It is a sequel to the first one and this is not a sequel that stands alone, you need to watch part one in order to understand the characters. It is quite a good sequel following up. The pace is fast and intense. With the third movie as a conclusion, the characters race against time to stop Friend's plot to destroy mankind and unravel his identity. I can't say which one I like best as both of the movies have their own plot. I enjoyed both of them and cannot wait for part 3.The story: It starts off where part one ends. Kanna is a grown-up teenager in 2015. Friend is still planning on destroying mankind and has made almost everyone respect him as god. Kanna races to fight off Friend' evil plot and finds dark secrets. I can't spoil much as there are quite a lot of twists. With an expensive budget, you can see some huge realistic sets never feature in Japanese movies. Part one has the expensive sets. Part two, the sets are not as big as part one, is more about the drama and dark secrets. So those expecting bigger sets may be disappointed Overall: It is still good. Those who watch part one and enjoy it, you are suggested to watch this too. Those who want to know about friend's identity, you will have to wait for part three. It has thrill, suspense and maybe drama. But there is no action, and there is no action. This is only for thrills and suspense.

First thing out of the box DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY THIS FILM UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE FIRST ONE. The film will leave you hopelessly lost, and even if you've seen the first film you may end up lost.(Said by a man who watched the films back to back) Picking up in 2015 this part of the film focuses primarily on Kanna, Kenji's now teen-aged niece. Many of the old characters are drifting around but for the most part this is Kanna's story. The Resistance to Friend is still going on but more quietly. What remains of the fighters from the first film are trying to still sort out what Friends ultimate goal is, and they are horrified to discover that there is a "New Book of Prophecy" which seeks to fill in where Kenji's tale left off. More secrets are revealed and everyone scrambles to stop another doomsday plot and a ploy to make Friend a god. Of course like chapter one this is all set up for the last film....There are lots of old characters (though some are given nothing to do) lots of new characters and a better sense of time and place, this film pretty much sticks to the stories present and doesn't jump around. Easier to follow, assuming you've seen the first film close to this one, I saw them back to back and I'm really thankful I did.This film is better and worse than the first film. The film suffers from lots of contrived plotting. Several things, including the ending could be seen from miles away so I was really surprised when the audience gasped at a couple of plot turns that weren't so much fore shadowed but set up with neon signs.(Catholic Church anyone?). I don't know how close this is to the manga but I'm guessing its like the first and cleaves of chunks of exposition. The real problem for me was that the film descends in to satire and poor humor with members of the cult played for laughs. The silliness of it all (absurd facial expressions, silly walks and the like) made them seem like a joke, not like a threat or a group that would ever have taken over a country and parts of the world. Watching things like the aides at Friend Land walking with arms and legs flailing just made it less compelling.The film and the larger story finally seem to click about a half an hour from the end when the silliness drops away and Friend's plot begins to come together. The film then moves along at a good clip to the end. Its a shift that made me shaking my head in disbelief that I was still in the theater to really enjoying myself.Ultimately its worth seeing if you've seen the first film. Its good, but not great and hopefully it sets up a great conclusion.And like with part one stay through the end credits to see a preview of Chapter 3

To be fair I accidentally watched half of this film before realizing I was in the second part of a series. At which point I went back to the first film and wondered whether I need have bothered. This sounds like a criticism but is not. Unlike a lot of series the two films blend together seamlessly and you get many flashbacks from the first part.It is a loosely faithful version of the famous manga series. Japanese manga have an ability to take you into a mysterious world and keep you intrigued and with an appetite for more. Death Note was similarly interesting in the way it converted to film and kept this charm. You have to accept that it comes from the world of manga as quite simply most of the plot and characters are larger than life and flawed in a gorgeous manga kind of way.The manga films that don't work for me are the likes of transformers which is taking itself far too seriously but I digress.What makes this series compelling is the connection to religious cults that fascinate the Japanese people in real life. The acting is above average and the special effects work without being over bearing or loud action for the sake of it.You need to concentrate as it weaves like a good mystery novel. The last 30 minutes are excellent and build you up to a bit of a let down at the end but there is enough to make you want to see the last part.

Whereas the first movie was very faithful to the Manga series, the plot in this part is quite different. This is not a bad thing per se, but I was a bit disappointed that Manjome and dream navigator Tagasuki were represented as 1-dimensional characters who are aware of all of friend's plans. Also, there a scene where Maniome basically says what is going to happen next that totally spoils the movie's climax. I believe a lot of people who are not familiar with the Manga series will either not fully understand what is going on or find the movie boring.My friends and I agree that three movies are simply not enough to retell the complex story of the Manga series. A TV show would probably have been a better approach.Overall, I still give this movie 5 stars, because it is entertaining and the few more exciting scenes are well executed.