Title: Venus Capriccio Vol 1
Author: Mai Nishikata
Publisher: CMX
ISBN: 9781401220617
May Contain Spoilers
Takami is a hopeless tomboy who’s mother forced her to take piano lessons so she would become more girly. Akira is a girly guy with delicate features and a gift for making beautiful music. The two meet at piano school, and over the years develop a close friendship. When Takami gets dumped by the guy she likes, she turns to Akira for comfort. When will she realize that she’s chasing after the wrong kind of guy?
Venus Capriccio is another take on a girly guy and a less than ladylike girl. Takami was raised in a boisterous household full of males, and she has become a product of her environment. More comfortable in baggy sweats and t-shirts than dresses or skirts, she is brash, tough, and loud. So not cute! Most boys dump her right away, after learning that she is more of a man than they are.
Akira is the exact opposite. He has delicate features and elegant manners, and at first Takami thinks that he’s a girl. When they met seven years ago, she immediately liked him and started to look at him like he was the little sister she never had. The fact that he was a guy didn’t do anything to change her outlook. He is everything that she is not; beautiful, graceful, refined. He is also a musical prodigy and he always knows how to make her feel better when she’s down in the dumps.
The book is carried by Takami’s brash personality, and I really connected with her character. Though she lacks many social graces, she is at heart a good, kind-natured girl. One thing I didn’t like about her personality was how treated Akira. Akira confesses his feelings for her early in the book, but his words don’t seem to effect her very much. Sure, she used to think of him as her younger sister, and he’s recently been upgraded to her younger brother, but she seems to take his feelings for granted. Being two years older than him, I can understand why Takami sees him as a kid, but he comes across as more mature than she is.
When Takami realizes that she doesn’t know much about his background, she starts to feel a little guilty. Akira knows everything about her, but she has never taken the time or the interest to get learn everything about him. She does suspect that he’s under a lot pressure from his parents, and they expect him to devote 100% to his piano playing. Takami’s family isn’t nearly as strict, and she has a lot of free rein to do as she pleases. It’s also evident that Akira has been a better friend to Takami than she has been to him. He’s always there for her when she needs him, and he dotes on her. I am curious see how their relationship develops over the course of the series.
Venus Capriccio gets off to a promising start, with engaging characters and a pleasant twist on gender bending. Plus, the cute cover is hard to resist.
Grade: B
May 27, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Throughout the book, I had to keep reminding myself that Akira is only 14 years old. In the first place, he doesn’t look 14. In the second place, he’s much more mature than any 14 year old I’ve met.
I picked the book up after being drawn in by the cover and flipping through the pages looking at the art work. Essentially, it was a blind buy bought on a whim. I was pleased with how engaging it was. I’m looking forward to volume 2.