Mao vol 2 by rumIko takahashi

Nanako and Mao continue to battle some evil deeds that are coming out of a local shrine. The priestess is able to predict the deaths of villagers, with amazing accuracy. However, there is some Tom-foolery at play, and the curses are not what they seem. Mao is able to release the demonic spirit that has been harnessed to carry out the curses, and the spirit rebounds upon the caster. On her way to jail, the priestess predicts the end of the world: fireballs engulfing the town while a huge earthquake rips open the streets. Nanako goes back to her time to research what this event could be, and finds it coincides with a terrible earthquake that does much of what the priestess said. She goes back to Mao’s time to try and prevent or at least save some of the townsfolk, but like everything in Mao’s time, the historical record of what happens isn’t as accurate as the truth, especially when more evil spirits — and possibly Byouki — are involved.

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The first volume of this series had a few hiccups and made me really nostalgic for InuYasha, but the second volume is starting to establish this story as its own series. There are still some great horror elements like Mermaid Saga, where Takahashi takes something sort of "normal" and makes it more horrific. In this one, we have ghost/demon nuns, which we've seen before in horror, but to make them worse, they turn into giant mosquitos, still wearing the nun outfits, and they fly around, sucking the blood out of townsfolk. I also enjoy learning about some historical moments from Japan, even if they are colored a bit by the presence of demons.

VIZ rates this for Teen Plus, most likely because of the violence.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: November 9. 2021
ISBN: 9781974720583 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Horror, Historical Fiction, Magic, VIZ Media