Manga: Hitorijime My Hero

Hitorijime My Hero Volume 1
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Masahiro Setagawa doesn't believe in heroes, but wishes he could: he's found himself in a gang of small-time street bullies who use him to run errands. But when high school teacher (and scourge of the streets) Kousuke Ohshiba comes to his rescue, he finds he may need to start believing after all... and as their relationship deepens, he realises a hero might be just what he was looking for this whole time. 

This first volume moves quickly, meet  all the characters, get some background on them and even have a rejection...all in the first chapter. I wasn't expecting the rejection so that was a surprise right from the start, but then again...it's all part of a genius strategy so does it even count!? 

Masahiro is an interesting character, he hates heroes because one never came to save him as a kid. He falls in with a gang who makes him do all their grunt work, and it's while working for them that he bumps into Kensuke and they rescue a kitten, take it back to his house and it turns out Kensuke's brother is the "bear killer" aka the guy taking out all the gangs. Masahiro then becomes Kousuke's underling and Kensuke's friend...all in this first volume! We get such a nice amount of depth to his character, and I really felt for him. He has a bad home life, and he does everything he can for everyone because he's good at doing everything for everyone. Like he cooks for all his friends! He's kind of adorable though, I'm rooting for him! 

As for Kousuke, he's a badass fighter and a teacher now. His little strategy of rejecting Masahiro to get him to realise his feelings works like a charm. I am waiting for more background on him though, but what I'm seeing so far he's a nice contrast to Masahiro and I'm hoping he's going to help Masahiro grow a spine a little. 

The supporting characters are equally intriguing...and in Kensuke's case he's adorable too! I actually find him so hilarious, especially when he's drawn with the big, puppy dog eyes. He and Asaya are hilarious opposites, but also kind of cute. I'm intrigued by their story and what went down with them! Asaya himself is kind of aloof, but I'm oddly rooting for he and Masahiro to become friends because Asaya worked out what was going on before anyone else. I was like yaaassss sort them out Asaya! But he is kind of a little s*** though. 

Oh, and I know the gang members are bad okay, but they're oddly kind of sweet too, worrying about Masahiro all this time and giving him a place to go. Bless them. They're not all bad. 

We get action and tension as the gang catch up with them, and bring Masahiro back in to the fold. We get drama as Masahiro wants to distance himself from Kousuke and Kensuke after the rejection. It's quite the wild ride and a nice mix of different elements to keep you on your toes and keep you reading. 

The first volume establishes the relationship, we have a lot of realisation and feeling examining but there's also some action and drama, we're introduced to the characters and there's also some cute and funny moments too! In short...there's a lot going on for a first volume, alongside all the set up! The art and character designs are nice, there's an interesting and entertaining cast of characters both supporting and main, with different personalities that sometimes clash. Obviously this isn't going to be smooth sailing for them, so I wonder how long it'll last before they're found out and before even bigger drama finds them!