Review: ‘Killer Shark in Another World’ Volume 2

Kuboken continues the manic quest of Shiromi and Sharkiller in this incredibly “nudge and wink” ridden story of shark movie references and cliche fantasy plots. No movie of shlock is safe, as it seems this unique magical world isekai grips readers by fun loving sharky teeth. But after Volume Two, does Killer Shark in Another World finally bite properly?

Kind of.

Volume 2 opens up with a somewhat “beach episode” as Shiromi, Sharkiller and their foul-mouthed fairy friend from the previous volume, Egther, find themselves at a lake that is home to a legendary demon beast, Gorcosaurus! In a brutal but comedic sequence that leads to another brutal shark attack style of death of more cliche fantasy heroes while Sharkiller battles the crocodile-like Gorocsaurus in a style that you’ll swear you’ve seen before on a late night with the Sc-Fi Channel. Shiromi is blissfully unaware of this chaos and continues to move forward with Sharkiller, landing herself at the capital city of her homeland… only to be arrested before trying the famous pancakes of the esteemed restaurant, The Deep Blue Sea, by a chef who oddly looks like LL Cool-J and his parrot (GET IT?!). 

Now on trial by the king for her accidental war crimes, Shiromi must work with Sharkiller to prove their innocence. Matters are only made worse when a new Demon General named Zeldan appears (a-la Ghost Rider in appearance) to try and destroy Sharkiller and the city as well. Shiromi tries to save the day with as little of a body count as possible, but Sharkiller develops a new and powerful form that turns the tide of battle quickly but at the same time spell nuclear doom for the kingdom with the newly activated “Atomic Mode”! Where will Shiromi and Sharkiller wind up after this blow out battle? Only Volume Three knows the chaotic answer to that.

I gotta admit, I did enjoy this one a little more than Volume One because it feels like Kuboken is leaning more into this being a parody series rather than a serious fantasy manga with a whole lot of shark comedy. What I find interesting is that it feels like this collection of chapters for Shiromi and Sharkiller’s journey felt like bookends featuring Sharkiller killing famous fantasy tropes in b-movie shark dressings while the inbetween is just Shiromi trying to do the right thing and prove they are actually trying to do good for the world despite the blood on Sharkiller’s teeth. 

I like that the characters seem a little more fleshed out in this and could appreciate them a lot more than I did in the previous volume. For example, I really felt the King truly changing his opinion on Shiromi when he sees her protecting the kingdom with Sharkiller from the demon threat and seeing that she is truly a victim of circumstance. Even the walking-talking Ghost Rider reference that is the antagonist Demon General Zeldan had fun character moments with his motorcycle shenanigans.

I’ll even go so far to admit that I like the characterization we see in Egther as she continues to travel with Shiromi and Sharkiller, even though this might be just due to the fact that I am a sucker for an abrasive punk character. With the conclusion of Sharkiller’s atomic inferno at the end of this volume, however, this welcome character development goes up in smoke as most of these characters are now officially either dead or MIA.

I am still trying to discern if I like the bombardment of film references that this volume is presenting to its audiences and if it either keeps you engaged in the plot or deters one from it. From the blatant and over the top Deep Blue Sea (1999) references to Sharkiller’s new power referencing the 2016 film Atomic Shark, it comes across that even the likes of Ghost Rider (2007) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) are not safe from Kuboken’s film admirations.

Honestly, while a majority of the references are jarring, they do help move the plot forward and do not stop the narrative from having you read “Did you get it?” The best reference for me personally was when the world’s council hears of the destruction of the capital and these fantasy characters then pull out a vintage typewriter for use to get the typed out words “Shark Attack” in a delightful homage to JAWS (1975).

Also, a new addition to Volume 2 is that we are now getting shark movie recommendations from Kuboken where the characters give simplified plot synopsis while the films are scored on their shark amount, plot and insanity. It’s a welcome piece of filler after the main story is done and usually these references tie into what movies were used in the volume.

Killer Shark in Another World continues to be a visual delight, with Kuboken’s shark-tastic art style that blends seamlessly with the fantasy plot with an ominous cliffhanger that, despite my criticisms, will have me definitely continue to read this manga series and recommend to any fan of the genre to pick this up if you ever see it lurking on the bookshelves of your favorite book stores.