I Am a Hero - Vol. 20 Ch. 236

[MangaDex]

 

[Aphex]

It seems people who have closed off their hearts are hard to infect
Fuck, that explains everything, and makes it so sad

 

[Muzulsy]

and that how some selfish neet didnt got infection

 

[slypy]

sweet, the way to not get infected is to just be a selfish sociopathic prick

 

[Vainfire]

So this is the second, more contrived explanation for why NEETs are the main group of survivors (the first being the "vectors for infection" thing that got brought up like 100 chapters ago). Give it a moment of thought and yeah, it does mean that most survivors are going to be self-centered assholes, but like, most protagonists in most zombie fiction are self-centered assholes, it's just that self-centered assholery tends to get celebrated and treated like heroism. It's nice that we're back to the commentary on the zombie survival genre and the implicit humanity/pathos of monsters, even if it did take several dozen chapters of BS to get here.

 

[AnotherRat]

Cool

 

[ShirtPerson]

I'm having a little trouble understanding, why is hiromi so sad?

 

[Esroodie]

So is hideo still a selfish asshole or since he decided to stop running does that make him more keen to be infected.

 

[AnimuVsMango]

all will become one

So it's Phyrexia, then?

 

[TkoHarley]

I think I get the message now. The zombies become unified, and then all individuality ceases. They form one being, one mind. This mind experiences all emotions and memories equally. This means it doesn't really experience any emotions. No solitude, no joy, no pain, no anger. Just nothing.

It is ironically just like being a self-accepted neet. Shutting yourself away and forgoing connections just to be comfortable. There is no difference between Hiromi inside that nest, and Hideo hiding inside his apartment at the start of the series. The Hive preaches connection and unity, but you can't be connected without there being people different from you. You'll just end up alone, a neuron in a massive brain.

This is what everything in the story has been leading towards. Hideo's lack of emotional response to Oda and his girlfriend. Hiromi's hate of people. The violence that people commit against each other. Oda's refusal to lose her sense of self. It's all about having the courage to exist in a world with people that you don't know. To form connections with others who are different from you.

I'm hoping Hiromi realizes this and chooses to exist with Hideo as separate people.