Drops of God Vol. 2: Les Gouttes de Dieu

神の雫 #2

by Tadashi Agi, Shū Okimoto (Illustrator)

Shizuku Kanzaki is the son of a recently deceased, world renowned wine critic named Yutaka Kanzaki. In order to take ownership of his father's legacy, an extensive wine collection featuring some of the most rare labels of the last 30 years, he must find 13 wines, known as the "Twelve Apostles" and the heaven sent "Drops of God" that his father described in his will. But despite being an only child, Shizuku is not alone in this unique wine hunt. He has a competitor. Issei Tomine, a renowned young wine critic, was recently adapted into the Kanzaki family and is also vying for this most rare of prizes.

Shizuku has never drunk, nor had any previous knowledge about wines, but with strong senses of taste and smell, honed from years of time spent with his father, Shizuku accepts the challenge, albeit with a little push from a young sommelier in training named Miyabi. In many ways his mentor and his muse, Miyabi teaches Shizuku the basics of wine and allows Shizuku to nurture his given talents as he begins his journey across the globe in search of the 13 bottles his father has selected for him to someday taste.

In the second volume of the Drops of God, Shizuku has lost his family home, and now he must go search for the first of the Twelve Apostles of Wine. Not knowing where to start, he turns to his new friends and collabrators for guidance. However, this poses a new problem. The world of wine is vast and is full of history. Where does a complete novice start? And with a co-worker  who is madly obsessed with Italian wines, how will he ever find the proper perspective and direction needed to take on someone like the prince of wine criticism, Issei Tohmine?

To prepare himself Shizuku volunteers to participate in a unique wine tasting by one of Japan's up-and-coming wine traders and producers Saoin Wines. The same group that is funding Shizuku's rival Tohmine have established an event that showcases 100 unique wines together in a formal setting. This is a high-stakes wine event, where the most enjoyed wines will certainly be bought up at top dollar by the finest food and wine establishments of Asia. As a member of Taiyo Beers new Wine Sales Division, Shizuku must select  the best wine at this event. And even if the labels are not the best known, he will have to trust his senses and his own judgement of taste to pick the one true wine worth sales on the market today.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Wine, Seinen, Food, Fiction

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2005

About the author

Tadashi Agi, 亜樹直, is the penname of Yuko and Shin Kibayashi, a sister and brother team of Japanese manga storywriters. Shin Kibayashi also uses the pseudonyms Seimaru Amagi and Yuya Aoki.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing volume in the Drops of God series! I'm definitely loving this series so much more than I anticipated. While I drink wine, I didn't realize I would be so interested in actually learning about the ways that its produced and the techniques associated with the best wines. This picks up immediately where the first volume left off. I don't want to give too much away in terms of spoilers, but this is the volume where we definitely see Shizuku become more confident in his abilites to possibly find the 12 apostles and the drops of God in order to "win" his fathers estate. What I noticed while reading this volume is that there is an over arching plot which focuses on Shizuku's challenge to win his father estate and then there are mini plots in each volume. The mini plot in this one occurs after Miyabi broke an expensive bottle of wine and both she and Shizuku are tasked with finding a replacement. I lovedddd this subplot because it focuses on refinding lost love. It was beautiful and I didn't expect to have such an emotional connection to it. With that being said I can't wait to dive into the next volume. This series has been an unexpected surprise.

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to be entertaining and instructional in the art of serving wine. I’m in.

[christene_littlelibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drops of God is a manga about wine like everything! It was a very informative read for me. I do drink wine but don't bother with how and whys. This manga tells reader about different kind of wines how each differs from taste, aroma, color, and etc. It follows the story of Shizuku Kanzaki, the son of a well known wine critic but doesn't drink wine not until when his father died and was forced to know more about wine in order to compete to his legal brother which is the prince of wine critics. Will he be able to know more in a short span of time or will he fail to get his father's treasures?

[Seth · Rating 1 out of 5]

A story about rich wine snobs being rich wine snobs was never going to rank among my favorites, but at least it also had some mildly interesting info about sommelière training and techniques - had, past tense. It seems Tadashi Agi burned through all the info of general interest in the first volume (because, quelle surprise, there's not much of it). What's left is boring tidbits about specific vintages and vintners and wine critics, and of course, more rich wine snobs being rich wine snobs (which means, among other things, frequently comparing wines to sexy women).

[Siriusly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like where this is going (I also like that these are included with Amazon Prime Reading 😊). In this volume, we see how wine (or any foods, really) can evoke long forgotten memories or feelings through scent and taste. Which I can attest to. I recently tasted a whisky that took me to the California coast, Malibu specifically. Weird, right?

I’ve glazed over the story because I’m more impressed with the poetic representation of experiencing wine in this story - which holds true for many things, not just wine.

[Book busy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another volume down and I'm feeling just as chirpy about it. This manga is like a slice of life except the slice in particular is glass of burgundy. So comforting to just flip through when I'm on a study break and each panel is well drawn, each character well designed and each plotline light yet engaging. Good good good.

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this better already, perhaps because I'm getting used to the over-the-top vibes I get from story. It's very interesting still, and I kinda want to reach for some paper and pen and jot down all those good wine names now. I'm glad I started this series.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'aime toujours cet univers. La dégustation. Des vins y est très poétique.
Bon lorsque j'ai vu qu'il y avait plus de 30 tomes, j'ai été découragée (financièrement, par manque de place, par crainte de longueurs) cette série n'étant pas à la médiathèque, j'attendrai les replays sur France 2😄

[Anais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vraiment atypique comme mangas, mais je commence à adorer. Mélanger l'oenologie à un scénario plus léger permet une vulgarisation de ce domaine qui m'intéresse tant mais qui est souvent réservé à une petite élite. On apprend à connaître le vin français et ses subtilités à travers une histoire addictive.

[Soo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024/11/20 Notes:

Full series on KU.

Comic series volumes story pacing is a bit different from a book series. I like the blend in this one that has a distinct episodic frame of intro, progress & conclusion for each arc. The wrap up for the first arc was done in Vol2 and it was grand! It evoked a variety of feels: amusement, nostalgia, contempt, gambatte cheers and keen interest to see how the story and characters will grow.

Good art + story easily made the series a fav.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smooth continuation from the first volume. Shinzuku and Miyabi (an apprentice sommelier and new friend of Shinzuku's from the first volume) begin working in Taiyo's new wine division. Shinzuku competes against Issei for the rights to live in his father's house. Shinzuku and Miyabi have to find a replacement for a rare and expensive bottle of wine that Miyabi accidentally broke, with the help of a hermit living in a cardboard box.

[SamDojtez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encore un très bon tome qui mêle habilement l'univers du manga et de l'oenologie. Je recommande cette lecture à tous ceux qui veulent découvrir le monde merveilleux du vin avec des personnages fantasques.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how far I'm going to follow this series. It's interesting to read about wine like this and I feel like I'm being educated. However, my time is limited so I'll probably use it reading other stuff instead.

[Hannah Kentridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

this manga continues to be weird and confusing (and not super gripping hence it took me months to read this one volume) but i’m still kinda enjoying it really. i only have vol 3 now & i doubt i’ll bother to buy more after reading that

[Satta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I’ve been sucked into reading this series. Lord 44 volumes?? But very entertaining story and love learning about wine. It kinda makes me want to try and learn more about wines myself!!

Love it. Rooting for shizuku to beat issei’s ass!!!

[Paul Aquino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun break from the tedium of wine text books

It's a great distraction from my wine studies, and an in-depth look at how manga can influence wine buying trends in Asia.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incomparable graphic novel

Unlike anything I’ve read in a graphic novel. Slightly plodding but the education on wine and the mystery of the author’s path kept me engaged.

[ReadingFrog · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm even more confused now than I was after volume one - not because of the plot but because of everything else 😂😭

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miyabi Shinohara is a great counterpart to Shizuku -- when it comes to wine she's the head to his heart, and I love how they're actually friends without any suggestion of romantic tension.

[Johnathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving this story, I love that I can drink wine while reading this.

[Justine]

Clash of wine critics continues

As the first, an education in wine disguised as a clever story. More characters join the cast and round out the plot.

[Katsandrya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deuxième tome de cette série dont j'avais pourtant déjà entendu parlé mais que j'avais dédaignée parce que des japonais qui parlent de vins, français souvent... allons, soyons sérieux deux secondes !
Et bien justement, ce manga apporte les connaissances de bases - en tout cas, au tome 2, à voir comment cela va évoluer - et me permet d'affiner mes bases en œnologie. Je m'y connais un tout petit peu mieux que la plupart de mes amis, mais c'est plus de l'instinct et quelques trucs glanés de-ci de-là.
Au moins je m'apperçois que je ne suis pas la seule à avoir eu cette approche et que ça peut fonctionner... jusqu'à un certain point.
Et surtout, on en apprends beaucoup sur la géographie française des terroirs, et c'est parfois bluffant.
En bref, tout est bluffant dans ce manga dont je suis tombée amoureuse, voilà que ça va me faire consommer du vin !

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one I think but let's see what happens..

[Barbjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining

With appealing characters and pleasantly detailed art, this enjoyable manga will welcome you into the world of wine and those who love it.

[Marie Bouteille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toujours aussi prenant

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters with the dueling wine brothers were hilaaaaaarious