The evocation of the overly dramatic — personifications of taste, an omnipresent and oppressive sense of urgency, the soul’s weight from a worldly wager — is what embodies this manga centered around wine. It is this characteristic that serves Drops of God Volume 2 in three ways: as page-turner, commentary, and comic relief. The picture to the right is one I use to exemplify this manga to anyone who’ll tolerate my overenthusiastic ramblings about it. Taken by itself, the image comprises two panels featuring an exuberant examination of wine in a glass (right) and the reaction of awe by a witness to said act (left).
Taken by itself, the image of Kanzaki Shizuku contemplating the color of the wine embodies the dramatic. It’s a simple and benign act made into an action shot. A huge splash of white showcases the glass of wine by erasing everything around it, save Shizuku’s hand. The line formed by the accentuation of the glass and Shizuku’s hand continues through his arm and links the reader’s eye to a strong white line a little further downward. Thus the reader’s line of sight is redirected to the raised glass, implying swift motion. The reaction shot in the following image compounds on the effect of this action. The angle and position of Shizuku’s bent arm points to the next panel of an astounded Watanuki Suzuka, who looks on in slack-jawed amazement (note the superfluous “!” surrounded by naught but white in a word bubble). All this implied action and disproportionate accentuation lends to the manga’s sweet, humorous irony. Drinking wine, after all, is never that exciting to watch. However, Drops of God is illustrated as to infuse action where there is none, thereby creating a compelling read out of an everyday act as simple as observation.