Assassin & Cinderella Volume 2 Teases Neneko and Omi’s Secrets

The first volume of the Assassin & Cinderella manga, which involved a Spy x Family style plot of an assassin and spy getting married, really focused on setting this up as a sexy sort of josei series and even being cute. The second entry still makes sure it prioritizes the budding romance between the leads Neneko and Omi. However, at the same time this latest volume gets into Neneko’s assignment and a bit of each character’s background as they go on their honeymoon and engage in clandestine activities. 

Editor’s Note: There will be some mild spoilers for volume 2 of the Assassin & Cinderella manga below.

As a refresher, Neneko is an orphan raised by an organization as a spy. For her latest mission, she’s assigned to get information on and break an assassin named Omi. While he is an assassin who’s infamous, incredibly successful, and rich, he’s also not a bad guy. He immediately sussed out who Neneko is and, because he genuinely began to adore her, proposed a marriage of convenience. She can still do her mission and not suffer any negative repercussions. He gets to still spend time with her. While it is a josei series designed to be incredibly sexy and romantic, with both characters being absolute eye candy for the reader, it ends up being filled with genuinely sweet moments since he is smitten with her and she is starting to fall for him as she does her “job” too.

While much of the first volume is about their developing relationship and arrangement, the second manga entry brings up more of both Neneko and Omi’s work in Assassin & Cinderella. This means more insight into both of their pasts. After all, someone getting involved in those kinds of jobs wouldn’t be a “normal” individuals. So early on, we’re presented with some critical pieces of information to help propel the story onward for this volume. 

Neneko’s handler and organization is watching her and, while it seems they think she’s actually doing her job, they are keeping tabs. Omi was part of their organization.  Neneko’s fellow employees don’t really think highly of her. Her handler seems like he may have some ulterior motive. 

While we do get that teasing about information getting into Omi and Neneko’s past, the bulk of the volume deals with her next assignment. That is, she’s been told to get him to take her on a honeymoon with tickets and reservations her organization provided, then use that opportunity to get more information. Given the nature of the series, that does of course mean more situations with them together, him clearly smitten with her, and her starting to fall for him. 

But it also serves as an opportunity for some additional explorations into the character of both. Each of them get more humanizing moments. We see how protective Omi becomes of her, both with how he spoils her after seeing her reactions and responds to others’ actions toward her. We see Neneko starting to show some possessiveness too. But what also feels important is we see her own insecurities and how Omi might help her overcome them. In both the first and second volumes, we see that she’s concerned about herself and her capabilities. She’s eager to try and prove herself. She’s aware of her others at the company see her too, and there’s almost a sense of desperation at this mission being her “chance” to show she does have value as a spy. It all plays out very well, before potentially leading into more reveals about each character’s past.

I do appreciate the fact that Assassin & Cinderella is going to make an attempt to offer more serious looks into both Neneko and Omi’s backstories. Something is being set up here. Especially with more references to her handler at the company coming up. It’s such that, while the more romantic and cute scenes of them as a couple can be really fun, I wish the pacing worked a bit differently. I really want to know more about both of these characters’ backstories and the organization’s lore, and that only trickles out so far.

Volume 2 of Assassin & Cinderella is available now, and Square Enix hasn’t shared a release date for the third volume of the manga yet.

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