Takeru: Opera Susanoh/Sword of the Devil, Volume 2

Note:

I enjoyed the first volume so much, this week’s review of the second volume! Yay! Second volume review already! Whoot! Happy first “Second Volume!” Review. Right.

Oh! And I just learned this today. Takeru, as I’m gonna call it, cause I’m tired of typing out that long ass name, is only a four volume series! No! But, you know, all good things come to an end. And this didn’t really need to be another Inu Yasha (no offense Rumiko Takahashi! I love Inu Yasha and the gang, but man, I’m so behind cause there are sooooo many volumes!) Well, at this rate, I’ll be able to all them pretty quickly. Yay for me!

And you, too!

Tally-ho!

*This review has spoilers. MAJOR SPOILERS! Proceed with caution!*

Takeru: Opera Susanoh/Sword of the Devil, Volume 2-Highly Recommended

Mangaka: Story/Kazuki Nakashima; Art/Karakarakemuri
Copyright: 2009 (translation)
Genre: Shounen, Fantasy, Comedy, Action

Summary:

After pushing back the Amamikado army, all of Jagara prepares for a feast in celebration of their victory. Yet through it all, Oguna is uneasy. He, as does Izumo, realizes the attack was not all it seems: there was a purpose behind the sudden retreat. In addition to this, there seems to be a traitor in their mists, who turns out to be none other than one of the Queens of Jagara! The celebration is cut short as enemy gliders drop in to attack the unsuspecting citizens.

During all the confusion, is uncovered that Oguna, sworn enemy to the Amamikado, is one of King Otarashi-no-Mikado’s son. In a final act of desperation, Queen Miyazu tries to save her people by disclosing the wear abouts of the Susanoh Sword–but to her dismay the entire legend has been mistaken! The Jagara Warriors have truly been the guardians of the evil sword of Kusanagi, a blood thirsty god bent on the destruction of mankind. With the mislead guidance of the “prophet” Segumi, the power of the evil sword is unleashed and possesses Kumaso, who kills the good queen Yamato.

With no other choice, Queen Miyazu, Izumo, and Oguna flee from the slaughter with the help of the mysterious woman in white–Lady Mahoroba. She sets them on their journey to uncover the truth sword of Susanoh to defeat the evils of Kusanagi and bring peace the world of man. The betrayer, Queen Azuma, joins forces with Oguna’s brother (Ohsu-no-Mikoto,) though she is certainly saddened and shocked from the death of her sister, and the revelation of the sword’s true identity.

With no other choice, our heroes venture to the Land of Kuzumi, the Land of Demons, to find Susanoh and reseal the sword of Kusanagi.

Pros and Cons:

Volume two was wonderful. It was so suspenseful! I couldn’t put it down, much like the first. Here, the plot thickens, and you get to know the personality of each character a little more. Plus, the past of some characters is revealed, which helps to give the reader more incentive to figure out why a character makes certain decisions, or why they might have a certain personality. Really, when we learn Oguna’s past, I had no idea. I thought the secret we were gonna learn was that he’s really a she.

But then, I read too many manga!

Anyway, I like how the action pushes the story forward. It’s almost none stop from start to finish! And there were so many revelations, yet at the same, there’s still so many questions unanswered.

And that’s good.

Because we don’t want everything revealed until the end of the story.

It’s like how the original Star Wars trilogy kinda unfolds. You meet the characters and learn the problem in the first installment. In the second, everything goes to hell and nothing’s right–you’re left with a short of cliff hanger on what’s next. By the last movie, or in our case, the last two volumes, we hope to see a good resolution. Really, this is a great manga, and it’s totally fulfilling everything I look for in a story. There may even be just a smidgen of romance later on, too. Maybe between Oguna and Miyazu?

If you couldn’t tell, Oguna’s my favorite character. Though I do like all the antagonists. And shit! Poor Kumaso! He’s all getting into digging this Queen Yamato chick, totally bonding with her (in an innocent way) and them BAM! Here he’s all possessed and helping to kill her (though granted, she was gonna die anyway…still…it’s gonna be hard if he wakes up!)

I just can’t think of anything to complain about. Not that I’m trying, but I do like balance out the good with the bad, and here, I just don’t see anything bad. I’m really looking forward to volume three. Seriously. I’ll review, too, of course.

Couldn’t have a review site without that, right?

So there you have it. Volume Two. Hoo-ha!

Conclusion:

There’s nothing else to say. Great book. Can’t wait for the next.

Takeru, Volume 3 Review!

Takeru: Opera Susanoh/Sword of the Devil, Volume 2-Highly Recommended!

Citations:

Nakashima, Kauzki. Takeru: Opera Susanoh Sword of the Devil. Illstr. Karakarakemuri. Trans. Steven Paul. Vol. 2. Hamburg: Tokyopop, 2009.