You Higuri

When writing about the historical Borgia family, one does not have to embellish much; indeed, they were accused of murder, theft, nepotism, and even incest. This story, however, starts when Cesare Borgia, the oldest Borgia son, is just a teenager, before most of the crimes were allegedly committed. As a teenager, Cesare finds out that his father, the newly elected Pope, sold Cesare’s soul when he was born to demons in order to become Pope. Now that he has, the demons have come to claim show more Cesare’s soul, and it’s up to Cesare to defeat them--or let them consume him.

Besides the story of the Borgias being enthralling, Higuri’s depictions of historical Italian buildings and dress are extremely detailed and believable. Throughout the story, it’s unclear, at times, who’s the villain and who’s the hero, something most readers will enjoy trying to figure out (if there even is a right answer!). Although some parts of the plot are straight from Higuri’s imagination, many of the places and people are real, and will perhaps encourage readers to research more of this mysterious and beautiful time period. Because this manga (and later volumes) depicts all of the vices the Borgia were known for, it’s best left for older readers. However, for older readers that love historical fiction, a tale of good versus evil, and ambiguous characters you aren’t sure whether to love or loathe, Cantarella will surely please. Highly recommended. Grades 9 and up. show less

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
The front cover features our two main characters Florian and Ray, both posed stylishly just as they are on the original Japanese cover. The picture itself, however, seems slightly blurry, as if it's been resized just a little larger than it should have been. In addition, I think the font chosen for the title was a poor choice, given the time period show more and subject matter. Something with a few more curves would have been preferable because, although the blocky letters do look vaguely like cut gems, they still create the wrong 'feel' for the cover that's hard to ignore. In addition, I still haven't decided exactly how I feel about the logo plastered in the lower right hand corner, but I tend to think that if it's something that doesn't need to be on the cover and it's masking original cover art, then it's not really a good thing. Amusingly enough, about the only thing I really liked were the small sparkles used to embellish the title and volume information.

Artwork
I have to admit, I've always been a huge fan of Yuu Higuri's, even before I could read what she was writing. Her art always does an excellent job of placing you right in the middle of whatever time period she's writing about. Granted, I don't know much about turn-of-the-century Paris, so there may be anachronisms that I don't recognize, but it all still feels remarkably real. The backgrounds and costuming are all perfectly done to set the scene. Also, I know for a fact, based on interviews I've read, that she does a lot of research for her period books. In fact, that's all part of the fun for her. Another thing I like is Higure's ability to make all of her characters very distinct. In some manga, the characters all look the same except for some mild hair alterations, but in Higure's work everyone is obviously different from everyone else. The only real downside to her art is the inconsistency when it comes to backgrounds. Sometimes they're remarkably elaborate with lots of research going into the details and then other times they're so plain that you're almost left wondering if it's the same artist drawing them. Nevertheless, the art is still stunningly smooth - pulling you seamlessly back into another era, something not easily accomplished with or without research.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
The story begins by quickly introducing our main characters - Florian, the only son of a penniless noble family and Ray Balzac Courland, a mysterious young man with a penchant for jewels. In fact, it's his desire to possess rare and priceless stones that leads to his first meeting with Florian, who's family's final treasure is a 120-carat diamond known as the Flame of Mughal - the only possession his mother refuses to part with. In a dangerous bid to obtain the infamous gem, Ray offer's Florian's mother an impossible decision - to give up the stone (her last claim to nobility) or her only son. Unable to bear his mother's anguish, Florian accepts Ray's offer. However, neither man has any idea how much trouble they'll wind up causing each other. After only one agonizing day in Ray's possession Florian discovers his mother has been murdered and as her only son and heir he's the main suspect. Florian, having uncovered Ray's true profession as a master thief, suspects his captor of the crime and quickly escapes to seek out the truth. However, things are not always as they seem and before all is said and done Florian will find that the line between "ally" and "enemy" is very thin indeed.

In this volume's second story, Florian, who now has no home to return to, decides to remain with Ray, but refuses to be treated like a possession. This naturally infuriates Ray, but Florian doesn't let it phase him and defies Ray outright by offering the use of Ray's home to a small child named Noel, who's being ruthlessly pursued for reason's unknown. Furious with Florian for his disobedience, Ray refuses to help Noel in any way. Unfortunately, Florian has a penchant for getting himself into more trouble than he can handle and by the time Ray decides to intervene it may be too late for even the infamous Phantom Thief to be of any help.

Note: After finishing my review I realized I'd somehow managed to leave out my two favorite characters. The first is Laila, Ray's retainer (AKA his #1 servant.) She's plucky, funny and so obviously in love with Ray that you can't help but feel for her. The second character is my TOTAL favorite (and also Ray's antagonistic counterpart), Solomon Sugar. He used to be a police inspector until his obsessive pursuit of the Phantom Thief ruined his career. Now he's a P.I. and thoroughly convinced that Ray Balzac Courland is the infamous thief - finding proof to back up his theory consumes him. Intelligent, gorgeous and with a tongue like quicksilver, Solomon is Ray's perfect counterpart in every way (and the banter that goes on between the two men is absolutely priceless!)

Content Warnings
Language = If it exists, it's mild enough that I didn't notice it while reading.

Violence = Yes, people getting shot, crushed, whipped, etc., but none of it was graphic.

Nudity = One bare-breasted Hindu statue, but that's as close as it gets.

Sexual Situations = None.

Ratings
Cover - 6/10 - Blurriness, poor font choices and a big logo ruin what could have been a very nice cover.

Artwork - 7.5/10 - The historical detail is amazing and the characters are wonderfully drawn. Detail-consistency is the only thing that would make it better.

Plot - 7.5/10 - Episodic, yet still engaging. With so many multi-layered characters there's a lot of potential for the future volumes.

Overall - 7/10 - Well written and beautifully illustrated - if you like historical mysteries (especially with a shonen-ai twist), you'll love this series. show less

I haven't read the manga, but I did enjoy the brief Angel Sanctuary OVA. I had somewhat high hopes for this manga given it was published at around the same time as RG Veda. Lest to say, while I love how You draws human faces, this manga is pretty much a trainwreck.

It seems like the protagonist Hilda has memory problems that were caused by the villain named Lauress. He wants her for himself, but he wants her to fully fall in love with him. The problem is that while he does save her from the show more occasional loser that snares lewd comments at her beauty (because apparently an attractive young woman that works as a professional dancer in a tavern is just asking for the wrong kind of attention), he's the worst person of them all. Putting his beauty aside, Lauress is just a really awful, abusive and jealous person and Hilda seems to be just too stupid to realize he's up to no good.

I just don't understand Hilda. One moment she's all cuddly and goodie good shoes, then the next she has this evil grin on her face where she wants everyone to die and then the next moment Lauress tortures a guy in front of her and then she berates him one minute and kisses him the next.

What kind of tragic love story is this?

The sidekick characters are also confusing. Hilda is being kidnapped by thugs and one of the presumably heroic sidekick characters doesn't care and doesn't recognize Hilda's face when the apparent hero Roderique attempts to talk to Hilda to stay away from Lauress.

At just 10 volumes that are rather short, I could easily continue reading this series but dammit, the plot is so stupid and the artwork a hit-and-miss that I feel like I'd be wasting my time. You have been warned. show less

In this late addition to the action adventure historical series about the aristocrat, Ray Balzac Corland, who is a loan shark by day and a jewel thief by night we get a new story in a pleasingly long, oversized (as it is published by June) format.

I just recently discovered the Gorgeous Carat series and have really enjoyed it. The only disappointment here was that I kind of expected a resolution to the series, which was unfortunately not the case. Although there is hope that it left open the show more potential the manga-ka would write more stories with these fascinating characters, I'm not entirely sure this will ever happen.

As usual, the artistry is very well done and the facial expressions, particularly Florian's, are wonderful. Also as usual the story follows the pattern of Florian being in peril making you wonder if Ray is right and the guy is just a magnet for trouble.

All in all a very pleasing entry into the series, but not anything like a conclusion. I also have to add that this series and in particular, this manga, is NOT yaoi. There is nothing but subtle hints that Ray and Florian might have stronger feelings for each other. At the most I'd say this is in the realm of very light shounen-ai. show less