Review by Karl Verhoven

You may expect Naoki Urasawa to pick up immediately with Asa where he left her ending Volume 1, flying a plane dropping food over a flooded landscape. It’s not too long before he does, but the opening colour section follows a group of explorers in the jungle investigating sightings of a monster. Urasawa sure draws a nice Hornbill.

He opened Asadora! with a frightening scene in the present day, but otherwise kept the story within the bounds of a sentimental reality. Volume 2, though, definitively introduces the concept of events surpassing reality. Asa’s already seen what looks to be a single giant footprint, and now witnesses something horrific and unknown emerging from the floods. It’s immaculately designed by Urasawa to foster uncertainty. Are we seeing a tail thrashing about above the waterline, or is that the beast’s head? Or maybe an arm. Figure it out from the sample art if you can.

Accompanying Asa in the plane is Kasuga, an increasingly interesting character possessing an unpredictable ethical compass. He flew bombers for the Japanese air force during World War II, but his definition of a successful mission didn’t involve bombs landing on assigned targets, but ensuring his crew made it back to base safely. He describes himself as “A true hero of the skies”, but Asa at twelve doesn’t pick up the sarcastic tone. His flying skills are intact, but until now he’s been able to conceal he’s been shot in borrowing the plane. It seems at first that Urasawa is milking this scene in extending it too long, but that’s to underestimate his storytelling. It develops into something absolutely thrilling, with an amazing heart-stopping situation expertly introduced as the page turns.

That’s not even the halfway point. Urasawa’s introduced a couple of other rough diamonds concealing hearts of gold, and Asa’s formidable strength of will impresses all around her before a leap forward of five years to Asa at seventeen in another colour section. That makes more sense of Asa’s friend Sho, trained to the point of bullying by his older brothers to ensure he’ll be a marathon runner by the time the Olympic Games are held in Tokyo, and we’ve now reached 1964.

We’ve already seen Asa has an old head on young shoulders, and a sense of responsibility is only increased by her having to look after her younger siblings who survived the 1959 flood. Only she, though, holds out any hope that the remainder of her family are still alive. Kasuga’s World War II flight commander has turned up, though, drawn as unsettlingly sinister by Urasawa.

Chance has already played a considerable part in Asa’s life, and it strikes again on the final page as Urasawa begins to pull his plots together. This just sweats charm, and it’s pleasing to read a series where almost everyone is well intentioned. Until Volume 3, think about how rare that is.