Spiritual Police, Vol. 2

Many thanks to SuBLime for putting out this extremely well-done translation! I've been eagerly anticipating this sequel, and it doesn't disappoint. From master storyteller Youka Nitta, a tale that mixes esp elements with hard-boiled police work, along with a mature love story. Not the typical high-school kids, the main characters are complex and worth getting to know. For fans of Nitta's other work, Otodama: Voice From the Dead, this gives older brother Nagatsuma's background, so we learn of the emotional sacrifices he has made for his career. This adds poignancy to his later clash with his brother over whether to work within or outside of the police department, in Otodama. Anyway, great artwork, and a focus on older working adults which I very much appreciate. Love the translation, with characters speaking in fluid, believable English as they deal with complex issues. I can hardly wait for Volume 3, as this one leaves us STILL in slow burn mode, waiting for our faithful lovers to be reunited. Sigh. I'll just keep waiting along with them.... ETA, there are NO scanlations, not even raws out of this story on the web. So every page was a pleasant surprise and totally new to me. Such a great story!

Strange yet enthralling tale. An original love story. Yaoi and not the least bit shy with the artwork. Can't wait for the next volume.

It’s been a while since I read the first book in this series and I had to take another look to remember the plot. As it turns out, it’s been about seven years between the action of Spiritual Police, Vol. 1 and its sequel. So this manga does its best to fill out what’s been happening in the interim. Seven years ago, Nagatsuma thinks he was betrayed by his lover, the seer Aoi Hiyoshi or Aoi Kagamiishi. So he set a trap for the blind seer. Now Nagatsuma meets a young man who looks so much like Aoi, it’s deeply disconcerting. It turns out this young man, Saiki Hiyoshi, has his own secret agenda and that makes him a sinister foil for the unsuspecting Nagatsuma. The manga neatly balances this inner tension with the investigation of an ongoing police case. Nagatsuma has been put in charge of a police division, Section Zero, that is meant to balance the abilities of espers with mundane police procedure. Their very first collaboration puts Nagatsuma and Saiki at loggerheads. I’ll admit that the scene where Saiki tries coercing Nagatsuma into submission by dangling a possible reunion with Aoi made me furious and unsettled. Nagatsuma was naïve and had been betrayed once. Would it happen again? Ms. Nitta however is cannier than that. Nagatsuma has grown since his initial encounter with Aoi and he manages to spring a surprise on the surly, hostile Saiki. Saiki has now realized that his subordinate is not going to be an easy pushover. Whether Nagatsuma maintains that edge remains to be seen in future volumes. I enjoyed seeing the verbal interplay amongst these men. This is a promising follow-up and I’m looking forward to the third manga in this series.

The whole book is printed well, and the content is very good. I like it very much and I am satisfied with a shopping.

hi

I like all of Nitta-sensei's series because it's not only the art but also the plot twists. Hope that it doesn't take too long to buy the 3rd volumne.

it was not good as the first one

We don't get to see as much of Aoi in this one (I have a thing for blind men with long hair in yaoi, like Canale from Corsair), and I was drawn to this series because of its supernatural elements. I have also enjoyed the intrigue. I feel sorry for Nagatsuma through most of this book. There is a bit of a dichotomy here, as Japanese culture is full of ghost stories, but obviously you can't let that element enter logical positions like police and law. That struggle was interesting to see. One complaint I have is that there was quite a gap between the release of the first and second volume. I actually held off buying volume 1 because I learned it wasn't a standalone and volume two had yet to come out. When it finally did, I decided to buy the series. Now I just hope there isn't the gap between the release of volume 3 that there with volume 1 and 2.

I manga di Youka Nitta sono una garanzia : splendidi disegni, personaggi interessanti e storie avvincenti. L'investigatore Nagatsuma torna dopo diversi anni ad indagare su casi che hanno a che fare con cose trascendenti e continua a pensare al chiropratico ipovedente Aoi che non incontra ormai da molto tempo. Il racconto procede ma questo secondo volume non è quello conclusivo, la suspence continua. Da non perdere se amate intrigo e misteri.