Okay, so this came together well! The first volume was fun, but kinda all over the place; this volume was more cohesive. It was nice to get to hang out with some of the other characters this time, and let Kazu and Pandora have smaller parts. We get a better feel for the world, and we get some more serious situations for the characters to deal with. Also, there's cute guys with horns (what?!? I've got a type, sorry/not sorry)!

#DevilsCandyVol2 #NetGalley

Disclosure – thank you to VIZ and Netgalley for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning – Devil’s Candy Vol 2 features supernatural violence, blood, gore, murder, mentions of death, dead parents, absent parents and suicide mentions and imagery.

Can Hemlock High defend their honour in a sporting competition? Cowardly principal Elliot has no idea, but needs to put a team together to at least *attempt* to take on rivals Sacred Crown, so Kazu and Nemo are enlisted to help.

This was a chaotic exploration of the sports team trope, and I really enjoyed it! There’s plenty of comedic moments (and some gory ones too). I particularly loved Charlie Yamamoto, we will never forget him.

The second story arc is a shift to a more serious tone – daemon Rickett is trying to find out what her older brother is hiding, and accidentally drags Kazu and Pandora into it. There’s the return of an old favourite and some new kids in Yagi and (someone whose name I’m forgetting, sorry).

Unfortunately the second story didn’t engage me as much – Rickett isn’t a character I’m interested in, and having such a lot of page time (and a confusing explaination) didn’t help.

However, I really enjoyed seeing Kazu’s parents and their friends in the bonus comics – their playful chaos is more of a return to regular storylines. And the RR angle of the TV couple was lots of fun.

I’m keen to see Vol 3, and will be picking it up when it’s out in future. Perfect for fans of oddball high school comedies.

Devil's Candy, Vol. 2 is a humorous look at an untraditional high school with students of all types. Kazu is a wealthy Imp in a school for demons and other creatures. He's a genius when is comes to science experiments, but a wimp when it comes to sports. In volume 2, we meet new characters and have new adventures. They play Eggscram, which reminds me of rugby with lots of fire and explosions too. The students get involved with the Demon Mob and battles over a talking electric guitar! It is hilarious and the characters are endearing. I look forward to another volume. Pandora is awesome.

I really enjoyed the first volume of this when I picked it up as a little Halloween read, because I thought the art was cute and the story was fun.

I picked up volume 2 excited to see what would happen next and while the art was still really cute and fun, as were the characters, I did struggle a little to get through this volume. I was actually debating DNFing it, mostly because of chapter 4, I think it was, with the game. Things did pick up a little after that but I'm not sure whether or not I"ll pick up the next volume after this. I just found it a bit slow and hard to get into and I wasn't that bothered about what was happening.

While I really enjoyed the first volume and was excited to see where the story went in this second volume it felt like way more of a filler piece than anything else.

I guess I thought it would continue to focus on Kazu and Pandora and maybe feature some new characters. I was not anticipating essentially a brand new cast of characters front running everything. I honestly couldn't keep up with certain things and some of the plot lines felt rushed.

I wasn't a fan of the new Kazu and Pandora strife. It felt very manipulative from both sides and seemingly out of no where.

I still enjoyed it to a point. But definitely had different hopes for it.

Thank you to Viz Media and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a lot of fun with the first volume, the second one took a tonal turn. It is still fun and games (literally for the first chapter of this volume) then it later becomes a serious action story with covert mafioso operations and characters getting pummeled. It is stark and a tad unwelcoming as someone who likes the work for a lighter tone. It is still faithful within the Halloween world, yet do be open for the twists and turns this volume will bring.

You are going to be following a cast of relatively new characters - namely Ricket, Yahgie, and Clarence - in the later chapters as they get more attention as opposed to Kazu, Nemo, Pandora, and Hitomi. Our new cast are okay - not as engaging as the original - though have more thematic resonance. For instance Ricket changes her appearance as Gretel to boost her confidence - enough for her to try to dump Yahgie as well as confront the organization that continues to hurt her brother. She has compelling reasons and stakes though the development can tonally escalate to dire territory one may not be used to.

Not to mention there’s a chockful of extras that really make this work a labor love - backgrounds of each character, side stories, and even a dedicated text-only story of the Devilizer. You will get your fill of the world and more.

For those who love works like Soul Eater and Iruma-kun, you should give this a shot. Both series shift to darker territory and this volume certainly does that albeit sooner rather than later.

Volume 2 may have tonally deviated from what I tend to enjoy the series most - that is its wholesome and playful atmosphere - it is still a good addition/extension to the world of Devil’s Candy.

(Also please read it from left to right. It’s not in manga format. Don’t make the mistake like I had twenty pages afterward)