A Curtain Call for You Volume 2 Review

At the end of 2025, Kodansha debuted the new series A Curtain Call for You. This manga got off to a promising start and followed the story of a high school drama club, but will this second instalment prove just as captivating?

As we reunite with Tsubame and Sakura, we find them meeting up with Mai Kariya and her theatre troupe. Here our duo are hoping to learn some professional tips that will help them with their own writing and acting, and as someone who does directing, writing and acting, Mai seems like the perfect person to learn from.

However, what Sakura doesn’t expect is that Mai sees right through to the core of their motivations when it comes to acting. And Mai wastes no time in warning Sakura that Tsubame is someone who is constantly reaching for the stars and she won’t remain in the shadows with Sakura forever. This is further proved when Mai invites Tsubame to play a role in their latest play and Sakura gets to see firsthand how much Tsubame shines when given the right support. Is Sakura just holding her friend back?

Tsubame remains oblivious to Sakura’s inner turmoil, however, and instead sets her sights on the school festival. Tsubame is hoping that the drama club will be able to put together a play, but is Sakura up to the task of writing when her feelings are so all over the place? And then there’s new club member Riri Koishi. She wants to act, but she’s really not cut out for it, and the group are having a hard time breaking it to her. Is there a better use of her talents?

If you enjoyed Volume 1 of this series, then you’ll be just as delighted by the second. It continues to be a deep dive into the complicated feelings of our two leads but also a great look at amateur and professional theatre alike. There’s a lot packed in, and to the credit of the creators, it manages to not feel overwhelming or like there’s too much.

Just having Tsubame’s and Sakura’s stories already felt like there was a lot to explore, but adding Riri into the mix adds an entire other layer. And I’m impressed with how well this has been integrated. The art has remained incredible as well; Kiki Emoda’s talents continue to shine through as they bring the cast to life.

My bigger concern with this one remains the fact that it’s both on hiatus and supposedly ending with Volume 3. To bring it all to a conclusion with just one more book doesn’t feel possible at this stage, especially when Tsubame’s true reason for acting has still been left unexplored. Sakura’s story is far from resolved, too, even if she is getting closer to figuring out the path she wants to take in life.

Having said that, this volume does at least conclude with the end of the school festival performance. So, even if we never get to see more of the series, this does at least serve as a suitable stopping point. It would have been considerably more frustrating if we hadn’t at least gotten to see the payoff for that.

A Curtain Call for You Volume 2 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha under the Vertical imprint and continues to be translated by Mei Amaki, with lettering by Madeleine Jose. Extras include some bonus 4-koma and two pages of preliminary character designs, as well as a colour page at the start.

Overall, A Curtain Call for You remains a compelling read with this second volume. I can only hope that it eventually returns from the hiatus and continues on, but even if it doesn’t, this isn’t the worst place to have stopped, all things considered. Worth picking up if you liked the first volume!

Our review copy from Kodansha (Vertical) was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).