Venus Capriccio by Mai Nishikata

Title: Venus Capriccio
Mangaka: Mai Nishikata
Age Group: Teens
Series is: Completed with 5 volumes
Volume(s) Reviewing: 1-2
My Rating: 4.5/5

Tomboy Takami always fall for the wrong guys. They always dump her in the end. It appears she is not "girly" enough for them. But how can she help it that she grew up with four older brothers that shaped who she is today?

So Takami turns to her best guy friend, Akira, for support. Akira is a dashing and sensational young pianist. Always quiet and refined, he is the complete opposite of the loud and stubborn Takami.

The two friends have always been together. It is not a surprise when their feelings for each other grow...

This series is simply charming. I absolutely love the two characters as a couple. Takami was not at all annoying as I thought she would be. She may not be feminine, but she is indeed a sweetie. And Akira is definitely my favourite character. I love how he cares deeply for Takami and vice versa, not to mention he is so mature for his age!

The art is simple but pretty. If you read the first volume, you will see that the art changes from the first chapter to the last. The characters' faces are more smoothed and rounded compared to the beginning. Something that you don't see so often is that Akira is an inch and a half shorter than Takami! Usually, the male leads are taller than the females but I am glad that Akira is shorter and younger than Takami. It was nice to see something different in manga for once.

There was one scene that touched me in particular. While the two were eating out, one of Akira's fangirls snuck up behind him with a pair of scissors to get a lock of his hair. Takami, who saw, immediately got up and wrapped her arms around his head for protection. She got injured but she didn't notice it because she was worrying about Akira instead. I found this action to be quite admirable of Takami.

Venus Cappriccio is a mellow and realistic manga. Not exaggerated in any way (aside Akira's fangirls' existence), this manga is a great shojo read if you are looking for a series that can be related to real life. But for anyone who are not into slow moving plots, then this is not for you.

I am most eager for the following volumes in hope to see more of Takami's and Akira's relationship developing. At the end of volume one and two, the mangaka gives a couple of bonus pages of what would happen if the two switched personalities. I find it most cute!

Review copies provided by CMX.