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Alter Ego #2
Alter Ego 2: Noel & June
The long-awaited sequel to Spanish artist Ana C. Sánchez's heart-pounding lesbian romance, Alter Ego .
212 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Ana C. Sánchez
44Ìýbooks56ÌýfollowersAna Cristina "Anakris" Sánchez es una historietista y editora española de estética manga.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2025
It was worth the wait.
I thoroughly enjoyed Alter Ego when I read it. It was a very enjoyable lesbian romance that ended up bringing together two very different people who seemingly had only one thing in common: the girl they loved.
Noel was a sharp tongued pain in the butt and I loved her eventual development in the original. She and June made for a really cute pair and I was very content with them falling in love by the end of the book.
Apparently there was more story to tell and, well, this comes through with most everything that you’d want. There’s no getting around that Noel is still prickly at times (albeit toned way down from the first volume) and June is still a mess who can’t face her own problems.
The romance works a bit better than the narrative, which takes a couple swings that are a little too much for me, but the romance works so darn well that I don’t mind. I could not put this down when I was reading it; it’s great stuff. Ana Sanchez has gotten better in the intervening years and it shows.
I would argue that this has always been Noel’s story. Her growth from somebody who had a self-destructive fixation to an actual partner was really well done and she still has rough edges because of it. Even here she can hardly keep from saying things, but she’s much more likely to hate herself when it can’t be held back.
Which is where June comes in, the one who sees her for what she is and also helps to keep her (mostly) from going overboard. They both still make mistakes - June’s romantic history lurches into frame this time and Noel has real issues with it that June’s dismissal only makes worse.
They are really well defined as people and watching them figure out their future is so satisfying. Two people who are very different will either force one another apart or eventually learn how to complement one another. There’s a volatility here that they’re both aware of and it makes a unique conflict.
It’s amazing how much ground gets covered in a mere 240-ish pages and nothing feels rushed, minus the other big narrative bit that I’ll get to shortly. You get the strong emotions, the flirting, the sex, everything. It’s so well done.
Much like the characters, this story is really trying. After a potential meet-cute that leads to one of the most on the nose meta conversations between our leads, well, you’d be forgiven for just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems too clever by half, though it turns out to be a smidgen more clever than that.
What actually happens? Well, it is not what you’re expecting, but this one part does feel like an imperfect swerve away from cliche. It nearly pulls it off, it would be an all-timer if it had, but it needed just a little more time to seed that notion. It’s so close, though, and I appreciated the attempt.
But I still loved it anyway, overall. June and Noel are a mess, but they’re a mess in love and they really do make one another better when they get over themselves. There’s more romance here than some yuri titles will ever achieve in an entire run and this is a single volume. You can see their affection all over the page.
And it doesn’t completely sideline Elena and Hiro, whose relationship caused Noel to lash out so hard the first volume. They don’t get a ton to do, but they get enough. I’m not sure this needs or could sustain a third volume, but I would read it in a heartbeat.
(Bonus points for ending the story at a ski resort, which, intentionally or not, is one hilariously direct shot fired against endless beach scenes in manga.)
4.5 stars - 4 stars for most, it’s not perfect, but I was really taken with this and even its faults just became part of its many charms. It’s trying very hard and I appreciate that, especially given how often it succeeds.
I thoroughly enjoyed Alter Ego when I read it. It was a very enjoyable lesbian romance that ended up bringing together two very different people who seemingly had only one thing in common: the girl they loved.
Noel was a sharp tongued pain in the butt and I loved her eventual development in the original. She and June made for a really cute pair and I was very content with them falling in love by the end of the book.
Apparently there was more story to tell and, well, this comes through with most everything that you’d want. There’s no getting around that Noel is still prickly at times (albeit toned way down from the first volume) and June is still a mess who can’t face her own problems.
The romance works a bit better than the narrative, which takes a couple swings that are a little too much for me, but the romance works so darn well that I don’t mind. I could not put this down when I was reading it; it’s great stuff. Ana Sanchez has gotten better in the intervening years and it shows.
I would argue that this has always been Noel’s story. Her growth from somebody who had a self-destructive fixation to an actual partner was really well done and she still has rough edges because of it. Even here she can hardly keep from saying things, but she’s much more likely to hate herself when it can’t be held back.
Which is where June comes in, the one who sees her for what she is and also helps to keep her (mostly) from going overboard. They both still make mistakes - June’s romantic history lurches into frame this time and Noel has real issues with it that June’s dismissal only makes worse.
They are really well defined as people and watching them figure out their future is so satisfying. Two people who are very different will either force one another apart or eventually learn how to complement one another. There’s a volatility here that they’re both aware of and it makes a unique conflict.
It’s amazing how much ground gets covered in a mere 240-ish pages and nothing feels rushed, minus the other big narrative bit that I’ll get to shortly. You get the strong emotions, the flirting, the sex, everything. It’s so well done.
Much like the characters, this story is really trying. After a potential meet-cute that leads to one of the most on the nose meta conversations between our leads, well, you’d be forgiven for just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems too clever by half, though it turns out to be a smidgen more clever than that.
What actually happens? Well, it is not what you’re expecting, but this one part does feel like an imperfect swerve away from cliche. It nearly pulls it off, it would be an all-timer if it had, but it needed just a little more time to seed that notion. It’s so close, though, and I appreciated the attempt.
But I still loved it anyway, overall. June and Noel are a mess, but they’re a mess in love and they really do make one another better when they get over themselves. There’s more romance here than some yuri titles will ever achieve in an entire run and this is a single volume. You can see their affection all over the page.
And it doesn’t completely sideline Elena and Hiro, whose relationship caused Noel to lash out so hard the first volume. They don’t get a ton to do, but they get enough. I’m not sure this needs or could sustain a third volume, but I would read it in a heartbeat.
(Bonus points for ending the story at a ski resort, which, intentionally or not, is one hilariously direct shot fired against endless beach scenes in manga.)
4.5 stars - 4 stars for most, it’s not perfect, but I was really taken with this and even its faults just became part of its many charms. It’s trying very hard and I appreciate that, especially given how often it succeeds.
May 5, 2025
A wonderful sequel to the first book!
The relationship aspect of the story was favorite part of this one, with a few bonus points awarded (just enough to warrant a rounded-up 5-star rating) for the ending of the 'background plot' tying things back to the ending of the first book, and the title of the series.
Good stuff, and well worth the read if you even *kinda* liked the first volume!
...And if you haven't read that one yet for some reason, go check it out!
The relationship aspect of the story was favorite part of this one, with a few bonus points awarded (just enough to warrant a rounded-up 5-star rating) for the ending of the 'background plot' tying things back to the ending of the first book, and the title of the series.
Good stuff, and well worth the read if you even *kinda* liked the first volume!
...And if you haven't read that one yet for some reason, go check it out!
June 6, 2025
the rare—in present day—book where i saw it was out in print and just bought it right away because i trusted the mangaka to deliver. a very worthy followup that fleshes things out from the original story in a satisfactory way, both in character depth and loose plot ends, and also gets a little meta about writing sequels. found some annoying typos, but that's on the publisher; the characters' personalities otherwise came across well in translation.
March 11, 2025
Me ha gustado, pero he de reconocer que me ha decepcionado un poco, creo que los diálogos son un poco intensos y que el desarrollo de la historia no esta tan bien conseguido como en otras obras de la autora. Aún asà me ha gustado mucho ver como crece la relación entre Noel y June y he disfrutado mucho de la calidad del dibujo.
February 16, 2025
Soy Elena leyendo este manga. Que bonitas son, estoy dando volteretas.
March 28, 2025
life changing.
May 25, 2025
4.8â�
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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