I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 2

I Am a Hero Omnibus, Volume 2

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  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-10-19 08:53:52
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Kengo Hanazawa
  • ISBN:1506700195
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

Collecting two of the original Japanese volumes into each Dark Horse edition, this value-priced excursion into the world's weirdest zombie apocalypse is not to be missed! Having escaped being eaten by his zombie girlfriend and torn apart by his infected co-workers, Hideo Suzuki continues to head away from civilization and the bloodthirsty hordes taking over Japan。 In a "suicide forest" that winds up being just as dangerous as the city, Hideo finds a young girl who needs help and who could also help him more than he realizes! The zombie apocalypse has never been more surreal! Collects the original Japanese I Am a Hero Japanese volumes 3 and 4。

"I Am a Hero is probably the greatest zombie manga ever。 It has the slow buildup of a psychological horror manga, but when the zombies hit, they hit hard, and the manga accelerates into volumes-long fight-or-flight sequences that seem like they'll never stop。" -Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide

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Reviews

Fifi ♡

About time he gains consciousness of his gun’s presence

Julia Sapphire

Much better than the first volume。 Character development is happening and I'm enjoying the art style。 This volume also discusses the Suicide Forest which was very interesting!! Much better than the first volume。 Character development is happening and I'm enjoying the art style。 This volume also discusses the Suicide Forest which was very interesting!! 。。。more

Gabloops

Okay so I will say that this 2nd omnibus was not as great as the 1st。 The first omnibus blew me away and slammed my face in the door repeatedly, this one didnt have that same feel at all。 Hideo is still funny and so so Japanese。 By that I mean dude is literally apologizing to undead when he rushes by and pushes them over lol。 But it just felt like this one was lacking a lot of what I loved so much in the first。 And there was also a lot more of those parts where characters were acting a certain w Okay so I will say that this 2nd omnibus was not as great as the 1st。 The first omnibus blew me away and slammed my face in the door repeatedly, this one didnt have that same feel at all。 Hideo is still funny and so so Japanese。 By that I mean dude is literally apologizing to undead when he rushes by and pushes them over lol。 But it just felt like this one was lacking a lot of what I loved so much in the first。 And there was also a lot more of those parts where characters were acting a certain way or saying things that I had no fucking clue what they were talking about。 It felt like the writer was adding a lot of inside jokes that only like him and his brother or something would understand if you get that feeling。 I wonder if a lot was just lost to translation?? It almost feels like images are missing at times, I doubt they are though。Also I'm quite disappointed that the cover lied to me! I didn't see a single penguin。I still definitely plan to continue reading the series, but I won't be continuing with as much gusto as previously expected。 。。。more

Candice Snow

I was surprised by how much of the issues I had with the first installment was greatly improved upon in this omnibus。 I think a lot of that had to deal with the ease in which I picked up on the satirical nature of Japanese culture through Hideo's overly polite nature literally amidst a zombie apocalypse。 It also started a wolf-and-cub arc (my favorite trope!!!) with the addition of a schoolgirl now in Hideo's care。 I didn't even mind the ugly art style because most of the frames had zombies in t I was surprised by how much of the issues I had with the first installment was greatly improved upon in this omnibus。 I think a lot of that had to deal with the ease in which I picked up on the satirical nature of Japanese culture through Hideo's overly polite nature literally amidst a zombie apocalypse。 It also started a wolf-and-cub arc (my favorite trope!!!) with the addition of a schoolgirl now in Hideo's care。 I didn't even mind the ugly art style because most of the frames had zombies in them, so they're supposed to be unsightly。 。。。more

Yancy Eam

A good continuation of what came before。 Maybe some hints at more development with the main hero。 Some more hints about what is going on with the world at the end were interesting。 Some crazy sequences with the crazy looking zombies were horrific。 Overall a good continuation of I Am A Hero。 4/5 stars。

Rose Camara

The story continues as Hideo becomes fully aware of the situation around him。 Compared to the previous volume the story stagnated a bit with the introduction of a new character and their backstory (which wasn’t all that interesting)。 Its still full of action, amazing panels, and good pacing。 Looking forward to v3。 :)

Daniel Fernández

Sí, se puede ser más pollino

Juan Carlos malik

BRUTALMENTE SANGRIENTO, LLENO DE ACCIÓN, ZOMBIES Y ASESINATOS TAN MALVADOS, LLENOS DE SENTIMIENTOS。JUEGOS DE ODIO Y AMISTADES Y CIUDADES DEVASTADAS GRAN HISTORIA DE ZOMBIES。

Ron Turner

I liked the zombies but the story is too surreal and weird for me。

AMITY

If you need adrenaline at all hours of the day or night, read this series。 I love the main character so much despite his flaws, and because of his flaws, this story works out perfectly。 This might be one of the grossest body-horror mangas ever。 The infected are full of veins, they twist their bodies in horrible ways, some are eyeless, toothless creatures, and they have become something other than human。 All to say: I love it。I can’t wait to see where this goes, I just can’t。

Uhuru Bamuingi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 Ok。 After reading through the first omnibus I have finally decided that Hideo Suziki is stupid。 Ha ha。 It’s not even funny at this part in the story。 He is running around with his legal shotgun and afraid to use it during the zombie apocalypse。 After meeting the school age Hayakari Hiromi he still shows hesitation。 The art is good。

Chad

This is an odd series。 Some scenes are super intense followed by long stretches of nothing happening。 The main character is mentally ill and suffers from hallucinations。 I don't find that element of the story very compelling。 There's very little indication what really happened and what was in Hideo's mind。 There's a lot of body horror in this。 The zombies walk and run in different ways often scurrying across things like bugs。 It's creepy as all get out。 I would like to see some rules established This is an odd series。 Some scenes are super intense followed by long stretches of nothing happening。 The main character is mentally ill and suffers from hallucinations。 I don't find that element of the story very compelling。 There's very little indication what really happened and what was in Hideo's mind。 There's a lot of body horror in this。 The zombies walk and run in different ways often scurrying across things like bugs。 It's creepy as all get out。 I would like to see some rules established of how zombies can be killed in this world as it's not clear that a head shot is the way to kill them。 。。。more

Jon Ureña

Four stars in general, four and a half for a zombie story。The author took his sweet time introducing the zombie aspect of the narrative: it happens at the very end of the first volume。 But he had the right idea, because that allows his characters to react in idiosyncratic ways to the all too common threat of being chomped to death by a diseased pseudo corpse。 Spoilers for the previous volume and for the plot developments to come: the protagonist visits his girlfriend’s apartment only for her ani Four stars in general, four and a half for a zombie story。The author took his sweet time introducing the zombie aspect of the narrative: it happens at the very end of the first volume。 But he had the right idea, because that allows his characters to react in idiosyncratic ways to the all too common threat of being chomped to death by a diseased pseudo corpse。 Spoilers for the previous volume and for the plot developments to come: the protagonist visits his girlfriend’s apartment only for her animated corpse to attempt to smooch her boyfriend to death through the apartment’s door。 The author presents his version of the zombie apocalypse: it’s a virus that manipulates its host, alive or not, to infect the nearest person。 It also potentiates the host’s agility and endurance: even diseased old people end up jumping from victim to victim。 The most interesting aspect of the infection is that it makes the hosts lose their minds in a realistic way: they end up mumbling phrases that relate to whatever they might have been worrying about during the last few days, or the kind of stuff they used to repeat during their day to day lives。 The most poignant examples come in the next volume, so I won’t mention them here, but the fact is that the hosts manage to retain some subconscious level of awareness while the virus hijacks their motor systems。 During this first scene of the protagonist's girlfriend attempting to infect the guy, even though she’s grabbing the protagonist by the hair and even pulled his head through the broken mailbox, she had the subconscious presence of mind of knowing that she would not be able to prevent herself from biting the protagonist to infect him, so she proceeded to bite the edge of the door first to the extent that it destroyed all her teeth。 By the time the virus had the chance to force her to bite his hand, she couldn’t break the skin, and therefore he remained uninfected。The protagonist’s reaction to his girlfriend’s state pays off all the setup: we know him as a schizophrenic that has trouble telling apart his delusions from reality, and we also have witnessed the girlfriend being a mean drunk。 He believes that he’s imagining her looking like a corpse, and that she’s trying to tear his scalp off because she’s had a few too many drinks。 The whole scene is beautifully done both in the horrifying visuals, the black humor inherent to a zombie attempting to pull her boyfriend through a mailbox while he apologizes for whatever he might have done wrong, and the sadness of realizing that this poor woman’s simple life got destroyed by this pseudo Coronavirus microdemon。 This scene sets up what the story is going to be from now on: regular people straight out of a depressing slice-of-life story but that have to deal with their society imploding in a zombie apocalypse。 There are no heroes here, just regular, sad people pushed beyond their breaking points。The protagonist ends up chopping off his girlfriend’s head。 He’s in shock, and hasn’t been able to process the severity of the situation, but he knows that he’s done something that the police would likely end up sending him to jail for, so he leaves a confession note (“I don’t think I caused my girlfriend’s death, but I’m sure I’m the one who severed her head”) and decides to visit the local police station。 We witness the mayhem around him as he barely escapes a bunch of zombies。 In real life, a schizophrenic with such a flimsy connection to reality would die in the first five minutes, but we wouldn’t have a story in that case。 The remainder of the Japanese population are still locked in that initial state of “why are you munching on my cheek, mom?”, before they snap out of it and begin massacring any living being they suspect might have gotten bitten。 This is one of those stories in which the people involved have never heard of zombies。 Despite how many zombie apocalypse stories I’ve consumed, I haven’t decided if that improves or hurts the narrative。 It would, however, probably damage the poignant moments in which someone might attempt to save his or her obviously zombified loved one。The protagonist witnesses the police getting chomped by random zombies, so he changes his mind and decides to go to work at his manga studio。 In another great sequence we get the payoff to the circle of illicit sex and jealousy。 As a reminder, the main mangaka all the assistants worked for, despite being married and having children, was fucking the only female assistant。 When the protagonist enters the studio he finds the zombified sensei naked from the waist down and bleeding from the hole in his groin caused by the zombified female assistant having ripped his genitals out。 The forty something year old assistant I mentioned in the previous review is standing around, happy to have the opportunity to beat his boss to death with a baseball bat, which he proceeds to do。 He reveals that he had been tailing the female assistant, only to discover that she was coming back to the studio to not only fuck the boss, but also another male assistant。 Enraged, as the others were turning into zombies he took the opportunity to massacre all involved。 It’s not clear whether all involved were zombified before the forty year old assistant killed them, nor who did the female assistant in, who is shown in a panel dead with her hands tied, her throat slit and a knife stuck in her thigh。 The protagonist, an awkward schizophrenic that usually avoids interacting with people, is careful to avoid triggering the forty year old assistant, a bitter, resentful person who has just found out that he can solve his immediate problems through indiscriminate murder。 To this guy’s credit, however, he softens up to the protagonist, and treats him as a sidekick that should remain alive。At that moment, the zombified, bloated rotting corpse of the female assistant staggers out of some other room。 Her drawn depiction was disgustingly horrifying; the people involved in creating these horrors have done a fantastic job so far, you couldn’t ask for more。 The forty year old assistant tells the protagonist to flank the corpse and rekill her with a cutter as he takes the opportunity to enact revenge on the woman for having refused to fuck him。 In one of my favorite moments so far, the woman grabs the bat, shoves it in her mouth and licks it as if it were a dick, a brilliantly deranged example of how the zombies retain a subconscious drive from what they had been interested in during their last days。 The protagonist, horrified, can’t force himself to stab the corpse。 The forty year old assistant berates him, paying off some of the elaborate setup, saying that he again failed to take advantage of the opportunities other people prepared for him, and that’s how he ended up working as an assistant after having gotten a manga published。 In the end they explode the corpse’s head by making her chomp on a spray bottle and blowing it up。They leave the apartment and run through the chaos while deciding what comes next。 The forty year old assistant goes on a tirade about how the social butterflies, all those who had succeeded in this society because of how easy on the eyes they were and how many connections they had, would be the first to fall [which is pretty much what happened during the black plague(s) that killed off half of Europe (and that also came from Asia: at what point do you realize that there is stuff you shouldn’t eat?): people used to get involved in any kind of microsocieties, guilds and community events, but after the plague seemed to transmit as easily as just being in the line of sight of an infected person, mostly the lucky and those who could stand to isolate themselves survived。 And their descendants, those carrying the antibodies against microscopic nightmares, would end up erasing from history in some areas as many as 99% of the American natives]。 After this apocalypse passes over, the forty year old assistant proposes, the very introverted and the hermits will inherit the earth。 They decide to escape the city by taking a train, although locking yourself during a zombie apocalypse in an enclosed space along with a bunch of people seems like a terrible idea。 As they were climbing the stairs to the station, a random zombie girl bites off two fingers of the forty year old assistant。 While getting chomped by some zombies, he claims that it’s the first time in his life that he’s felt alive。 Suddenly a random airplane hit-and-runs his head。The protagonist gets on the train。 The passengers on his wagon are oblivious to the world falling apart, and they don’t believe the calls they get on the subject。 At that point it was stretching the suspension of disbelief: there are plumes of smoke rising from the city from the crashed airplanes and several fires, and they only have to look at the landscape to see people getting pursued by zombies。 The protagonist cools off。 He thinks about his deceased girlfriend, small moments he never properly appreciated, like her calling him to come over and eat together a meal she prepared for him。 As he breaks down in tears, we see that someone in the next wagon has gotten zombified, and after tearing through the locals, one of them is attempting to enter the protagonist’s wagon。I think that’s where the volume ended。 I’m having a blast so far。 I wasn’t sold on the protagonist being a mostly unlikable mentally ill person, but you feel his vulnerability in the middle of the mayhem, and you get to sympathize with him a bit。 。。。more

Shaun

Still the air of mystery (which I really like) there is a whole bunch of “what in the entire fuck is going on” moments。 They also make me laugh。 He meets a young lady and she’s as weird as the manga artist。 I like weird。 Gonna def cop volume 3。

Grg

I know the whole point of the series is that Hideo is the worst person to try to survive a zombie apocalypse, but still, I wish he wasn't such a turd all the time。 I know the whole point of the series is that Hideo is the worst person to try to survive a zombie apocalypse, but still, I wish he wasn't such a turd all the time。 。。。more

Alex Lawless

I enjoyed this volume so much more than 1。 Not only was the action more intense and interesting, I found there were less boring and confusing slogs to get through that seem to be the biggest complaint from readers。 I feel like the readers really get to see the significance of the main character's mental illness (still unspecified, but he is paranoid, especially of the paranormal, and hallucinates), especially in the forest-scene ((view spoiler)[ specifically, he wanders inside Japan's "Suicide F I enjoyed this volume so much more than 1。 Not only was the action more intense and interesting, I found there were less boring and confusing slogs to get through that seem to be the biggest complaint from readers。 I feel like the readers really get to see the significance of the main character's mental illness (still unspecified, but he is paranoid, especially of the paranormal, and hallucinates), especially in the forest-scene ((view spoiler)[ specifically, he wanders inside Japan's "Suicide Forest" (hide spoiler)])。 His break down scene where he is finally alone and no longer running on pure survival adrenaline was pretty scary, but ended with a pleasant surprise。 Another character comes to join his party as the situation around them continues to devolve into chaos。 I'm particularly enjoying the depiction of people falling ill to the zombie infection and how it is sometimes a slow burn and at other times a very quick change。 I'm really interested to see if his mental illness comes to light at some point soon, and how the relationship with the new character develop。 。。。more

JPG

The first one was good, this one is even better。The pace of the story improved and the colored pages in the edition that I bought is amazing。

Jamrock

2 down, 9 to go!

Albsky

The scene with the big-faced man in the woods。。。 shiiiiiiiiit。

Himanshu Gupta

Finally the Hero is aware of problem and still a long way to go。 Now definitely intrigued to know what happens next。

Lisa Lynch

I have mixed feelings about Kengo Hanazawa's I Am a Hero, Volume 2。 On one hand, there are some exceptional artistic scenes and some very funny moments。 On the other hand, not much narrative progression happens and I think quite a bit of subtext is lost in translation。Let's discuss the bad things to get them out of the way。 At this point, I have read 2 of the I Am a Hero omnibuses and I have the same complaint about both books: the first half of each omnibus is kind of boring。 We get mostly scen I have mixed feelings about Kengo Hanazawa's I Am a Hero, Volume 2。 On one hand, there are some exceptional artistic scenes and some very funny moments。 On the other hand, not much narrative progression happens and I think quite a bit of subtext is lost in translation。Let's discuss the bad things to get them out of the way。 At this point, I have read 2 of the I Am a Hero omnibuses and I have the same complaint about both books: the first half of each omnibus is kind of boring。 We get mostly scenes that show character development and/or background in the first part of each omnibus。 Towards the end, we get some plot movement, but I'm left wondering if it is enough to keep me interested for much longer。 I hate to say the heavy focus on characters is boring, because that isn't quite the right word。 Due to this being a work translated from Japanese, I know I'm missing a lot (if not all) of the cultural significance, and this leaves me with a sense of not quite getting a grasp of everything。 So, its more like forced indifference than it is boredom。So, not much happens in this second omnibus, but we are introduced to a new character: Hiromi, who is a young schoolgirl that ran into Hideo in a forest。 The translation notes in the back of the book very kindly tell me:Hideo and Hiromi have names that evoke the word "hero。"。。。 Hiromi sounds like "HERO-me," and people close to her life before the outbreak would have called her Hiro or Hiro-chan for short。 So I'm excited to see how their characters develop in the next volume。Let me talk about once scene that really impressed me in this book。 Hideo, our protagonist, is crazy。 Like schizophrenic, hallucinating, socially inept, and weird kind of crazy。 During one of his first interactions with Hiromi, Hideo is freaking out (which seems to be his baseline status) and there is this one page of cells that I found to be artistically beautiful。So the page shows Hideo trying to explain something to Hiromi and he can't bring himself to look her in the eyes because, I believe, he knows he sounds crazy and he also knows that he is very crazy。 So the artwork shows only the lower half of Hiromi's face because that is what Hideo sees when he looks at her。 The middle of the page shows Hideo's shifty, downcast eyes and clearly communicates his awkward anxiousness。 Hiromi tells him he should look someone in the eyes when talking to them, so we see the framing of the cells shift to include Hiromi's entire face as Hideo looks up。I know I'm not doing the artwork justice in describing this scene, but just trust me。 It was a really cool moment with lots of information conveyed through both text and through the visuals。 It is exactly this thing that fascinates and excites be about manga and graphic novels。 They are like watching paper movies。There is another really cool scene that I thought was drawn so well。 I know I will not do it justice, but let me try to describe it。 So Hideo and Hiromi run into this zombie in the woods whose neck is caught on a rope tangled in a tree。 Hiromi doesn't quite get that they are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, so she has been struggling with accepting that all these zombies are no longer people。 As readers, we know that the zombies seem to hold on to some part of themselves even as zombies。 Hiromi doesn't know this, so she thinks the zombies are still people when the say and do things that indicate they are, in some way, still human。 So she sees this zombie reaching for his backpack and looks inside to see what he is reaching for。 She finds a photograph of the man and his family and hands the picture to the zombie。 The zombie, clutching the photograph, drops to his knees, causing his head to rip off in the rope that was around his neck。I thought this was such a cool scene! And the look on Hiromi's face after it happens is really poignant。 And then Hideo's act of kindness is wiping blood from her face。。。 it was just so damn good!Despite all the good I did find, I'm still struggling with I Am a Hero's narrative。 Things just move soooo slowly。 I've decided to read one more of these omnibuses, but if the third one still has the same pacing issues as the first two, I think I will call it quits on the series。 I thought this one was average。 I rated it 3 out of 5 stars。 。。。more

Jakub Kvíz

Hideo meets Hiromi。。。Second book starts a bit slow but things are getting faster and crazier in the second half。Hideo is still super-awkward and way too polite despite the world is going straight to hell。 Really looking forward to see the chemistry between Hideo and Hiromi。

Katrina Millado

It’s getting pretty interesting! Need to see what happens next。🙌🙌

chloe

Oh boiii, suicide forest double spreads were awesome!!

Keith

Will keep going in the series, but felt this part of the Omnibus lost a little steam compared to the first Volume。

Vanessa Maierhofer

3/5 stars

Elizabeth

After he escaped his zombified girlfriend, Hideo Suzuki travels away from bustling cities to escape the zombie hordes。 However, the Aokigahara Forest, known as the suicide forest, might not have been the best idea。 He runs into a teenage girl named Hiromi Hayakiri and she ends up helping him more than he helps her。 Enjoy more of Hideo's cowardice and inept adventures。After I hated the first volume in this series, you might ask why I bothered to read the second。 I bought both at the same time and After he escaped his zombified girlfriend, Hideo Suzuki travels away from bustling cities to escape the zombie hordes。 However, the Aokigahara Forest, known as the suicide forest, might not have been the best idea。 He runs into a teenage girl named Hiromi Hayakiri and she ends up helping him more than he helps her。 Enjoy more of Hideo's cowardice and inept adventures。After I hated the first volume in this series, you might ask why I bothered to read the second。 I bought both at the same time and it's a short read, so I decided to give the series one more chance。 This volume was a little better, but not by much。 It starts right after the first omnibus left off。 Hideo gets on a train。 He is exactly the same spinless slimeball。 Despite his rants and rage, he finds it incredibly difficult to be rude to people or break the law despite the fact that the world is falling apart。 A zombie gets onto the train and instead of telling anyone, shooting it, or pushing it off the train, he decides to curl into a ball and let others get eaten around him。 Another scene has a couple pressuring him to share a cab with them even though they are both infected。 This part is pretty funny, but he really shouldn't have survived any of it。 Despite his incompetence, Hideo makes it to the Aokigahara Forest。 One night of wandering around almost makes his lose hope entirely until he meets Hiromi。Hiromi is by far the best character in the first two omnibuses。 She's a high school student with incredibly toxic relationships with her friends, which makes it pretty easy to kill them as zombies。 They are all basically mean girls, but they are worlds better than Hideo。 She sees him in the forest and tries to comfort him and talk him down from presumably killing himself。 Unfortunately, Hideo treats her horribly as he has every woman in the series。 When they first meet, he berates her about gender equality for asking for help despite their age differences。 When a group of unsavory men force her to show her thighs for a ride, Hideo simply lets her get in the car even though it's pretty clear that they plan to sexually assault her。 I feel so sorry for Hiromi and I hope she becomes the main character of the series (even though it's not likely)。I Am a Hero Omnibus 2 is only slightly less infuriating than the first。 The very ending finally shows a message from the CDC basically saying they are aware of the threat and actively researching while encouraging people to stay away from the infected。 The only development in the zombies here is that they seem to have some memory because one of the high school girl zombies attacked the one she had the most beef with。 The misogyny is toned down a bit, but still very present in Hideo。 Everything about him makes my skin crawl and I can't fathom why anyone would like him。 I am officially giving up on the series。 It had such potential, but the gender politics and Hideo as a whole just kill me inside。 Others may enjoy the manga (as seen by all the high ratings), but it's just not for me。 。。。more

Donna

Hideo flees the city looking for a safer place, ends up in the Suicide Forest, and finds another survivor。The artwork in this manga is amazing。 In the last omnibus, Hanazawa used double page spreads to really pull you into the horror of a zombie slowly approaching。 In this one, he uses them to make you truly feel how terrifying and alone you would be in a forest, at night, possibly surrounded by zombies, while your cell phone battery/only source of light slowly dies。 It is frequently difficult t Hideo flees the city looking for a safer place, ends up in the Suicide Forest, and finds another survivor。The artwork in this manga is amazing。 In the last omnibus, Hanazawa used double page spreads to really pull you into the horror of a zombie slowly approaching。 In this one, he uses them to make you truly feel how terrifying and alone you would be in a forest, at night, possibly surrounded by zombies, while your cell phone battery/only source of light slowly dies。 It is frequently difficult to read this manga because Hideo is so emotionally and mentally disturbed。 I keep flinching for him and worrying about him。 And that's another reason this is such a great manga。 。。。more

Bear Reads Books

3。5 stars。 Better than Volume 1。 Story is building。 More zombie action than the last。 Artwork is amazing。

Lou Fillari

Super great。 I can't believe I slept on this for so long。 Reread volume one as well so the whole story's fresh in the brian。 Super great。 I can't believe I slept on this for so long。 Reread volume one as well so the whole story's fresh in the brian。 。。。more