Just Like Mona Lisa Volume 2 Review

Over the summer Square Enix Manga began releasing Just Like Mona Lisa. The series tells the story of protagonist Hinase who has yet to become a boy or a girl in a world where humans generally become one or the other by the time they reach twelve years of age. However, when their two best friends confess their love to Hinase, something slowly begins to change. With Volume 2 in hand, let’s find out what’s in store…

Volume 2 opens from Shiori’s perspective and finally addresses why he so stubbornly told Hinase he’d make her into a girl. Shiori’s older brother is Hinase’s doctor, so he’s well aware that those who remain genderless tend to die before the age of 20. It’s out of desperation that Shiori wants Hinase to finally choose a gender and he doesn’t care if his actions cause strain in their relationship as long as it ensures his treasured friend will live on.

Meanwhile, Hinase and Ritsu have bigger concerns than Hinase’s gender as they realise they’re both failing several subjects at school and have tests coming up. Ritsu is hoping to make it into college on a sports scholarship, but she still can’t afford to fail any test and both she and Hinase have always depended on Shiori to tutor them when push comes to shove. Shiori is exasperated but agrees anyway as he knows he can’t just leave them to fail.

Unfortunately, on the day of the study session, Ritsu comes down with a fever which means Hinase and Shiori are left to study alone. Sitting shoulder to shoulder in Shiori’s room, Hinase begins to experience feelings they’ve never felt before. Is it because they’re older now that Hinase is starting to see Shiori as a man or is it due to his confession? And why is it that when Hinase goes on a date and holds hands with Ritsu afterwards they begin to feel strangely toward their female friend too?

This volume of Just Like Mona Lisa focuses less on Hinase’s gender situation and more on the broader picture of the relationship between the three main characters. We know from the previous book that the childhood friend’s confession has begun to influence Hinase’s hormones, but until they can figure out their emotions, it’s unlikely to lead to a drastic change. Up until now, Hinase has never thought about romance, nor thought of her friends in that way but having heard their confessions, it’s hard not to notice how small actions like hugging or holding hands cause a whirlwind of emotions.

Ultimately, Hinase is afraid of this change and wants their relationship with Ritsu and Shiori to remain the same as it always has been. There are a lot of questions surrounding how this desire to stay ‘normal’ in terms of their relationships is impacting their inability to transition and that seems to be what mangaka Tsumuji Yoshimura wants to explore now. I welcome this focus as I think the core connection between these three characters and how they move forward from here is one of the most interesting parts of the story.

I am also much happier with Shiori and Ritsu’s characters now we’ve been able to spend more time with them. Yoshimura has managed to sand off some of the rougher elements of their personalities, including how Shiori confessed. Now knowing how scared he is of Hinase dying, his desperation makes a lot more sense, while also adding more depth to his emotions. I’m looking forward to seeing how the two childhood friends grow throughout the series alongside Hinase.

As mentioned Just Like Mona Lisa Volume 2 comes to the West thanks to Square Enix Manga and continues to be translated by Leo McDonagh with lettering by Asher Caswell. As with the first release, this book reads well with no issues. Extras included are a colour page at the beginning as well as some translation notes at the end.

There is also still a lot of usage of blue ink to represent more emotional moments that impact Hinase’s mental state and feelings toward love and gender. Interestingly, this also extends to a piece of dialogue in Chapter 10, so I’m curious to see how the author will continue to make use of this going forward.

Volume 3 of the series is scheduled for an English release later this month with #4 following in January. Listings are up for #5-7 as well, which confirms the series is staying on a bi-monthly release schedule unless something gets delayed later on!

Overall, Just Like Mona Lisa Volume 2 proves an interesting read and expands well on the premise. Thanks to Yoshimura taking the time to better develop Shiori and Ritsu, I think we’re in a much better place for moving the story along now we better understand everyone’s motivations.

A free preview can be found on the Square Enix website here. 

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).