Manga: Dead Mount Death Play 2

Dead Mount Death Play Vol 2
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

Disaster personified has arrived, but his purpose is unknown. One thing is certain-Polka and company are in the presence of raw power. With death upon them, Shinjuku is in frenzy...The true Death Play has begun. 

I've been looking forward to this volume to see what would happen next after a very enjoyable first volume, and volume 2 doesn't disappoint. Picking up right where we left off there's a showdown with Lemmings but no-one seems able to stop him. Arase the shady policeman is powerless and Polka fears revealing his powers in front of the police, he does however, make some interesting observations about Lemmings and the plot thickens when it comes to that character. 

Polka, in a show of character development already, puts his neck out for Misaki who I really thought he was going to abandon and to be fair..he did want to, and I loved the reluctant allies thing they had going on when she returned the favour. This volume also provides a little more background on the Corpse God, how he got in to necromancy and so on, we also get some interesting information on what his power can do. Of course the poor guy realises he knows nothing of our world, and he needs to learn...so you can imagine the hilarity that brought to this volume!  

Just when you thought things couldn't get more interesting...we get to meet Polka's family and are presented with an interesting mystery when it comes to the spirit that's attached itself to two of his family members. I thought it was particularly interesting to see what Polka's family was like, and where he came from and it did provide plenty of intrigue and a sense of distrust when it came to a couple of characters...which I haven't decided on whether it's justified yet or not in one case. 

Volume 2 gives us some nice reveals and twists, as well as some interesting connections as we find out who most likely put the hit on Polka and why, and there's an interesting connection between one of Polka's relations and Lemmings. We get to know Polka's family, who's related to who and how, who's in charge of what and so on...they're definitely interesting, and a little bit creepy at times. We also get a new character in the form of Hosorogi...a spirit inhabiting a pen. 

I do really enjoy the art for this, not just the character designs but the level of detail and the creepier scenes like for instance, when you see Polka hug his niece and nephew and then see it from another angle and it goes from heartwarming to creepy. I enjoy the little clever tricks used, and the creepier drawings mixing with the cute character designs, and the art has stayed strong so far. 

Volume 2 provides us with information, tension and danger, as well as some action and some puzzle pieces falling in to place...along with a new puzzle forming, one that we already thought we'd solved at one point in this volume! 

The final plot twist is one that comes when you think everything's all over, and it's all good, and it throws us in to a rather chilling ending. We still have a lot of questions despite the connections we've managed to make in this volume, and the reveals we've had, maintaining a nice balance between keeping us guessing while feeding us some answers so we don't get too frustrated! The pacing remains good with plenty of action and intrigue to keep you hooked alongside creepy, chilling elements!