I AM A HERO IN NAGASAKI Reviewed 21 May 2022 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0001001.png I am a hero in Nagasaki is a spinoff of the ever beloved I am a Hero comic. Set in Nagasaki it follows a young man named Yamada and young woman named Aya at the start of the outbreak and throughout the story we set out to find out what a hero really is. And if a single failure determines your character. 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0001020.png So Yamada is a young man in his late teens who quit high school in his first year and is now an amateur photographer. he hangs on to the dream that he had with his childhood friend with whom he has a bittersweet relationship as a result of an incident that occurred in that first year. Aya by contrast is a popular high school girl with prodigal talent for physical activities. following the zombie outbreak she decides to become a hero as a a way of atoning for ending the life of a dear friend. 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0001027.png So at the point when they meet up we have two characters that are seemingly opposite but enjoy a mutually beneficial friendship. Even though Yamada continues to be pathetic his faith in the idea of a hero is restored by Ayas actions. And Aya for her part gets to enjoy the role of hero because protecting Yamada means that killing the zombies is a necessary act and not just needlessly ending lives. Unfortunately this premise and the way that it is developed is just so completely and utterly boring. 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0001031.png Unlike the other spinoff I am a Hero in Osaka the narrative focus here is Yamada and how his past and present combine to restore his lost ideals. This is ok. its not exactly exciting but itll do. After all Im just here to see zombies get killed. As the story goes on its revealed to the reader that a bullying incident involving his friend is what made Yamada the man he is today. Im not gonna go into much detail about the incident but just know that it couldnt have been more clich if it tried. Normally this isnt a problem but with the amount of time and dialogue awarded to this uninteresting and frankly poorly executed storyline it becomes a real problem. The longer it goes on the more flaws you recognise. And for such a short comic it goes on a lot longer than it should. Which is how it lends itself to the second problem... 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0003022.png The lack of action. Part of the reason why so much of this review is levied against the the plot its development etc is because thats really all there is to it. Which is a shame considering that the comics best moments are when we actually take time away from Yamados thoughts to Aya killing zombies or even the antagonist just being a bad person. literally any scene involving those two is infinitely better but the moments are far and few in between. And even then its not like theyre all great or even good. A lot of them tend to be just barely above mediocre. 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0005005.png At this point we may as well talk about the main antagonist naked guy Naked guy isnt just naked hes also ruthlessly evil and very inconsistent. He starts out as an eccentric character playing off of Yamados harsh realism. But as we see more and more of him its clear that hes simply written to be the big bad and a lot of what he stands for is left severely undeveloped. Whole layers of his character are simply unexplored as we seemingly rush off for an ending. 220https://scanscomplete.hydaelyn.us/manga/IAmAHeroInNagasaki/0007022.png And thats really all there is to it. A lot of ambiguous moralising that leads nowhere fast. The art is probably what a lot of people would commend this title for but it really isnt enough to make up for this absolutely horrible read. If intent on reading this maybe set it aside for an afternoon or evening but be warned that your reward for reading this is merely frustration and disappointment.