Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, Volume 2: 11/12/21

Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, Volume 2 by Hinowa Kouzuki covers Yushi's move to the newly built and opened school dormitory and his slow realization that he's not happy living in these new quarters. It follows on a theme that's fairly common in stories with sympathetic paranormal characters, namely that the living — that humans — are often the more monstrous than the supernatural.

Yushi's time in the human dormitory highlights problems with forced social interactions. There are two ways things can play out: people can form cliques that can result in isolation and / or bullying. Or everyone can be so focused on not causing ripples that causes self isolation, antisocial behavior, and depression. Yushi comes to realize the new dormitory isn't conducive to his mental health.

So for readers who like the yokai characters who reside in the apartment, volume two is a bit of a slog. It's a necessary one to explain why Yushi decided to go back after finally being able to move into a school dorm. But in the longer run of the series (21 volumes total), volume 2 is road bump.

Five stars

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