Afterschool Charisma Volume 2 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

St. Kleio Academy counts among its students Napoleon Bonaparte, Sigmund Freud, Adolph Hitler, and Florence Nightingale.  These students are not the original historical figures; they are just clones.  Shiro Kamiya is the only non-clone student at the school.  Why is a regular kid attending the school?  No one knows for sure – even Shiro.

As Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 2 opens, the students are dealing with the fallout from the attempted suicide of Mozart (Yes, that Mozart).  Because of this and other drama, more students begin to cling to the trinket they call the “almighty Dolly.”  Plus, it’s the return of the school director, Rockswell, and Shiro finds himself babysitting three people.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  One may consider Afterschool Charisma simply to be yet another manga with an unusual concept.  In light of the assassination of the clone of John F. Kennedy, which occurred in the first volume, this series’ understated macabre tone is quite stated.  I’d also add descriptions such as “eerie” and “creepy” with just a smidge of gruesome.  Part of me doesn’t like reading this because all the clones are of people that are all dead, and the clones seemed destined for sadness or some kind of tragedy.  However, ghast-Leroy wants to know where this is going.

THE LOWDOWN:  Readers looking for manga as weird fiction will want Afterschool Charisma.

B+