Genres: Action, Adventure
Rating: Older Teens
Price: $10.95

Sakurashin Town is an interesting little town that seems to have quite a mystical arrangement surrounding it. Hime Yarizakura and friends are back for the second helping of Yozakura Quartet.

The first half of the volume focuses on one of the quartet, Akina Hiizumi, who is also the only one of the quartet who does not have superhuman abilities. Kyosuke Kishi stays behind with Akina while the remainder of the group head on out to separate adventures.

Other friends end up visiting those two while they’re alone and some hijinks ensue. And as the characters begin to interact with one another, you can feel the disturbance hiding just below the surface of Kyosuke’s character.

And, of course, not long after that, he boils over. But that’s when some compelling storytelling from the characters’ pasts emerges to shine light on their present.

Although Akina might seem to be just some ordinary human, he turns out to have a secret that even his best friends didn’t know about.

Another tale in the volume follows Hime after she returns. She and a 9-year-old girl travel about the town in the hopes of seeing and connecting with the people. And while Hime has some genuinely nice encounters with some residents, she also has one encounter that leaves her clueless and alone.

The 9-year-old is set to run for mayor of a nearby town. But something suspicious is in the air. As the two travel about the town, they’re being followed by the girl’s mayoral competition — and some other people. It’s clear that everything is not as it seems, but how exactly will events play out?

This second volume of Yozakura Quartet is successful because it subtly builds the plot for future volumes while keeping the focus of this one entirely on developing the characters. And learning about the depth of two of the quartet shows that they are interesting characters indeed.

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