Creator: Tadashi Kawashima
Publisher: Del Rey
Age Rating: Older Teen
Genre: Sci-Fi
RRP: $10.95
Alive v2
Reviewed by Dan Polley

It becomes clearer to Taisuke that something is amiss. And it’s not just the world around him, it’s him, too. And that’s what the second volume of Alive: The Final Evolution sets to find out — just what is wrong with Taisuke.

When Taisuke realizes what has transpired after his fall from the school, he sets out with a plan. It doesn’t matter what he’s up against, he must find a way to bring back Hiro and Megu.

The only clue he has to his friends’ whereabouts is north. So he sets out.

But as he starts on his journey, he finds out that there’s something in him that’s just not right. Yet he doesn’t understand it fully — at least not yet.

Taisuke befriends a woman at a rest stop and is able to get some company to talk about his problems. It’s just that he doesn’t have answers for those problems and it’s difficult to face them when you don’t know how to solve them.

But a boy who shows up at the rest stop might know how — too bad he’s out to kill others first. But when a mysterious “comrade” shows up, he’s also there for one reason only: To make sure Taisuke doesn’t make it any further alive.

The science-fiction based manga is expanded in the second volume, but there’s still so much mystery left unrevealed that it borders on whether it moves the over-arching plot forward or not. However, there is enough growth from Taisuke, at least in terms of coming to grips with what has happened to him, to make it an irrelevant point, at least for this volume.

However, Alive needs to start picking up steam. It’s a plot that could be great, but there needs to be a bit more revealed in the next volume or it would seem like a waste.

Think you could have written a better review of Alive v2? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC


12 March 2010
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