Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 (manga) Volume 1 Review

‘Being sentenced to serve as a hero—the most severe penalty one can be given… Only by killing every last demon lord spreading the blight can they earn amnesty.’

Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 is the manga adaptation of the dark fantasy light novel written by Rocket Shokai, set in a fantasy world in which prisoners are called heroes…

Xylo Forbartz is a hero—a prisoner bound to fight on the frontline against the demon blight that it is afflicting the world. He belongs to Unit 9004, together with Dotta Luzulas, a petty thief who, even as a prisoner, can’t stop himself from lifting objects he doesn’t own. And that’s how the two men find themselves in a big dilemma… their mission to rescue the holy knights from being decimated by the demons is compromised when the holy knights, instead of retreating as instructed, decide to fight, making the heroes’ job much harder. Dotta’s sticky fingers don’t help either as he steals a coffin containing a powerful weapon that can defeat the demons: a goddess.

Goddesses descended to the human world thousands of years ago to help humans defeat the demons, and they choose a knight to be bound to. As a prisoner, Xylo shouldn’t even be considered as a potential candidate for the goddess, but dire circumstances bring dire decisions, and if Xylo wants to save the holy knights, he needs to push forward and deal with the consequences later. In fact, he’s not just a simple criminal as the commander of the thirteen brigade of the holy knights hints at something more nefarious. But is it true or is it a misunderstanding? And how will his new goddess react?

In this series, the meaning of the word ‘hero’ is turned upside down as it is a punishment that people are sentenced to when found guilty of a crime. It’s basically a slavery sentence as the heroes are bound to obey commands or die, thanks to a seal on their neck. However, not even death can give them freedom as they can be revived and sent to slaughter over and over again. Obeying is the only option although they have their own willpower and intention, so they don’t have to follow orders down to a T.

Xylo is the protagonist of the series, and he actually seems to be a real hero and not just because he has the role ‘hero’ assigned to him— he strives to save as many lives as he can, even that of his newly bound goddess who won’t hesitate to sacrifice herself to save humans. Xylo also values every life (other than the demons, of course), and he doesn’t shy away from sacrificing himself to protect the others.

Something that isn’t very clear to me is what demons are. In this volume they are shown as giant animals (e.g. serpent, insect, etc.) and they somehow have the ability to control other animals/monsters. In the first battle, fairies are mentioned but they’re not what the readers expect—they look like giant frogs and kill and eat humans (not necessarily in this order). I hope more will be revealed about what demons are and especially what the demon blight caused by the demons is that is endangering the last outpost of humanity.

The artist is Natsumi Inoue, the mangaka also known for As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World. While I haven’t read her other work, the art here is rough and simple for Sentenced to Be a Hero with not many details on the characters or the settings. The story takes its readers straight to the war against demons, and although deaths are a certainty, the volume so far is not gory, and it also includes the comedy element, especially thanks to the character of Dotta and his sticky fingers.

What I appreciate about this volume is how readers are introduced to this world. We find out what’s going on and the story’s background mostly thanks to conversations between Xylo and Dotta—these conversations don’t look forced to overload the readers with information but they occur throughout the story in a natural manner, whenever the need arises.

The manga has just started its publication in the English language, but the light novel has been available since 2023, with the sixth and latest volume available in September 2026. The series has also been adapted into an anime on Crunchyroll, with the first season already out, and a second season in the works.

Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 is released by Yen Press in the English language with Matthew Rutsohn’s translation and lettering by Toppy. Volume 1 is releasing on July in the UK and Volume 2 is slated for release in October.

Read a free preview on the Yen Press website here.

Our review copy was supplied by Edelweiss and Yen Press.