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Psyren #2
Psyren vol 2
Yoshina Ageha is a high school student who offers to help people with their problems for 10,000 yen. He'll take care of your stalkers, find your lost animal, whatever you want. One day when he's heading home, a nearby pay phone rings, and he picks it up. The only thing he hears however is his own voice echoing. After finding a mysterious telephone card with the word 'Psyren' printed on it, his life suddenly changes as he is drawn into a crazy new world.
Physically drained after surviving his first trip to Psyren, Ageha's psionic powers begin to awaken! Newly reunited with his formerly missing friend Amamiya, now Ageha must meet with a PSI mentor who holds key information about the terrifying rules of the Psyren game!
Physically drained after surviving his first trip to Psyren, Ageha's psionic powers begin to awaken! Newly reunited with his formerly missing friend Amamiya, now Ageha must meet with a PSI mentor who holds key information about the terrifying rules of the Psyren game!
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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175 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
August 10, 2020
Re-read. Now it’s getting going. Awakening powers, more players and training. Action, mystery and a little humour.
December 16, 2025
The story is really starting now! I hope it does not get too convoluted. The power system is super cool
January 11, 2022
3.5 stars
We finally get some lore about the post apocalyptic world that is Psyren O.o
We finally get some lore about the post apocalyptic world that is Psyren O.o
March 17, 2015
The first volume covered a lot of information on the premise of Psyren and its world. Much better to start reading there than jumping in with volume 2.
As Ageha and Hiryu recover from their first experience with Psyren Sakurako provides much needed context and introduces them to her teacher, who has some surprises in store about their situation and… new powers?!
This is a great follow up to volume 1's strong start. The mystique surrounding Psyren is properly intriguing and mysterious, with just enough detail emerging to keep curiosity high. The cast is growing little by little with diverse personalities and agendas that supply additional layers to the narrative. The central mystery of Nemesis Q's goal and the purpose of the game is a gripping one, with the inherent danger of Psyren supplying a lot of tension and action. The ingenious twist of having varying limits of individual access to Psyren allows a constant mix of veteran and rookie interactions as well as opening up a multitude of story possibilities.
I think I'm fully invested in Ageha's adventure and the suspense around it at this point. Can't wait to read more.
As Ageha and Hiryu recover from their first experience with Psyren Sakurako provides much needed context and introduces them to her teacher, who has some surprises in store about their situation and… new powers?!
This is a great follow up to volume 1's strong start. The mystique surrounding Psyren is properly intriguing and mysterious, with just enough detail emerging to keep curiosity high. The cast is growing little by little with diverse personalities and agendas that supply additional layers to the narrative. The central mystery of Nemesis Q's goal and the purpose of the game is a gripping one, with the inherent danger of Psyren supplying a lot of tension and action. The ingenious twist of having varying limits of individual access to Psyren allows a constant mix of veteran and rookie interactions as well as opening up a multitude of story possibilities.
I think I'm fully invested in Ageha's adventure and the suspense around it at this point. Can't wait to read more.
January 3, 2016
Amazing. Can't wait to but volume 3.
January 16, 2026
Now that they've returned, Ageha presses Sakurako to explain all she knows about Psyren. But the answers reveal more than he ever expected. And when it's time to go back, will Ageha be able to protect everyone? Or will the monsters, the environment, and the other humans prove too much?
If the first volume was all about setting up the basic premise, this volume finally stops to take a breather and explain a little bit more of what's going on. Specifically, the psychic powers that are so common in the future Japan that anyone who gets sent there, even for a brief amount of time, will also develop powers.
The psychic powers are rather straightforward, but the fact that everyone has individual strengths means the abilities are still going to be more dependent on the individual. And Ageha can tell he HAS powers, but he's struggling to figure out how to actually use them (and the scene where he finally figures it out is hilarious).
I'm enjoying the frenemy vibe between Hiryu and Ageha. Hiryu's got some surprising history with Ageha, and is just overall a nice dude who likes to poke fun at Ageha (and make no mistake, Ageha has MORE than earned that). This volume also introduces several new faces who feel like they'll be around for a while, especially as one of them is a "graduate" who has completed her game. It's a good angle to the mystery, showing that it's entirely possible to have participated and end up none the wiser what this was even about.
There's also some good bits of worldbuilding, like a scene that shows why the Psyren participants aren't just spilling everything they know to everyone around.
Overall, this is still a pretty fast-paced story that likes to toss out twists and turns nearly every chapter. But as the shape of the mystery grows clearer, the danger--both present day and in the future--is also rising. I rate this Highly Recommended.
If the first volume was all about setting up the basic premise, this volume finally stops to take a breather and explain a little bit more of what's going on. Specifically, the psychic powers that are so common in the future Japan that anyone who gets sent there, even for a brief amount of time, will also develop powers.
The psychic powers are rather straightforward, but the fact that everyone has individual strengths means the abilities are still going to be more dependent on the individual. And Ageha can tell he HAS powers, but he's struggling to figure out how to actually use them (and the scene where he finally figures it out is hilarious).
I'm enjoying the frenemy vibe between Hiryu and Ageha. Hiryu's got some surprising history with Ageha, and is just overall a nice dude who likes to poke fun at Ageha (and make no mistake, Ageha has MORE than earned that). This volume also introduces several new faces who feel like they'll be around for a while, especially as one of them is a "graduate" who has completed her game. It's a good angle to the mystery, showing that it's entirely possible to have participated and end up none the wiser what this was even about.
There's also some good bits of worldbuilding, like a scene that shows why the Psyren participants aren't just spilling everything they know to everyone around.
Overall, this is still a pretty fast-paced story that likes to toss out twists and turns nearly every chapter. But as the shape of the mystery grows clearer, the danger--both present day and in the future--is also rising. I rate this Highly Recommended.
June 24, 2025
After the quick start, we slow things down now for a training arc. Get ready for multiple chapters of how their power system works- it just sort of does. You use your brain and things happen! Lots of talk to get to that. But that's cool, seeing them trying and learning is nice. And more monsters I want to see big monsters and have them hit things yeahhhhh
March 13, 2019
The book had really interesting drawing the gives the book life. The plot of the story so far is great and it always leaves you off on a cliffhanger on a part were it won't leave you confused but wants the reader to read more.
April 13, 2018
So happy I found more volumes of this series. Really loved continuing this and really interested in all the new characters. This is a series I'm glad I found.
February 21, 2019
Karena penasaran... masih lanjut...
Jelas shounen banget. MC cowok pure petarung.
Jelas shounen banget. MC cowok pure petarung.
Read
September 16, 2021good
June 12, 2022
A solid follow up to volume one, explaining more about how the Psyren cards and PSI works. A good lead in to the next adventure for the group we have met in volume 1&2.
March 23, 2024
Ch 8-16
December 4, 2024
Ouais je sais pas
December 13, 2024
Trop d’info dumping mais les nouveaux pouvoirs étaient intéressants à découvrir.
April 28, 2015
The characters have managed to get back from Psyren -- a devastated future Earth overrun by monsters -- but unfortunately their journey is far from over.
And "Psyren Volume 2" introduces new characters and new powers to this intriguing manga series, as well as more answers about what exactly is going on. Author Toshiaki Iwashiro manages to add some intriguing twists to the usual action manga tropes (power-ups, mysterious mentors who know everything about the power-ups, katanas), while also building up the mystery of exactly what is going to happen.
Getting back to the present is not the end of Ageha's woes -- first he runs afoul of a telekinetic motorcyclist who apparently knows about Psyren, and then he gets extremely sick with a nosebleed and fever. Worst of all, he's apparently going to be called back to Psyren whether he likes it or not.
Then Amamiya introduces the boys to Matsuri Yagumo, a former visitor to Psyren who reveals some interesting facts about Psyren: all those who go there develop psychic powers due to... well, pollution or something. She doesn't know what will happen to the Earth in the future, but is determined to find out by assisting newer time travelers. And in order for them to survive their trips to Psyren, she and Amamiya will need to train Ageha and Hiryū in how to use their new superpowers. The training will involve puppets and handcuffs. Not kidding.
In the meantime, two other people become enmeshed in the Psyren web. One is an impish, devious young man named Kabuto Kirisaki, who is just out for money. The other is Oboro Mochizuki, a famous young actor who attempts to go on a talk show to discuss the Psyren card he has received... only to receive a near-fatal visit from Nemesis Q, and a more pleasant visit from an elderly psychic. When the call comes to return to Psyren, these two men will be coming along.
Toshiaki Iwashiro spent the first volume of "Psyren" establishing the idea of Psyren and the first few characters of the cast. With "Psyren Volume 2," he expands the story greatly -- he lays out the mysteries that our heroes have to solve, introduces some more characters, and gives everybody superpowers. Yeah, every SF/fantasy manga series needs some kind of superpowers, especially for the main characters.
And yes, the whole training thing is now kind of cliche... but Iwashiro actually keeps it pretty fresh and fun, mainly by having the heroes just doing a few mental exercises. So instead of training for days or weeks, they spend perhaps two days max trying to hit things with psychic powers or separate coffee creamer. And introducing more important characters keeps things feeling fresh, especially as we see less noble motivations for wanting to go to Psyren.
The author also leavens the rather grim overall mood with some wacky comic relief, mainly involving motorcycle accidents, sock puppets or Ageha being a big goofball. But then the characters go back to Psyren, and the dark, desperate atmosphere begins to return -- especially when a giant eyeless monster-worm explodes from the sandy ground and starts eating large numbers of people. I don't know how popular "Tremors" is in Japan, but I have to wonder if there is some Graboid influence here.
There is also some development of the main trio of characters -- Ageha is handling the horrors of the future about as well as possible, Hiryū's past as a dorky little weakling is revealed, and Amamiya's sad family life is touched on. But the scene-stealer is Matsuri, a spiky-haired concert pianist who is the closest thing they have to an expert. Which is to say she doesn't know much about how Psyren started or it works, but she has some theories about the Taboo monsters and can train people.
And then there's Kabuto and Oboro, who are fun additions to the cast because they seem less morally upright than the established characters, and promise to cause some trouble in Psyren. The former is a sneaky, conniving little beast, albeit a funny one; the latter is pretty much a standard celebrity -- handsome but wildly narcissistic.
Instead of getting bogged down when the heroes return to the everyday world, "Pysren" keeps itself fresh with new characters, new superpowers, and the occasional nosebleed. Bring on more armored worms!
And "Psyren Volume 2" introduces new characters and new powers to this intriguing manga series, as well as more answers about what exactly is going on. Author Toshiaki Iwashiro manages to add some intriguing twists to the usual action manga tropes (power-ups, mysterious mentors who know everything about the power-ups, katanas), while also building up the mystery of exactly what is going to happen.
Getting back to the present is not the end of Ageha's woes -- first he runs afoul of a telekinetic motorcyclist who apparently knows about Psyren, and then he gets extremely sick with a nosebleed and fever. Worst of all, he's apparently going to be called back to Psyren whether he likes it or not.
Then Amamiya introduces the boys to Matsuri Yagumo, a former visitor to Psyren who reveals some interesting facts about Psyren: all those who go there develop psychic powers due to... well, pollution or something. She doesn't know what will happen to the Earth in the future, but is determined to find out by assisting newer time travelers. And in order for them to survive their trips to Psyren, she and Amamiya will need to train Ageha and Hiryū in how to use their new superpowers. The training will involve puppets and handcuffs. Not kidding.
In the meantime, two other people become enmeshed in the Psyren web. One is an impish, devious young man named Kabuto Kirisaki, who is just out for money. The other is Oboro Mochizuki, a famous young actor who attempts to go on a talk show to discuss the Psyren card he has received... only to receive a near-fatal visit from Nemesis Q, and a more pleasant visit from an elderly psychic. When the call comes to return to Psyren, these two men will be coming along.
Toshiaki Iwashiro spent the first volume of "Psyren" establishing the idea of Psyren and the first few characters of the cast. With "Psyren Volume 2," he expands the story greatly -- he lays out the mysteries that our heroes have to solve, introduces some more characters, and gives everybody superpowers. Yeah, every SF/fantasy manga series needs some kind of superpowers, especially for the main characters.
And yes, the whole training thing is now kind of cliche... but Iwashiro actually keeps it pretty fresh and fun, mainly by having the heroes just doing a few mental exercises. So instead of training for days or weeks, they spend perhaps two days max trying to hit things with psychic powers or separate coffee creamer. And introducing more important characters keeps things feeling fresh, especially as we see less noble motivations for wanting to go to Psyren.
The author also leavens the rather grim overall mood with some wacky comic relief, mainly involving motorcycle accidents, sock puppets or Ageha being a big goofball. But then the characters go back to Psyren, and the dark, desperate atmosphere begins to return -- especially when a giant eyeless monster-worm explodes from the sandy ground and starts eating large numbers of people. I don't know how popular "Tremors" is in Japan, but I have to wonder if there is some Graboid influence here.
There is also some development of the main trio of characters -- Ageha is handling the horrors of the future about as well as possible, Hiryū's past as a dorky little weakling is revealed, and Amamiya's sad family life is touched on. But the scene-stealer is Matsuri, a spiky-haired concert pianist who is the closest thing they have to an expert. Which is to say she doesn't know much about how Psyren started or it works, but she has some theories about the Taboo monsters and can train people.
And then there's Kabuto and Oboro, who are fun additions to the cast because they seem less morally upright than the established characters, and promise to cause some trouble in Psyren. The former is a sneaky, conniving little beast, albeit a funny one; the latter is pretty much a standard celebrity -- handsome but wildly narcissistic.
Instead of getting bogged down when the heroes return to the everyday world, "Pysren" keeps itself fresh with new characters, new superpowers, and the occasional nosebleed. Bring on more armored worms!
July 7, 2016
Listen I wanted to like Psyren, I really did. I was really taken in by its setting made more interesting by the mystery. But I’m starting to think that the shonen market is all about the vending machine effect, where what’s predictable sells. This made me a little sad because the author had a lot to say about books he reads and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he has the taste to pull off a good story. Yet though either the pressure of his publisher or overabundance of characters to lasso a plot around, Psyren falls into the broad demographic of drab shonen that doesn’t impress me.
If it has one thing going for it it’s the premise. Psyren’s setting and stories are nestled between the venn diagram of Bleach and the Matrix. Except all of the action is Bleach and none of the thinking is the Matrix. Yet the mystery that’s initially set up of the contemporary world being so different from the Psyren wasteland was really compelling and hooked me to the story. I was at first impressed with the characters fixing time in the past present and present future, but that quickly waned after the characters had less of a reason to do it more for the sake of the plot than for themselves. And the semblance of characterization that was there consisted more of archetypes than substantial players of the game. The character models and designs are all really sharp and cool but didn’t add much more to the story, and that’s the story that was squeezed between explosions that took up whole and chapters.
The severe lack of motive is something I found made the books really flat overall. Save the world because you should save the world. Yet it sets up a whole mess of characters you don’t care if Ageha saves or not. Everyone he’s fighting to save he shared a comedic moment, brodown, boob grab or info dump in response to a question. The books never give the characters time to simmer and build on each other and the point of the series seems moot if that’s what we’re given. It had potential all the way through to elaborate on some interesting storylines, yet the final result is so top heavy from its characters it’s hard to say any of them were worth reading. I would say it’s worth reading if you’re looking for something different in shonen, even if it isn’t super different. But it certainly didn’t show me that the genre has mature or thoughtful stories to tell, but just gave me more pointy-haired high school sword flingers saving the world.
If it has one thing going for it it’s the premise. Psyren’s setting and stories are nestled between the venn diagram of Bleach and the Matrix. Except all of the action is Bleach and none of the thinking is the Matrix. Yet the mystery that’s initially set up of the contemporary world being so different from the Psyren wasteland was really compelling and hooked me to the story. I was at first impressed with the characters fixing time in the past present and present future, but that quickly waned after the characters had less of a reason to do it more for the sake of the plot than for themselves. And the semblance of characterization that was there consisted more of archetypes than substantial players of the game. The character models and designs are all really sharp and cool but didn’t add much more to the story, and that’s the story that was squeezed between explosions that took up whole and chapters.
The severe lack of motive is something I found made the books really flat overall. Save the world because you should save the world. Yet it sets up a whole mess of characters you don’t care if Ageha saves or not. Everyone he’s fighting to save he shared a comedic moment, brodown, boob grab or info dump in response to a question. The books never give the characters time to simmer and build on each other and the point of the series seems moot if that’s what we’re given. It had potential all the way through to elaborate on some interesting storylines, yet the final result is so top heavy from its characters it’s hard to say any of them were worth reading. I would say it’s worth reading if you’re looking for something different in shonen, even if it isn’t super different. But it certainly didn’t show me that the genre has mature or thoughtful stories to tell, but just gave me more pointy-haired high school sword flingers saving the world.
November 11, 2012
Sakurako, Ageha and Hiryu have survived Psyren, but Ageha and Hiryu still have many unanswered questions. With the help of Matsuri-sensei, Ageha and Hiryu learn how to fight in the Psyren world. While Hiryu excels at using his psionic powers, Ageha struggles. I hardly no time at all, the three of them are transported back to the realm of Psyren along with other people who have stumbled across the read phone card. Most of the others are killed but Oboro Mochizuki, a famous actor survives.
I didn't think this book was as good as the first one. I felt like most of the text was the author explaining how the psionic powers work and how to unlock them. While all the explanations were a little boring, I can see why they were necessary. I'm really excited to find out what role Oboro will play in the story. He seems like the kind of person who could be a hero or a villain. I also want to see if the competition between Ageha and Hiryu will put a strain on their friendship. While this book wasn't as good as the first one, I still really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to people who like manga and action packed books.
I didn't think this book was as good as the first one. I felt like most of the text was the author explaining how the psionic powers work and how to unlock them. While all the explanations were a little boring, I can see why they were necessary. I'm really excited to find out what role Oboro will play in the story. He seems like the kind of person who could be a hero or a villain. I also want to see if the competition between Ageha and Hiryu will put a strain on their friendship. While this book wasn't as good as the first one, I still really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to people who like manga and action packed books.
June 3, 2015
To me the introduction of Matsuri Yagumo, Amamiya's psi teacher and a concert pianist was so well done. In engendered a liking for the woman in me so that I anticipated meeting her before the meeting. Learning about Matsuri through Amamiya's back story (detailing her first uses of the card and getting to the level she is today) really was so clever to me.
I liked all the rules and how there is are set qualifications you have to meet in the game before you can return. And the idea of psi was really well developed. The testing and slow explanation of the different types was really intriguing.
I continue to love Ageha and now also am really liking Oboro. Ageha's will alone is so powerful which is good because he has little real technique. He's so funny, he's missed the point of his test. I love the way we are shown how things work and what the players are doing about Psyren from Nemesis Q to Elmore Tenjuin.
BOTTOM LINE: Duplicated content but new characters!
I liked all the rules and how there is are set qualifications you have to meet in the game before you can return. And the idea of psi was really well developed. The testing and slow explanation of the different types was really intriguing.
I continue to love Ageha and now also am really liking Oboro. Ageha's will alone is so powerful which is good because he has little real technique. He's so funny, he's missed the point of his test. I love the way we are shown how things work and what the players are doing about Psyren from Nemesis Q to Elmore Tenjuin.
BOTTOM LINE: Duplicated content but new characters!
March 7, 2014
Deciding to go on in this series sort of half worked out for me. I find myself liking the characters more here in the second volume, but the story... ehhhhh.
This was like infodump: The Manga. We learn about psi powers, and how to use them. And then we see people trying to use them. Woo hoo.
I shouldn't be so facetious. It is kind of interesting, it just feels like they spend way more time on it than they need to, or else that it needed to be broken up with something that didn't feel so much like a weird pseudo-science class.
But like I said, the characters really worked a lot better for me in this one. And it did really start to pick up at the end, as we meet a couple new active Psyren contestants and get called back to that waste land way ahead of what the thought would be the schedule. Led me quite excitedly into volume 3
This was like infodump: The Manga. We learn about psi powers, and how to use them. And then we see people trying to use them. Woo hoo.
I shouldn't be so facetious. It is kind of interesting, it just feels like they spend way more time on it than they need to, or else that it needed to be broken up with something that didn't feel so much like a weird pseudo-science class.
But like I said, the characters really worked a lot better for me in this one. And it did really start to pick up at the end, as we meet a couple new active Psyren contestants and get called back to that waste land way ahead of what the thought would be the schedule. Led me quite excitedly into volume 3
January 25, 2014
Not sure what happened here, there was a huge drop in quality between this and the first book in the series. I was excited to see this series doing new and innovative things but this second volume relied on tedious shounen tropes. In fact, it draws a bunch of similarities to Bleach, a much older and longer running series, but it's nowhere near as well executed and ends up feeling like it's trying to copy the success of that instead of blazing it's own trail. It also, like Bleach, subjects the reader to a long diatribe about the particular powers these protagonists have, which is only ok if the reader has any reason to have an investment in the characters or plot in the first place, which here is utterly mundane.
January 9, 2015
I actually thought that this was pretty good for a second volume. It works on developing the characters nicely, even showcasing their flaws, which is something that I feel that not a lot of the books I've been reading have really been doing. There wasn't a whole lot of action, which might be why so many disliked this volume. It focused more on advancing the plot and explaining things, which is really what I'm reading this series for anyway.
October 12, 2012
A great sequel to a great beginning this series is amazing I love every second of it. Psi power was a great addition to the story because it would be boring if they were only normal people then they would die very quickly.
March 6, 2014
Volume 2 surprised me by being a moderately slow paced volume with significant explanation on Psy usage in the present time Japan. Although it was expected Yoshina has a uniquely unexplainable Psy energy that runs off of emotion instead of one of the three Psy categories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2012
Okay I'm sold. I hope the cast stays this likeable/intriguing, it'd be nice to have a traditional shonen manga I'm actively into again. 3.5 stars
Read
March 31, 2013The story gets better and better.
The addition of new characters seems to me a smart move but I hope the focus of the old ones won't be lost.
The addition of new characters seems to me a smart move but I hope the focus of the old ones won't be lost.
March 31, 2013
Public library copy.
November 11, 2013
I am really enjoying this series. It definitely has the potential to reach 5-stars in the future if it keeps this up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews