I Am A Hero #15

Great news with the release of volume 15 of Kengo Hanazawa's (花沢健吾) I Am A Hero, with the movie adaptation announced to hit cinemas in 2015.

It is set to star Yo Oizumi (大泉洋) as struggling manga artist turned hero, Hideo Suzuki (鈴木英雄). I'm not familiar with Oizumi's work at all. He has featured in a huge amount of TV dramas, and variety programs as well as regularly appearing in movies. If you've seen the original Japanese cast version of Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) or Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動き城) you would have heard his voice. He was one of the main staff members at the bathhouse in Spirited Away, and also the Prince and Turnip Head in Howl's Moving Castle.

Kasumi Arimura (有村架純) is set to star as school girl Hiromi (比呂美). Kasumi is a young actress who has featured recently in several popular TV dramas, and is looking to establish herself as a movie actress well. Masami Nagasawa (長澤まさみ) is a more established actress taking on the role of Yabu (藪) a.k.a. Tsugumi Oda (小田つぐみ). You might have seen her work if you've seen the film adaptations of Gaku (岳) and Moteki (モテキ), both worth checking out.

The story covered so far is probably too much for one movie, so I can see the Kurusu (来栖) Gang story arc not being included for now. I don't want to give anything away for those that haven't read this yet, but the movie will probably deal with the initial outbreak, and the story from the outlet mall. I'm really looking forward to it, I'll let you know once a trailer or any footage has been released.

I Am A Hero #14

It's a good week for zombie fans Japan this week in Japan, Hulu Japan start showing the second half of Season 4 of The Walking Dead from Thursday, and the volume 14 of Kengo Hanazawa's I Am A Hero was released.

The cover illustration shows off some fan service, as the protagonists (Hideo, Hiromi, and Oda) find themselves cornered in an onsen in Hakone and decide to make the best of the situation by taking a relaxing soak. I'm still a bit undecided about how I feel about the unexpected turn of events, I won't spoil things here, but it's odd to say the least.

I Am A Hero has been out paced by The Walking Dead, and upstaged by The Last of Us, but still feel it's a worthy read for those looking for more zombies.

Follow Kengo Hanzawa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanamanko

I Am A Hero #13

Last weekend I just picked up and took a bite out of the latest volume of Kengo Hanazawa's (花沢健吾) zombie series I Am A Hero (アイアムアヒーロー). At the end of volume 12 we left Kurusu and his gang searching for survivors and a safer hideout at the local school, and this volume picks up the original group of survivors, struggling manga artist Hideo Suzuki, semi-infected school girl Hiromi, and nurse Yabu.

I've mentioned before the similarities to few other popular zombie franchises, the central characters' resemblance to the otaku Kondo Tatsumi from Max Brooks' World War Z, and the theme of immunity which is explored in Naughty Dog's PS3 classic, The Last Of Us. But with I Am A Hero starting in 2009, The Last Of Us only being released earlier this year, and the Japaense language edition of World War Z didn't hit stands until April 2010, and resemblance in story is purely co-incidental.

This definitely one of my favourite series in 2013, it manages to stay fresh among the proliferation of similarly themed zombie media. Kengo Hanazawa's sense of humour keeps the mood light, but the zombie action is brutal enough to please the most discerning zombie connoisseur.

Kengo Hanazawa's website: http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~hanaman/
Kengo Hanazawa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanamanko
I Am A Hero Official: http://spi-net.jp/rensai_sakuhin/i_am_a_hero/index.html

I Am A Hero #12

The latest installment of I Am A Hero hit the bookshelves a few weeks ago. Issue 12 wraps up the introduction to the second group survivors including the mentally unstable and ultra-violent Kurusu (来栖).

The safety of the group's hideout becomes exposed after a break in by a wandering zombie, aka ZQN. And tension builds within the group as they argue about where to move.

We see several characters, like Hiromi from the first story line and Kurusu from the second story line, who manage to maintain some of their humanity and do not full succumb to the illness. With slurred speech but an inhumane strength and love of violence, these characters hold the key for the survivors, and future of the series.

These meme of immune and semi-immune carriers is slowly establishing itself as a zombie plot device. From 28 Weeks Later, to the current PS3 hit The Last Of Us, and now I Am A Hero. I mentioned this after the release of volume 11, but I'm really hoping to see this series picked up for a movie adaptation.

I Am A Hero #11

Following up after being awarded the 58th Shogakkan Manga Prize (小学館漫画賞) in the general public section (一般向け部門) comes volume 11 of Kengo Hanazawa's I Am A Hero. Previous winners of the prize include Space Brothers (宇宙兄弟), Gaku (岳), 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) and Monster (モンスター).

This volume continues the second story line of Takashi Ezaki after he is rescued and taken to the hideout of Kurusu (来栖) and his group in Saitama. Kurusu is mentally unstable, and revels in the lawless anarchy of the zombie apocalypse, with little regard for the life of his fellow survivors. Although in the uncertainty of their situation, his penchant for violence is regarded as a necessary skill by the others in the group. Kowashi is the most realistic and level headed of the group, and acts as a default leader. Tomabechi acts as the scientist of the group, he runs the wireless radio, in which we find out that other groups of survivors are Japan are aware that the group at the shopping mall have have been overrun by ZQN (The name given to the zombies based on DQN which is Japanese netspeak for delinquent.).

One of the problems faced by mangaka is that the real world also changes during the time the story is told. The first time I noticed this was while reading Space Brothers, the story relies on the continuation of NASA's manned spaced flight which has seen a dramatic decline in funding since the series started. As for I Am A Hero which started in 2009, the 2011 Eastern Japanese Earthquake didn't occur, and as such, the nuclear power stations are still operational in the world of I Am A Hero.

I'm a resident of Fukushima, and after the initial explosions at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there were several weeks where it seemed like we were living in a zombie infested society. A sense of panic ran under the surface, and everyone was forced to stay inside with dwindling supplies of food. Electricity, water, and internet were still available in the area I was in, but a lack of petrol meant that use of the car was for life threatening situations only. Thankfully after several weeks, services returned to normal.

We see the same thing in I Am A Hero. Some people are holding out hope that the situation will soon be brought under control, and government services will be resumed. But there is a group of individuals who didn't fit into regular society and are more suited to the uncertainties, and want to build a new society from the ground up.

Links:
Kengo Hanazawa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanamanko
I Am A Hero Official Site: http://spi-net.jp/rensai_sakuhin/i_am_a_hero/index.html

I Am A Hero #10

I spend the last few days getting up to date with I Am A Hero. Volume 10 was released in November. Already securing a release in France, Italy and Spain, I wonder how far behind the English release is, especially if they want to capitalize on the popularity of The Walking Dead.

Volumes 7-8 finish up the Governor-esque story arc of Sango and his goons at the outlet mall. We see Hideo and "Yabu" searching for medical treatment for Hiromi.

There is a huge contrast between a zombie invasion in Japan, and those we are used to seeing on the Hollywood screen. And unfortunately recent events in America bring that more into focus. But the distinct lack of firepower in Japan calls for a much more cautious approach.

We have seen the zombies develop into the fast zombies of Walking Dead/28 Days Later. But there is also the emergence of repetitive behaviors from their past lives that dominates the zombies actions.

In the world of I Am A Hero a large part of city infrastructure survives intact. The large numbers of Shut-ins (引きこもり) whilst avoiding the dangers outside, have seen their rooms as cages in which they are trapped, and reach out through the still functioning internet for any help that is available. Volume 10 ends with a small group of survivors entering a home and freeing a shut-in boy.

I'm looking forward to seeing the interaction of Hideo and the new group in the coming year. I'm hoping we can see a movie adaption of this sometime in 2013.

More info:
I Am A Hero Official Site: http://spi-net.jp/rensai_sakuhin/i_am_a_hero/index.html
Kengo Hanazawa's Site: http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~hanaman/
Kengo Hanazawa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanamanko

I Am A Hero #6

This is one series that I've been reading electronically through my Sony Reader, and since the digital form of manga distribution is still in its infancy, it can take a will while for the digital version to catch up with the print version. Only the first 5 volumes of I Am A Hero are available online, so when I found myself stuck at the station the other day, I picked up volume 6 in paperback.

We often see with zombie series that continue long enough, that there is some evolution, whether it's George A Romero's zombies slowly developing and regaining some cognitive abilities, the 28 Days/Weeks later series where we see carriers of the Rage virus who don't turn.

The zombies in I Am A Hero are more the fast 28 Days Later, super aggressive zombies. I hope this is not too much of a plot spoiler, but after one of the main characters, Hiromi Hayakari is bitten by a zombie baby, she has some immunity to the virus and although she develops a speech and physical disability, she lacks the classic zombie brain crazing. This gives the group hope that infection is not a death sentence, and a cure is possible. I'm very interested to see how the story develops now that keeping Hiromi alive is one of the central story threads.

More info:
Kengo Hanazawa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanamanko
I Am A Hero website: http://spi-net.jp/rensai_sakuhin/i_am_a_hero/index.html

I Am A Hero

The latest zombie wave is sweeping through Japan, although like The Walking Dead, the Z word seems to be forbidden. I've just finished the 3rd volume of this series and no one has thought to mention that the flesh eating violent former deceased are what we commonly refer to as Zombies.

With a cast of characters with unique idiosyncrasies, I originally pegged this series as a Japanese take on Shaun on the Dead. Nerdy guy saves the day, and becomes zombie apocalypse hero. But since the protagonists girlfriend becomes one of the first zombies we encounter in the book, with no princess to save, and due to the comic roots, it's definitely a Japanese take on The Walking Dead.

In I Am A Hero, the zombie apocalypse here is not quiet so total as most other outbreaks, some basic services remain online and available to the survivors.The internet plays a large role in the story, and it'll be interesting to see how the plague develops in a technological advanced society. And I often thought that large urban centers would would be the first places to succumb to chaos, but have you ever seen a zombie climb a staircase or take an elevator? Maybe the metropolis of high rises would be the ideal place to defend and rebuild.

My favourite new series, and it already has publication in Italy and France, hopefully we can see an English realase soon, and I wonder if there are any young Japanese movie directors putting their hands up to direct this.