Apple Black Volume 1 sees Sano meet his new classmates and first-ever friends, the fiery Ryuzaki, the quiet and mysterious Symon, and the beautiful student council Vice President of the Guild, Opal Wantmore. Nurturing the youth are Madame Naomi, who oversaw Sano’s isolated childhood, Angelo Rikomon, Sano’s mentor, and Mikael Barogue, Sano’s cigarette-smoking teacher, who gives him detention on his first day. Of course, not everyone is nurturing the younguns as Sano briefly fights Banburi rebel general Grudon Fattimunga. Sano lays him out, and Fattimunga spends the rest of the volume being frequented by the sly Sofia Miri, a cloak inspection officer. All of this happens while Sano, Symon, and Ryuzaki blow off detention to spend time in a simulation of Ryuzaki’s tragic past. You can read our full review of Apple Black Vol. 1 here.
Apple Black Volume 2 goes straight out of the frying pan and into the fire. Everything is ratcheted all the way up (Fat Joe voice) for Sano and the rest of the gang. The Banburi rebels unleash their attack on Haven, and we learn that some characters from Volume 1 were wolves in sheep’s clothing. Opal finally meets the tourist she was supposed to guide, only to find out he was on a secret mission. Meanwhile, Sano fights a man driven by vengeance and could use the forgiveness that Sano wants to inspire in others. This volume is packed with intense action and is akin to watching Simone Biles flip through fiery hoops designed for a Lethal Shooter TikTok challenge. The question is, does it stick the landing?
The answer is “more or less.” The volume juggles four main plot lines: Ryuzaki’s past and Symon’s connection to it, the betrayal of Sofia Miri, Sano’s battle, and, of course, the main conflict of the Banburi invasion. The plot lines have varying degrees of relevance to the central conflict.
The positives of this volume are apparent by just looking at it. I didn’t use the name Simone Biles flippantly (get it) above. She is an amazing gymnast, just like there are a lot of amazing components of this volume. The artwork is fantastic all around, with the stellar double-page spreads from Volume 1 returning, giving the battle scenes, in particular, a grand sense of the scope of destruction. One spread beautifully showcases an electric yo-yo ability that surges through the page.
Building off another positive of Volume 1, the character designs remain very well done. As Volume 2 adds to the extensive character list introduced to us in Volume 1, the character designs remain distinctive and memorable. One newly introduced character, Von Van Guut, engraved himself to my memory by looking similar to DC Comics’ greatest assassin, Deathstroke. Obi, also newly introduced, is easily remembered in his hooded, street-style attire.
The writing of the volume makes sure to level up with the art and character designs. We see the thematic thread of forgiveness weave its way through Ryuzaki and Symon’s past, Sano’s battle with Von Van Guut sees the masked assassin in need of vengeance, and we later see that Opal Wantmore might have to forgive a close relative who is working with the rebels in future volumes. This tying in of the theme connects all of these events and foreshadows Sano’s involvement in healing those relationships, as he is the one spokesperson for forgiveness so far.
There are many things to be praised, but not even Simone Biles gets perfect scores every time, and this volume is largely the same. Apparent throughout is a pacing issue, as things often move too fast. The two aspects that suffer the most are comedy and action. Humorous panels often end up being so small that the visuals or dialogue are barely legible, making them feel like afterthoughts. This is a shame because Apple Black is funny but some jokes didn’t hit this volume because I was busy putting a magnifying glass to the panels. The battles often feel flat because they are so rushed, leaving me feeling like the protagonists aren’t in actual danger. One battle in particular ends with the villain having his best attack neutralized and just deciding to pack it up without a massive wound or even embarrassment to justify leaving with no resolution.
These pacing issues and the addition of even more characters make it a lot of work to remember everyone I saw and certain plot points. Considering that the main plot point is so epic in scale, with Haven being infiltrated and attacked, it was hard to remember all the names and significance of everyone we see because they didn’t get the time to shine among the chaos. The placement of certain events makes what should be especially memorable feel out of place. For example, we discover Symon possesses the creature that attacked Ryuzaki many years ago. This feels pretty huge, but it gets lost in the fire because it doesn’t have any connection to the rebel attack happening.
Needless to say, Apple Black Volume 2 sticks the landing. Aesthetically, it delivers; thematically, it persists, and even though the humor, action, and certain moments are derailed by erratic pacing, it keeps me excited for the next volume. You can find Apple Black Volume 2 at Barnes & Noble, Target, Books-a-Million, and Walmart. You can also digitally read Apple Black Volume 2 on Saturday AM’s website and app.
