Despite copious amounts of blood loss and losing a leg, Iruma survives his encounter with a Dolly! But considering what happened to him, the leaders of Trial & Error are at a loss. How in the world is he still alive? Well, the story explains that while a majority of humans are killed by Dollies, there are certain humans who have a mysterious ability. We get introduced to one of those types of humans in Kyujin Namekata, a former shut-in who doesn’t just break through a Dolly’s barrier.
He punches right through it.
Dolly Kill Kill volume 2 continues its frenetic pace…well, ok, somewhat frenetic. After Iruma survives and gets patched up, we start to learn from the humans’ perspective not only more about the Dollies, but more about what actually happened to them, personally. As in, Iruma starts wondering, after he coughs up a parasitic-looking thing out of his body, if he’s even human anymore. Vanilla explains to Iruma what happened to her after she was captured by a Dolly. Kyujin reveals to a certain someone how he became aware of his power and how’s he’s generating it. Oh, and that certain someone is Ren Kumano, a.k.a the one Iruma has a crush on, who conversely explains the dream-like state she was in six months ago to Kyujin — and snaps out of it once she heard Iruma’s voice.
Through these moments we start learning how the humans can fight off these Dollies. We also learn the Dollies are more than just invaders through the appropriately named “Middleman”, a slick-talking human who is somehow able to not be killed by the Dollies. His explanation on what their reasons for taking over Earth are likely dubious (they’re “biologists”), but, from their appearance to how they act, we start learning more and more about who these abnormalities are…and whether humans can actually defeat them.
Based on how the volume ends we’ll see! Unfortunately it’s been a while since I read this arc on MangaBox so I don’t remember how it went. But the calling card for this series is grotesquely adorable monsters eating or fighting humans, and this volume begins fully establishing the humans have a…chance. It’s not just in Japan; it’s a global thing where we see Dollies getting captured in Russia, select humans with an innate power, and certain weapons being developed — see America — that can change what’s currently happening. But they haven’t succeeded in actually defeating a Dolly, and we’ll have to see if volume 3 establishes if they do have some hope.
Until then, it’s going to be quick chapters for now and slick battles. With Kyujin’s appearance we get someone who can fight toe-to-toe with a Dolly, alongside establishing more background on Vanilla and Kumano, who certainly impact the story as it goes along. Iruma’s attitude is certainly not likable, but in this type of manga it works completely. All in all, Dolly Kill Kill continues to be a pretty entertaining read. Just, no on calling those Dollies adorable though.