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Hideo's Group
Hideo Suzuki
The titular hero. A struggling, scruffy mangaka's assistant who's 35 years old but still waiting for his life to start. Sort of a loser, he spends his free time practicing at the gun range (he owns a sporting shotgun) or sometimes hanging out with his colleagues. Hideo is plagued by scary hallucinations, which he knows are not real, but they still keep him awake at night. His typical day: work from 10 am to 10 pm, get home at 3 am, and wait until morning for the scary faces under his bed to go away, only then does he get a good sleep. Then the apocalypse begins.
- Author Avatar:The protagonist Hideo Suzuki
◊ resembles that of series creator Kengo Hanazawa.◊ - Character Filibuster: Suzuki has very strong ideas about the future of manga, and loves to philosophize about them at length. Played for laughs when it was clear nobody asked, and sometimes it's all in his head.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: The instance Hideo gets serious with his shotgun, he is vastly different from his usual bumbling and awkward self. After the danger is over, he becomes bumbling and awkward again.
- Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: with Oda
- The Gunslinger: A mild type A. This quality makes him an extremely attractive recruit for other survivor groups, most of whom get by with limited arms and training.
- Hallucinations: He usually "sees" disembodied faces and body parts floating around at night. Which is not helped by his living alone and his co-workers telling ghost stories.
- The Hero: What he really wants to be, as per the series title. Unfortunately, he's ultimately just a Failure Hero. His plan to escort Hiromi to Tokyo to create a vaccine is later revealed to have been doomed from the start, rendering all the deaths in his group pointless, and while he does manage to distract the hive mind in the finale long enough for the helicopter passengers to escape, he's ultimately cleaning up the mess he started by bringing Hiromi to the hivemind in the first place.
- However, in the film adaption, he ultimately does become The Hero, saving the lives of Hiromi and Yabu.
- Happy Dance: He has a silly dance sequence that he uses to calm himself down, or when he feels happy.
- Imaginary Friend: Yajima.
- Imagine Spot: He sometimes imagines how conversations with his girlfriend and co-workers must go, only to "wake up" and realize that he hasn't spoken for an extended period of time.
- It Gets Easier: On several occasions, Hideo reflects on how he has gotten used to killing zombies and committing various crimes to survive.
- Meaningful Name: The Alternate Character Reading for Hideo. Which is why he keeps saying he is a hero.
- Motor Mouth: When he's nervous or excited, Hideo tends to talk very quickly and incoherently.
- Nice Guy: Despite his tendencies to become a nervous wreck, he's quite possibly the kindest person in the story overall.
- Supporting Protagonist: He often talks about feeling as though he's a supporting character in his own story. He's right. Other than caring for Hiromi and having a gun, he's a pretty insignificant player in the overall plot.
- By the end of the series, he finds some solace in living alone as the only survivor left in Tokyo and assures himself that when a rescue team comes, he'll be lauded as a hero, but ultimately his solitary survival is only at the whim of Hiromi.
- Survival Mantra: Frequently mutters "I am a hero" to help himself gather courage.
- Sequential Artist: After his first series is canceled, he works as an assistant while trying to have his own series published. True to the trope, he usually rants about his thoughts on manga among other things. See Character Filibuster.
- Talking to Themself: When he is alone, confused, and doesn't know what to do, he does this.
Hiromi Hayakari
A high school student who meets Hideo in The Sea of Trees near Mt Fuji. A sweet girl with a fondness for nature, she also seems to be able to "sense" the humanity within the zombies.
- Badass Adorable: Hiromi after getting infected. She tears the jaw off of another zombie that is chasing Suzuki, and crushes the hand of a man who takes him hostage.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played relatively straight after Hiromi gets infected, at least to begin with. The "inner beauty" version is averted, but she doesn't become disfigured until very late in the story after she gives in to the Hive Mind.
- Big Bad: She and the other lead infected are the closest thing that this series has to one, other than the Hive Mind apparently created to support them.
- Cute Monster Girl: After getting infected.
- Creepy Doll: From Hiromi's point-of-view, post-infection, both humans and zombies appear as hideous stuffed dolls. Except Hideo, whose avatar leans more toward the
Ugly Cute side. - Elite Zombie: Initially of the Zombie Person variety. Later revealed to also be a Horde Master, at first subconsciously, then more deliberately.
- I Got Bigger: Two weeks after Oda removed the crossbow bolt from her head, she wakes up and Hideo is surprised to see that she has grown roughly four inches taller.
- Nature Lover: When wandering alone for the first time in The Sea of Trees, she was completely fearless, listened to all the sounds, and smilingly said to herself: "It's true what they say. This forest is alive." She even stated that sitting alone in the forest was more comfortable than with her friends.
- Nice Girl: For starters, when she saw Hideo for the first time, he was whining in fear alone in the forest. Thinking he was a suicidal person, she opted to stay and watch over him, despite the school's curfew.
- Later subverted. Hiromi is emotionally more volatile than she lets on, and apparently shot her former friend Sae-chan out of anger about her cruelty rather than as a Mercy Kill. Ditto for her killing Oda, who goads Hiromi into allowing her to die as a human by mentioning her armpit hair when reasoning doesn't work.
- The Immune: When she returns to "normal" after the operation done on her (to remove the crossbow bolt in her head), Oda evens tells her as much. Whether it's due to something unique to her, or just her own innate willpower it's not really clear, but Oda says that she's probably the closest thing anyone's got to possibly combat the outbreak, which is why it's important to keep her safe.
- Later subverted. Hiromi isn't really immune. She and a few others like her, including Kuruzu, are the entire purpose behind the infection (assuming that it has a purpose). The infected masses are supposed to form a hive mind for the Lead Infected, who retain a significant part of their intelligence and humanity. When a person like Hiromi finally does turn, it's bad news.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Since the live-action film ended after her group leaves Gotemba, she most likely avoided becoming part of the Hive Mind seen in the manga's later chapters.
- The Stoic: Doesn't say and emote one bit after becoming infected. She returns back to her usual personality after having the nail stuck in her forehead removed, though.
- Transhuman Treachery: After experiencing the Hive Mind, Hiromi does not want to be killed if she turns completely. She later does turn, although she retains just enough humanity to keep the Flesh Golem she leads from killing Hideo.
Tsugumi "Yabu" Oda
A former nurse, part of the group that camps atop the Gotemba Outlet Mall. Used as a sex slave by the male members, she plots to escape and finally gets her chance when Hideo's group arrives.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: She nearly falls off of the mall roof while drunk, but Hideo saves her.
- Car Fu: She is quite proficient at this.
- Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: with Hideo.
- Killed Off for Real: Sadly her fate.
- The Medic: Oda has some experience in medicine from her stint as a nurse.
- Nice Girl: While Yabu is rough around the edges, she is still a good person.
- Rape as Drama: Oda was basically used as a sex slave by Sango's goons.
- Really Gets Around: She apparently sleeps with all of Iura's gang and tries to sleep with Hideo too, but it's not by choice.
- Relationship Upgrade: With Hideo, although she refuses to acknowledge it.
- Sex for Solace: In Chapter 149, Hideo and Oda finally sleep together as a bit of cathartic release after the escape from Gotemba Outlet Mall and Hiromi's surgery.
- Sex Slave: Iura's group has effectively turned her into one, threatening to throw her to the zombies if she doesn't.
- Smoking Is Cool: She is rarely seen without a cigarette.
- Sole Survivor: Of Iura's group in the film adaptation.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Since the live-action film ended after she escaped Gotemba with Hideo and Hiromi, she most likely avoided getting bitten by a zombie baby several chapters later.
Araki
A photographer. He helps Hideo and Hiromi escape from the mass panic at Mt. Fuji and travels with them to the Gotemba Outlet Mall.
- Cool Old Guy: He's a badass, and significantly older than most characters.
- Heroic Sacrifice: To save a teenager at the Gotemba Outlet Mall.
- Kill It with Fire: Does this to the high-jumping zombie.
- Nice Guy: One of the nicest survivors around with no qualms of helping others.
- Pragmatic Hero: He has no problem weaponizing Hiromi after she gets infected.
- Taking You with Me: Against the high jumping zombie.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: After the group arrives at Gotemba Outlet Mall, he is only seen in a handful of panels before his death.
Kurusu's Group
Kurusu
- Ax-Crazy: Batshit crazy is probably more accurate.
- Barbarian Long Hair: He had long hair even before the apocalypse.
- Batter Up!: How he kills his mother.
- Dissonant Serenity: Tells the rest of the group that he had to kill Danielli because he got bitten, with a big cheerful smile on his face.
- The Dragon: To Hiromi, although she doesn't know or consciously want this until the last few chapters.
- Elite Zombie: Of the Zombie Person variety.
- Kukris Are Kool: The main weapons he uses against the infected and in his fight against Takashi and the Naked Emperor.
- Older Than They Look: Real Kurusu is actually a paralyzed old man, completely cut off from anyone since childhood, living in a dream world all alone. Getting infected somehow de-aged his body, and explains why he is so unhinged and childlike with his understanding of the world. Apparently, one of the conditions for becoming superhuman is having been deprived of hope in life.
- Perpetual Smiler: Always smiling, especially when killing zombies.
- Religion of Evil: He starts a cult of personality, with a major following from people all over Japan.
- Slasher Smile: Smiles while killing zombies and also while throwing Hanyuu's head into the air to goad Takashi into fighting him, and especially while fighting Takashi.
Takashi Ezaki
- Berserk Button: Kurusu beheaded Hanyuu and threw her head toward Takashi to show him. He immediately flies into a rage and attacks Kurusu, forgetting all previous fear of him.
- Elite Zombie: Of the zombie person variety. Indeed, other than a few Hallucinations and increased strength and reflexes, he shows no significant personality changes after being infected, unlike Hiromi, who was more obviously infected.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Leads the group of infected away from the group's hideout, mostly to save Hanyuu, but to a lesser extent to save the others. He full well believes this is going to cost him his life.
- I Don't Want to Die: After he's overwhelmed and bitten during his Heroic Sacrifice, he starts mentally pleading that he doesn't want to die and for someone to help him, right up until he falls into the water and appears to die.
- It's All My Fault: Appears to feel that it's his fault that Danielli died since he died in the attempt to recruit Takashi. Not helped by the fact that the other group members imply that it is.
- Mêlée à Trois: Gets into one against Kurusu and the Naked Emperor. He seemed to be doing pretty well on the panel.
- NEET: What he was before the apocalypse. It's how he managed to survive since he was holed up in his room on the computer when his parents were infected and managed to use his cabinet to barricade his bedroom door.
- Nice Guy: Probably the nicest person in Kurusu's group, except maybe Kizuki.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Kurusu apparently loses the Mêlée à Trois, since in the next scene Takashi wears his bloody helmet, staring with his unique glare, indicating Takashi's victory despite him being inferior against his opponents.
- Took a Level in Badass: After being infected he becomes much more fight-capable, as evidenced by avoiding The Naked Emperor and Kurusu's attacks and keeping pace with both of them. Fortunately, he defeats Kurusu.
Granny
- Fountain of Youth: Getting partially digested by a flesh golem before being saved turns her young again, and later we see she can even bear children, with no drawbacks.
- I Was Quite a Looker: She's actually quite beautiful during her youth, and her youthful form returns back after she got digested by a flesh golem, making her a present-day example of this form and not the usual one.
- Never Mess with Granny: The most physically badass and willing to fight in the group sans Kurusu himself.
- Team Mom: Functions as one in her group, as she cooks and takes care of her group members' well-being.
Haruki
- No Indoor Voice: When he is talking he's usually drawn with his mouth wide open, indicating he's always yelling. Which seems exceedingly dumb since the infected are drawn to sound.
Danielli
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Supposedly, but this is according to the transman since Danielli is already dead by this point.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He only appears in his introductory chapter for a few panels before being killed by Kurusu off-screen for being infected.
Iura's Group
In General
- Asshole Victim: While some of them are nice people, they are predominantly psychopaths, and are just as dangerous as the infected, as one of their own members admits.
- Boring, but Practical: Their secret to survival? Hiding on the rooftop of a shopping mall, occasionally using a ladder to send people to get supplies.
- Crazy Survivalist: Most of the group is unhinged, especially Sango.
- Japanese Delinquents: Several members, including Sango and Yabu, are these.
- Sex Slave: They kill any young woman who refuses to prostitute themselves to the group.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The two girls who cheer for Sango during the "trial" aren't seen or mentioned again.
Iura
- Affably Evil: He's very polite, but still just as malevolent as Sango.
- Ax-Crazy: Averted, Iura is violent, but always maintains a stoic demeanor. Until he becomes infected.
- Big Bad: Acts as the main antagonist of the film adaptation.
- Didn't Think This Through: His entire plan for getting food hinges on the effectiveness of Hideo's shotgun. Unfortunately he fails to take into account the sound of the shot will draw more infected to them, and that its in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it instead of the guns owner, Hideo.
- Dragon-in-Chief: The actual leader of his group, but he lets Sango play at being the leader in public.
- Eye Scream: After being infected via unknown means, as he begins to turn, he pushes both his thumbs into his eyes, completely crushing them.
- Groin Attack: He rips off his own penis when he masturbates violently during his zombification... Ouch.
- Jerkass: Loses all signs of being Affably Evil during the second half of the film adaption.
- Karmic Death: After allowing several people to be thrown off the roof of the mall and be eaten, after he's infected and tries to attack Oda, Hiromi kicks him off the roof of the parking garage, where if his later appearance is any indication, he landed on his head. Then he's eaten by the grandmother that he and his goons likely bullied on the roof.
- Not So Stoic: When he gets infected.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Sango's red.
- Sanity Slippage: After he is infected, he initially maintains his calm, analytical demeanor before going completely off the deep end.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: He is much calmer than Sango, but just as insane.
- Suddenly Shouting: After he's infected, he initially switches between speaking in his usual calm demeanor, and screaming deliriously, before completely losing it.
- The Stoic: In contrast to Sango.
- Your Head A-Splode: In the film adaption, Hideo blows his head off with a shotgun.
Sango
- Asshole Victim: Was anyone shocked that he died?
- Downplayed in the film adaption, where he pulls a Heel–Face Turn near the end of it, but still nonetheless deserved his fate.
- Ax-Crazy: He's a bit too happy about all the slaughter.
- Bad Boss: Pushes a multitude of those in his group to their deaths in an attempt to save his own life.
- Bald of Evil: Not actually bald, but the fact that he's prematurely balding is heavily emphasized.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Near the end of the film adaption, he takes control of Iura's group and dominates as the major threat. In the end, he ends up being useless to the group thanks to Iura sabotaging him and the rest of the group.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: In the film adaption, he is surrounded by and torn to shreds by a horde of zombies.
- The Dragon: Serves as this to Iura.
- For the Evulz: He kills people to relieve his boredom.
- Gonk: He almost looks like Butthead.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the film adaption, he joins Hideo's group near the end of the movie.
- Last Stand: Dies fending off a horde of zombies in the film adaption alongside Hideo, Hiromi, Yabu, and Abe-San.
- Killed Offscreen: He is decapitated by an zombie.
- Mouth of Sauron: While Iura is in charge, Sango does most of the talking on his behalf.
- Off with His Head!: His head is ripped off by a zombie.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Iura's blue.
- Slasher Smile
Abe-San
- Ate His Gun:An interesting version where he shoots himself in the mouth with a crossbow instead of a gun.
- Dirty Coward: Verges on Lovable Coward at times, but he can still be a royal pain in the ass to deal with considering how cowardly he acts throughout the movie.
- Though by the end of the movie, his death is still mourned by Hideo, proving that ultimately he wasn't disliked at least.
- Driven to Suicide: After being bitten by his infected wife, he decides to "join her" by shooting himself in the mouth with an arrow from a crossbow.
- Last Stand: Dies fending off a horde of zombies in the film adaption alongside Hideo, Hiromi, Yabu, and Sango.
- Token Good Teammate: In the film adaption, he's one of the only people loyal to Iura who actually is kind to Hideo.
Makita
- Asshole Victim: If he did perish during the final act of the film, it's unlikely anybody would care.
- The Dragon: At first to Iura, and then to Sango upon turning against him.
- Flat Character: Received very little characterization throughout the movie.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Completely disappears from the movie with no confirmation of his fate near the end of it, though it could be presumed that he was killed.
Murai
- Driven to Suicide: He jumps off of a bridge after running out of ammo, as there are still dozens of zombies closing in.
- Hero-Worshipper: Towards Hideo.
- Stupid Sacrifice: If he waited a couple minutes more....
- Token Good Teammate: He's one of the only men in Iura's group who isn't an asshole.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He fights alongside Hideo for a few chapter, then commits suicide when he thinks they have no chance of surviving.
Other Characters
Tetsuko "Tekko" Kurokawa
- Nice Girl: She genuinely loves Hideo and cares about his feelings. Which makes her death much more tragic.
- No Periods, Period: Averted, she's on her period when the story begins.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: What she resembles when she gets Infected.
- Warmup Boss: After being infected, she still retains parts of her humanity, including her love for Hideo. That's why she tries to remove her own teeth before losing control and biting him. If not for that reason, Hideo would be long dead before he had the chance to become a real hero.
Yamaji
Hideo's imaginary friend, who takes the form of a small child.
- Imaginary Friend: well, duh.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Yajima fades and disappears in Volume 2, after Hideo's encounter with zombified Tetsuko. He hasn't been seen since.
- The Unreveal: His origin is still unknown. Whether it is Hideo's childhood friend or something else is anyone's guess.
Mitani
One of Hideo's coworkers, he is with Hideo when the infected first go on a rampage.
- Aerosol Flamethrower: What he uses to kill Mi-chan.
- Batter Up!: How Mitani kills his infected boss.
- Fat Bastard: He is obese and is a huge Jerkass, even before the zombie apocalypse.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He has nerd glasses and is a huge Jerkass who openly gloats on his zombified co-workers.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Decapitated by an airplane.
- Off with His Head!: He is decapitated by an airplane, of all things.
- Stalker with a Crush: On Mi-chan.
Mi-chan
Hideo's... promiscuous coworker.
- Aerosol Flamethrower: How she is killed.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Horribly averted when she becomes a zombie, she bloats up like a blowfish, then gets her skull caved in by Mitani.
- No-Sell: Mitani tries to kill her with a baseball bat, but she is completely unfazed by it.
- Really Gets Around: She is sleeping with at least two of her coworkers.
- Zombie Infectee: She is bitten early in the series, making her becoming a zombie a Foregone Conclusion.
Bob Jones
An American airman who is living at the U.S. air base in Japan.
- Black Dude Dies First: He is black and dies soon after he is introduced.
- Bolivian Army Ending: We don't see him die, but he was almost certainly shot by the Security Forces due to being infected.
- I Have a Family: He literally says this when begging the Security Forces to let him onto the base.
- Scary Black Man: When the infection starts to drive him insane.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He dies pretty quickly, but shows the audience how the infection works gradually over time.
- Zombie Infectee: He is infected when we first meet him.
