the series was "as slow as a well-rotted zombie".
  
  I'm currently reading Chuck Wendig's 800 page post-apocalyptic epic Wanderers, and I wanted something quick to read along with it, so I decided to return to I Am a Hero.
  
  I am so glad I did. I LOVED this volume!
  
  Up until now, our protagonist, Hideo, (whose name in kanji translates to "hero"), has utterly failed at being the hero he wants to be. Hideo is unique in that he owns a gun in Japan, which is a rare thing. He is also unique in that he is crazy. Not aggressive, evil crazy. More of weird, nerdy crazy. In the previous books, Hideo has hallucinated this boy Yajima who seems to be a contradiction to his own subconscious.
  
  In Volume 4, Hideo doesn't hallucinate anything, but there is this brilliant scene where he straight up has a conversation with his own hands. Hideo has been sort of kidnapped by these outlaws who live on the rooftops. They are your standard post-apocalyptic "bad guys" who abuse women, ruthlessly kill anyone in their way, and take whatever they want however they want to take it.
  
  Hideo is forced to join a supply run. His gun was taken from him, but shit hits the fan real quick due to the ineptitude of the bad guys who fire Hideo's shotgun, which leads all the zombies within earshot right to them. Hideo manages to not only survive the first round of zombies that find their group, but he also manages to get his gun and bullets back.
  
  Up until this point in the series, Hideo has, like I said, failed at being a hero. But now, when faced with life or death, he has a choice to make. Does he give up and die? Or fight? Not knowing what to do, Hideo consults his hands. This is their conversation:
  
  

  Hideo: Master... what should I do?
  Hands: Hm. Why not fight while you're still able to?
  Hideo: No. There's no way, actually.
  Hands: But you're going to die, anyway, so why not?
  Hideo: Huh. That's true.
  Hands: You wanted to become a hero, didn't you?
  Hideo: I did say that, but I'm not good with people depending one me.
  Hands: True.
  Hideo: There's nobody to see me fight, either...
  Hands: Then you may as well just stay here.

  
  
  But, in less than a minute, Hideo gets bored waiting to die, so he wanders out and finds another survivor.
  
  And this is when Hideo changes. He fumbles around a bit at first, but FINALLY turns into the hero he always wanted to be. I think this moment for Hideo was all that much more powerful because we had seen him fail so many times. And the fact that he comes to terms with the fact that nobody is there to see him be a hero is pretty awesome. What a great character arc!
  
  I also like the humor in these books. For example, when Hideo gets his gun and bullets back, he begins counting them, realizing that 3 are missing. Hideo immediately worries about what the police are going to think of his irresponsibility. We've seen this sentiment from Hideo before. He constantly worries about things (like the police or paying for groceries) that should no longer concern him. But I find his inability to accept that the world has changed endearing.
  
  There is another funny part of this book that I want to mention. The zombies in this world mimic their human selves to an extent, and there is this pantsless zombie running around their rooftop camp, practicing the high jump. We get several images of him jumping for the roof and totally biffing it. But when he finally makes that jump... at exactly the right time... it was brilliant and funny and I honestly laughed out loud.
  
  There is so much more going on in this book than what I have mentioned, but you should just read it for yourself.
  
  I loved this volume. It is the strongest one in the series so far. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars and I can't wait for the next one.
  
  Do I recommend this series? Yes. They are quick to read, the artwork is great, and Hideo is a great protagonist. If you like comedic horror or zombies, then I think you should give Kengo Hanazawa's I Am a Hero a shot.
• 
  Jake

  ** On reread, this volume is even better. Hideo alongside a group of survivors gives a lot of time for interplay. Plus, we get to see how society is breaking down, which is often the most interesting part of any zombie story. Best volume of the series so far!**
  
  This volume was amazing! The action and plot momentum really began moving, it was interesting seeing Hideo and his group interact with another group of survivors. We also get some great kernels of information on the "zombies" and how they are effecting Japan.
  
  This was the most action packed volume yet. It was a little lighter on the horror elements, but still has some really chilling moments. You also finally get to see Hideo's gun get used, and used well.
  
  I am not certain where the story will be going from this volume, but I can say I cannot wait. This volume ended avoiding many of the plot traps and huge stalls that I see in many zombie stories, the group for example is not going to spend volume after volume in tedious tension with the survivors on the mall.
• 
  Fifi ♡

  I still am very clueless as to what’s holding the main character back from putting his safety first above all. He’s still pretty conscious of his morals even when he’s seen first hand how the infected literally rip the faces off of other people. Also, what’s with everybody’s cluelessness of the situation…people are clearly feral and rabid, though that’s my only gripe. I always have to remind myself that their world isn’t the same as the circumstances in ours and maybe they haven’t heard of zombies. I don’t know, the lack of agency of the characters here bugs me—at least that one initially uninfected guy in the newsroom took the lead. But then again maybe this is a theme, maybe Hideo-kun is meant to be like that, maybe this serves as an important part of the plot, it’s too early to tell.
  
  I love the zombies though—the facial expressions, their little still humane mannerisms and tendencies. I can’t wait to read more of this manga >:)
• 
  Craig Schorling

  The first half of this volume feels a little similar to other zombie stories. People are the real monsters here. Not that it is bad, but it isn't very original. The second half though, is where we see Hideo finally start to live up to the title of the series. We meet a lot of characters in this volume and they are a mix of likeable to detestable. The art is absolutely terrific. The facial expressions and progression panels are terrific. This is just a wildly fun read.
• 
  Nevaeh V.

  Honestly after the third omnibus i was losing interest in the manga but this one made it interesting again. Seeing Hideo meet other people and getting to see how theyre making it through this apocalypse is interesting even if i dont agree with their ways. I also feel like compared to the other omnibuses this one had more gruesome artwork which i hope to see more. I really liked the scene where Iura gouged his own eyes out, very grotesque and cool.
• 
  Mark Will Never Cry

  This volume was the fastest read so far, mostly because it just kinda went fast. It was not the most enjoyable tho. We left behind the photographer and picked up the nurse, but we will probably lose her in the next one and get someone new according to the formula so far. This one felt way more serious than the previous ones, but I have no clue why that would be the case. Anyway, this one was pretty okay.
• 
  Lou Fillari

  I love this manga. This is the fourth omnibus and they have successively gotten better. Meaning more interesting, I guess? Better. They're better.
  
  I don't expect this trend to continue but that's fine because 4 set the bar pretty high so dropping it down moderately to Omnibus 3 levels is acceptable.
• 
  Vivian

  DAMN this volume was so good. I like how these chapters show how this zombie apocalypse has changed people so much by showing how the outlet mall community goes downhill, also Hideo learns how to be more of a hero and starts to change for the better using his gun and making the nurse girl his ally.
• 
  Shy Kuzonoha

  This time around it felt as though they slowed things down a bit to build up the zombies characters, which really interesting. There is a seen in particular that would never forget, and I think will stay with me forever... if wasn't invested before... I'm invested more than ever.
• 
  Kam-Hung Soh

  Hideo, Hiromi and Araki join survivors of the zombie plague inside a shopping centre. Of course, things go bad quickly since shopping centres aren't designed to keep zombies at bay and the survivors find that fighting zombies isn't as easy as playing a video game.
• 
  Theresa

  I'm not a fan of the whole "dystopian dictatorship settlement" trope in post-apocalyptic fiction but thankfully it doesn't look like it's going to be dragged out past this volume and there really wasn't any lag in the excitement .
• 
  David Roberts

  Great volume, picks up the pace from the pervious volumes less than stellar ending. Gives us an insight into the workings of the virus and some great action sequences that will no doubt lead to some 'soul searching' moments in the next volume.
• 
  Sebastien

  Not much happened story wise in this book. a lot of pages about shooting the zqns .
• 
  Sarah

  Despite the grossness of the images, I still find it super interesting to watch the zombie apocalypse AS it is happening. You always wonder how the human faction that remains will handle the chaos.
• 
  Kevin

  Best of the series so far.
• 
  ダンカン

  Volume four introduce more characters, its faster and much more suspenseful. While there isn't much to talk about on this volume, all I can say is this is one unique zombie manga read.
• 
  Matthew Kelley

  I am enjoying this much more than the Walking Dead.
• 
  Anubhav

  Top tier horror/action manga. Loving every page, every panel, every little stroke of ink.
• 
  Kristin

  Boring volume.