Venus in Love Volume 1

"Venus in Love" is a manga I might have passed up, thinking it looked too average to hold my attention, but after reading the cover blurb and the previous review, I decided to give it a go. I'm really glad I did. The story is about a college freshman named Suzuna. When she moves into her new apartment, she meets Eichi, her neighbor, and they become friends (despite some friendly teasing on Eichi's side.) Soon after, Suzuna meets Eichi's best friend, Fukami, and develops a crush on him. But there's one problem: it turns out that Eichi has a crush on him too, and has for a long time. I really liked the characters in this manga. Suzuna is really child-like and innocent, and also pretty sheltered. Her goals for college are to make lots of friends and fall in love. This kind of character can be annoying, but Suzuna isn't. Her character isn't overly perky or passive. Eichi is also great. Even if you have a moral objection against homosexuality, his feelings for Fukami seem innocent and sweet, and his confusion over them is realistic. He likes to tease Suzuna, but never in a mean way. The description on the cover made me think that they hated each other, but that's not the case. They get along fine, even after Suzuna discovers Eichi's feelings for Fukami. I found this very refreshing. I love arguing couples, but it gets old sometimes. These two have small arguments but still understand and support each other. Fukami was a pretty good character too, although he was less developed. He plays the part of the hot-but-oblivious-crush for both Suzuna and Eichi. Finally, there's Hinako, Suzuna's attractive female friend. She's a more mature character than the others, and she balances them out. I think the combination of personalities here is good. The art seems pretty standard for manga written a decade ago (which this was), but the manga-ka is good at showing emotion and personality through facial expressions. The art has a gentle but energetic feel to it. It's pretty, clean, and interesting to look at. I like the story a lot too. For some reason, I'd been wanting a manga with a love triangle like this for a while, and "Venus in Love" really hit the spot. The situations are all realistic for a college environment. They're not all that creative, but they have a sort of every day feel. The relationships are what's really important, and the plot lends itself to that. It wasn't boring, and there were several moments that made me laugh out loud. The only problem was that no one seemed to notice Eichi's crush on Fukami, and it's blaringly obvious. That having been said, most of the characters are pretty dense when it comes to these things... The romance is predictable in that you already know who's going to end up with whom, but the interactions are interesting, and even I'm not sure how it's all going to play out. "Venus in Love" is a manga that might get over-looked for its generic, girly cover, but what's inside is a sweet story about love and acceptance. I

I must say that this series is excellent. I am waiting for my copy as I type this, however I have read the first several volumes of the New Zealand release while on a trip to Australia. Suzuna is in her first year at Koto University, and already on the first day she has met the most agitating man in existence... Her next door neighbor Eichi. Sparks fly from the moment they meet, and they likely would have left each other along from that point if it were not for Eichi's best friend, Fukami. She falls head over heals for him. Fukami is athletic, intelligent, the head of pretty much everything he tries his hand at. He seems to be perfect. There are only two problems, First, Eichi likes him too, and has for a long time. This leave Suzuna feeling that maybe she should stay back a bit, since the competition was here first, but at the same time she wants to try all the harder. The second problem, and perhaps the worst, is that Fukami sees Eichi as his best friend, and nothing more, and Suzuna is seen as a friend of Eichi's, and perhaps a bit strange. I can't really say much more without starting to give away things that are best learned as you go. The story is great. It is one of friendship in the least expected places, and a story about learning to listen to your heart, even if what it tells you may seem insane at the time. My advice, is order this book, and preorder number two as soon as it is available. You won't regret it.