The Horizon Volume 2 continues the tense and terrifying atmosphere the first volume introduced. Readers fret at the outset with the unnamed boy and girl snatched up by a group of men in the last volume. While the series is not a happy one—in fact, it’s heartbreaking—this story is phenomenal. From the artwork to the details, it inescapably pulls readers in. The Horizon Volume 2 is sad, violent, and bleak with a tinge of hope, however unrealistic it may be.
Created by JH, it’s another outstanding series from the author of The Boxer. Translated by Ultramedia and lettered by Abigail Blackman, it throws readers back into the fray. The Yen Press manga has the men who snatched them up amid a fight as they travel through a city. Little do they realize it’s a lone gunman similar to Morgan from The Walking Dead, killing them off. Afterward, the man takes in the two children and treats their injuries. But the question resonating in readers’ minds is, are they safe?
The Horizon Volume 2 Dangles The Potential Risk
It’s impossible not to seesaw between whether this man is good or bad. He takes care of the two kids. But there is also something quietly lethal about him. He kills without any seeming remorse. He even resembles the Predator, who only kills people with weapons. However, his reasoning has nothing to do with a trophy kill. To him, it’s a simple kill them before they kill you and others. So, The Horizon Volume 2 maintains razor-tight tension as readers turn each page.
Morality and Innocence
The gloom does not only lie with what people become. It’s a question of how long before the world destroys the good in people. Despite the horrors the kids experienced in the series, and whatever untold terrors occurred prior, both maintained their goodness. Although, the girl has hers to a much stronger degree. She believes in and hopes for the best in people. Her light brings out the same in the boy, and as long as they have each other, there is hope. But the fear that they lose each other or go through something so horrific they lose their way in this bleak, dead world weighs on readers’ minds.
Backstory That Might Explain What Happened
It’s unclear what occurred to turn society on its head. But the girl’s backstory hints at something sinister: a deadly contagious virus. This aspect of The Horizon Volume 2 can easily parallel the pandemic. It highlights how people become selfish and risk others’ lives for comfort. That shows up in her story as she, her father, and a handful of strangers travel by bus seeking food and a safe place. But one by one, they fall ill, and some resist leaving to avoid spreading it.
While The Horizon Volume 2 is bleak, it carries more hope for humanity’s overall desire to be good than many see in the world. The message to keep moving forward in a world of death and destruction speaks to many nightmares from the world’s past and some currently taking place. It’s impossible to resist reading The Horizon Volume 2 because its style and story speak to aspects of human experiences, even if the whole world is not currently on fire.
