Durarara!! SH, Vol. 2 (light novel) (Volume 2) (Durarara!! SH (light novel), 2) Paperback – August 24, 2021

First of all, I'm a huge fan of Durarara!! and Baccano! and just Narita in general. I also am not totally opposed to fanservice in anime and manga, depending on how it's done. In the original DRRR!! novels, I noticed with some discomfort that the fanservice went from nearly nonexistent to fairly pronounced by the end of the series. Then we get to this sequel series, and in both volumes one and two, the fanservice is just too much. There is not a single illustration of a female character that isn't fanservice. Not one. The male characters are drawn in all sorts of ways (usually not in a fanservice way - would it kill them to give us a shirtless Shizuo shot?) but the ladies are all, without exception, drawn to be sexy or half naked (usually both). The weird thing is that, in the actual story, scenes that would warrant these sorts of illustrations are rare. These images don't even match up with anything going on in the writing. They're just there to be sexy and nothing else.But in volume two, things just went too far, and made me wish you could buy a version of this without the illustrations. The art of Akane, a little girl, in a very sexy pose, was just too much. Thankfully she's fully clothed, but it's undeniably a sexual image, and it made me very uncomfortable. And like I said, the image had nothing to do with the story. There's nothing remotely sexual happening involving Akane in the writing. So I don't understand why they had to have such a picture.That out of the way, I am enjoying the story. I like the three new characters and how their dynamics differ from the "Raira Three" from the original series. I like that they're the focus of the plot, but we still get some scenes with the older characters we all know and love. It's been interesting to see how they've changed since the events of the first series, particularly Shizuo. He's now able to calmly reflect on his relationship with Izaya, which was fascinating to read. Celty and Shinra are adorable as always. I'm excited to see how things progress from here. I just hope they tone down the sexually-charged art of young girls, especially since there are plenty of sexy adult ladies in this series they could have that sort of art for.