Ousama Game: Shuukyoku

This new manga of Ousama Game begins with our same protagonist from the older title. Nobuaki will have to endure once more his fight against "the king" with new classmates, trying to avoid the death of his companions.
The manga in general is pretty much the same like the first one. The characters are empty and I didn't feel sorry for anyone in all 5 tomes. The drawings are pretty good and I enjoyed it almost to the end. It has a shitty ending imo.
Overall rating: 6/10

If you want to know more, I suggest you read Ousama Game: Kigen.

(I'm French, so I'm sorry if I make spelling or syntax errors)

/This review presents mini spoilers, but nothing crucial/

I have seen that on MAL, King's Game is generally not very appreciated with low averages. I recognise the flaws in the series, but I can't help but like it. This season is my favourite, and I will try to explain why.

At first I was reluctant to start King's Game Extreme. I was afraid that we would start from scratch, without having retained any connection to the game of the first season. I figured we'd gone back for a new game with new students and it wasn't worth reading this because we'd be going in circles. I did well to start the first chapter : my reticence was very quickly swept away. What was not my surprise when I saw our dear Nobuaki (he was not announced on the manga). To better understand what he was doing there, I went to read the end of the first novel (original version) which is much clearer and more logical than the one in the manga of the first part. In short, I was very happy to see him, and, at the same time, I was sad for him because his presence meant that he was going to undergo a King's Game again.

In this season, Nobuaki is not the same. Traumatised by the appalling events of seven months ago, he seems dead inside. Tired and frightened, he has nevertheless decided to go back to high school. However, he is unable to bond with his classmates for fear of becoming attached to them and losing them as he did with those close to him (notably Chiemi and Naoya). He will end up participating in a sporting event with his class. Just as he was beginning to calm down, the King chose this moment to reappear. The timing is really raging, but it was predictable.

Readers' relationship with survival games is always very strange. On the one hand, we find it horrible (I suppose), on the other hand, we read the manga exactly because we like it. It's ambivalent. Here, I felt the same ; although I really hated the characters at the beginning for a reason I can't reveal (spoil). In the end, some of them turned out to be touching and strong.

As in the previous season, the King's Game pushes its players to the limit and they are capable of anything. You discover the "real face" of people when they are cornered. However, it's not only that that makes this game particularly crispy. First of all, with a survivor in the group, it can't start in the same way as in the first season when nobody knew about the King's Game. But that's not all ! Nobuaki isn't the only one with experience : another person related to the game is among his classmates (I'm going to call him AS to avoid spoiler).

Nobuaki and AS think in diametrically opposite ways. One doesn't really care about life anymore, while the other is willing to do anything to survive (literally). AS will be the monster of this season and we will see the opposition of two ideologies that will lead to a more general question. As a result, the other participants seem less interesting and more vulnerable... Except that some will nevertheless manage to surprise. Unfortunately, not all characters will necessarily find a place in the manga. Many will die without being really known, but, on the other hand, those who stand out from the crowd will be courageous and surprising.

Several themes are discussed. The range of emotions and feelings is wide, showing above all the dark side of human wealth. Everyone will approach the game in their own way. Beyond the fact that it exacerbates the bad in people, the King also helps to strengthen the bonds between them and even to create them (as will be seen).

The manga gets to the heart of the matter very quickly. We understand from the beginning why the game is qualified as extreme : the King has evolved. He proceeds in a different way. At first, he goes wild as if he wanted to go through a first stage, but later he will settle down to a more decent rhythm. The players seem to be guinea pigs in addition to being victims.
The suspense and the twists are very present. Personally, I devoured the volumes.

I found that the secondary characters played more important roles than in the first season where only some of them stood out. The story is not only about Nobuaki, who will not necessarily be the most active. Besides, if you didn't like him in the first season, I think you'll like him more in this one. Far from the smiling boy motivated to protect his loved ones, we see him down and locked in denial. He is still looking for a way to save everyone although he will have behavioural phases that will show the darkness of his thoughts. I think that what will push him not to give up is the presence of AS which he considers dangerous and malevolent to others and the research he still has to carry out on the village of Yonaki. However, he doesn't care about his own survival and is willing to sacrifice himself.
Conversely, AS wants to survive at any price. After reading season 4, we understand better its sometimes intriguing reactions.

To conclude, this season 2 knows how to captivate us (in any case it worked on me).
The drawings have a different style because it's no longer Renda Hitori. This marks a distance from the first season and I like the effect it gives.
The development of the characters is not really the strong point of the series, but it didn't spoil my pleasure. On the other hand, if what interests you is only the mystery around the King, it's not in this season that you'll get big answers. In fact, we will collect a few more clues and we will have some more explanations about its nature and how it works, but it's not as complete as in season 3 which reveals everything from the start.
If you liked the first season and the delirium of the series, go ahead and read on ! The game is just as captivating. Sometimes it's a bit exaggerated, but that's the style of King's Game.
Maybe I liked the manga too much compared to what is proposed. I don't know. In any case, the five volumes are well arranged in my library and they will stay there.