Vol. 2 — where GATE earns its reputation (spoilers)

Spoilers for Volume 2. This is the point where GATE stops being a novelty and becomes the series people rave about. The Flame Dragon's assault on the refugees is brutal in a way the first volume only hinted at, and Rory Mercury's arrival as an apostle of a war god quietly reframes the entire power balance — the 'modern military stomps fantasy' fantasy suddenly has something that can stomp back.

Itami's choice to shelter the survivors, against the spirit of his orders, is the moment the series commits to its real theme: that competence without conscience is just organized violence. Tuka's arc genuinely got to me. If Volume 1 sold you the concept, Volume 2 is the one that sells you the story.