Creative Staff
Story/Art:
Story: G.O.
Art: Tatsuhiko
Adaptation: CHIHIRO
Translation: Leighann Harvey
What They Say:
Class 2-A is awash in blood as the voting game continues. But with the addition of the new transfer student, do they finally have an opportunity to end the madness before the next deadline, or will new hurdles block their only hope of salvation?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With volume two of survival thriller Tohyo Game released, the twisting path of class 2-A and its descent into desperation is reaching a fever pitch. With every attempt to stall the seemingly perpetual voting game thwarted and the requirements to participating escalating, the line between life and death is razor thin. Tatsuhiko’s art remains a strength in the manga, conveying the psychological stress and breaking point of these teenagers with a tenable realism (as far as manga goes, at least). The story, though taking a few satisfying but expected twists, loses a little bit of its identity in volume two while adopting even more aspects from its undoubted inspiration in cult-classic Battle Royale. Overall, Tohyo Game Vol. 2 is a satisfying, if uninspired continuation of this brutal voting game, one that may not see a single survivor in the end.
A major focal point of volume 2 is the mystery surrounding new transfer student Marina Yamamura and her level of involvement in the “game”, as it is now lovingly called. Her character above all others is what reminds me of Battle Royale the most, considering lone wolf bad boy Shogo Kawada and Marina share plenty in common. Cold as ice and not possessing a shred of respect for her new classmates (or their funerals), suspicions run wild of her being the votekeeper, and who can really blame them? Given her behavior and strong amount of knowledge pertaining to this game, it would be common sense to exclude her from any planning as a prime suspect. However exciting this kind of character may be, the copy-and-paste style of writing used not only for her but of the two main protagonists is easily my biggest detractor of the series as it stands.
Speaking of our main couple, Wakaba Ootsuki and Shuusuke Takayama are perhaps the last two classmates still actively trying to NOT kill anyone. Being the only person she has spoken to and helped in a twisted way, Shuusuke has perhaps the best window into figuring out exactly who Marina really is. With the psychological strongholds of Shuusuke’s classmates breaking down at an alarming rate however, he has given himself very little time to play investigator. Once again, Battle Royale rears its head as Shuusuke and Ootsuke try desperately to not kill or sacrifice anyone in an environment completely bereft of that possibility. Luckily for us as readers, Shuusuke’s life may be headed down a lane spicier than that of Shuya Nanahara…
In Summary:
Continuing to share more of its story with classic Battle Royale, Tohyo Game is an adequate, if slightly vanilla teenagers forced to kill/die affair. Possessing strong art, a good adaptation, and stuffed with shocking twists and turns, this manga still does enough to stand on its own in a crowded field, but only by a few hairs.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: C
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: Mature
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: January 24th, 2017
MSRP: $15.00 USD
