Review Corner: Virtuoso di Amore
Jun. 27th, 2007 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jukebox_csiNext up is the manga Virtuoso di Amore.
Title: Virtuoso di Amore
Mangaka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: DramaQueen
From the back cover: Kenzo Shinozuka is a talented but under-appreciated pianist, so when wealthy nobleman Lorenzo Carlucci offers to be his patron, he leaps at the chance. However, being patronized by Carlucci exacts a price that the pianist may not want to pay. For Carlucci is an eccentric and demanding patron, whose temperament often clashes with Kenzo's own stubbornness. The friction between patron and artist threatens to drive them both to the brink of madness, or that of desire. But it is undeniable that Kenzo's talent flourishes under Carlucci's patronage. Can Kenzo overcome his pride and the ghosts of his past to finally achieve greatness?
Unlike a lot of the released mangas I've seen, this book is only one storyline throughout with no extra, short, or side story. It gives the mangaka more space with which to pen the tale and draw out the details, both emotional and physical. This story follows two men who are both on a path leading nowhere, or perhaps into the very depths of hell, as they come together and claw their way out of the pits of suicidal depression and despair to find an actual life worth living. It is a prime example of the very thin line that separates genius from madness; the mental instability that can form and splinter a prodigy pushed too far. Love and hate can be said to be two sides of the same coin, and passion can flow out of either.
Both Lorenzo and Kenzo attended the same music academy, though in two separate grades. Kenzo was a lonely, younger child who had no friends within the school. But, Lorenzo would keep him company when he practiced, urging him to never let go of the passion when playing. Lorenzo could play the most difficult pieces imaginable, but only with the help of drugs that would drive him to attempt suicide. Kenzo eventually grew and, under constant pressure to be the best pianist, lost his passion for the instrument in the most violent way in front of an audience. Now, years later, Lorenzo finds Kenzo in a bar and becomes his patron. Over the course of the book, the two grow to understand one another and seek to save the other in their own way. For Lorenzo, he believes that everything will change if he can just make Kenzo the star he was always meant to be, and does everything in his power - even using his body - to give Kenzo the chance he needs. For Kenzo, he believes the only way he can save the eccentric older man from the drugs and degrading positions in which Lorenzo places himself (in an attempt to atone or perhaps successfully destroy himself) is to become successful and protect Lorenzo through that success. But, in order to achieve that success, a deal must be made with the famous conductor Frier - a deal with far reaching consequences for Lorenzo's very sanity. It is a struggle the older man must find the courage to overcome; as he says "We were stuck in the same circumstances, you and I. But just once, you showed me...how magnificent you could be when you broke free---"
I found this book to be quite engaging. Both the artwork and the story appealled on both a physically aesthetic plane as well as an emotional one, though at times the story tipped a bit into the over-dramatic. Uki Ogasawara does a fine job in this first English licensed work. The pride the mangaka has for her characters is shown with detail in each panel. I applaud DramaQueen for not censoring the love scenes, allowing the full sexual glory of her men to be displayed for the reader's appreciative eye. I found myself staring in unabashed interest while simultaneously blushing.
If Uki Ogasawara's other books are of a similar vein in art style and captivating tale, I look forward to more of her works being licensed.
This review is also posted at Boys on Boys on Film
Title: Virtuoso di Amore
Mangaka: Uki Ogasawara
Publisher: DramaQueen
From the back cover: Kenzo Shinozuka is a talented but under-appreciated pianist, so when wealthy nobleman Lorenzo Carlucci offers to be his patron, he leaps at the chance. However, being patronized by Carlucci exacts a price that the pianist may not want to pay. For Carlucci is an eccentric and demanding patron, whose temperament often clashes with Kenzo's own stubbornness. The friction between patron and artist threatens to drive them both to the brink of madness, or that of desire. But it is undeniable that Kenzo's talent flourishes under Carlucci's patronage. Can Kenzo overcome his pride and the ghosts of his past to finally achieve greatness?
Unlike a lot of the released mangas I've seen, this book is only one storyline throughout with no extra, short, or side story. It gives the mangaka more space with which to pen the tale and draw out the details, both emotional and physical. This story follows two men who are both on a path leading nowhere, or perhaps into the very depths of hell, as they come together and claw their way out of the pits of suicidal depression and despair to find an actual life worth living. It is a prime example of the very thin line that separates genius from madness; the mental instability that can form and splinter a prodigy pushed too far. Love and hate can be said to be two sides of the same coin, and passion can flow out of either.
Both Lorenzo and Kenzo attended the same music academy, though in two separate grades. Kenzo was a lonely, younger child who had no friends within the school. But, Lorenzo would keep him company when he practiced, urging him to never let go of the passion when playing. Lorenzo could play the most difficult pieces imaginable, but only with the help of drugs that would drive him to attempt suicide. Kenzo eventually grew and, under constant pressure to be the best pianist, lost his passion for the instrument in the most violent way in front of an audience. Now, years later, Lorenzo finds Kenzo in a bar and becomes his patron. Over the course of the book, the two grow to understand one another and seek to save the other in their own way. For Lorenzo, he believes that everything will change if he can just make Kenzo the star he was always meant to be, and does everything in his power - even using his body - to give Kenzo the chance he needs. For Kenzo, he believes the only way he can save the eccentric older man from the drugs and degrading positions in which Lorenzo places himself (in an attempt to atone or perhaps successfully destroy himself) is to become successful and protect Lorenzo through that success. But, in order to achieve that success, a deal must be made with the famous conductor Frier - a deal with far reaching consequences for Lorenzo's very sanity. It is a struggle the older man must find the courage to overcome; as he says "We were stuck in the same circumstances, you and I. But just once, you showed me...how magnificent you could be when you broke free---"
I found this book to be quite engaging. Both the artwork and the story appealled on both a physically aesthetic plane as well as an emotional one, though at times the story tipped a bit into the over-dramatic. Uki Ogasawara does a fine job in this first English licensed work. The pride the mangaka has for her characters is shown with detail in each panel. I applaud DramaQueen for not censoring the love scenes, allowing the full sexual glory of her men to be displayed for the reader's appreciative eye. I found myself staring in unabashed interest while simultaneously blushing.
If Uki Ogasawara's other books are of a similar vein in art style and captivating tale, I look forward to more of her works being licensed.
This review is also posted at Boys on Boys on Film
