Review by Ian Keogh

This second volume is the middle part of a trilogy adapting a strange 2005 animated film. Speed Grapher 1 introduced us to photographer Tatsumi Saiga, frequently beaten-up due to his intrusive methods, and put-upon rich teenager Kagura who finds solace in fetish clubs. When she kisses him she transforms his life, as henceforth when Tatsumi points his camera at anyone and pushes the button, they explode. The first volume also involved others with super powers of a sort, and the two lead characters having to go on the run together.

Early in this continuation Tatsumi discovers a refinement to his abilities, which is useful as he’s been outed on the TV news as the primary suspect in a department store bombing incident. It’s also clarified that Kagura’s talent has been used on several others, and those running the fetish club are able to call in favours, which sets the scene for a succession of unusual talents chasing Tatsumi down.

The plot to Gonzo’s original anime was obviously bonkers, perhaps indicated by their chosen alias, and Tomozo’s adaptation filters that quality onto the printed page, even in theoretically more serious moments such as a flashback to Tatsumi’s career as a war photographer. His storytelling’s not always the clearest, meaning moments seeming to be significant are in fact of little consequence, just given greatly exaggerated presentation, a scene with a pin being an example. Tomozo’s art is at its best when presenting super-powered threats, such as the mad doctor who manifests spider legs and has a drill in his mouth.

No-one’s behaviour or motivations stands up to any great scrutiny, but that’s not the point. The intention of Speed Grapher is to present fast-paced thrills accompanied by unpredictable super powers, and on that basis it’s a success.

Things don’t look good for Kagura and Tatsumi at the end, but that’s only to be expected as we head to the conclusion in Speed Grapher 3.