Kunoichi no Ichi! no Ni

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Because I already wrote a review for Kunoichi no Ichi, I might as well read the sequel and review it as well. I was very hesitant to read it when the translated chapters started coming out because of how bad Kunoichi no Ichi was, but I caved and read it. And not surprising at all, Kunoichi no Ichi! no Ni is not much better.
Story: 5
I will give credit to the fact that the idea behind the story this time around is much better, but the way it was executed is not that great. The plot is that Ichi has returned to present day, but ... slips in time are transporting his friends from back in the past to the present and it all requires the power of the Ninja Tome, that has long since become a part of him, to return to the past. However, there are individuals in the present also wanting to get their hands on the tome for their own selfish (and perverted) purposes. The concept behind the story is great. There is a larger sense of urgency (somewhat), and the story plays out much better than in the prequel. With Ichi being a student, the story has a much better school-themed atmosphere with there being more characters, including new and old ones, being a part of the on-going plot. However, the transitioning and pacing of the story is still very all over the place. Initially, the story plays out pretty gradually, slowly introducing new characters and new plot points, but you pause after a while and realize that you are more than halfway through the manga and there hasn’t been any step forward in resolving the story’s conflict. The gradual pacing eventually devolves into a very fast-paced series of plot developments which is unfortunate because I expected this to be resolved as the prequel had the same issue. And this leads to things such as the overarching villain being added extremely abruptly leading to them not having much time in the spotlight as well as the ending being very rushed. Overall, the story is slightly better than the prequel’s and as a stand-alone manga, there is not much to really praise about it but it is tolerable.
Characters: 5
I think that the characters have improved from the prequel, but not by much. Starting with the biggest thing on my mind, there are much more characters this time around. We are not just seeing the same characters over and over and over again like how it was in the prequel. The returning characters are just alright. Ichi is still very powerless in the story despite being able to give power to his ninja friends via the Ninja Tome. In fact, this is only relevant in the plot like 2 or 3 times only, so there really aren't any improvements when it comes to ichi’s characters. As for Ichi’s ninja friends from the past, I understand that they have a different relationship with Ichi now as he isn’t a crossdressing boy in a girl’s school anymore, but it’s like their character has completely changed from before. For example, Nagisa isn’t that rowdy and much of a delinquent as before and Erena has completely lost her high-strung, tsundere character. The only past characters that I feel are well represented in their original character and development since the prequel are Ayame and Kosaki as they still have their romantic interest in Ichi. The rest of the girls who had a thing for Ichi don’t even show it anymore as if they were never in love with him at some point. As for the rest of the ninjas from the past, they are either too minor of characters to really be well-expressed or they are literally throw-away characters whose presence is only for the sake of some plot point. The new characters are much better in comparison. While most of them are minor, they are pretty interesting. Not really much else to say about them since they never got too much time in the spotlight. The characters are a slight improvement from before, but there are some pretty massive issues with them this time aroundーmainly from how they are not reflective of their original character from Kunoichi no Ichi!
Art: 6
I mean, the art is not much different other than the fact that there is more effort being put into minor scenes unlike before which is nice. There is a lack of lewder ecchi scenes from before as well as there being fewer lewd accidents. It doesn’t bother me too much as I am more of a story person, but I will admit there being a lack of ecchi (relatively).
Overall: 5
Kunoichi no Ichi! no Ni is a slight improvement from Kunoichi no Ichi! It doesn’t feel like a sequel as it feels more like the same characters interacting with each other in a different setting under the premise of a different situation at hand. That doesn’t mean that it is bad, but there are other, larger issues to talk about. The transitioning and the pacing of the story is still bad, leading to the overarching villain being introduced very late and giving them very little time in the spotlight as well as the ending being extremely rushed. Even the ending itself is not good as it doesn’t give much information about what happened to Ichi’s friends when they returned to the past (as that is the whole goal of the story) and it doesn’t give much detail about Ichi’s immediate life after their return. The returning characters are also a mess. Many of them are given such minor roles that they sometimes don’t even show up for several chapters or until the literal end when they are able to return to the past. They also do not retain much of their unique character from the prequel which is also incredibly disappointing. As a sequel, it isn’t impressive. As a stand-alone manga, it still is pretty underwhelming. If you want some ecchi, you can go right ahead and read this, but if you are a big story person or if you want a serious sequel to Kunoichi no Ichi, you will be disappointed.