Print Review: Cantarella volumes 1-4

Review Cantarella volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating good/ very goood

I have a feeling that although most shoujo fans aren’t into most historical manga but at very least they should be willing to get a hold of this title.

The bastard son of a Cardinal is always an inauspicious thing but the birth of Ceseare Borgia was especially so. He was surrounded by strange dark clouds and there was whispers of demonic influence about him. Never a favorite child Ceseare was shunted around as a political trading card in a time where politics was more deadly than usual. The pact that Ceseare's father made with dark forces has more than just an emotional impact on him as a demonic influence starts to take hold on his personality. Will Ceasere be able to fight his darker side or will he give into it and carve a bloody path through Italy?

Cantarella is an interesting sort of historical manga take obvious liberties with history but most of these are done to add a supernatural twist to the story. The manga heavily leans towards shoujo with it's bishonen character design and homoerotic subtext between Ceseare and his right hand man Micaeletto. Even so this is not a traditional shoujo plot as the story focuses on the growth and schemes of Ceseare rather than any sort of romance. If you are the sort of person that likes or at can at least stand shoujo trappings in a more political story then Cantarella is a story that you may enjoy.