REVIEW: ‘From the Red Fog,’ Volume 2

With its debut volume, From the Red Fog (Akai Kiri No Naka Kara) was, well, unsettling. A bit unhinged and slightly shock for shock’s sake, I wasn’t sure if I would choose to continue the story or not. That said, I’m thankful I did with From the Red Fog Volume 2. Truth be told, this volume of the series manages to feel like something completely new. While you still have your sociopathic young lead doing murders and sexual assault, some of the more shocking themes of an overbearing and frankly too-close mom have mostly fallen to the wayside. Instead, we get a chance to look at our lead and what happens when he finds a place to hone his murderous craft and meets his near match.

From the Red Fog Volume 2 is written and illustrated by mangaka Mosae Nohara, published and localized in English by Yen Press, translated by Caleb Cook, and features lettering by Chiho Christie. While the last volume felt like shock after shock, piled on to build some truly dark milieu for our protagonist Ruwanda to come with any semblance of reasoning, this volume is very different. In Volume 1, we saw Ruwanda, a young boy born in darkness, finally allowed outside of his mother’s oppressive and abusive hands, only to go and, well, murder everyone he met—other orphans included. While we left him with a path forward last time, in From The Red Fog Volume 2, readers get a seemingly different idea of who he wants to be.

At first, I thought that Ruwanda just wanted to be your run-of-the-mill serial killer, and he got started immediately in the timeline of the last volume. However, the story has taken an interesting turn with our lead coming into contact with and then joining a mysterious assassins guild led by an enigmatic nobleman named Midwinter.

That said, Ruwanda seems to be the only one there for the thrill of the kill, at least at first. With his eccentricities and thirst for blood left unquenched, much of the volume is dedicated to the assassin’s guild, called the Organization, figuring out how it all works, and how Ruwanda will fit in. And that’s where this series shifts gears from gothic horror serial killer to an action assassination story. The meat of From the Red Fog Volume 2 is a new mission that the Organization enters—to assassinate the leader of a well-known gang.

The standout in this volume is Nohara’s illustrative skill. Their use of thick lines and heavy saturation in action panels help each fight sequence feel dynamic. At the same time, Nohara pays close attention to each character’s face to detail shock, disgust, and of course, the pleasure after fighting and winning. While the first half of the volume is dedicated to building up the Organization and having Ruwanda question whether he belongs there or not, the second half is a mission, and each member gets their due. On top of that, the opponents they face are just as creative and as unhinged as we’ve seen so far, making their exchanges exciting.

Ending with Ruwanda feeling more at home in the bloodshed and particularly excited by it, From the Red Fog Volume 2 manages to undo much of what the groundwork laid in the debut volume, and it’s for the best. Not without its shocking moments, everything in this volume has value to the story itself, and I can say I’m actually looking forward to Volume 3.

From the Red Fog Volume 2 is available now wherever books are sold.