Monster Tamer Girls, Vol. 2

Monster Tamer Girls #2

by Mujirushi Shimazaki

Ion Hidaka and the rest of the Monster Tamers Committee take a trip to the famous M7 artificial island, where wild monster fights are an everyday thing! But it's also an opportunity to reunite with some old friends, and to learn about the bond between humans and monsters.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Young Adult

178 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2016

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

After an intriguing set-up, the series quickly loses momentum as this volume devolves into a collection of short stories about how random people in the world are affected by the giant monsters. The monster tamer girls did not really even need to show up. And when they did, I realized I could not really tell any of them apart even just a couple weeks after reading the first volume. Either their personalities really did not play much into the events of this volume, or, more likely, they really didn't have much in the way of personalities to start with.

I'll try another volume, but I need the creator to focus on the core group of girls and monsters to keep me engaged.

p.s. Well, another review here on Goodreads and a quick Google search seems to verify that this is the last volume of the series. In which case, what a waste of time. There is no satisfying story to be had here at all, just a squandered opportunity and a taste of what might have been.

[Matisse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like this is five stars out of six.

For a two-volume slice of life, 'Monster Tamer Girls' does what it sets out to do: show the Kaiju genre from the perspective of everyday middle school girls. My issue is, it never sets out to do more. The mystery of the Kaiju, the history of how they rampaged the world, and Ion and Blue's relationship never quite evolve beyond the premise. All that promise goes unanswered.

Or, to put it another way, this feels like a Kaiju story by someone who's seen a lot of Cute Girl anime and absolutely no actual Kaiju movies. But this is to its credit as well.

Admittedly, I don't think you could have avoided turning this into a monster fighting story had it gone on longer. However, 'Monster Tamer Girls' didn't go in a different direction, either. It ends. In that way, I respect the mangaka for staying true to what he wanted to make. He didn't pull a 'Negima' and shift genres out of nowhere, and he didn't pull a 'Bleach' and prolong the plot ad infinitum. 'Monster Tamer Girls' tells quiet, well-done stories and ends on its own note.

It could have been more, but what we got is rather enjoyable.

I mean, I'm trying to capture how nuanced I feel about it, and it's just two volumes. That tells you something. = )

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks like this ends in just 2 books. The second half of the story has much more of a melancholic tone. And we see a little more of the what it took for humans and monsters to live together. Still some work to do. This is interesting to read before the new Godzilla movie comes out.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume continues the cuteness of the first, but given the considerable time gap between my reading of the first and second volumes, I forgot a lot of the characters, and unfortunately reading the second volume I had a tough time keeping them straight.

The gist is that in an alternate world giant monsters are a normal part of life, and young girls are trained to become monster tamers because of their ability to connect with monsters through song (definitely an amusing nod to how many giant monsters chase or are affected by women--whether its virgin sacrifices to dragons, King Kong and Anne Darrow, or Mothra and the Twin Fairies). Anyway, the story here follows students and teachers at a school for such trainers as they encounter various monsters.

The story vignettes I think are not extremely interesting or well-executed, but like in the first volume there is a simple charm to the proceedings. This volume includes a scientist mistaking the monster that killed his son for his son (it's supposed to be touching, but fumbles); a story of a giant monster mistreated after saving a girl's life; a story of a girl with a disease caused by the appearance of the giant monsters who then astral projects herself onto the pointed head of a massive creature that spans the length of the school and... okay, so the stories are convoluted. Some of the simplicity from the first volume feels lost in the second, and the stories (while still containing some interesting ideas) suffer from a sense of flailing indecision.

I still really like the hook, and I wish the stories could have continued in some form, but we have a wrap-up here at the end with a jump into the future and the main characters starting new jobs. It works well enough.

[Terrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a real shame this series is so short.

This volume deals with a lot of melancholic and depressing tales of the monsters and the girls. There's one about an old self-defense force member who used to lead attacks on monsters, and now suffers from forgetfulness in his old age (to the point he's mistaking a monster for his son). There's another about a girl who wants to become either a monster or a doctor in her future, so she's praying to the new monster, Pointy, whose cone shaped head is springing out of the ground. The final regular story is one with Kotori and Tsukiko (the closest thing to a "romantic" pair in the story) having a bit of a lover's quarrel when Tsukiko tries to search for a vegetable thief instead of going on a date with her. Probably the most light-hearted chapter in the story. There's an extra sidestory after that that was pretty useless, a seaside excursion that lasts all of 4 pages maybe, nothing major. Just an excuse for Tsukiko to complain about Koto's laid-back personality again.

I did like that they did a tiny flash forward segment at the end, but it wasn't super enlightening about the characters' personal lives (besides Ion being a tamer, and one of them working at the school). They even introduce some new cast. You wonder if the writer will ever be able to revisit this series down the line. The ending is uncertain in terms what human and monster relations should be, as the cohabitation of them in city areas has been stopped and monsters have been walled off behind preservation areas still.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, I'm sad that this series only has two books! But that just means it'll be super easy to reread down the road.

In a way, the monsters felt a little lackluster in this second volume, but the stories were no less heart wrenching which is considered normal for me for manga and anime in general. (I mean I cried in nearly every episode of Violet Evergarden so yeah).

I really enjoyed this series; it was super sweet and refreshing also. I find I enjoy manga in small doses, so I'm going to be keeping this habit up here and there when I want something new and visually pleasing to read.

[Mladoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un second tome tout aussi touchant que le premier. Les Kaijus rencontrés par les jeunes personnages sont émouvants et les relations entre les personnages empreintes d'amitié et de compréhension. Quelques éléments de contextualisation bienvenue dans ce tome final. Une série qui aura mérité un peu plus d'ampleur, on reste sur un goût de trop peu à la fin de ce tome.
Les graphismes sont toujours tout ronds, tout mignons et même les monstrueux Kaijus ont des bouilles à calins.
Un manga à thème très réussi et qui ravira les amateurs de gros monstres.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

C’est très doux, mignon et les kaijus sont attachants. Malheureusement je n’arrivais pas à m’attacher aux personnages et j’ai trouvé ce tome 2 un peu superflu car il ne se passe quasiment rien. Un des personnages touchant au 2e tome est Nonoka. Je pense que ça vaut quand même la peine de les lire car en plus d’être doux les illustrations sont très jolies.

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely preferred the first volume but this was still cute. I think this volumed suffered from being rushed. It definitely felt like they tried to cram in the ending because they knew they weren't getting anymore volumes and it just didn't work. I'm sad there's no more volumes, this was such an interesting world and there are so many questions left unanswered.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

The moe monster saga concludes! Despite only being a two-volume series there wasn't very much to this one beyond some cute shenanigans and vague hinting at world building. Okay if you want something light based around school life but without any drama or heavy themes

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again. Such a cute set of books. I feel like the end is rather abrupt and I would have liked to have seen the story fleshed out a bit more.

[Melodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls continue to form emotional bonds with specific kaiju!

[Katy]

Not super memorable, but still cute

Overall, Monster Tamer Girls is a short, cute, fluffy read. I can’t say I was ever interested in the girls themselves or their stories, but I enjoyed seeing all of the different kaiju and getting to know them. My favourite chapter was probably the one off story about the senile old man that was visited by a kaiju, because it was quite bittersweet yet heartwarming all the same.

[Amina D'Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relecture du 7 août 2019 : ma série mangas doudou <3