Switch , Vol. 2

Rating T+ Genre manga Publisher VIZ Media External Links VIZ Media

The story of Switch revolves around two young men who have recently joined the NCD, the Narcotics Control Department. The two men, Hal and Kai have joined up to make a difference in their city, a city now being overrun with drug pushing gangs. Coming into the series on the second volume was a bit confusing at first, but even starting here, readers can soon pick up on what is happening in manga.

The first few sections of volume two takes off from where the last one left off. A high-profile actor, Shirai, is being used by a gang to push a drug called Dragon Speed. Since Shirai is such a popular person, the rumor that he is using the drug has sent the sale of the narcotic up ten fold, making the distributer, Sawaki, a powerful man. Shirai is trying to get out of the business and Kai is trying to help him figure out some way to do this. Highly panicked Sawaki runs off and tries to confront the drug lord on his own after knocking Kai unconscious. During the plot's climax Kai slips into his alter ago (which is why the title is called Switch). This alter ego of his is perhaps due to some suppressed memories or hidden psychosis, but either way, it turn the otherwise caring Kai into a very capable bruiser.

A new character is introduced in Act 7, Ms. Kuzui. She is a narcotics analyst who has a thing for Kai because he is small and cute. Many times in the act Kai is pictured from her perspective in various cute ways. Think cat ears. Kuzui is asked to help Hal and Kai get into contact with a drug dealer who is known to be a womanizer. With a little makeup and slutty clothing, they get the job done. She turns out to be a capable addition to their team, even taking into her account with cuteness.

The final acts of the two partners are asked to go undercover at a local high school (gee this has never been done). Apparently there is a gang running out of one of the higher ranking schools in the area. Going back to school teaches new things, such as one of their suspects is trying to seduce his male teachers. There is more to the gang than first suspected, however as one poor student is brutatlly beaten to death.

If you cannot tell from above, the manga has an odd mix of dark situations and odd humor. It can work at times, but in this particular series, it seems to take away from the general purpose that the story tries to deliver: Drugs are bad. The manga can be in the middle of a dark situation, cut away to other characters, something goofy happen, and cut back to doom and gloom. It simply doesn't work.

One thing that is nice is that the characters that are introduced aren't always one-dimensional. Quit a few of the antagonists are fleshed out enough to understand where they are coming from. That being said, it seems that readers will know more about secondary characters than Kai or Hal, especially the later as he rarely speaks.

The artwork is definitely heavy on the black ink. Lots of dark shadows and black blood set the mood for the scenes. The artwork itself is pretty good. Clean lines and recognizable faces. Occasionally it is a little hard to tell what exactly is happening in a given panel, but that seems to be a common occurrence in mangas in my opinion.

Overall, the manga has promise as long as it gets around to being more forward with the main characters identities and stops cutting away to goofy sight gags. If you are looking for a dark detective drama, give this one a shot.