02 Jul / Asadora! (vol. 2) by Naoki Urasawa, translated by John Werry [in Booklist]
And so the intriguing layers – always characteristic of auteur Naoki Urasawa’s series – begin to multiply in volume 2 of his latest Stateside import, brought into English by frequent manga translator John Werry (who lent his talents to the first volume, and the continuity matters). Before the titular Asa reappears, two scientists with two guides trek through a forest somewhere, sometime, to reach a substantial tree trunk ravaged by behemoth claws. “Asa,” each of the quartet repeats just as the chapter ends and volume 1’s spunky protagonist returns.
She’s still in-flight with Kasuga, her not-quite-kidnapper, soaring above the 1959 typhoon damage, searching for survivors, including Asa’s family. Kasuga gets his own backstory as WWII’s “hero of the skies”; before succumbing to a gunshot wound, he teaches 12-year-old Asa to fly and land, and he transfers the title of hero to her.
Five years later, Asa is an aerial phenom, Kasuga her enabler. A stranger from Kasuga’s past appears with a photo Asa recognizes, and the monster hunt gets real. Excitement, intrigue, and adventure are all here, but the human bonds – unspoken, understated, unconditional – linger longest. Get ready to gasp, sigh, swoon.
Review: “Graphic Novels,” Booklist Online, June 30, 2021
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2019 (Japan), 2021 (United States)