Five hundred years seems an awful long time in which to hold onto a grudge.  But when you are an immortal creature, such as those found in Kiyo Qjo's Zone-00, what's a few years between friends?  For five hundred years an uneasy truce has prevailed between humans and demons, a truce which is threatened by the appearance of the mysterious drug Zone-00 on the scene – a drug which, when ingested by humans, turns them into pseudo-creatures, unleashing all sorts of terrifying side-effects as a result.  The fate of Tokyo lies in the hands of two middle-schoolers – Saburo Kujo and Ango Shima, two fourteen year old boys with a centuries old friendship/adversarial relationship which is rooted in Shima being the head of the leading exorcism family in Tokyo, while Kujo happens to have a creature that resides within him, an ogre by the name of Kiyoami.

Highlights

Volume 2 begins shortly after the death of Ango Shima at the hands of the waiflike water deity Tsukihiko, when the exorcist awakens to find himself in bed with blonde transfer student Hime Shirayuri (the witch of the East), and under the care of Hotaru Kaze (one of the twins of the"cursed twin Harleys legend," who possess the ability to transform into motorcycles; those who ride them are doomed to die in an accident). When he would return to the fray and resume the battle (particularly to rescue Kujo), he learns that Hime's familiar/hellhound Kurobara (who is a Doberman when in dog shape, but otherwise takes the form of a young man named Renji Kurobara) has an older twin named Rouiji who is more than a little nasty, and he is forbidden by Hime and Majoko (the witch of the West) from taking any sort of vengeance upon them, claiming that that is for Kurobara and Senryo to do (Senryo being Majoko's familiar/cat).  In the meantime Benten, the androgynous owner of Bar Benten (who possesses no outwardly masculine indicators and is constantly being mistaken for female) has emerged as Konnosuke, the nine-tailed fox, and is very happy to be reunited with his old companion Kiyoami, brought forth by the death (yet again) of Kujo.  Their cheerful reunion is broken up by Murakumo, the wolfish head of  the police department's criminal investigation unit who takes them into his custody, in order to keep them out of the fray as well.

In the meantime, Renji is being recruited by Tsukihiko to join the other side, and we learn more about the 300 year old past of Majoko and Senryo and Tsukihiko, while Renji and Rouji are prevented from taking their sibling rivalry to the death – for now.  When Benten is injured by the evil Tsukihiko, he is rescued by Shima's cyborg butler Sharaku (who packs a mean rocket punch), and when he learns that the selfsame brat was responsible for killing his young master, he demonstrates just how effective that punch can be. Benten ingests some of the Zone-00 which Tsukihiko had possessed (and thus we learn of the drug's effects on creatures), and afterwards ends up in the hands of Murakumo.  The inspector's bespectacled assistant, Miwayama, is pleased that he will be able to observe the effects of the drug upon Benten, for until now they had never known of a creature who had taken it.  Shima and Kujo regenerate (of course) and discuss what they will do now, while Rouji has bad dreams which he blames upon the drug, but is he telling the truth?  One thing is for sure – there will be a war.  And how it will end is anybody's guess.

Overview

If the artwork for Zone-00 seems familiar, it is because it is done by the same manga-ka who brought us Trinity Blood.  It is rather stylish and ornate, and visually fulfilling.  The characters are well developed, and they held my interest as the story progressed.  There is a tongue-in-cheek feel to the series which is humorous without resorting to cutesiness, and there are a lot of cultural references which have been footnoted for American audiences.  The rating that Tokyopop gives the book is OT, which is for older teens, 16+, and is well-deserved.  There is a lot of fanservice in this book, and gratuitous nudity, as well as some violence and gore, and clear homoerotic and religious undertones.  Personally, I could do without all the cleavage shots, but that is just my personal taste, and most of the men are not hard on the eyes, a plus for me.  I am definitely looking forward to what the next volume brings.

Comicsonline gives Zone-00 Volume 2 4.5 out of 5 rocket punches.