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• Venus Capriccio Manga Series

The Review

First Impression

When I read the short blurb about what this manga was about, I thought it was going to be another typical shoujo manga, with the usual off-the-shelf characters. But after reading some more, many shoujo stereotypes ended up in reverse, and it actually turned out kinda cute.

While the girl was a tomboy, it didn't mean her life's goal was to be tamed somehow by a boyfriend. Rather, it remained a positive part of her character throughout the story (it wasn't exactly critiqued like in most shoujo mangas).
The boy was the opposite - he was cute, like a little brother cute. Most of the time he seemed to be fighting against Takami's idea that he was just like a little sibling (she actually regarded him like a little sister in the beginning because he looked like a girl).

The Artwork

The hands in this manga were quite nice. Though I've seen better, it's a plus that the mangaka decided it wasn't a good idea to use cheats when half the story is based on playing the piano (gotta see those hands!!).

The boy was sometimes drawn a little awkwardly, particularly around the neck (it was too thick sometimes...put me off a bit). The proportions could've used a bit more work, but overall the characters were very pretty (ah, bishies!).

The last gripe I had was probably with a few of the minor characters mixing with a few main characters - more than once I couldn't tell the difference between Takami's brothers and her piano sensei....

Overall Impression

Very cute comedy, without overdoing the "shoujo-ness." It's a really nice change to see the two main characters becoming and remaining the best of friends before going into any other type of relationship. Things actually happen in the right order here!

The pace of the whole series reminded me a lot of Ouran High School Host Club - kinda mellow, with just a small bell curve to it. It sometimes felt like there were little scenarios that had no purpose other than to fill a chapter, or to give some fanservice (not that I minded, since they were done so well).

The ending, however, was terrible. It wasn't hard to see the mangaka was trying to go for a light-hearted, open-ended finish, but it was almost too abrupt and went out on an almost wild tangent that it completely broke the pace of the story (and it was the last chapter too!). I think I might've been happier reading only up to Volume 4.

Overall, I liked Nodame Cantabile better.

Breaking It Down