Rasetsu Volume 2 by Chika Shiomi

I’m warming up to this title a bit more with the second volume. It still feels a little slight but there was more character interaction and background in this volume, which made for a more satisfying reading experience. Yako continues to work at the paranormal agency along with Rasetsu and Kuryu. Rasetsu shows more of her feelings about the curse that has given her two more years of normal life before a demon will return to claim her. Since the only way to break the curse is to find true love, Rasetsu is easily distracted by fortunetelling games that promise to tell her if she’ll find a boyfriend. Yako is unaware of the full details of the curse and decides to tease Rasetsu. But when she’s overcome with fear about her fate during an exorcism, Yako quickly moves to comfort her.

Kuryu is a familiar character type for those who’ve read Shiomi’s works before. He’s tall, dark, slightly mysterious, and seems to have much more mystical power than he’s letting on. He has plenty of smirking facial expressions that cause the reader to wonder if he could be evil. He also seems to be courting Rasetsu along with Yako, but whenever he tells Rasetsu that he loves her she assumes that he’s joking. I still like the combination of Rasetsu’s exuberant personality and Yako’s cool reserve. Kuryu accuses Yako of using Rasetsu as a replacement for the spirit he loved and lost.

I was on the fence about this title after reading the first volume, but Rasetsu improved just enough that I’m looking forward to volume three. I still enjoy the clarity of Shiomi’s art, and I thought the poses of the demon fighting trio as they head off to an exorcism were amusing. I’m halfway expecting Kuryu to be Rasetsu’s dreaded demon in human form, so I’m interested to see how this love triangle is resolved. I should probably just enjoy Rasetsu for the fluffiness and give up on wanting darker themes that Shiomi explored in Night of the Beasts.