INTRODUCTION

My review continues with the second volume of Zaregoto. Volume that I say immediately I preferred to the first, for deepening the character of the protagonist and for the narrative plot twist, even if perhaps on the mystery side it lacks a bit, but let's try to understand why.
ONLY MINOR SPOILERS will be made that do not go to ruin the story.

Summary

After the stormy holiday on the island in the first volume our protagonist starts university, even if late compared to the others, and right in the canteen he meets a girl who invites him to a birthday party (obviously the protagonist does not remember that are classmates) where he discovers he is a guest of honor.
But while our protagonist is having fun, a serial killer wanders the streets of Kyoto claiming victims .....

General plot

This second volume which is presented as a direct sequel to the first part with an interesting incipit,the protagonist who essentially makes friends but with a bad result, and it is the protagonist who is the center of the whole story where, unlike the first book, he will be much more involved in the events and therefore will allow us readers to learn more about his character who was still shrouded in a fog.
Having said that, in my opinion, it is necessary to highlight that from the point of view of the book itself it is not really incredible, because if one reads it thinking about the fact that it is a mystery book, he could find the mystery in itself very easy to understand (so not stimulating) and above all with a little motivation span in the air; but if you want to consider the psychological point of view, a big job has been done, not only with the protagonist but also with other secondary characters because with that little bit of characterization he managed to create unique and interesting characters, and from this point of view this is one of the best part of this series.

Characters

Ii

Spoiler, click to view

In this part, Ii as a person and as a way of thinking is deepened much more, in fact he is often put in particular situations aimed at testing the relationship he has with others.
There are two main moments in which we explore his character better than him, when he talks to Zerozaki and when he talks to the group of friends.
Much space is dedicated to him as this is the novel dedicated to him; In fact, in the first, the main characters were presented, namely Aikawa, Ii and Kunagisa, giving them only a smattering of them, presenting them without deepening them.
While in this second part much more time is spent on the protagonist, deepening him a lot, and it is precisely for this reason that I consider this novel better than the first, thanks to Ii who is really an excellent character because he manages to represent mediocrity and ontological defects of the human being, making him one of the truest characters not only of Zaregoto but in general of the entire bibliography of Nisioisin.

Mikoko Aoii

Spoiler, click to view

Mikoko Aoii, what about this protagonist character in this second volume if not that I feel an immense sadness for this girl destroyed by herself and by a certain person ...
She is presented to us as a cheerful, sunny and chatty girl, but our protagonist immediately realizes that this girl would bring him trouble.
Troubles that are not long in coming since she will be the one to make Ii meet with her group of friends (who are also her classmates), thus leading to the series of events that those who have read already know.
In truth, from the very first interactions with the protagonist it is understood that she is a very weak and fragile person, where he teases her and she passively accepts it even if in theory they should be unknown, demonstrating how she accepts the harassing behavior of the protagonist as a sort of compromise to be able to stay close to him (pg. 58 of the American volume).
That said, it's not surprising how this character ends up after Ii makes that talk with her about whether or not it is right to kill people.
We are never revealed the reason behind her obsessive love for Ii (which I think is done on purpose to highlight how little we know this girl, leaving us a sense of emptiness), but I hypothesize that she has projected on him an image that is not consistent with reality

Tomoe Emoto

Spoiler, click to view

While there is not too much to say about this secondary character, I think it is at least interesting to analyze her but above all how she has actually helped us to see inside the protagonist.
The first time she sees herself, I don't know what kind of impression, the usual pretty girl but our protagonist knows that there is something underneath.
In fact, she hides a strong sense of estrangement because she doesn't really feel really good with her friends and not only, she is not comfortable with herself because she feels defective as a person and this is precisely what deeply affects the protagonist who empathizes incredibly with her, also because the relationship he has with Kunagisa is with Mikoko, that is a huge sense of inferiority inevitably linked to the strong admiration she has for Mikoko even if she does not know her as she would think.

Hitoshiki Zerozaki

Spoiler, click to view

Now let's move on to our killer, Hitoshiki.
Character who immediately catches the eye for the incredible resemblance to the protagonist described as abnormal.
Our doppelganger, however, comes up with different ideas from the protagonist on the theme of killing a person, he thinks there is nothing wrong and it also transpires the fact that he does not feel any remorse in taking life.
Whereas, as already mentioned in the first volume II, he hates killing, he finds it repulsive and inhumane as he finds himself repulsive and inhuman.
We are also told by the protagonist that he could have become like Hitoshiki only if he had taken a different path and the same was true for Hitoshiki.
Not too much is revealed in this second volume but already some meat is being put on the fire by Aikawa who gives us some interesting information about him that will be deepened later.

Other characters
Other featured characters such as neighbor Miiko Asano, companion Muimi Atemiya and detective Sasaki Sasa are of minor importance or will become more important later ...
While characters like Aikawa and Kunagisa have not had the opportunity to shine precisely because they will also be deepened later in the story.

Final part that had confirmed everything I had thought about the murders, but which amazed me a lot about how they happened.
As already mentioned before, the mystery part of this book is lost a lot by preferring a more psychological approach and in-depth analysis of the main characters and on the recurring theme of the morality of the act of killing, which finds many different opinions in comparison such as that of Mikoko,Ii,Hitoshiki and even that of Aikawa which is what I am most in line with, that is, killing or being killed doesn't matter that much, if it has to happen it will happen.
In my opinion, a very interesting part to analyze is how Nisio created this group of apparently very close friends, who however in reality never show their true face, demonstrating how in reality their relationship is hanging by a thread, a thread that is broken by the protaonist when he breaks into their group and unmasks them in a certain sense.
Speaking instead of the "I wanted you to save me" I find that it is not only a beautiful scene but I also find that it is an author's way of criticizing society, that condemns murderers and guilty of other crimes without really knowing these people in depth by demonstrating once again as the protagonist is the spokesperson of human limitations and weakness.

To conclude I would like to recommend this book to all lovers of the psychological genre, and mystery because despite having said that from that point of view it may be lacking, I believe that, however, it is a good reading that makes us reflect a lot on the judgment that is given to others.
I hope you enjoyed this reviw and leave a like of encouragement if you want, THANK YOU for your attention.