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Ryuko #2
Ryuko, Volume 2
The conclusion to Eldo Yoshimizu’s stunning manga story.
The final book which explores the shocking life of Ryuko, a tough woman of the Yakuza.
Volume one saw Ryuko’s past being explored, the shocking involvement of her family, and revelations about her mother. Now Ryuko sets about putting things right, searching for lost members of her family, and attempting to save allies who are in dire situations. But the involvement of a Chinese criminal organisation make things difficult – almost impossible – for Ryuko…
The final book which explores the shocking life of Ryuko, a tough woman of the Yakuza.
Volume one saw Ryuko’s past being explored, the shocking involvement of her family, and revelations about her mother. Now Ryuko sets about putting things right, searching for lost members of her family, and attempting to save allies who are in dire situations. But the involvement of a Chinese criminal organisation make things difficult – almost impossible – for Ryuko…
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 26, 2020
I was lukewarm towards the first Ryuko volume. I enjoyed the striking manga art and the exciting, if convoluted, plot but I felt the characters were not engaging. The concluding half of the story in Vol. 2 went off the rails early.
In the first few pages, a new Muslim terrorist organizations enters the fray in Japan, but it is quickly revealed to be stooge for the American CIA… Ryuko learns of an ancient tradition by which she can become the empress of a global organized crime network, which includes key members of both the Yakuza and Hong Kong-based Shequing-Ban… The head of the Chinese mob wants his granddaughter to take over but she must first meet the criteria of killing her own father….
This story got very silly very quickly. No amount of explosions, helicopter battles, motorcycle stunts, or gun-toting girls in bikinis could salvage this mess.
In the first few pages, a new Muslim terrorist organizations enters the fray in Japan, but it is quickly revealed to be stooge for the American CIA… Ryuko learns of an ancient tradition by which she can become the empress of a global organized crime network, which includes key members of both the Yakuza and Hong Kong-based Shequing-Ban… The head of the Chinese mob wants his granddaughter to take over but she must first meet the criteria of killing her own father….
This story got very silly very quickly. No amount of explosions, helicopter battles, motorcycle stunts, or gun-toting girls in bikinis could salvage this mess.
November 24, 2022
This art does not belong in the "manga format" size. His wildly kinetic action action scenes, with their sprawling sound effects, are cluttered atop each other with no room between panels and get skewed as they travel inside the binding. It's a mess that could look drastically better with a promotion to at least 8.5" x 11". The worst part is looking at three or four panels jammed together top to bottom with each trying to capture the width of a room and the actions of multiple people.
The narrative requires massive suspension of disbelief when it comes to characters surviving through a scene but it's certainly entertaining if you don't mind that sort of outrageousness. Yet most absurd is that cowboy hats in metropolitan Japan and Afghanistan, especially on chicks stunt-riding motorcycles, just doesn't work aesthetically! Sure, it can be cool and original as poster art and pin-up type modeling, but in a story it just takes away credibility.
What impressed me most was that there's an emotionally dramatic current and endearing character bonds throughout that are very well orchestrated.
The narrative requires massive suspension of disbelief when it comes to characters surviving through a scene but it's certainly entertaining if you don't mind that sort of outrageousness. Yet most absurd is that cowboy hats in metropolitan Japan and Afghanistan, especially on chicks stunt-riding motorcycles, just doesn't work aesthetically! Sure, it can be cool and original as poster art and pin-up type modeling, but in a story it just takes away credibility.
What impressed me most was that there's an emotionally dramatic current and endearing character bonds throughout that are very well orchestrated.
March 5, 2020
Volume two suffers from the same things I mentioned in comments for volume one. Art is great but at some points it is very, very difficult to figure out what is going on because of ... darkening? ..... of the scene.
Story also feels a little bit rushed at the end. Revelations about Ryuko's mother and what it takes to become the heir to this hidden criminal empire are very much in vein of Crying Freeman (crime-opera mangas all have the very similar flavor) but the ending looks like author had plans for volume 3 but decided against it. It all ends rather abrupt and without explanation - ending reads like a collection of slides - bing, bang, badadboom, the end.
So all in all very interesting graphic novel but could use some more development story-wise to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Recommended to all fans of crime inspired manga but due to the art approach first check if you like it (it is visual media after all and this art style might not be for everyone).
Story also feels a little bit rushed at the end. Revelations about Ryuko's mother and what it takes to become the heir to this hidden criminal empire are very much in vein of Crying Freeman (crime-opera mangas all have the very similar flavor) but the ending looks like author had plans for volume 3 but decided against it. It all ends rather abrupt and without explanation - ending reads like a collection of slides - bing, bang, badadboom, the end.
So all in all very interesting graphic novel but could use some more development story-wise to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Recommended to all fans of crime inspired manga but due to the art approach first check if you like it (it is visual media after all and this art style might not be for everyone).
November 6, 2019
Going into the second volume I was worried. As much as I liked the story of Ryuko in volume one, the manga was a hard read. I mean there were some pages where I couldn't see what was happening. It was a problem of the art getting in the way of the story. Volume two tones that down considerably. Because of that it is a much more enjoyable read. The plot comes full circle and is tied up into a nice little bow, and there is the one issue with volume two. The ending is just so neat and clean with a quick solution so that everyone is content. It's anti-climatic at best, but taken as a whole I am satisfied with the experience reading this story. Give volume two a shot, I don't think you'll be sorry.
September 21, 2021
Ryuko Volume 2 is actually not that bad, especially if we compare it to the first volume. The plot makes more sense and in the end there are some questions answered, at least. Plus, most of characters' role becomes clear. It's not a typical spy story after all.
The art is slightly better too. There are still panels where you don't understand what exactly is portrayed in them, but their number is smaller than the first volume.
My first volume's rating was 2* out of 5*. My rating for the second volume is approximately 3.5*/5*.
The art is slightly better too. There are still panels where you don't understand what exactly is portrayed in them, but their number is smaller than the first volume.
My first volume's rating was 2* out of 5*. My rating for the second volume is approximately 3.5*/5*.
January 25, 2022
The art in this series is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in manga. It looks like it was drawn with a knife.
October 19, 2021
The ending was superb! What art and great characters!
Read
April 29, 2024this belongs in the louvre
Read
September 8, 2025The breakneck speed of this manga is fun but the story it tries to tell just demands more time. I am a fan of the chaotic art but it really does get messy sometimes. The paneling is often really cool tho and it's able to really keep up the energy in a way that makes it fly by. Hope more volumes can slow it down a bit
December 18, 2023
Ryuko ha descubierto que su madre sigue con vida y está secuestrada en un templo. Mientras decide ir a su rescate, Situ Zi y los miembros de la mafia She Qing Bang quieren hacerse con el sello de oro y, con él, convertirse en la nueva Cabeza de Dragón para liderar el imperio de la Flor Negra, una antigua sociedad clandestina muy poderosa.
Esta historia tiene una trama muy oscura, donde prevalece la acción en su estado más puro, una sucesión de acontecimientos sin parar y sin respiro. También tendremos muchas traiciones y secretos, un cierto misterio en torno a la Flor Negra, y muertes. Muchas historias que se van entrelazando para mezclarse y compenetrarse a la perfección y con un ritmo muy ágil y alocado.
Los personajes en este tomo se van ampliando. Todos ellos son personajes oscuros, con más sombras que luces, con un pasado muy marcado. Hay personajes muy malvados, ansiosos por el poder, que saben manejar a las personas a su antojo, traidores y conspiradores, pero también hay personajes íntegros, con una moral y un código ético muy marcado y que siguen a rajatabla, como Ryuko.
El dibujo de Yoshimizu es bestial. Si la trama es oscura, el dibujo va de la mano, siendo unos trazos muy violentos. Esto fortalece la agresividad de la narración, ese ambiente negro y peligroso.
Esta historia tiene una trama muy oscura, donde prevalece la acción en su estado más puro, una sucesión de acontecimientos sin parar y sin respiro. También tendremos muchas traiciones y secretos, un cierto misterio en torno a la Flor Negra, y muertes. Muchas historias que se van entrelazando para mezclarse y compenetrarse a la perfección y con un ritmo muy ágil y alocado.
Los personajes en este tomo se van ampliando. Todos ellos son personajes oscuros, con más sombras que luces, con un pasado muy marcado. Hay personajes muy malvados, ansiosos por el poder, que saben manejar a las personas a su antojo, traidores y conspiradores, pero también hay personajes íntegros, con una moral y un código ético muy marcado y que siguen a rajatabla, como Ryuko.
El dibujo de Yoshimizu es bestial. Si la trama es oscura, el dibujo va de la mano, siendo unos trazos muy violentos. Esto fortalece la agresividad de la narración, ese ambiente negro y peligroso.
July 16, 2021
story is one star gibberish ... again, extra star for the art, because I am just a nice guy, I mean look at all of those drawings, that's a ton of work hours, some of them even evoke ukiyoe, which I love, the temple in the snow? there's some elements of the Hiroshi Yoshida and Hasui Kawase woodblock prints I love in there, reminds me of all the poor college music performance majors I knew who practice a 1000 hours at their instrument over months and months to perform an hour's worth of music in their recital, and even if they had a hundred memory slips and played their Mozart like Prokofiev they still deserve a B and that's kind of like 4 stars, because they put in the 1000 hours and got on the stage, but if I keep thinking like this I am going to get sentimental and add some more stars, doesn't every hard-working artist deserve a minimum 4 stars?, but no, GR already tells me that I am an over-rater already, look at my average rating, that's absurd, obviously I need more rating discipline, I need things like this to get that rating down, sorry ... one other good thing - there is a super handy synopsis of Vol. 1 at the beginning of this Vol. (ah!, that's who those people were! oh, wow, that was her dad she was killing?, oh, I see, yeah, I guess he did deserve it, etc) for people like me who are challenged in the art of deducing plot in violent swirly Japanese manga - probably a skill I will just never get the hang of
January 20, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 2.25/5
If only the story was as well written as (most of) the art. If that was the case you would be looking at a considerably higher score, as well as listening to me lament that such beautiful art was being wasted in small paperback format. When Yoshimizu puts his heart and soul into a panel, it shows, and boy is it something. Unfortunately, for every outstanding panel in this book, there is a middling one to balance it out. It is a puzzling aspect of manga for me, how artists can vary the quality of art wildly from page to page. I'm sure there is more to it than I'm presently aware of, but whatever merit its meant to present is clearly lost on me, and just looks amateurish. Speaking of amateurish... the narrative. This is some bare bones, barely readable stuff. Decent manga writers are rare as hen's teeth, and unfortunately Eldo hasn't ascended to the rare and hallowed ranks of manga artists who can actually write an interesting and engaging story that doesn't come across as stilted.
A Japanese crime noir featuring a series of bad ass, super chic heroines, I'm all on board for that. Unless of course its written like a high school students remedial writing assessment. If only... 2.25/5
OmniBen.
If only the story was as well written as (most of) the art. If that was the case you would be looking at a considerably higher score, as well as listening to me lament that such beautiful art was being wasted in small paperback format. When Yoshimizu puts his heart and soul into a panel, it shows, and boy is it something. Unfortunately, for every outstanding panel in this book, there is a middling one to balance it out. It is a puzzling aspect of manga for me, how artists can vary the quality of art wildly from page to page. I'm sure there is more to it than I'm presently aware of, but whatever merit its meant to present is clearly lost on me, and just looks amateurish. Speaking of amateurish... the narrative. This is some bare bones, barely readable stuff. Decent manga writers are rare as hen's teeth, and unfortunately Eldo hasn't ascended to the rare and hallowed ranks of manga artists who can actually write an interesting and engaging story that doesn't come across as stilted.
A Japanese crime noir featuring a series of bad ass, super chic heroines, I'm all on board for that. Unless of course its written like a high school students remedial writing assessment. If only... 2.25/5
OmniBen.
March 11, 2025
This manga had some striking scenes, but most of it was a mess. Same goes for the plot, and even more so for the characters.
Aside from main character, the rest of the supporting cast were one-note. Their character designs were so similar (generic, even) that it was hard to differentiate them from each other. Their motivations were equally scattered and messy; their backstories incoherent and anyways had zero impact on who they were or why they were doing anything. This made it hard to tell who was who and who was doing what and why they were doing it, so it hard to follow the plot, which was scattershot, spanned the globe (the setting, too, was just as messily drawn, making Tokyo, Yokohama, Hong Kong, or Singapore as undifferentiated from each as they are from Vancouver).
Give this series a pass, but not the artist, Eldo Yoshimizu. There were some striking illustrations (but not scenes, just singular illustrations), usually of sinuously posed women on motorcycles surrounded by a surreal background, so they have promise. I do look forward to their future work, once they get a handle on how to tell a story through art.
Aside from main character, the rest of the supporting cast were one-note. Their character designs were so similar (generic, even) that it was hard to differentiate them from each other. Their motivations were equally scattered and messy; their backstories incoherent and anyways had zero impact on who they were or why they were doing anything. This made it hard to tell who was who and who was doing what and why they were doing it, so it hard to follow the plot, which was scattershot, spanned the globe (the setting, too, was just as messily drawn, making Tokyo, Yokohama, Hong Kong, or Singapore as undifferentiated from each as they are from Vancouver).
Give this series a pass, but not the artist, Eldo Yoshimizu. There were some striking illustrations (but not scenes, just singular illustrations), usually of sinuously posed women on motorcycles surrounded by a surreal background, so they have promise. I do look forward to their future work, once they get a handle on how to tell a story through art.
August 5, 2022
Not quite as visually messy as the first volume, but the story basically explodes all over the place — it’s about family, it’s about destiny, it’s about US Imperialism, it’s about covert nastiness, it’s about the Empress of a worldwide crime organization choosing yo be one a Buddhist nun, and and and…. Most frustrating is tgat Ryuko herself, the center of this and the story’s lynchpin, is woefully undeveloped…other characters are much more rounded, even as action girl Ryuko comes roaring down the middle.
I feel like Hard Case could have found a short-run crime manga that was *much* better than this.
I feel like Hard Case could have found a short-run crime manga that was *much* better than this.
February 14, 2020
Artwork is better than volume 1 and panel dynamics set a blistering action pace. But that pace leaves little time or space for any character development, reminding me of RUN, LOLA, RUN. I didn't care about any of the characters or story--it was just watching the action unfold.
June 3, 2020
A gritty tale of an attempt to dismantle crime syndicates driven by key players from a post-war era, served with fine art and fashionable dressing.
November 25, 2021
I love the drawing style. Heavy on the inks. And a fun read. :)
January 5, 2022
Stylish, dynamic and cool.
March 10, 2022
Again beautiful art (bar a lazy rip of Brian Cox) but God help you if you're trying to make sense of this plot hash.
April 15, 2022
Quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
September 17, 2022
Convoluted and confusing. The art can be quite striking but is a bit static for a graphic novel. The story is.... to be honest I am not exactly sure what was going on half the time.
August 13, 2023
Dosadno... namuči me.
October 1, 2023
A
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2024
remarkable work of visual composition. better enjoyed without all the words.
July 15, 2024
the size of these is still a real problem. the leopard print sound effects really got me
Read
September 21, 2025Just like volume 1, beautiful female characters (The Clash t-shirt!) but the story was so weird and convoluted, the action scenes just a mess.
October 20, 2025
Wrap up - still unimpressive - but at least finished.
November 6, 2019
Same solid 3-3.5 stars as vol 1—but for slightly different reasons. The narrative is now more clear and focused, but there are some tonal shifts that didn’t cohere with the world established in vol 1. Some of our side characters get a little lost and forgotten, likely because the story wants to remain lean, mean, and propulsive, and couldn’t find the proper balance.
I love that the character Cox just literally looks like Brian Cox; beautiful tribute there to one of Hollywood’s great character actors. And for as little time as Cox gets, he’s interesting and adds to the densely convoluted layers of tortured characters and intertwined moral ambiguities and reciprocal consequences. Not bad.
The artwork remains stellar with grandly embellished and over the top uses of framing and perspective, with nice pulp expressionist flourishes that feel really close to the manga equivalent of a Seijun Suzuki film. The art is a solid 4-4.5, easy. Really some of the most kinetically fun manga art I’ve seen (which may not mean much considering how little manga I’ve read, but there you go).
This operatic crime soap remains fraught and anguished and full of vengeance, with the throttle wide open. Pretty delightful stuff. Just what it needed to be.
I love that the character Cox just literally looks like Brian Cox; beautiful tribute there to one of Hollywood’s great character actors. And for as little time as Cox gets, he’s interesting and adds to the densely convoluted layers of tortured characters and intertwined moral ambiguities and reciprocal consequences. Not bad.
The artwork remains stellar with grandly embellished and over the top uses of framing and perspective, with nice pulp expressionist flourishes that feel really close to the manga equivalent of a Seijun Suzuki film. The art is a solid 4-4.5, easy. Really some of the most kinetically fun manga art I’ve seen (which may not mean much considering how little manga I’ve read, but there you go).
This operatic crime soap remains fraught and anguished and full of vengeance, with the throttle wide open. Pretty delightful stuff. Just what it needed to be.
February 18, 2020
Si bien me gustó mucho más esta segunda mitad del primer tomo original, me volvían loca los errores de encuadernación comiéndose parte del diálogo. Tiene también algunos errores de estilo y traducción pero nada que afecte a la lectura.
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