Netsujou no Virtuoso
Virtuoso di Amore

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There were some good moments, but most of the time the story and dialogue seemed to be just a vehicle in which to arrive at those moments. I think I need to blame half my discontent on the translation; some lines were stilted and felt like they were chosen from a list of “acceptable translations of X_concept.” On the other hand, since there were so many subplots–and this would be the mangaka’s transgression–the moments seemed to butt up against each other, squeezing all the air out of the breathing room. That isn’t to say that the story didn’t flow, but it was tightly packed. And ... I believe Ogasawara-sensei knew that which is why she compensated in what I think is one of the funniest ways. To make sure all of the plot points were hit within her allotted page-count she let the multi-page sex sequences do double duty. There is very little of the usual, “lift your hips,” “it’s all the way in,” “you’re already like this.” Also missing in action is the standard rain of “ahs” and “nns.” Instead, we witness full-on conversations about promises, stage performances, and former lovers. Or my favorite, “That’s why I don’t want you to overdose and die.” Yes, talk dirty to me.

Just beneath the multitude of story elements is a decent story, one that I rather enjoyed and would have enjoyed more if it weren’t for all the cramming. I think Virtuoso could have benefited from a second volume. I wonder if there actually is one. There is a title listed on Ogasawara-sensei’s MU page, Jounetsu no Virtuoso. The characters on the cover look like Kenzo and Lorenzo and there’s the title, of course. Also, Virtuoso was originally published in 2005 by one Japanese publisher and then republished by another in 2008; the same publisher release Jounestu in 2008 as well. These things lead me in the direction of believing that it is a continuation, but neither title is listed as a “Related Series” on the other’s detail page. Does anyone know? Either way, it is a decent story that given 25 to 50 more pages could have been an easy 4.0.

Feel free to read the full review on my site.

I wanted to like this more. The cover is so elegant and intriguing and the blurb on the back definitely made it sound like something it wasn't. But the storytelling was so clunky I had a hard time understanding it. Certainly not the musical game of cat-and-mouse I was promised.

First of all, there's a lot of exposition in the first few pages that isn't really well-explained. Everything is thrown at you all at once with no time for build up--much like the romance that follows. As the story develops, it becomes harder to follow the central conflict, and it's not really clear at times ... what that conflict is supposed to be. If Lorenzo dislikes being taken advantage of by performers, why does he do it? What does he get out of it? Is he just really weak-willed?

And why does Kenzo care enough about him to continue doing as he asks, even though he knows Lorenzo is breaking his part of their deal? The two don't seem to really have a lot of chemistry or believable interaction. There's hardly any build up to their first encounter and Kenzo especially seems to have feelings that come out of nowhere.

The plot is quite jumbled and feels confusing at times, which is unnecessary, because all the parts for a good story are there, they're just arranged in a really odd way and often don't feel like they really fit together. In the second half we're introduced to a part of the story that really should have been made more obvious all along, and that's Lorenzo's drug habit. It's a shame that this was brought up so incredibly late and not used to its full potential, because it could have brought a lot more to the story than just "Lorenzo doesn't play piano and no one knows why". In fact a lot of Lorenzo's relationship to the piano doesn't make a lot of sense, which seems important in a story largely about the character's relationship to music.

This really had potential to be an emotional and elegant addition to a genre that is often decried as being crass and cliche, but the story is just too jumbled and confusing. I did enjoy the lovely artwork though, so there's that. (Besides the few panels where 3-D renders were obviously employed for objects and looked out of place. But it was 2005, so I'll give it a pass.)