One day, after returning from work late in the evening, Hideo witnesses a car crash into a nearby pedestrian, killing the victim instantly. However, despite severe injuries, the victim stands up and walks away. Hideo questions whether this is another one of his hallucinations, but strange events begin happening around him which he blames on his stress and over-time work. The next morning Hideo goes to his girlfriend Tetsuko’s apartment (after having a falling out earlier) to apologize. When peering through the mail slot, he finds that she has transformed into a monstrous, zombie-like creature, and she lunges at him.
02
December 26, 2009[17]
978-4-09-182779-1
April 13, 2016[9]
978-1-61655-920-5
After a brief struggle with Tetsuko in which he is bitten on the hand (which didn’t break the skin), Hideo manages to watch news about an outbreak where people start to bite each other. After some contemplation, Hideo performs a mercy killing on the zombified Tetsuko, then sets out to his manga studio. Along the way, he witnesses many scenes of zombies attacking people. As he reaches the studio, Hideo sees Mitani clubbing one of their colleagues to death and they work together to kill another zombie colleague. Upon learning that there are more zombies in their district, and that their numbers are rapidly increasing, Hideo follows Mitani out of Shakuji towards Nerima Train Station to escape Tokyo and head for Hanno. Mitani is overwhelmed by zombies and then decapitated by the landing gear of a crashing airplane. Narrowly escaping zombies, Hideo manages to board a train before it leaves.
03
May 28, 2010[18]
978-4-09-183157-6
October 12, 2016[19]
978-1-50670-019-9
A zombie infects a passenger, and soon almost all the passengers in the car are infected. After the train screeches to a halt, Hideo hails a taxicab and shares it with a couple and an African American foreigner, who are all infected. The foreigner is dropped off at Yokota Air Base and is shot by a guard. The signs of infection begin to manifest in the couple and the cab driver (who was infected by his grandson). Hideo kicks the couple out and the cab driver succumbs to the infection and attacks him, but Hideo is protected by the plastic taxicab partition. The taxi collides head-on with a vehicle driven by another zombie. Running off the highway, Hideo comes across an abandoned amusement park near Mount Fuji and passes out in the underground entrance. After waking up, Hideo decides to traverse the nearby woods. He begins to lose his courage after his cellphone he is using for light loses charge, and experiences various hallucinations before falling asleep. The next day, he wakes up unharmed, and discovers that he is in the Sea of Trees near Mount Fuji. While urinating, he finds another survivor: a student named Hiromi Hayakiri.
04
August 30, 2010[20]
978-4-09-183377-8
October 12, 2016[19]
978-1-50670-019-9
Hiromi is in the Sea of Trees during a field trip. After she lost at rock paper scissors with her friends, they send Hiromi into the woods as a test of courage. While wandering around, she saw Hideo, whom she thought was a suicidal person, and comforted him (although he didn’t know it at the time). Hiromi decides to travel with Hideo. Along the way, they witness peculiar events one after another, such as an apparent awareness in the infected (Hiromi’s friends killing one another due to a vendetta) and the public’s lack of awareness.
05
December 25, 2010[21]
978-4-09-183534-5
April 05, 2017[22]
978-1-50670-145-5
They soon find out a crowd of people who heard of a rumor that the thinner air of the mountain will repel the infected. They also meet Araki, a middle-aged man who informs them about Kurusu. Kurusu is a man who claimed he couldn’t kill his mother no matter how many times he brutally beat her. In desperation, netizens begin to form a cult centering around Kurusu, declaring him as the leader of the new age that will emerge from the disaster. Hideo tries to research further, but is soon discouraged by false rumors.
06
May 30, 2011[23]
978-4-09-183827-8
April 05, 2017[22]
978-1-50670-145-5
Hiromi soon falls prey to a bite from an infected baby, but she only becomes partially infected and is able to retain aspects of her humanity. Hideo is able to communicate with her, forging a bond between the two. Though skeptical at first, Araki decides to allow Hiromi to travel together with Hideo and him. They continue further until they come across a small community camping atop a mall, the Gotemba Premium Outlets. The leader, a young adult called Sango, invites the group to stay with them.
07
September 30, 2011[24]
978-4-09-184050-9
August 16, 2017[25]
978-1-50670-349-7
Sango is the apparent leader of the group, though he is actually controlled by Iura. When the group begins to run low on food, Sango and Iura begin to formulate a plan to seize Hideo’s shotgun (the only firearm they have access to). In the process, Hiromi is shot with a nail on her head (though she survives) After they succeed, Hideo is forced to join a search party.
08
January 30, 2012[26]
978-4-09-184246-6
August 16, 2017[25]
978-1-50670-349-7
The search goes awry, and most of the group, including Sango, are killed. Iura becomes infected, and Araki sacrifices himself to protect a young child. Hideo manages to retrieve his shotgun and escape, along with Hiromi and Yabu Oda, a former nurse who understands the significance of Hiromi’s condition in potentially understanding and curing the disease.
09
May 30, 2012[27]
978-4-09-184512-2
January 10, 2018[28]
978-1-50670-350-3
Yabu finds a hospital for the unconscious Hiromi, but when Hideo scouts it he finds that it is infested with zombies and flees. The group finds a souvenir shop and Hideo searches for food, killing a pregnant zombie in the process.
10
October 30, 2012[29]
978-4-09-184729-4
January 10, 2018[28]
978-1-50670-350-3
After surgically removing the nail from Hiromi’s head, and seeing her recover from the infection, the group is last shown reaching Hakone in order to restock on ammunition and firearms. The story shifts from Hideo’s viewpoint to that of a teenager, Takashi Ezaki, who posted a message in a forum, requesting membership in Kurusu’s group. He is soon rescued by Kurusu, Kowashi and Danieli. During their escape attempt, Takahashi witnesses the tactics and weaponry used by the group, including flares used to divert attention and crossbows fired by unknown members. Kowashi and Takashi decides to rest under a bridge to spend the night, and Danieli is killed by Kurusu after becoming infected.
11
February 28, 2013[30]
978-4-09-184880-2
May 09, 2018[31]
978-1-50670-396-1
The next day, Takashi is brought to the group’s base, where he meets Tomabechi (the group’s weaponsmith and researcher), Kizuki and Haruki (two students), and “Auntie” (the group’s caretaker). Tomabechi discusses the Gotemba group’s wipeout (the same group Hideo, Yabu, Araki and Hiromi were in), and shows Takashi his research on the zombies’ behavior day by day, while Kowashi teaches him how to fight. He also meets Hanyuu and Fuki, the crossbow users, when he was sent by Takashi to bring food and ammunition. Hanyuu, trusting Takashi, decides to tell him his plan: he will escape through a nearby river, together with Fuki, using a boat.
12
June 28, 2013[32]
978-4-09-185240-3
May 09, 2018[31]
978-1-50670-396-1
After a brief invasion by a zombie and the subsequent infection of a group member, more zombies begin to swarm the house. Takashi distracts them and makes a last stand near a river, falling into it after being overwhelmed and bitten by the zombies. The group near the school is split into two. The crossbow users point their weapons at Tomabechi in order to seize the car and escape, but are killed by Kurusu. Takashi, unexpectedly surviving his apparent death, heads to the school, where he meets a man similar to Kurusu called the “Naked Emperor”. The Naked Emperor talks about how he and Takashi have “risen above human beings”. They fight (Takashi’s physique has improved significantly) until Kurusu interrupts them. He throws Fuki’s severed head to the field, enraging Takashi and starting a fight between the three. The next morning, Kurusu’s group, with an addition of survivors found in the school, contemplate where to go next. Takashi is shown to be victorious in his fight with Kurusu and the Naked Emperor, donning Kurusu’s name, clothing, and sporting long hair, directing the group to Tokyo.
13
October 30, 2013[33]
978-4-09-185574-9
August 01, 2018[34]
978-1-50670-702-0
The story then switches back to Hideo and his companions. Hiromi has returned to her normal self and Yabu is starting to show signs of being attracted to Hideo, who (along with Hiromi) is now implied to be the same kind of human as Kurusu, the Naked Emperor, and Takashi. The group makes its way to a secluded cabin where Hideo and Yabu have sex. The trio eventually settle for the night and eat heartily as a memorial to the friends that they’ve lost. The next day, the group decides to visit a local hot spring to clean up.
14
February 28, 2014[35]
978-4-09-185877-1
August 01, 2018[34]
978-1-50670-702-0
On the way, the group scavenge a burnt out gun shop where Hideo acquires an MSS-20 bolt-action shotgun and ammunition as well as finding a severely-charred but still-living zombie. They eventually make it to a hot spring in Hakone-Yakumo and Hideo holds off the zombies while the girls bathe. Hideo is partially swallowed by a mutated zombie with four hands and four feet, which seems to be the result of two regular ZQN partially fusing together. He meets Kurusu in a dream-like sequence and runs for his life, with the zombie mirroring his imaginary movements.
15
June 30, 2014[36]
978-4-09-186284-6
November 07, 2018[37]
978-1-50670-750-1
The mutated zombie escorts the girls to a truck and releases Hideo, then holds off the attacking zombies. The group make their way to a hotel to rest. In the morning, Hideo shows Hiromi how to shoot his shotgun and the girls encounter another double-left-handed zombie while on their way to the beach. While looting a nearby house, Yabu takes a pregnancy test and discovers that she is pregnant, but the father is unknown. That night, Yabu leaves detailed medical instructions for Hideo and Hiromi, and then leaves, not wanting to burden them once her pregnancy advances.
16
December 26, 2014[38]
978-4-09-186668-4
November 07, 2018[37]
978-1-50670-750-1
When Hideo and Hiromi try to stop Yabu from escaping in a garbage truck, an infected baby bites her and Hiromi is forced to kill her. Meanwhile, a gigantic mass is forming and growing larger by consuming the infected. Hideo and Hiromi head towards Tokyo on bicycle.
17
May 29, 2015[39]
978-4-09-187020-9
February 20, 2019[40]
978-1-50670-830-0
In Tokyo, Korori, a former manga artist, is the captain of a unit living in a building (Sunshine 60) headed by Asada, a cultist. When running into infected, the unit is forced to abandon their weapons and fights an especially strong infected. Korori’s subordinates, discontent with Asada’s use of the group, discusses a potential coup. Returning to retrieve the weapons, Korori’s unit gets sidetracked.
18
November 30, 2015[41]
978-4091873095
February 20, 2019[40]
978-1-50670-830-0
Hideo and Hiromi stop at a fisherman’s hut, they drink alcohol, and he takes her virginity. They spot a boat’s light and when they get chased by the mass of infected, they manage to jump onto the boat.
19
March 15, 2016[42]
978-4-09-187470-2
June 19, 2019[43]
978-1-50670-831-7
The fisherman who saves them agrees to take them to Tokyo in exchange for one of Hideo’s guns. Two of Asada’s men are led into a trap by Kursu’s group. They use one of them to infiltrate the building and the infected start storming it. Kurusu telepathically communicates with Hiromi, telling her that the infected are waiting for her. Upon interacting with the fisherman’s infected son, Hiromi realizes that she can control the infected and wanted Yabu to die, making the baby bite her. Hiromi meets the mass, says goodbye to Hideo and leaves with it.
20
April 12, 2016[44]
978-4-09-187530-3
June 19, 2019[43]
978-1-50670-831-7
Chasing the mass, Hideo makes it to Tokyo and is given a kayak by the fisherman, trading his shotgun. Hiromi is integrated into the mass, which at this point has become a gigantic, slim, double-headed creature and is called the Nameless Mass of Brains (NMB) by its inhabitants, communicating with the people inside. The zombies/people integrated into the hive mind, who have regained their sanity, intelligence, emotions, memories and personalities from when they were human, learn of Hiromi’s past through the sharing of memories and denounce her for her wish to kill Yabu. Korori’s group starts the building’s emergency generator, using the reactivated elevator to get to the roof, which has a helicopter. After obtaining a manga from Korori, Asada plans to escape the building using the helicopter.
21
October 28, 2016[45]
978-4091892218
October 23, 2019[10]
978-1-50670-832-4
Asada is surrounded by Kurusu’s group, which forces him to lead them to the helicopter. Hideo is chased by an infected and runs up an under-construction building near Asada’s building. As more infected chase him, he desperately makes it up a construction crane. Hideo finds out that one of the infected promised Yabu to protect him, and she fends off the other infected. Asada kills a mass of his followers using the building’s emergency carbon dioxide and orders his insurgents to the roof. Hideo shoots the NMB’s eyes, enraging Hiromi.
22
March 30, 2017[7]
978-4-09-189379-6
October 23, 2019[10]
978-1-50670-832-4
Part of the NMB starts moving towards Hideo. Asada survives and makes it to the roof, getting on the helicopter with Tomei, a member of Kurusu’s group with a pilot’s license. Korori’s group attacks Kurusu, and Hideo, mistaking them as bullies, shoots Korori. However, one of Hideo’s manga absorbs the impact. Korori’s getting shot makes one of his members, who is like Kurusu, lose control and somehow transform into a large bloated ZQN who absorbs Kurusu, forming a second large infected mass. This new creature’s hive mind contains those who have possessed powers like ‘Kurusu’, including Takashi and the female member who transformed. Believing they are the kings of mankind they agree to protect the remaining humans, helping to fend off the advancing infected. Asada is killed by one of his subordinates, whom he abandoned. Korori and a child manage to escape on the helicopter, along with the auntie they met, and they head towards the Izu Islands. Hideo is nearly suffocated by the NMB, but Hiromi spares him, hoping to make him suffer more by staying alive. After the incident, Hideo is left alone in Tokyo. The infected have all been absorbed by the NMB, which, together with the Kurusu creature, is completely dormant. Nature starts taking over Tokyo, and Hideo, who is getting lonely and hoping for rescue, starts running out of food and a garden he starts fails. However, Hideo discovers a looted gun shop with tools to make buckshots and succeeds, using it to hunt.
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