Adabana vol. 2

In vol. 1, Mizuki Aikawa told the story of how she killed her friend Mako Igarashi’s uncle after he tried to assault her, and then killed and dismembered Mako over what appeared to be a jealous spat over a boy.  Is that what actually happened?  Vol. 2 shifts the perspective to the murdered girl as we learn about her tragic home life and general situation before she met the cool boyfriend of her dreams, Yuki.  He made everything in her life better until his true nature revealed itself, leaving Mako to deal with the consequences herself.

I thought I knew what kind of series we’d be getting after the first volume, so it came as something of a surprise to see all of this second volume being devoted to showing the events leading up to Mako’s death entirely from her perspective.  My initial impression was that it detracted from the investigative approach implied by the presence of Mizuki’s lawyers in vol. 1, and it makes me wonder how mangaka NON is going to work them back into the plot.  There’s also the fact that Mako’s story is very familiar and you’ll know exactly where it’s going from the start.

Familiar doesn’t mean bad or boring here, however.  Even if what happens to Mako is obvious to the reader, it’s still easy to empathize with her plight and understand why she makes the choices she does.  That makes vol. 2 an engrossing read even before NON pulls the rug out from under the reader with the first major twist regarding the story from vol. 1.  It’s a simple, but significant, one that really makes me wonder how the rest of the story is going to play out.  Preferably with fewer overtly comic moments that detract from the general mood, but I get the impression we’re headed towards a satisfying finale in the next volume after what was delivered here.