Title: Kirio Fanclub Vol. 2
Author: Chikyu no Osakana Ponchan
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 164
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Comedy, Romance
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
The Story
We open up this volume with Aimi and Nami wanting to write a song about Kirio… so they do… and it’s quite demented, as one would expect, but once we get that little chapter out of the way, the second volume opens up with an overarching story involving a new character named Manda.
Rumors have been spreading about him being some occultist, so Aimi and Nami pay him a visit in the chemistry lab, hoping he can use his magic to make Kirio fall in love with them, but the rumors were simply that… just rumors. He does deal in so-called hexes, though, and begrudgingly helps them when they won’t leave him alone. In the process of doing so, they end up destroying two of his expensive fetishes and get their names written in a parody version of the Death Note.
Despite all of this, Aimi and Nami run into Kirio while they are out eating. While it starts like a debacle, it ends in victory for them because they end up getting his contact information! Our volume then closes when we take a look back at when Aimi first became aware of Kirio, and what her true wish is for him!
Characters
Our new character, Manda, is quite the strange one, so he fits in perfectly with this series! While a lot of people assume things about him, he’s mostly harmless, as he prefers to keep to himself to run his so-called experiments. He likes to deal with hexes and curses, mainly casting them upon those who look down on him, but once Aimi and Nami offer themselves up as test subjects for said curses, he jumps at the chance to try a few things out on them. He reminds me of a lamer version of Hojo from Final Fantasy VII, but he did add some extra entertainment to the series, and judging from the way things went, it appears that he will be a recurring character.
Aimi’s backstory was… normal? Dare I say, touching? She was seen visiting her grandfather in the hospital, and when her dad arrived, she left his room to get him. That’s when she runs into Kirio for the first time, learns his name, and sees how brightly he smiles when talking to someone named Nozomi. It was that captivating smile that made her fall in love with him, but it’s also the source of her true wish!
Final Thoughts
To be fair, I never expected Aimi’s backstory to be that wholesome or normal! I get that seeing him smile is what captured her heart, but we still didn’t get the full picture here. We don’t know just how she came to become overly obsessed with Kirio, but I guess that might end up getting revealed in a later chapter (or maybe it doesn’t get revealed at all!)
The addition of Manda was something that was needed. Even after just a single volume, I could tell that these random episodic chapters were going to overstay their welcome, so I was happy that we got a new character and an overarching story throughout the second volume. This addressed a potential future issue before it could even manifest, and it made the volume a bit more enjoyable. Episodic gag manga can work, but typically, once you see what the joke is about, it gets old fast. While the formula of the joke didn’t truly change, just adding that simple third party helped put a new, refreshing spin on it.
I’m not sure if we are going to get more of Aimi’s backstory in the next volume, but knowing that the series can have touching moments rather than relying on demented lines and shock value is promising because it offers depth to shallow humor. Shallow humor is fine if used in moderation, but without depth, that’s when its over-usage becomes a detriment more than a selling point. The fact that Kirio Fanclub is adding this depth so soon means that the series is self-aware of this and is handling things properly!
Also, since we got Aimi’s backstory this time, maybe we’ll see Nami’s next time? There’s only one way to find out! See you all in volume three!
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