Writer & Artist: Tomozo
Based on a story by Gonzo
Original Character Design: Yusuke Kozaki
Translation: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements
Lettering: Bensidi Ayoub
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $12.99
Release Date: April 15, 2025
Tatsumi Saiga is a former war photographer who investigates politicians. Kagura Tennozu is a teen heiress who feels sullied by her erotic dreams with strangers. Choji Suitengu rescued Kagura's mother from bankruptcy by drugging Kagura and using her to enhance his fortune.
When Tatsumi and Kagura met at Suitengu’s Roppongi Club, Tatsumi interrupted a ceremony that unleashed his secret desire. Now he's an Euphoria and can kill people by shooting them with his camera. Can he evade Suitengu’s agents and prevent the gangster from using Kagura to maintain his wealth and power? Let’s leap into Speed Grapher Vol 2 and see!
Story
Saiga wants to understand how Kagura’s kiss transformed him. After an explosive battle in Tokyo with Kaoru Koganei, Saiga rents a car and takes Kagura to Shimoda, a resort town on the Izu peninsula. There, Saiga requests help from a doctor he knows. Dr Ryogoku lacks the facilities to accommodate Saiga’s requests. So, he takes them to a local hospital, where he can discover what makes Kagura unique.
Nibari Ginza views Saiga as hers and hers alone. She wants to know why the media believes he blew up a building and turned the highway into Terminator 2. The police inspector doesn't believe that Saiga is a terrorist or a kidnapper in Speed Grapher Vol 2. But as Nibar follows a trail of clues, what she suspects about her boyfriend seems even worse.
While Nibari pursues Saiga, Choji Suitengu sends Tsujido, Makabe, and Nii’hari after him. After Saiga disrupted a ceremony, damaged the building, and abducted his goddess, the manager of the Roppongi Club needs to consolidate his power. Suitengu has an ace up his sleeve. Not only does he have his paid associates. He can enlist the exclusive club’s members for help.
Suitengu charges his members exorbitant fees. Euphorias who owe their superpowers to Kagura need help meeting Suitengu's financial demands. Kaoru Koganei, the Diamond Euphoria, may be dead. But Katsuya Shirogane, the Rubber Euphoria, is very much alive. And then there is Dr Mizoguchi, a dentist who is behind in his monthly club dues.
Art
Tomozo demonstrates Tatsumi Saiga’s struggle by revealing how the war changed him. When Choji Suitengu drugged her, Saiga imagined that Kagura Tennozu was an angel. But now, he sees her as a repressed teen. Kagura’s eyes betray fear over what her mother and Suitengu did to her, and gratitude to Saiga for rescuing her from her strictly controlled life. Amid the colorful characters, Nibari Ginza cuts the most determined figure. Clad in eye-catching attire, she rides a motorcycle and questions suspects with an embossed handgun pressed against their temples.
Amid all the drama, the Euphorias provide frantic action by demonstrating their spectacular abilities. Tatsumi Saiga encountered Katsuya Shirogane in the first volume. The Rubber Euphoria evokes Venom in Speed Grapher Vol 2, demonstrating frightening grace as he dispatches his victims. But the centerpiece of this action-packed story is Dr Mizoguchi. Once, he filled cavities and performed oral surgery with traditional tools. Now, tentacles sprout from his body like a spider's limbs. Amid his hunger for violence, his devotion to his trade becomes an obsession with teeth.
Bensidi Ayoub fills balloons with easily readable dialogue in balloons of varying shapes and sizes. Thoughts inhabit starbursts or escape balloons and boxes to express the character's trauma. The letters enlarge for intonation and volume amid translated sound effects. A line connects characters with dialogue in one-page cartoons between chapters.
Speed Grapher Vol 2 also includes a short story about a princess who abandons her castle. As she embarks on a quest to find her ideal man, she suspects a young local of desiring her stolen sword. Gonzo builds Japanese mythology with history to craft an appealing yet bittersweet story. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a review copy.
Now, let's take a look inside:
Final Thoughts
When a teen heiress falls in love with a former war photographer, his girlfriend pursues them. But amid the women seeking his devotion, Tatsumi Saiga struggles with his new superpowers. He has always sought an emotional connection with his subjects. Now he can’t photograph his muse, because his camera unleashes death on his subjects in Speed Grapher Vol 2.
Rating 9.6/10
To check out the first volume, see my review of Speed Grapher Vol 1.
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