I am a hero is, at first glance, pretty mediocre. In the first few chapters, we get to know mediocre characters, who lead mediocre lives, have mediocre problems. Our "hero" is an (almost) average guy with some mental problems, and anyone can easily see that he is not a hero. He isn't even supposed to be a main character. Main characters are dependable, good-willed and most of all, they have determination. This may not be the case for every genre, but in the end, we all want our main characters to be role models, right?

Back to our hero. After he and his mediocre girlfriend get into a fight, he decides to make it up to her. She doesn't answer his calls, so he decides to stop by, and finds her lying on her bed.


You are now entering the world of awkward survival horror.

The true power of this manga lies in its ability to put a mediocre character in a crapsack world, and instead of the regular 'rise to greatness', the world remains a shithole, and our hero remains unlikeable. Well, not entirely, but there are better people to end up with in an apocalypse. Up until now, he has made me cringe more often than Bleach characters get their powers back, although in current chapters he becomes quite a bit more reliable. Remaining silent about the apocalypse because you are afraid to speak up in public isn't exactly the heroic thing to do. Neither is ducking so the girl behind you becomes the victim (while yelling/thinking "I am a hero" at that). Still, these moments are what make the manga and the main character so thoroughly interesting.

Precisely for this reason, the story and our hero's personality are allowed to progress or regress as much as the author wants. Since the hero does not 'need' moments of glory, there really is no need to give him any, and this manga remains strangely realistic (although I don't think anyone would recite the laws concerning weapon possession in these situations). That really is a good thing. Many aspects of it have already been covered in other similar stories: People are used, deceived, thrown aside, as would probably be the case if this were to happen in real life. If you're a woman in a group of male survivors, how far should you go to survive? What if you have superior firepower but are on your own? Would you be willing to kill? To sacrifice yourself? These and similar questions arise quickly, as humanity's downfall will invite many to take justice into own hands. The author provides us with quite realistic answers.

The art is at first (you guessed it) quite mediocre. This may have even been done purposefully. However, if you're willing to sit out a few chapters of average character design, the body horror will make up for it. The author really went all out with this, with surrealism rivaling that of Uzumaki.

All in all, if you're up for some awkward moments with an surrealism on the side, portrayed by a realistic yet delusional hero, I can really recommend this manga. After all, the true heroes are the ones that can survive, aren't they?