This anthology of tight, horrific tales stars Kurumi, a girl who never received a birthday present and therefore never ages. Thereafter, she drops into people's lives with gifts that often lead to death while exposing people for their shallow attributes. This second volume offers more twists and turns to these vignettes, giving them unexpected, if not morbid, outcomes. Inuki (School Yard
) uses Kurumi as more of a narrator in this volume, with a less active role, and introducing other key characters in an array of plot lines: vengeful Santas and jealous girls competing for attention. Inuki's “be careful of what you wish for†message from the previous volume is still strong but isn't overbearing. There always seems to be a moral to the story or a lesson learned, without heavy moralizing. There is also more graphic violence and macabre detail this time around. Her style is very much in line with horror godfather Umezu, and the classic aesthetic does well in depicting these fascinating, almost perverse, stories. (Jan.)
