|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
Reviewed by Robert Murray Man, I don’t know if I can handle any more cutesy, gender ambiguous romances such as Venus in Love! Does this sound like a ridiculous statement coming from someone who reviews manga for the love of it? Yeah, I would say it’s ridiculous, but I think I’ve reached my breaking point. Genre fiction can provide the reading public with amazing stories if properly utilized by the right artist. However, I don’t think Yuki Nakaji is up to the task, since she has created a manga title that doesn’t lead anywhere but toward a cliched conclusion. Venus in Love is pure fluff without many redeeming qualities for manga connoisseurs. It’s CSI Miami for the romantic otaku out there! There are some positives in this first volume that CMX can work with, namely the translation that nicely blends American and Japanese slang and cultural references. Overall, though, there’s not much to love initially about this newest addition to the CMX stable, unless you are already a fan of Nakaji’s work from Zig Zag. Venus in Love is all shoujo, all the time. Everyone in this volume is pretty, beautiful, or something in-between that is easy on the eyes. Suzuna comes into her freshman year at Koto University with no acquaintances, a new apartment, and a yearning for romance. Sounds a lot like the show Felicity, if you ask me! Quickly, Suzana makes a new friend (Hinako), meets her new neighbor (Eichi), and develops a crush on a tennis-phenom stud (Fukami). As quickly as these new people in her life are introduced, the connections between all of them are revealed. Convenient, huh? Hinako tried to date Eichi many years ago, but was vehemently turned down (even though they remained friends). Eichi and Fukami are best friends, though Eichi secretly loves Fukami in a way that’s more romantic than friendly... This secret passion and the interactions between Suzana and Eichi (with typical neighborly aplomb) are what drives this story, and some of the scenes featuring these two are not half bad. Eichi consistently calls Suzana “Poodle-Chan,” due to the pony-tails she perpetually sports in this installment. In fact, the first words Eichi says to her are about her poodle hair. Also, the tete-a-tete these two share when discussing their feelings for Fukami are well-timed and executed nicely in the artwork, with appropriately-timed close-ups and telling facial responses. Throw in the romantic wrinkle near the end (I won’t ruin it for you, but it does involve a third person...), and this manga will never run short on material for the two most striking characters in the story. Unfortunately, witty banter does not equal a great graphic work of fiction, and it’s these missing or generic parts that weigh down the overall whole, not to mention the one-dimensional characters of Fukami and Hinako. Speaking of Hinako, Nakaji could do so much with her character, considering the dramatic life direction caused by Eichi’s rejection (A super-hot girl with no boyfriend or prospects? At a Japanese school?). I hope Hinako’s inner conflicts are featured more in the coming volumes, but if the tone of Volume One is any indication, that’s probably not going to happen. And forget about Fukami! That guy’s straight cardboard! If you’re a discerning female manga reader, or a male reader with an interest in shoujo, you’ve read this manga somewhere before. You’re not going to find anything new or enthralling that will make Venus in Love your go-to title. However, if light, witty entertainment is what you crave, then 10 bucks will buy you a lot of fun in this first volume. Hopefully, Nakaji will crank up the characters of Hinako and Fukami in future volumes, particularly the romantic subplot introduced near the conclusion of Volume One. Right now, Suzana and Eichi hold this series together, but their chemistry can only last so long before it will become downright obnoxious. I’m hoping for more screwball in the next volume as well, which could give this manga just the charm to succeed. Think you could have written a better review of Venus in Love v1? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
17 March 2010
|
||||
 |
| home | reviews | news | features | about us | advertise | privacy policy | contact us |
