By Banri Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Sekai De Ichiban Daikirai!” by Hakusensha, serialized in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by CMX.

I Hate You More Than Anyone 2 continues to develop its various plotlines. We get more scenes with Kazuha’s brother Chizuru, and notice that there’s something troubling him that he can’t quite talk about with her. Well, he does try at one point, but Kazuha is so wrapped up in her own love issues that she doesn’t notice. Maki gets a ‘love rival’ as we meet Arata Honjo, who has fallen in love with Kazuha without actually meeting her. And Kazuha and Senko have definitely gone from rivals to best friends in this volume, which makes things even more difficult as they’re both after the same guy.

One thing that is both a strength and weakness of this manga is how you can really see the gears turning in Hidaka-san’s head, as she figures out where she wants to go with things. On the downside, if she had an outline it’s pretty clearly been crumpled up by now, as much of this reads as if she’s writing on the fly from week to week. (As I’ve noted earlier, those reading IHYMTA alongside V.B. Rose will note the difference between a beginner and a veteran.) On the upside, it lends an energy and verve to the title, which feels like it might careen out of control but never does so, mostly as we are following Kazuha’s exhausting mood swings.

Maki has settled down in this volume, realizing he went too far with the kiss at the end of Volume 1 and trying to pull back a bit. And now that Kazuha has admitted (to herself) her feelings for him, the title is not quite as accurate as it once could have been. I was also very amused at Arata Honjo’s intro, as he’s clearly set up to be the other guy who won’t get anywhere, but the author is aware of it; everyone enjoys pointing out in this series how pointless his crush on Kazuha is. And, naturally, we get him fondling her as he tries to tell by her small chest if she’s really a girl. Good to see some manga classics never get old.

My favorite part of the manga is how Kazuha deals with realizing that she’s in love with Maki, who Senko also has feelings for. It’s very realistic; she handles it horribly, trying to hide things and pretend that there’s nothing between them. Since Kazuha is one of the most transparent characters in all of manga, this doesn’t work out very well. Notably, she has to be kicked in the butt by both her friend Asako (who tells Senko everything) *and* by Arata, who points out that hiding your crush merely hurts the friend more. Her heart to heart with Senko at the end of the volume doesn’t resolve things, but it feels real.

And then there’s Arata’s older brother, Tohru Honjo. He only has one scene in this volume, so I don’t want to go into his character as much now, saving it for future volumes. I note that the moment we see him he manages to project an aura of ‘cool’ – genuine cool, rather than just trying to be cool. He’s easily the character who sees the most and recognizes the contortions all the others are going through. And right away, he meddles, trying to move Kazuha and Maki closer together. His meddling is very honest and upfront (necessary considering the cluelessness of his friends), and doesn’t seem mean or cheap, the way it often does in manga. He’s a great addition to the cast. He also has bedroom eyes (called ‘droopy eyes’ here). I love any character with bedroom eyes.

Best gag in the volume – Momoka teaming up with the rest of the family to whack Kazuha with a magazine and then blame it on Ichihisa. I love seeing scenes of this huge family, because they feel so real.

The art is messy, there’s tiny little side comments everywhere, and following Kazuha’s ups and downs can be literally exhausting. But I still love this series. If I recall, Volume 3 also kicks more plots into high gear. Stay tuned…