Dragon Head, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Minetaro Mochizuki (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1595329153 | ISBN-13: 978-1595329158

As Teru, Ako and Nobuo move outside their derailed train to gather supplies until help arrives, little do they know the terror that awaits them. Death and decay fill the pitch-black tunnel, and Nobuo suddenly starts to lose sight of reality. Meanwhile, Teru finds an air duct that may lead to the outside. But the intense struggle to survive is just beginning, and salvation is still far from everyone's grasp...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Imagine waking up in a pitch-black train wreck filled with broken glass and bodies. No one answers when you call for help—and as you begin to orient yourself, you realize that this might be because everyone around you is dead. Mochizuki opens this story with the wide, terror-struck eyes of schoolboy Aoki Teru as he wakes up into just such a nightmare, and from there, the suspense never lets up. Not that this is a particularly fast-paced book—instead of frenzied action, we get fine gradations of panic and exhaustion. Each new piece of information deepens a growing sense of dread: not only has the train crashed, it's also been sealed in by falling rocks. Aoki is not entirely alone, but of the two other companions he finds, one is unconscious and the other is going crazy. And then there's the strange, stifling heat. Mochizuki's narrative pacing is so deft, and his drawings so effective at communicating nuances of emotion that the story unfolds for us with the same urgency and immediacy as it does for Aoki and his companions. The result is an emotionally and psychologically compelling drama that promises to be an unforgettable journey into darkness with future volumes. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up Deeply psychological and dark, Dragon Head is a spectacularly scary and suspenseful tale. On his return home from a class trip, Aoki Teru is on a train that derails while inside a tunnel and is knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he finds his classmates, teachers, and train personnel dead. Searching for survivors and supplies, he encounters two other students: unconscious Ako Seto and deranged Nobou Takashi. The tunnel has collapsed, leaving no escape. The three teens are surrounded by gruesome carnage; the food is running out; the tunnel mysteriously keeps getting hotter and hotter; Ako is severely injured, and Nobou is seriously losing his mind. Teru must keep himself and the others together. Blood-spattered illustrations with heavy detail to eyes convey much of the visceral experience of the three main characters and helps convey terror where words cannot. This book does an excellent job of introducing the series and building tension as well as readers' interest in where the plot is going. Sinister and fast paced, with a fair amount of bloodshed and raw language, this first volume of 10 is a well-done psychological horror story that should appeal to fans of the genre. Jennifer Feigelman, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (April 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595329153
• ISBN-13: 978-1595329158
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,407,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Befriending the darkness..., October 16, 2006

By 

Mladen Luketin "Some opinionated guy" (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Head Volume 1 (Paperback)

'Dragon Head' was a pleasant suprise in the manga section of my local comic store. Its grungy and moody toned cover-art stood out on the shelf, contrasted amongst school-girl outfits, giant shiny eyes and colorful robots.

I picked it up on a recommendation from IGN, and have not been dissapointed.

The references to 'Lord of the Flies' and 'Battle Royale' aside, this series is fast growing into a thoroughly gripping and entrancing window into a human mind when met with frightening pressures. Mochizuki wisely chooses three teen protagonists, juxtaposing their wildly swinging and confused hormones and self-identity with the terrifying reality of their entrapment in the subway tunnel, surrounded by the rotting bodies of their dead classmates and teachers.

The artwork isn't amazing, though it has been steadily improving through the first four volumes, and more than succeeds in depicting the moodiness or the fear and confusion of the situation and its characters. There are some moments of technical beauty in terms of page composition, which shows the extent to which the author/artist has considered the flow of his work.

At times certain themes or ideas are repeated, but this does not detract from the impact of the read.

Volume 2 is even more disturbing and captivating, and so far the series is just getting better and better.

One to watch. Recommended.

3.0 out of 5 stars Effective but very slow start, August 27, 2009

By 

Kid Kyoto (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dragon Head Volume 1 (Paperback)

A disaster derails a bullet train in Japan leaving only 3 survivors trapped in a tunnel.

It's a horrifying premise. High school student Aoki Teru is returning from a school trip and is knocked out. He awakens in pitch darkness surrounded by the dead bodies of his friends. Over the course of the next 200 pages his situation becomes clear and the horror only grows.

But be warned, this book is all about building a mood of horror, it is very, very quick read without much plot. While the series is good, and this volume is good it's hard to justify $10 on such a quick read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining first chapter of a sprawling post-apocalyptic series, February 14, 2009

By 

Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Head Volume 1 (Paperback)

Volume #1 of Minetaro Mochizuki's, "Dragon Head" manga series is a smartly paced and at times, minimalist, start to a sprawling post-apocalyptic series. Things gets off to a quick start when a train full of Japanese high-schoolers gets trapped in an underground tunnel after a seemingly catastrophic event above ground seals off both ends of the train tunnel. When the protagonist, Teru Aoki, awakens to the aftermath of the train crash he is horrified to discover that he is only one of 3 passengers to have survived the accident. The rest of the book encompasses Teru and his classmates saga as they attempt to survive as long as possible until help arrives. Overall the illustrations are very well-done full of grim mood and darkness and the story is intriguing enough for me to give Vol. 2 a try as well.