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I Am A Hero Zombie Horror Manga Approaches 'Climax'
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The NHK documentary television series Urasawa Naoki no Manben reported on Thursday that Kengo Hanazawa's I am a Hero zombie horror manga is approaching its climax, although it did not provide a definitive date for the manga's conclusion.
The manga's story centers on Hideo Suzuki. Hideo is an aspiring manga creator who once struggled with discontent with his assistant artist job and his relationship with his girlfriend — until people started turning into undead "ZQN" creatures overnight. After he is attacked by his ZQN virus-infected girlfriend "Tekko," Hideo flees the overrun Tokyo metropolis with the shotgun he happens to own as a hobby. He travels with Hiromi, a high school girl whom he meets by chance, and they face the desperate situation with the help of a nurse named Yabu at a shopping mall.
Hanazawa launched the manga in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits magazine in 2009. Shogakukan released the manga's 18th compiled book volume last November, and will release the 19th volume on March 15. The manga's compiled book volumes have over 4 million copies in print. Dark Horse Comics will release the manga in North America starting in April. Yuuki Honda (Tokyo Yamimushi) launched an Osaka-based spinoff manga last June, which ended last December.
A live-action film adaptation of the manga starring Yō Ōizumi, Kasumi Arimura, and Masami Nagasawa will open in Japan on April 23. A live-action television drama prequel to the film will premiere on Docomo's dTV streaming service on April 9, 14 days before the film's opening. The film premiered at the 48th Sitges Film Festival in Catalonia, Spain last October, and it won the Grand Audience Award and Award for Best Special Effects.
