Title: Hero Killer (original title: 히어로 킬러)
Type: Webcomic
Year: 2021-?
Country: South Korea
Genre: Action, superhero
Status: Ongoing (review as of chapter 147)
Platform: Webtoon (read here)
Appropriate for 30+?: Probably
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
(Rating scale: 5/5 = masterpiece, 4/5 = quite good, 3/5 = mostly good, 2/5 = bleh, 1/5 = I regret ever being exposed to this series, 0/5 = affront to humanity)
A subversion of the superhero genre, Hero Killer feels like it has something to say, but it’s not clear what that is. The main reason to read this series is for the art and fight scenes, both of which are somewhat above average. If you enjoy mindless infinite power-leveling action series like Solo Leveling this one is worth checking out. However I’m not sure what it offers for the general reader: there is potential here for some interesting themes, but they’re never explored beyond the surface level. For example (mild spoilers ahead):
spoiler
this is a world of eternal war, perpetuated by the power-hungry greed and unresolvable grudges of a handful of incredibly powerful immortals, who use other super-powered humans like pawns (and don’t even acknowledge non-powered humans). This could have been a metaphor for how the billionaire ruling class treats the rest of humanity in the real world, which would have had literary potential, but the series doesn’t explore the concept enough to make the analogy worthwhile (and it’s probably just my own reading into the situation: it’s very likely the author had no such allegory in mind, rather was simply coming up with a backstory and motivation for the big baddies).
.
The series is steeped in tropes, including: superpowers, the bad guys are actually the good guys (sorta?), might makes right, and an OP protagonist who always manages to have just enough strength to win the fight. The series is quite violent (although not always graphically so), and yet for some reason Webtoon censors all the swears creating unintentional meta humor: one chapter has a foul language warning, despite being many chapters deep and quite a number of beheadings, dismemberings, and other instances of graphic violence under its belt at this point, and then the chapter still censors the handful of mild swears it contains. Probably my biggest gripe, however, is the length of the series: the English release is currently at almost 150 chapters, and each chapter is quite lengthy. This in and of itself isn’t much of an issue, but I’d expect more substance given the amount of material generated. At least it hasn’t felt too repetitive like many long-running series, however there are tons of characters and a good number of plotlines and backstory to keep track of, yet at the end of it all it feels pretty empty, like we’re at best at the story’s halfway point but there’s nothing but another few hundred chapters of empty calories ahead of us. That said, it does a good job at being mindless fun, earning it a solid C rating (2.5/5 stars) in my book, but throughout the whole series there’s a regrettable stench of unrealized potential that keeps it from being more than a long, forgettable romp.
In terms of content warnings there’s a good deal of violence, some quite graphic and disturbing, but given the overall “bubblegum action series” vibe it’s comparatively nothing that will keep you up at night (I’d give it a 16+ bordering on 18+ rating). Nearly all the characters embody the “perfect sexy superhero body” trope, especially the women in their skintight and/or semi-revealing outfits. However there’s no actual nudity, no extremely graphic close-ups, and no sexual acts portrayed (in fact, most of these characters seem so preoccupied with getting stronger and completing their missions that they’re practically asexual).
So is Hero Killer enjoyable for the 30+ crowd? Maybe, depends on what you’re into. Most characters appear to be in their 20s-30s, but due to their superpowers they have the potential to live for thousands of years thus for the most part they act like generic adults, so there aren’t any teenage/young-adult shenanigans. However as mentioned the series is pretty tropey and overall lacking in depth, so it’s probably going to feel empty to anyone looking for more substance than your typical shonen anime. The series does get slightly better as it progresses and the plot and characters have a chance to fill out, but overall it’s pretty consistent, so it should only take a few chapters to decide if this is the kind of series you’ll enjoy or not.