From the back cover:
Rakan’s normal life has been turned upside down thanks to strangers from another world suddenly appearing in his backyard! Chigusa and Natsushige are starting to become more comfortable with their new surroundings, but coming to disrupt the peace is an assassin sent by the Prince. Will Chigusa save the day again?

Review:
Ever since I unexpectedly enjoyed the review copy of the first volume of this series, I’ve been looking forward to reading the second. So much so that I did something I never do and began reading it the very day it was delivered to my doorstep by the kindly UPS man.

This second volume isn’t quite as funny as the first, though there are several amusing scenes that would be cute without the talking snake, but which he manages to make even better. A group hug scene comes to mind. Mostly, the focus is on fleshing out the plot and the characters.

We learn how the prince in the other world came to power and how he secretly derives his nourishment from the land around him. When he sends an assassin after Chigusa in the real world, said fellow blabs some gossip about Narushige and Chigusa’s backgrounds in an attempt to discredit them in Rakan’s eyes. When that backfires, Rakan shows some grit that’s not exactly unexpected but still nice to see, and the volume ends with that fellow being held prisoner.

In addition to all this, there’s the characters’ internal struggles. When Rakan learns that his new friends can return to their own world whenever, he realizes he’s become too comfortable with their presence and resolves not to get any more involved with them. Meanwhile, Chigusa is realizing he likes Rakan too much to simply drag him back to the other world, and so seeks advice on how to get him to come “gently.” This last bit yields some comedic moments as well.

I’m enjoying this series a lot at this point, and though it’s a bit low on wow moments, it’s still very solid and very good. I was worried about its fate, given the recent changes at TOKYOPOP, but it seems like it might be one of the series that will emerge unscathed. At least, solicitations for volumes 4 and 5 have shown up on RightStuf and Amazon, though the lack of information for volume 3 at TOKYOPOP’s website is a little troubling. I guess we’ll know if it’ll be coming out once the expected release date of December 30th rolls around.

Silver Diamond currently has 15 volumes in Japan. The series is still ongoing.

Rakan was only two when he and his late mother inexplicably appeared amongst the flowers in an old Japanese man’s backyard. Lonely and kind, the old man took them in and Rakan’s been doing his best to live a sensible life ever since. Having inherited the old man’s fortune upon his death, Rakan’s goals are simple and steady: graduate from college, find a stable job, marry someone kind and serious, and continue to reside in the house in which he’s lived for the past fifteen years.

His solitary existence is disrupted when a mysterious stranger named Chigusa turns up in the garden just like Rakan did all those years ago. During a scuffle resulting from a case of mistaken identity, Rakan demonstrates an ability he didn’t even know he possessed and causes Chigusa’s wooden gun to sprout into a tree. It turns out he possesses a rare gift that could help Chigusa’s barren world, and the latter vows to protect this “precious creature.”

Because Silver Diamond is billed as boys’ love as well as fantasy, I had some doubts about it at first. I worried the fantasy plot might be treated like an afterthought while the wilting protagonist had to repeatedly fend off the lecherous advances of his Mr. Grabby Hands protector. I’m glad to say these fears were entirely groundless.

The plot might not sound like the most original thing—our unassuming hero could be the savior for another world—but Sugiura adds enough unique world-building and mystery for it not to seem derivative. It’s also unexpectedly funny. I was amused mostly by authorial—how did the old man get Rakan and his mom added to the national registry? In bold letters: CRIME—but also by the cranky talking snake that appears toward the end of the volume, who makes the old cliché “character from another world/time encounters a television for the first time” scene seem shiny and new.

All of the characters introduced so far are likeable and interesting. Rakan is practical and thoughtful, and though he realizes pretty quickly that his houseguests have something to do with his origins, he’s reluctant to ask questions about it, lest the normal life he wants for himself be threatened. Chigusa is enigmatic but smiles often and seems kind. Late arrival Shigeka functions somewhat as a go-between between the other two, answering questions as well as raising them, particularly where Chigusa’s true nature is concerned.

There’s something about the page layout that reminds me of Please Save My Earth, but that might simply be due to the abundant plants and flowers. The art is nice, though occasionally the pointy chins look like they could hurt someone. Some might feel there’s too much screentone, but it doesn’t bug me—I rather like how Shiho Sugiura uses it to create sand dune landscapes on a few occasions.

On the whole, I come away with a very favorable impression of Silver Diamond and am genuinely interested to see where the story goes from here. If the purpose of review copies is to hook people on new series they might not ordinarily have investigated, then mission accomplished.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.