This volume continues immediately where the previous one left off. Mamori is having a go at Hiruma for bullying Sena, however it turns out thanks to Hiruma's slyness that Mamori ends up becoming the manager of the team; "Free manual labour" as Hiruma puts it. So without too many interruptions, Sena has his eyes set on fulfilling his role for the team, as Eyeshield 21. Meanwhile, Sena's true rival appears, Seijuro Shin. Shin is the fastest linebacker in Japanese history, holding the high school record for the 40-yard dash. As well as being fast, Shin is astonishingly powerful and plays just like a professional player. After he graduates, professional coaches will be doing their best to ensure he joins their team.

In the Kanto area, the two best teams are the Ojo White Nights and the Shinryuji Nagas. After winning their first match ever, Deimon Devil Bats go into the next round of the tournament. Unfortunately, they get to face champions Ojo White Nights, the team with the strongest defence thanks to Shin. On paper, the Devil Bats are completely outmatched, but with Hiruma and co., will they be able to pull something off?

Again, the plot is truly intricate and compelling. The challenge that Sena faces is not totally unrealistic, but gives a sense of a team fighting and trying their best. Someone who plays team sports can really relate to the struggle that goes on here. For example, when one player fails to perform he is lifted by the team to forget about it and try his best. The exact same spirit is present here, although Hiruma is a bit more forceful with his tactics and thanks to this he adds more comedy to the mix of sport and plot.

Much of this book covers the rules of the game as well as the match itself between Deimon Devil Bats and Ojo White Nights. The method of explaining the rules is brilliant, as we are not bombarded with everything in one go. Events take place throughout the book through which the rules are communicated to us. One perfect example is when Hiruma and Mamori are arguing - Hiruma asks Mamori some tough questions about American Football while in the background, Kurita is explaining these to Sena. This is aided by small birds-eye view diagrams of the pitch, ensuring that we understand the rules and the tactics that are used.

The art is of the same quality as the first volume, and possibly better since the majority covers the match. The art is used nicely to compliment feelings through expressions, which is becoming increasingly better throughout all new manga releases that I have seen. The art is perfect in a match, portraying the physical strength used by some characters and the struggle within the game. Comedy has a strong pressure and the art style changes slightly to fit this, usually in Hiruma's scenes.

Again, there are extra features in this book by the artist, including newspaper cuttings, a couple of pages from Hiruma's threat book and small interviews between chapters. These all add up and create a nice blend of comedy, especially at the end of some chapters where a particular situation is tense. The book is nice enough to contain a small recap at the beginning of the book, which is brief but effective.

In conclusion, this is a thriller and even better than the first volume. It sets up the story very well and we know that this will be a fairly long series thanks to the introduction of new characters. Again, this volume moves at a comfortable pace and does not drag on too much. The book leaves us wanting more, however aren't most manga volumes designed this way? The difference with Eyeshield 21 is that the unique blend of sports, plot, comedy and drama is plenty to keep us interested. Simply put, a brilliant piece of work.

5/5

Originally published on www.mangaview.net