Light Novel: Death March Vol 2

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody Vol 2
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Satou has broken free of the demon's labyrinth, rescuing Pochi, Tama, and Liza. And after liberating two more girls from slavery, one of which has a surprising knowledge of Japan, he's on his way in to a new adventure as it's now long before a new character makes an appearance and a rescue mission is launched in to place. But once the missions complete...where's Satou's next destination?

Okay, so I fiddled with the synopsis a bit to give you a smidge more information without spoiling the volume! For a good chunk of this volume we're getting to know the two new members to Satou's group, as well as a couple of other new characters. We have Arisa and Lulu from the end of the first volume, the former being the one that knows all about Japan! They're sisters and the newest members of the group! We have Nadi and her elf boss Yusaratoya, who run the general store! We also have Mia, another elf, and Nana right towards the end who I'm sure we'll get to know in the next volume! 

So we get a few new characters to spice up the plot, which I enjoyed. It was nice to meet these new characters, and see their interactions with our favourites from the first volume. It's kept the story fresh and intriguing, I think. Volume 2 picks up not long after Volume 1 ended, and there's a little flashback to fill in the gap. Thanks to Arisa we get to learn a lot more about the world, and how it works thanks to her knowledge, which makes it all the more fascinating. 

In this volume, Zena is present but she kinda takes a backseat, and Arisa takes to the stage as it where. There's a tonne more of her, as we get to know her and see her settle in to the group, we get to know Lulu a bit, but I'm hoping to see more of her in the next volume, along with Mia and Nana! 

There's lots of action and adventure in this book, to go with the new characters, plus a new part of the world to explore that comes to life from the page. Sure there are some slow parts as the group's dynamic adjusts and everyone settles in. But there's some brilliant action sequences. I feel like I'm enjoying the light novel more than the manga, there's more information and more background on the world, characters and plot. Theres more detail, and I just find myself reading the light novel and getting lost in the story, whereas with the manga I feel like there's something missing and it's not as engaging. The characters come to life a lot more too! 

The story progresses in this volume, as the ending wraps up this particular arc rather nicely, and our characters set out on a new journey with new characters. I'm intrigued to see how the story is going to continue! We've got new characters to get to know, and more of the world to see plus the whole deal with Satou and why he's there and what his purpose is!