となりの関くん じゅにあ 2

Volume 2 of Seki-Kun Junior keeps up the quality of the first and now that the introductions are out of the way, it's able to branch out and build on its foundations a bit. We get a new recurring element which is Rumi taking Makkun out into the park to play, and what I like about this is it kind of flips the classic Seki formula on it's head. In the original series, Seki's games were really only known to Seki and Rumi, but here the weirdness occasionally attracts an audience and it's fun to see how Makkun's games put Rumi in an akward spot in public. There are some really funny bits this volume too, the opener which sees Makkun trying to emulate zen buddhists is incredibly funny, and the soccer two-parter has some great gags along with developing some new side characters introduced in the first park episode.

Language wise this might be the easiest Seki-related volume yet, I don't think I really looked up any words at all during the second half and it was generally a breeze. Even the more culturally-based bits like the Buddhism episode were pretty easy to get and I can't tell if I'm just getting better at reading or if this volume really was easier than the volumes before it. Probably a bit of both, but it's approachable and I'm eager to read the next.