This is the second volume of the manga adaptation. It depicts Kumoko's continuing struggle to survive in the Great Elroe Labyrinth. At the start of the volume, she has been chased into the Lower Stratum, which features more dangerous monsters than the Middle Stratum, where she started.
The first major event is intense. I don't think I've ever used the phrase "nail bitter" in my of my reviews before, but it is perfectly qualified to describe this event. Who would have thought that a spider hunting stray wasps over ten days could be so suspenseful? It also shows significant character development on Kumoko's part.
She has learned that web nests can be used for more than insulating herself from the world. They can be offensive weapons as well; attack and defense at the same time shows her growing tactical mind. Indeed, she is becoming quite clever in how she uses her webbing and how she construct her nests. At one point, she camouflages a nest by building it near the ceiling and sticking small rocks to its underside.
She also experiments with other skills she gains, such as poison creation, web control and cutting threads. The fantasies she has about these skills are fun to see. One of them is a magical girl spider, and another is trapping thousands of knights in a razor floss trap.
The final major event of the volume is both good and bad. It is exciting. It is well constructed among the panels to create a flowing sense of battle progression. It showcases all the skills and strategic ability that Kumoko has developed. However, one might question how an army of apes could exist in this one area, and why they are so determined to kill this one little spider. Kumoko herself wonders this, and the battle does not conclude in the volume, so the answer should presumably be answered in the next volume.
As with the previous volume, this one ends on a cliffhanger, and like the previous volume, this one is still slice-of-life, so the volume could end anywhere and it is might still be a cliffhanger ending. Kumoko's daily struggle to survive is different from an adventurer's mission, after all.
The artwork continues to be really good.
The dragon that appears at the start is truly fearsome. No wonder Kumoko thinks "No way. No way" when she sees it. Not only is far bigger and stronger than anything she has seen so far but it is also far beyond anything she could hope to engage in combat.
There is this enormous open cavern in the latter parts of the volume, and the reader truly gets a sense of how big it is and how small Kumoko feels in comparison to it. The battle that takes place here is dynamic, making use of its height and the stalagmites.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "So I'm a Spider , so what? volume 2" an A+
Click here for my next book review: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
Click here for my previous book review: So I'm a Spider So What? manga volume 1
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
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