7 Billion Needles vol. 2

While originality will never be this series’ strong  point, vol. 2 shows that it’s shaping up to be a good example of solid storytelling.  After the dust settles from the previous volume’s climactic fight, Hikaru decides that it’s finally time to make peace with her father’s death.  So she decides to travel to the island where he died with her new friends along for the ride (thanks to her aunt’s quick thinking).  Once there she meets Masaya, an old childhood friend who harbors a secret about her father’s death.  Then Maelstrom shows up again.

In a twist that should surprise absolutely no one, the bodiless intergalactic serial killer survived his apparent demise and makes his presence known by absorbing the inhabitants of the island into a horrific flesh-creature.  However, it turns out that Maelstrom has been thinking about the neverending chase/catch/destroy relationship that he shares with Horizon, the entity inhabiting Hikaru’s body, and he proposes a challenge to end the cycle once and for all.

Said challenge involves preventing Hikaru from becoming a prisoner to despair and if you think that involves confronting her with memories of her father that also serve to enlighten the reader to her backstory then give yourself a gold star.  If you also think that she manages to overcome that challenge (with a little help from her friends) then give yourself another.

Fortunately, mangaka Nobuaki Tadano knows how to get us involved in this challenge by effectively setting up the relationship between Hikaru and Masaya so that we actually care about his fate when he’s absorbed by Maelstrom.  I also liked the use of Hikaru’s friends in this arc as they show up at just the right times to tell her to get over herself.  This volume does end with a clever twist, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out in the next volume.  It won’t set your mind on fire, but this series’ modest charms are endearing nonetheless.