Title: Anonymous Noise Vol. 2
Author: Ryoko Fukuyama
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genre: Shojo, Romance
Publication Date: May 2 , 2017
The Story
Okay… so there’s been a couple of times where I have been wrong about a series. This is one of those times.
The first volume of Anonymous Noise left a really sour taste in my mouth. I disliked the pacing, the inability to convey the singing properly, the over-the-top yelling and screaming and trying to pass it off as comedy, etc. Needless to say, that first volume had a LOT of issues going for it.
Enter volume two.
Volume two of Anonymous Noise COMPLETELY made up for Volume 1. The pacing of the story slowed down to a manageable level, the characters were given time to breathe and develop and the story, while it still felt slightly rushed, got really interesting! My hopes for this series have been restored and I believe that if the series continues this kind of pacing and story/character development, that we’ll have one hell of a love story on our hands!
In volume two, Nino is a bit rough around the edges with her singing. She enlists the help of Miou so she can help project her voice even more in hopes that Momo will hear it. Miou is reluctant to help her, but she ends up agreeing to do it anyway. After Nino improves her voice, she learns that a Momo Kiryu is holding an audition to find a lead singer. Nino wonders if it’s Momo Sakaki, under a different name due to a remarriage. She sends in a tape for the audition and ends up getting picked. Upon discovering Nino is a finalist, Momo declines sitting in on the panel, not wishing to see her.
Meanwhile, the interaction between Nino and Yuzu pick up. Because of Nino, Yuzu finds his ability to compose music once again. After some internal struggling, Yuzu decides to make Nino the new lead singer of In No Hurry to Shout. Yuzu also had to find a new lead singer because not only did Miou leave the band due to Yuzu inability to put his heart into it due to Nino, but he found out they were booked for their first live televised appearance AND that they were doing to debut a new single… a new single that Yuzu hadn’t even written yet!
Both the audition for Momo and the televised debut of In No Hurry… were both slated for March 29. This causes a bit of a conflict in which Yuzu comes up with a solution for her to do both. He even pulled some strings with the stage manager to allow Nino to arrive at the last minute, giving her enough time to do so. The volume ends in a dramatic fashion that I won’t spoil, but it could lead to a complete and total disaster at the start of Volume 3!
This is what I wanted to see out of Anonymous Noise! I wanted to see a dramatic story with relatable characters and now it seems like we are getting to that point! At first, I thought this was just going to be a poorly orchestrated gag manga with love sprinkled in, but volume two decided to start taking itself seriously and I am thankful for it. If the quality remains the same or improves, I will be extremely happy for giving this series a second chance!
Characters
Several characters received development over the course of volume… some not as much as others, though. Nino got the least amount of development as all she really did was learn to sing. Of course, there was the ending of the volume which, again, I will not state to avoid spoilers, but it could take Nino’s character in an entirely new direction in volume three. That is the intriguing part to all of this and it’s nice that they are slowly burning Nino’s character a bit here. It teases the reader just enough to settle in and then ask for more when it’s all said and done!
Miou’s tsundere shell seems to be broken. That didn’t take long at all! She was very cold towards and annoyed by Nino for all of volume one and for a bit here in volume two. Now, the two of them seem to be getting along and, dare I say, have become friends. With Miou agreeing to help Nino learn to sing and with her pushing Yuzu to make her the new lead for In No Hurry… it really shows that Miou is starting to care. That and that fist bump at the audition between the two of them was just a feel-good moment all around!
Momo did get a little bit of development. We found out the reason why he doesn’t want to see Nino. He moved away from speaking in puns (thank God) to a more serious character as well. I am enjoying this new Momo and I want to see more of this going forward. A pun here or there won’t hurt; however, just keep it to a minimum, please!
The biggest development came with Yuzu. We got a bit of his backstory on how he used to love to sing, but a disease affected his throat and he ended up in the hospital. Even though they were all there for different reasons, that’s how he met Miou, Haruyoshi and Kuro. Yuzu dressed in drag and ended up lip synching to Miou’s voice on all of their music videos and live appearances because he just couldn’t sing anymore. When he heard Nino since his music, it triggered the memories of when he used to be able to sing and that’s why he tried to distance himself from Nino. In fact, the reason why Yuzu disappeared in Volume one was because he was transferred to a different hospital to treat his condition.
I loved the job they did with Yuzu as you felt connected to that character the most out of the lot of them. It’s nice to see each character coming into their own and it makes me wonder where they will all go from here. We still don’t have information on Haruyoshi or Kuro yet, but this doesn’t seem like a manga that might give them much attention. They have been buried deep in the background thus far and I fear that’s where they are going to stay. I hope that’s not the case, though.
Final Thoughts
Again, I’m really happy that this volume redeemed itself. The story seemed pretty amazing from the synopsis and now I’m beginning to see why people have been praising this series and giving such high reviews. Once you get over that initial hump that is volume one, the manga begins to take off in the right direction.
I really want to talk about the ending, but I don’t want to spoil it. So vaguely I will say that In No Hurry to Shout’s television debut can either go one of two ways: It will either cause Nino to sing the best she has ever sung in her entire life, making their debut a huge success, or she’s going to become and emotional wreck and it’ll be the bands biggest black eye. I do not foresee a middle ground here at all. It’s going to be one way or the other. It really makes me want to read volume three and it is the perfect kind of cliffhanger to end a volume on!
If you were on the fence about this series like I was, then do yourself a favor and go pick it up! I have a feeling I’ll be adding some salt and pepper to my foot as I prepare to stick it in my mouth. Perhaps this will shape up to be an amazing series afterall!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
