Dogsred, Vol. 2

ドッグスレッド [Dogsred] #2

by Satoru Noda

As the school year comes to a close, it's time for the powerhouse Oino-kami High ice hockey team to win the championship once again, but have they lost their edge? Then, after one of the biggest natural disasters in Japanese history, the people of northern Japan are determined to carry on. When the new school year starts, Rou and his friends from Miyamori enter Oino-kami High School. They decide to try out for the hockey team, but before they can join, they have to survive a grueling day-long trial under the eye of the eccentric Coach Nihei.

Genres: Manga, Sports, Comics, Hockey, Young Adult, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published June 17, 2025

About the author

Satoru Noda (野田サトル, Noda Satoru) is a japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
can Oino-Kami high Ice Hockey team win the championship for the 20th time running?

as the new school year starts Rou and friends try out for the self same team...but the Coach?!?!

[Nino Cadeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

same as the first one but even better

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first one of these a lot more than this one. I never got my footing regarding who was who, and the world building seems a little too intense and detailed for a second volume; more exposition than story.

...and then there's the... checks notes... waterboarding part of the book?! Yeah, I think I'm out.

I think there's a high probability I'll pick up a third volume... but only because the main character is (which featured, which isn't a hell of a lot in this volume) hilariously over the top. But the drop between the first volume and second was steep for me.

[Tippy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had read this before I knew anything about hockey I might have really enjoyed the explanation of hockey terms that are peppered throughout the story. However, since I spend an unhealthy amount of time dealing with hockey and a hockey player, I found that they took me out of the story. Obviously that is a me problem and not a story problem. My biggest issue is that the relationship between Rou and Keiichi still feels very much like a typical BL enemies-to-lovers trope and it's not and it makes me sad. Actually, my biggest issue with this volume might be Coach Nihei. Rou and Keiichi have entered Oino-kami High and are trying out for the hockey team. Coach Nihei is an dick. He literally waterboards students. I don't care how good of a coach you are, or how many titles your school has won in a row (19 in this case but they lost the last one so ha!), being an abusive POS is not cool, even in manga. Also, I still don't love the art style. That being said, I'll probably continue to read the series.

[Philip McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume more than the first, just because it felt like there was a bit more clarity of characters and conflict. Overall, it's feeling like your average sports manga but with the bonus of being very much a Noda story full of cultural details, irreverent humor, and a great sense of place. In this volume, we see Rou and his sister have a hear to heart, where he explains how he wants to pursue his own dream, and that she wishes she could have had more time with their mother and that skating is what made her feel close. It's nice to see some depth in their motivations added. Oinokami loses to Hachinohe (a school from Honshu), thus ending their 19 year winning streak. It feels like they'll be the big rival to contend with going forward. There's an interesting bit about them dealing with an earthquake and tsunami, which I'm wondering if it'll play a role going forward for their plot as they rebuild after the destruction. The volume ends with some wonderfully unhinged training with Nihei.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

67%

Still a fun read, but definitely not as strong as the first volume, to be honest. I wasn’t super interested in the high-school hockey final, and while I get its purpose was to transition the main crew from middle school to high school hockey, I just didn’t have much reason to care for the high school hockey team. Because of that, the match wasn’t all that exciting (but I’d say it wasn’t bad, just okay).

This volume also tried to introduce a whole bunch of the regional hockey teams, but only hearing the names didn’t do much to make it stick for me. Maybe if they spotted a player somewhere and people went ‘oh, that’s ____ from _____ high school, he’s a great player!’ like in other sport manga, it’d stick better, but idk.

Otherwise, the training arc so far is okay. Kinda standard, with the occasional Noda flair, which is the main thing that makes this worth reading for me. Imma still read the next volume tho - I hope it follows our main guy into some actual games, though.

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ups and downs -- that's what this volume is all about.

Winning, losing, giving up, persevering, changing your mind, sticking with the same thing.. these pushes and pulls are the foundation of Dogsred. Sometimes, tragedy -- whether it be the death of a loved one or a natural disaster -- knock us off our feet, and the decisions we make in the face of those tragedies determine our course for the rest of our lives.

I loved how the tape over Rou's scar came off in this volume following his confrontation with Haruna. To me, that really symbolized him finally accepting his mother's death and being able to fully choose his own course of action.

I'm totally locked into this series. And these Viz Signature editions are just gorgeous, same as Golden Kamuy. Can't wait to order more from the library!

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad that I didn't enjoy this volume as much as the first one. I actually enjoyed the champtionship came. I thought it was suspensful and didn't drag on too long. And then the training segment at the end... yuck. The coach is a bully, using very old school, abusive methods, like not allowing the teenage athletes to have any water even after running for hours. At one point, the kids are encouraged to wet their throats by vomiting. Maybe this series will eventually get around to condemning these archaic, abusive techniques, but I didn't get that sense from this volume.

[n [larrythelatypus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm wondering if there's going to be a plot reason as to why that earthquake and tsunami was relevant, otherwise there's kind of no reason for it
I'm so excited to keep reading this series, it's sort of like Haikyu but for hockey, but if Aoyama from MHA was the main character and also buff

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really like how the manga showcases the history of japan, and also informs the reader of the japanese hockey history. Having recently visited tomokomai, I really feel a kinship with the manga. I want to continue reading it.

[Célestine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this so far. The story, art, and pacing have been great.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not really a Satoru Noda story until someone gets into a fight with a bear, is it?

[Ivan Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy it. I can't believe how much fun this is. The art is great. It does a great job explaining the rules of the game of hockey and keeping you in the story.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still amusing and engaging

[Hel Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how the momentum in both the sport and in the personal lives kept going. The coach is insane and I love that for him. Rou is changing and I also adore how we get little face cameos from Golden Kamui here. Definitely will continue this series.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

[I received an ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.] Dogsred vol. 1 started with a rampage and that kind of chaotic energy continues with vol. 2. We've got the two different kinds of disasters as described in the blurb: one high school sports dynasty falls, while the new defending champ's season gets rocked with a natural disaster (based in reality). We had the start of Rou's journey in the last volume; this time around we get some insight into Rou's reasoning for why he chose such a dramatic exit to figure skating. As if that was not action packed enough, Rou joins his high school's hockey team and they start a very unconventional dryland training regimen in the "experimental forest" behind the school. But wait, is that a bear claw? I guess I would have to stick around for the next volume.

[Stephanie Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great manga and I still don’t know anything about hockey but I am enjoying the story and I am figuring out the game as I read. It continues the story with Rou choosing to chase hockey instead of going back to figure skating since he didn’t really have a passion for it and he was mostly doing it to fulfill his moms dreams and going all in at his new school to make the team. I can’t wait to read to next one and see how he does when he knows all the rules of how to actually play hockey.

Thanks to Viz media and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rou makes the choice to become a hockey player after one game shows him that he can still use his figure skating skills outside of the figure skating world. (We also get his reasons for his outburst that got him kicked out in the first place).

Anyway, there’s a game. We’re introduced to the main villains/rivals except they’re also just high school kids so there’s nothing there for the reader to not like about them.

So Rou gets into high school and joins the team and gets introduced to the chaos that is Nihei. It’s very Satoru Noda, so be prepared for that special brand of humor.

[Jack Silvernagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried actual liquid saltwater tears in two beautiful streams down my cheeks and into my beard, then laughed so hard the next chapter that the cats got scared and ran away. Noda sensei, I would like to shake your hand.

[Risa (Clazzi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this volume slightly shook my wanting to continue the series. Slow plot movements and the humor isn't hitting me like how it did in GK, as well as the depiction of Naoto Koro is rubbing me the wrong way...its annoying to see black characters still drawn like that y'know?? 🙃

[Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay, just a lot of plot building and not so much interesting stuff but good for what it was

[Columbo Magnum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is great!